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mcpsnoop
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mcpsnoop

Active·★ 362·MIT·Updated 2026-10-17

mcpsnoop is a transparent proxy designed for the Model Context Protocol (MCP), acting like Wireshark for AI client-server interactions. It allows developers to live-debug actual MCP traffic in a terminal UI, addressing limitations of existing tools by observing real client-server communications.

mcpsnoop sits in the Observability category, so it is usually better judged by workflow fit, deployment style, and team needs than by isolated features alone. Based on the available metadata, it leans most clearly toward Live JSON-RPC stream with color-coding, error flagging, and slow call detection.. A representative use case is Debugging AI client-server communication to identify unseen or unexpected tool calls.. The listed license is MIT. GitHub stars are currently 362. Relevant tags include AI Development, Debugging Tool.

This write-up is based on the project's README and public repository data. We have not hand-tested the tool.

#AI Development#Debugging Tool#Network Proxy#Protocol Analysis#Terminal UI#Observability#Developer Tooling
$ Install
$ go install github.com/kerlenton/mcpsnoop/cmd/mcpsnoop@latest
↗ Visit site★ GitHub
01

Features

01Live JSON-RPC stream with color-coding, error flagging, and slow call detection.
02Replay any captured tool call against an isolated server instance.
03Capability inspector to view client and server agreed capabilities during handshake.
04Hung-call detection for in-flight requests with live timers.
05Powerful filter query to narrow the stream by tool, status, direction, kind, or text.
02

Why choose it

+Live JSON-RPC stream with color-coding, error flagging, and slow call detection.
+Replay any captured tool call against an isolated server instance.
+Debugging AI client-server communication to identify unseen or unexpected tool calls.
+Supports 6 platforms or runtime environments.
03

Trade-offs

!The final decision should still be made through side-by-side comparison with similar tools.
04

Compatibility

Go
Runtime
Verified via docs
Model Context Protocol
Protocol
Verified via docs
Server Runtimes (e.g., Python, Node.js)
Agnostic
Verified via docs
Linux
Operating System
Verified via docs
MacOS
Operating System
Verified via docs
Windows
Operating System
Verified via docs
05

Quick start

1
$ go install github.com/kerlenton/mcpsnoop/cmd/mcpsnoop@latest
06

Use cases

↳Debugging AI client-server communication to identify unseen or unexpected tool calls.
↳Rapid iteration on tool development by replaying captured calls against fresh server instances.
↳Identifying hung or failed tool calls and understanding capability discrepancies.
↳Observing the exact MCP traffic between your AI client and server in real-time.
07

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On this page
01Features02Why choose it03Trade-offs04Compatibility05Quick start06Use cases07Alternatives
kerlenton /
mcpsnoop
↗

Wireshark for MCP. A transparent proxy that shows every real tool call between your AI client and your MCP servers, live in your terminal.

362MIT
Last commit6d ago
StatusActive
CategoryObservability
Links
Documentation↗Discussion↗Issues↗Releases↗
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