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What Is the Best Way to Debug MCP Servers Using the MCP Inspector?
Discover why the MCP Inspector is the best browser-based tool for testing and debugging your MCP server tools before connecting them to AI clients like Claude.
Question
You’ve created an MCP server and want to test your tools before connecting them to Claude. What’s the best way to do this?
A. Testing isn’t needed for tools, Claude can figure out how to use them
B. Connect to Claude immediately
C. Use the MCP Inspector in your browser
D. Test in production
Answer
C. Use the MCP Inspector in your browser
Explanation
The MCP Inspector is a dedicated, interactive developer tool specifically designed for testing and debugging Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers before integrating them with AI clients like Claude. It provides a browser-based UI where you can connect to your server, view exposed tools alongside their schemas, and manually execute them with custom inputs to verify the raw JSON responses, ensuring everything functions correctly during development.