mcp-dump

Inspect MCP servers before connecting tools or agents.

mcp-dump starts any stdio Model Context Protocol (MCP) server command and prints initialize, capability, tool, prompt, resource, and resource-template metadata.

Use it when you need to confirm what an MCP server actually exposes before adding it to an agent, IDE, gateway, or automation workflow.

What You Get

| Capability | Behavior | | --- | --- | | MCP preflight | Starts a stdio MCP server command and initializes a client session. | | Capability inventory | Prints protocol version, server info, and server capabilities. | | Tool discovery | Lists tools with input parameters and response schemas. | | Prompt/resource discovery | Shows prompts, resources, and resource templates when supported. | | JSON output | Emits machine-readable output for scripts, CI checks, and debugging artifacts. | | Quiet by default | Keeps inspector lifecycle logs out of the result unless --debug is enabled. |

Try It

Install globally:

npm install -g @normahq/mcp-dump@latest

Run once with npx:

npx @normahq/mcp-dump@latest -- <mcp-server-cmd> [args...]

Inspect an MCP server:

mcp-dump -- codex mcp-server
mcp-dump --json -- codex mcp-server --sandbox workspace-write
mcp-dump --debug -- <mcp-server-cmd> [args...]

Provider Commands

| Provider | Command | | --- | --- | | Codex MCP server | mcp-dump -- codex mcp-server | | Codex with sandbox | mcp-dump --json -- codex mcp-server --sandbox workspace-write | | Generic MCP | mcp-dump -- <mcp-server-cmd> [args...] |

The -- separator is required. Arguments before -- are treated as mcp-dump flags; arguments after it are passed to the MCP server command.

Output

Human-readable output includes:

• server name and version
• protocol version
• server capabilities
• tools with input parameters and response schemas
• prompts, resources, and resource templates status

Use --json when you want stable output for scripts, test fixtures, issue reports, or CI logs.

Use Cases

• Verify an MCP server before registering it with an agent runtime.
• Compare tool schemas across local and remote server commands.
• Capture a compact diagnostic artifact for bug reports.
• Check whether a local command is actually speaking MCP over stdio.

Flags

| Flag | Purpose | | --- | --- | | --json | Print machine-readable JSON output. | | --debug | Enable debug logs for the inspector. | | -h, --help | Show command help. |

Repository

• GitHub: https://github.com/normahq/mcp-dump

Contact

• Issues: https://github.com/normahq/mcp-dump/issues
• Maintainer: @metalagman

License

MIT. See the repository LICENSE.