mcp-inspector-integration

name	mcp-inspector-integration
description	Set up MCP Inspector for debugging and testing MCP servers with request logging, response inspection, and protocol validation.
allowed-tools	Read, Write, Edit, Bash, Glob, Grep
graph	{"domains":["domain:software-engineering"],"specializations":["specialization:cli-mcp-development"],"skillAreas":["skill-area:mcp-server-implementation","skill-area:agent-debugging-logging"],"roles":["role:backend-engineer","role:platform-engineer"],"workflows":["workflow:feature-development"],"topics":["topic:developer-experience"]}

MCP Inspector Integration

Set up MCP Inspector for debugging and testing MCP servers.

Capabilities

• Configure MCP Inspector connection
• Set up request/response logging
• Implement protocol debugging
• Create test scenarios
• Generate inspection reports
• Configure development workflows

Usage

Invoke this skill when you need to:

• Debug MCP server communication
• Test tool and resource handlers
• Inspect protocol messages
• Validate MCP implementation

Inputs

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
serverPath	string	Yes	Path to MCP server entry
transport	string	No	Transport type (stdio, sse)
logging	boolean	No	Enable verbose logging

Generated Patterns

Inspector Configuration

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "my-server": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "DEBUG": "mcp:*",
        "NODE_ENV": "development"
      }
    }
  }
}

Debug Wrapper Script

#!/usr/bin/env node
import { createServer } from './server';

// Enable debug logging
process.env.DEBUG = 'mcp:*';

// Log all stdin/stdout for debugging
const originalWrite = process.stdout.write.bind(process.stdout);
process.stdout.write = (chunk: any, ...args: any[]) => {
  if (process.env.MCP_DEBUG_LOG) {
    const fs = require('fs');
    fs.appendFileSync(
      process.env.MCP_DEBUG_LOG,
      `[OUT] ${new Date().toISOString()} ${chunk}\n`
    );
  }
  return originalWrite(chunk, ...args);
};

process.stdin.on('data', (chunk) => {
  if (process.env.MCP_DEBUG_LOG) {
    const fs = require('fs');
    fs.appendFileSync(
      process.env.MCP_DEBUG_LOG,
      `[IN] ${new Date().toISOString()} ${chunk}\n`
    );
  }
});

// Start server
createServer();

NPM Scripts for Development

{
  "scripts": {
    "dev": "tsx watch src/index.ts",
    "debug": "MCP_DEBUG_LOG=./debug.log tsx src/index.ts",
    "inspect": "npx @anthropic/mcp-inspector node dist/index.js",
    "test:mcp": "npx @anthropic/mcp-inspector --test node dist/index.js"
  }
}

Test Scenarios

// tests/mcp-scenarios.ts
export const testScenarios = [
  {
    name: 'List Tools',
    request: {
      jsonrpc: '2.0',
      method: 'tools/list',
      id: 1,
    },
    validate: (response: any) => {
      return response.result?.tools?.length > 0;
    },
  },
  {
    name: 'Call Tool - search_files',
    request: {
      jsonrpc: '2.0',
      method: 'tools/call',
      params: {
        name: 'search_files',
        arguments: { pattern: '*.ts', path: './src' },
      },
      id: 2,
    },
    validate: (response: any) => {
      return !response.error && response.result?.content;
    },
  },
  {
    name: 'List Resources',
    request: {
      jsonrpc: '2.0',
      method: 'resources/list',
      id: 3,
    },
    validate: (response: any) => {
      return Array.isArray(response.result?.resources);
    },
  },
];

// Run test scenarios
export async function runScenarios(
  send: (msg: any) => Promise<any>
): Promise<void> {
  for (const scenario of testScenarios) {
    console.log(`Testing: ${scenario.name}`);
    const response = await send(scenario.request);
    const passed = scenario.validate(response);
    console.log(`  ${passed ? '✓ PASS' : '✗ FAIL'}`);
    if (!passed) {
      console.log('  Response:', JSON.stringify(response, null, 2));
    }
  }
}

Workflow

1. Install Inspector - Set up MCP Inspector
2. Configure connection - Server path and args
3. Enable logging - Debug output
4. Create scenarios - Test cases
5. Run inspection - Debug session
6. Generate report - Inspection results

Target Processes

• mcp-server-monitoring-debugging
• mcp-server-testing-suite
• mcp-tool-implementation