MCP Inspector provides web UI, CLI, and TUI to inspect MCP servers. It includes v2 as default, with RCs prior. Requires Node >=22.19.0 and uses a single package @modelcontextprotocol/inspector.
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What it is
MCP Inspector is a developer tool for inspecting Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers. It ships as a single package, @modelcontextprotocol/inspector, offering three ways to inspect a server: Web (Vite + React), CLI, and TUI (Ink). All three run through a global mcp-inspector binary and can be invoked as:
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector # web UI (default)
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector --cli # CLI
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector --tui # TUI
The repository status indicates this is the v2 line (branch v2/main) with the legacy v1 on main for bug fixes only.
How it works
The project is organized with multiple clients under clients/* (web, cli, tui) and a shared core/ module consumed via an alias @inspector/core. The core handles the InspectorClient, state stores, and transports. The web client uses Vite + React + Mantine; the CLI uses tsup bundling; the TUI uses Ink. The root install cascades into each client via npm install. The core has no package.json and is inlined via alias.
Key architectural notes:
- Each client maintains its own package.json and node_modules, while core is shared via @inspector/core alias.
- Publishing core as its own package is deliberately deferred.
Getting started
Prerequisites:
- Node >= 22.19.0
npm install # root install; postinstall cascades into every client
- Fresh clone: run npm install at the repo root.
- After a pull that changes a client's dependencies: re-run npm install at the root.
Running during development:
- For day-to-day web iteration, run Vite directly from the web client:
cd clients/web && npm run dev
- The launcher-driven scripts build the launcher and then run the built web/cli/tui:
npm run web # prod web launcher against clients/web/dist
npm run web:dev # web launcher in --dev mode (Vite)
Recent releases
Latest release: 2.0.0 (2026-07-28) with note that the v2 Inspector is now the default release. Prior rc releases 2.0.0-rc.3, 2.0.0-rc.2, 2.0.0-rc.1 (all published 2026-07-28) were release candidates for 2.0.0. The 1.0.1 release is marked deprecated in favor of v2. Install commands shown in releases include npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector@next for rcs and npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector for stable.
Traction
Stars: 10578 (as of last push on 2026-08-03); Forks: 1460; Open issues: 71.
Behind the repo
The repo indicates a multi-client structure with a shared core, and launcher providing the mcp-inspector bin. It references AGENTS.md for contribution rules and multiple client READMEs under clients/web, clients/cli, clients/tui, and clients/launcher.
Caveats
License: none listed. Requires Node >=22.19.0. The core/ directory has no package.json and is inlined via alias; core publishing is deferred. The README mentions main branch is legacy v1 with bug fixes only, and v2 will replace main.