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inspector

Active·★ 11.1k·Apache-2.0 / MIT (transitioning)·Updated 2026-10-13
★ Trending

MCP Inspector is the official developer tool for inspecting Model Context Protocol servers. It ships as a single package with three interfaces: a web UI for exploring a server interactively, a scriptable CLI for automation, CI and fast feedback loops for coding agents, and a terminal UI. You can connect to a server, list and call its tools, read resources, try prompts and see the raw protocol traffic.

It is essential for anyone building or debugging an MCP server: checking that tool schemas and descriptions look right, reproducing a bug a client reports, testing OAuth flows, or running automated checks in CI before releasing a server. The current v2 line reorganises configuration (separating `--config` and `--catalog`) and requires a newer Node.js; a migration guide covers the changes from v1.

Getting started: run `npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector` for the web UI, or add `--cli` or `--tui` for the other interfaces. The Python SDK's `mcp dev` command also opens your server in the Inspector.

This write-up is based on the project's README and public repository data. We have not hand-tested the tool. Data as of 2026-10-10.

License
Not detected by GitHub
Latest release
2.10.1 · 2026-10-08
Last commit
2026-10-08
Contributors
140
Forks
1,543
Open issues and PRs
55
First published
2024-10-03
npm package
@modelcontextprotocol/inspector 2.10.1 · 385,034 downloads last week

Source: GitHub, npm and PyPI public APIs.

#Developer Tools#Debugging#Testing#Web UI#Protocol#Web Browsing#Coding
$ Install
$ npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector
↗ Visit site★ GitHub
01

Features

01Interactive Web UI for testing and debugging MCP servers.
02Supports multiple transport protocols (stdio, SSE, streamable-http).
03CLI mode for scripting, automation, and integration.
04Export server launch configurations for external clients (e.g., Cursor, Claude Code).
05Robust security features including token authentication and local-only binding.
02

Why choose it

+Official tool from the MCP project, always aligned with the latest protocol features.
+Three interfaces: web for exploration, CLI for automation and CI, TUI for the terminal.
+Shows raw protocol traffic, which makes debugging client-server issues much easier.
+Stores OAuth tokens and secrets in the OS keychain by default.
03

Trade-offs

!v2 introduced breaking changes to CLI flags and configuration, and requires Node.js 22.19 or newer.
!On machines without a system keychain, secrets handling falls back to less secure storage; read the warning in the README.
!It is a developer tool, not something end users need.
04

Compatibility

MCP Servers
Native Support
Verified via docs
Cursor
Config Export
Verified via docs
Claude Code
Config Export
Verified via docs
Docker
Containerized Deployment
Verified via docs
05

Quick start

1
$ npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector
06

Use cases

↳Testing and debugging MCP server implementations during development.
↳Programmatic interaction with MCP servers via CLI for scripting and automation.
↳Configuring and managing MCP server settings for different environments or projects.
07

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On this page
01Features02Why choose it03Trade-offs04Compatibility05Quick start06Use cases07Alternatives
Stats
GitHub Stars★ 11.1k
Last commit1d ago
StatusActive
LicenseApache-2.0 / MIT (transitioning)
CategoryDev Tooling
Trend (30d)
+0.4k↑ 4.5%
Links
Documentation↗Discussion↗Issues↗Releases↗

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