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MCP Inspector for testing server behavior

Inspect MCP connections and exercise tools, resources and prompts during development.

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MCP and IntegrationsPublished 2 min read

Key Takeaways

  • The inspector connects to a server and displays its exposed capabilities.
  • A server command or remote URL is enough to begin, depending on the transport.
  • Connect to a read-only test server, list tools and invoke one with valid and invalid arguments.
  • A successful manual invocation checks the server contract.

How it works

The inspector connects to a server and displays its exposed capabilities. A developer can send a tool request directly to debug its schema and result before involving a model.

What you need

A server command or remote URL is enough to begin, depending on the transport. Keep a known-good fixture available when debugging problems in a real service.

What to try first

Connect to a read-only test server, list tools and invoke one with valid and invalid arguments. Save the observed error and result shape for your integration tests.

Save a tool response from before and after a schema change. Compare the wire result and the interface the inspector presents to catch accidental compatibility breaks.

Where to look for failures

A successful manual invocation checks the server contract. Test authentication and reconnect behavior separately with the real client and transport.

Related Franklin pages

Check tool discovery, argument validation and error behavior before introducing a model. The same fixture can serve as a contract test across server implementations and clients.

Browse Franklin for concrete examples of tools and services exposed through MCP. Franklin’s MCP directory

Project documentation

Try it for your workflow

Explore the project’s documentation for setup and usage, or save this page to a collection for later.

Read the project documentation ↗