inspector/clients/cli/README.md
Cliff Hall 4d30d1cd1e
docs: restore the missing docs/ targets and split the catalog-seeding wording (#1811) (#1812)
Closes #1811

Four README links pointed at files that don't exist on `v2/main`, and the launcher README described catalog seeding as one behavior when it is two.

- `docs/mcp-server-configuration.md` — written fresh for v2 (the v1.5 file predates the `--catalog`/`--config` split)
- `docs/launcher-config-consolidation-plan.md` — restored from `v1.5/main`, path drift corrected, v2 notes appended
- `docs/images/tui-screenshot.png` — regenerated against the current TUI
- launcher README seeding wording — split into the two real behaviors (web seeds two sample servers; cli/tui seed empty)

Review across three rounds also corrected several claims verified against source: the `--` separator is inverted between web and cli, a cli target placed after a flag is silently discarded, `--server` is a no-op on web and an unknown-option error on tui, the `MCP_CATALOG_PATH` ad-hoc guard is cli-only, and the conflict matrix diverges on both `--header` and `--transport stdio`.

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

https://claude.ai/code/session_01Txmv2qqv3yeKgRzoqXytzD
2026-07-27 20:37:14 -04:00

290 lines
30 KiB
Markdown
Raw Blame History

This file contains ambiguous Unicode characters

This file contains Unicode characters that might be confused with other characters. If you think that this is intentional, you can safely ignore this warning. Use the Escape button to reveal them.

# MCP Inspector CLI Client
CLI for the Inspector: connect, run a `--method`, disconnect. Invoked as `mcp-inspector --cli`.
## Running the CLI
You can run the CLI via `npx`:
```bash
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector --cli node build/index.js
```
Supports tools, resources, and prompts (plus `--method servers/list` / `servers/show` for catalog entries without connecting).
### Examples
**Basic usage**
```bash
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector --cli node build/index.js
```
**With a configuration file**
```bash
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector --cli --config path/to/config.json --server myserver
```
**List available tools**
```bash
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector --cli node build/index.js --method tools/list
```
**Call a specific tool**
```bash
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector --cli node build/index.js --method tools/call --tool-name mytool --tool-arg key=value --tool-arg another=value2
```
**Call a tool with JSON arguments**
```bash
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector --cli node build/index.js --method tools/call --tool-name mytool --tool-arg 'options={"format": "json", "max_tokens": 100}'
```
**List available resources**
```bash
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector --cli node build/index.js --method resources/list
```
**List available prompts**
```bash
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector --cli node build/index.js --method prompts/list
```
### Remote Servers
You can also connect to remote MCP servers using HTTP or SSE transports.
**Connect to a remote MCP server (default is SSE)**
```bash
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector --cli https://my-mcp-server.example.com
```
**Connect with Streamable HTTP transport**
```bash
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector --cli https://my-mcp-server.example.com --transport http --method tools/list
```
**Pass custom headers**
```bash
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector --cli https://my-mcp-server.example.com --transport http --method tools/list --header "X-API-Key: your-api-key"
```
When a server is loaded from a `--catalog`/`--config` file, its per-server settings (headers, connection/request timeouts, OAuth, and `roots`) are applied to the connection — the same resolution the TUI uses. A `--header` flag overrides the file's headers for that run while leaving the file's timeouts and OAuth in place.
The file is the only durable way to give a run its roots: there is no roots flag, and `--method roots/set` applies only to that one short-lived connection. Roots configured for a server (the same field the web UI's Server Settings writes) are advertised at connect, so a server that asks for `roots/list` — `@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem` does, to learn its allowed directories — gets them.
**Environment-variable semantics.** `MCP_CATALOG_PATH` is honored only when no ad-hoc target is given (positional command, `--server-url`, or `--transport`) — so a shell that exports it can still run one-off ad-hoc invocations without hitting the catalog/ad-hoc conflict. `MCP_STORAGE_DIR` sets the storage directory used by the OAuth persist backend (`<MCP_STORAGE_DIR>/oauth.json`); the per-file `MCP_INSPECTOR_OAUTH_STATE_PATH` override still takes precedence over it.
### HTTP proxy support
Connections to remote HTTP/SSE servers honor the conventional proxy environment variables: `HTTPS_PROXY` / `HTTP_PROXY` (and their lowercase forms) select the proxy, and `NO_PROXY` exempts hosts. This applies to the Node transport shared by the CLI and the web backend — no inspector-specific flag is needed. When a proxy variable is set, outbound requests are routed through undici's `EnvHttpProxyAgent`.
Proxy routing is powered by the [`undici`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/undici) package (`^8.5.0`, which requires Node `>= 22.19.0` — the inspector's supported floor). It is imported lazily only when a proxy variable is set, so runs without a proxy configured pay no cost.
## Options
### MCP server (which server to connect to)
Options that specify the MCP server (catalog/config file, ad-hoc command/URL, env vars, headers) are shared by the Web, CLI, and TUI and are documented in [MCP server configuration](../../docs/mcp-server-configuration.md): `--catalog` (writable catalog, seeded **empty** if missing; default `~/.mcp-inspector/mcp.json` or `MCP_CATALOG_PATH`), `--config` (read-only session, errors if absent), `--server`, `-e`, `--cwd`, `--header`, `--transport`, `--server-url`, and the positional `[target...]`. `--catalog` and `--config` are mutually exclusive, and neither combines with an ad-hoc target.
### CLI-specific (what to invoke)
| Option | Description |
| ----------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `--method <method>` | MCP method to invoke. Supports `initialize` (connect-only probe → `{serverInfo, protocolVersion, capabilities, instructions}`), `tools/list`, `tools/call`, `resources/list`, `resources/read`, `resources/templates/list`, `prompts/list`, `prompts/get`, `logging/setLevel`, plus catalog-only `servers/list` / `servers/show` (no MCP connect). Stream / session-only methods (e.g. `logging/tail`) are rejected. |
| `--tool-name <name>` | Tool name (for `tools/call`). |
| `--tool-arg <key=value>` | Tool argument; repeat for multiple. Use `key='{"json":true}'` for JSON. Values are coerced (JSON-parsed, so `count=1` becomes a number). |
| `--tool-args-json <json>` | Tool arguments as a single JSON object (e.g. `'{"zip":"10001"}'`). Passed verbatim — no `key=value` coercion, so `"012"` stays a string. Mutually exclusive with `--tool-arg`. |
| `--uri <uri>` | Resource URI (for `resources/read`). |
| `--prompt-name <name>` | Prompt name (for `prompts/get`). |
| `--prompt-args <key=value>` | Prompt arguments; repeat for multiple. |
| `--log-level <level>` | Logging level for `logging/setLevel` (e.g. `debug`, `info`). |
| `--metadata <key=value>` | General metadata (key=value); applied to all methods. |
| `--tool-metadata <key=value>` | Tool-specific metadata for `tools/call`. |
| `--connect-timeout <ms>` | Connection timeout in ms. Defaults to `15000` for ad-hoc `--server-url`/target runs (so a black-holed host fails fast) and to the file-level timeout for `--catalog`/`--config` runs. `0` disables the timeout. |
| `--app-info` | Probe a tool's MCP App UI metadata without invoking it. With `--method tools/call --tool-name <name>`: prints one JSON line (`hasApp`, `resourceUri`, `csp`, `permissions`, `domain`, …) and exits `0` if the tool has an app or `2` (`no_app`) if not. With `--method tools/list`: emits NDJSON — one app-info line per tool over a single connection. |
| `--format <text\|json>` | Output format. `text` (default) pretty-prints the result. `json` emits a single JSON object on stdout (`{ "result": … }`, plus `{ "appInfo": … }` as a sibling key for App tools) with no banners, so the whole output pipes cleanly into `jq`. |
| `--relogin` | Delete stored OAuth for this server URL from the shared store before connect; interactive login still only runs if the server requires auth. Requires an HTTP/SSE URL (rejected for stdio). Conflicts with `--stored-auth-only` / `--use-stored-auth` / `--wait-for-auth` / catalog short-circuits. |
| `--stored-auth-only` | **CI / non-interactive safe:** never start interactive OAuth / step-up (and never auto-open a browser); use the shared store if present, otherwise fail immediately with `auth_required`. Prefer this over a bare pipe/CI run that would otherwise attempt interactive login. |
`servers/show` redacts secret-bearing fields (`env` values, sensitive headers / `settings.metadata` keys, `requestInit` / `eventSourceInit` headers, `oauthClientSecret`). It does **not** scrub credentials embedded in a server `url` (userinfo or query tokens) or in stdio `args` — treat `detail` / raw URL fields as potentially sensitive before pasting into issues.
#### App probing (`--app-info`) and machine-readable output (`--format json`)
`--app-info` inspects a tool's [MCP App](https://modelcontextprotocol.io) UI posture **without calling the tool**, so a pipeline can decide whether to open a browser before touching one:
```bash
# Probe one tool. Exits 0 (has app) or 2 (no_app). One JSON line on stdout.
mcp-inspector --cli <server> --method tools/call --tool-name my_tool --app-info
# → {"hasApp":true,"toolName":"my_tool","resourceUri":"ui://…","csp":{…},"permissions":{…},"prefersBorder":true,"resourceMimeType":"text/html"}
# Probe every tool at once — NDJSON, one line per tool, single connection.
mcp-inspector --cli <server> --method tools/list --app-info | jq -c 'select(.hasApp)'
```
Exit semantics: a tool that **has** an app exits `0`; one with **no** app exits `2` (`no_app`); a **missing** tool exits `5` (`tool_not_found`) — distinct so a typo isn't mistaken for "no app". A probe failure (an unreadable UI resource, or a malformed `_meta.ui.resourceUri`) is tolerated and reported in a `resourceError` field rather than aborting — so in `tools/list --app-info` one bad tool never kills the rest of the listing.
`--format json` wraps any method's output in a single stdout envelope with no banners, so App tools and plain tools both pipe cleanly into `jq`:
```bash
mcp-inspector --cli <server> --method tools/call --tool-name my_app_tool --format json
# → {"result":{…tool result…},"appInfo":{"hasApp":true,"resourceUri":"ui://…",…}}
```
> `tools/list --app-info` always emits NDJSON (one raw app-info object per line) **regardless of `--format`** — the per-tool list shape is fixed. `--format json` only reshapes the single-result paths (`tools/call`, `tools/list` without `--app-info`, etc.) into the `{result[, appInfo]}` envelope.
A `tools/call` that returns `isError:true` still prints its payload but exits `5` (`tool_is_error`) so `&&` chains don't proceed on a failed call.
### CLI-specific (OAuth for HTTP servers)
The CLI runs the same loopback callback server as the TUI (`http://127.0.0.1:6276/oauth/callback` by default).
**CLI (`mcp-inspector --cli`):** on connect **401** or mid-session interactive auth (re-login / step-up), it:
1. Starts the callback listener on `--callback-url` (or `MCP_OAUTH_CALLBACK_URL`)
2. Prints the authorization URL to stderr (OSC 8 hyperlink when stderr is a TTY) and **opens the default browser** when allowed. Default: open on a **stderr** TTY (so `2>&1 | tee` prints a plain URL into the log but does not auto-open); plain URL only when stderr is non-TTY. `MCP_AUTO_OPEN_ENABLED=false` never opens; `=true` forces open even on a non-TTY (same as the web launcher).
3. Waits for the browser redirect, exchanges the code, and retries connect or the failed RPC
Interactive OAuth (connect-time or mid-RPC) requires a TTY on **stdin or stderr** (so `2>&1 | tee` still works — stdin stays a TTY), or `MCP_AUTO_OPEN_ENABLED=true`. When neither stdin nor stderr is a TTY and that env is unset (typical CI), the CLI fails fast with `auth_required` instead of waiting up to 15 minutes on the loopback callback. Use **`--stored-auth-only`** for non-interactive runs that should only consume the shared store.
**Step-up (standard OAuth):** when an RPC needs extra scopes, the CLI prompts on stderr: `Proceed with step-up authorization? [y/N]`. **y** continues (including piped stdin — `echo y | …` or `printf y | …`); **N** or EOF with no answer (`< /dev/null` / Ctrl-D) declines. Piped answers must be **newline-terminated, or stdin must close** — a bare `y` held open without `\n` or EOF is not flushed as a line and times out. A non-TTY stdin that never sends a line within **5 seconds** fails with `auth_required` (`timed out`, not the same as an explicit **N**). Answering **y** only confirms step-up — the following browser/loopback OAuth can still wait up to 15 minutes; for headless CI prefer **`--stored-auth-only`** with tokens already in the store. EMA step-up re-mints silently (no prompt).
**Shared OAuth storage:** the CLI **reuses** tokens from `~/.mcp-inspector/storage/oauth.json` when they already exist (same file as other Inspector clients). That is passive file sharing, not launching another app.
**Shared with TUI** (config only, not interactive login):
- Per-server OAuth fields from `mcp.json` (static client, EMA resource credentials, scopes)
- Install-level settings from **`~/.mcp-inspector/storage/client.json`** (or `--client-config` / `MCP_CLIENT_CONFIG_PATH`) — EMA IdP, CIMD
- CLI flags `--client-id`, `--client-secret`, `--client-metadata-url` override `client.json` when set
- Keychain-backed secrets in `mcp.json` are rehydrated on catalog load (same as TUI)
#### OAuth callback URL
| Surface | Default callback |
| ------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Web** | `http://localhost:6274/oauth/callback` |
| **TUI** | `http://127.0.0.1:6276/oauth/callback` (interactive — callback server) |
| **CLI** | `http://127.0.0.1:6276/oauth/callback` (interactive — same callback server as TUI) |
Register `http://127.0.0.1:6276/oauth/callback` on static or enterprise IdPs that require pre-registered redirect URIs before using the **TUI** or **CLI**. Override with `--callback-url` or `MCP_OAUTH_CALLBACK_URL`. Only one process should bind the default port at a time.
#### Flags
| Option | Env | Description |
| ----------------------------- | ------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `--client-config <path>` | `MCP_CLIENT_CONFIG_PATH` | Install-level client config (default: `~/.mcp-inspector/storage/client.json`). |
| `--client-id <id>` | — | OAuth client ID (static client); overrides `client.json`. |
| `--client-secret <secret>` | — | OAuth client secret; overrides `client.json`. |
| `--client-metadata-url <url>` | — | CIMD metadata URL; overrides `client.json`. |
| `--callback-url <url>` | `MCP_OAUTH_CALLBACK_URL` | Redirect URI sent to the authorization server (default: `http://127.0.0.1:6276/oauth/callback`). Must bind a **loopback** host (`localhost` / `127.0.0.0/8` / `[::1]`) — the listener receives the authorization code over plaintext `http`, so a non-loopback host hard-errors (no opt-in; use a port-forward if the browser is elsewhere). |
| — | `MCP_AUTO_OPEN_ENABLED` | Browser auto-open **and** non-TTY interactive-OAuth admit: `true` (allow interactive OAuth without a TTY **and** force-open the browser — same as the web launcher), `false` (never open), unset (open on a TTY unless `VITEST` is set). For CI that must not hang, prefer `--stored-auth-only`. |
**Example** — list tools on an OAuth-protected server using stored tokens and CIMD from the command line:
```bash
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector --cli --catalog mcp.json --server my-http-server \
--client-metadata-url https://example.com/.well-known/oauth/client-metadata.json \
--method tools/list
```
See [EMA / enterprise-managed auth](../../specification/v2_auth_ema.md) and [OAuth smoke testing](../../specification/v2_auth_smoke_testing.md) (§3 Stytch/CIMD; [§5 mid-session manual validation](../../specification/v2_auth_smoke_testing.md#5-mid-session-auth--step-up--manual-validation) — CLI **C1–C2**).
#### Stored-auth (web → CLI handoff)
For the common case where OAuth was already completed in the **web inspector on the same machine**, the CLI can reuse the resulting token instead of running its own interactive flow. It reads the shared OAuth state file (the `oauth.json` the web backend writes) directly from disk and injects `Authorization: Bearer <token>` for `--server-url`.
| Option | Description |
| ----------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `--use-stored-auth` | Read the stored auth for `--server-url` and inject `Authorization: Bearer`. When a `refresh_token` is stored, the CLI runs the OAuth refresh grant first and injects the **fresh** access token (persisting the rotation); otherwise it injects the stored access token. Exits `3` (`no_stored_token`) — listing the stored keys — when nothing matches. Requires `--server-url`. |
| `--wait-for-auth <sec>` | Poll the OAuth state file (500 ms interval) until an access token for `--server-url` appears, then inject it. Times out at `<sec>` with exit `3` (`auth_wait_timeout`). Use after handing off to a human to complete OAuth in a browser. Unlike `--use-stored-auth`, this injects the freshly-landed access token directly (a token that just completed the browser flow is not expired), so it does **not** run the refresh grant. |
| `--list-stored-auth` | Print `{ oauthStatePath, storedServerUrls }` (the server keys that currently have a token) and exit. No server connection is made. |
| `--print-handoff` | Print a JSON handoff block (`deepLink`, `portForwardCmd`, `oauthStatePath`, `apiToken`) for `--server-url` and exit — everything a script/remote VM needs to drive the browser-side OAuth dance. Requires `--server-url`. |
**State-file resolution** follows `MCP_INSPECTOR_OAUTH_STATE_PATH` → `<MCP_STORAGE_DIR>/oauth.json` → `~/.mcp-inspector/storage/oauth.json` — the same precedence the rest of the Inspector uses, so the CLI and web backend agree on the file. Server keys are canonicalised with `new URL().href` (the scheme the web store writes), so a trailing-slash or case mismatch between the URL a human opened and the one the agent passed still resolves.
**Token refresh (#1665).** When the stored server state carries a `refresh_token` (plus the `clientInformation` the web inspector persists after a completed flow), `--use-stored-auth` runs the SDK's OAuth `refresh_token` grant to mint a fresh access token before connecting, then writes the rotated tokens back to the state file (owner-only `0o600`, via the shared store writer) so web and CLI stay consistent. The auth-server metadata is reused from the stored state, or discovered from `--server-url` when absent. This covers both an absent and an expired stored access token — the persisted blob carries no expiry, so the refresh token is treated as the durable credential. If the refresh fails (revoked token, transient auth-server error) **and** a stored access token is also present, the CLI falls back to injecting that token rather than hard-failing; only when there is nothing to fall back on does it exit `3` (`auth_required`, envelope `refresh_failed`). Without a stored `refresh_token` the access token is injected as-is, and a stale one surfaces as an HTTP `401` → exit `3`.
Because there is no stored expiry, a `refresh_token` is refreshed on every `--use-stored-auth` run. Two consequences with rotating refresh tokens: two concurrent invocations against the same state file race the single-use token (one wins), and a crash between a successful grant and the write-back leaves the rotated token unsaved. Both are narrow; re-authorize in the web inspector to recover.
**Short-circuit modes.** `--list-stored-auth` and `--print-handoff` each print their output and exit without connecting to a server; they ignore the method/target flags. They are mutually exclusive — if both are passed, `--list-stored-auth` takes precedence.
The `deepLink` is the canonical web deep-link ([#1576](https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector/issues/1576)) — `http://<host>:<port>/?serverUrl=<url>&transport=<http|sse>&autoConnect=<token>` — so navigating it in a browser reaches a connected inspector in one shot. `transport` is derived from the resolved server (`--transport`, else auto-detected from the URL path: `/sse` → `sse`, else `http`), not hardcoded. `autoConnect` is set to `MCP_INSPECTOR_API_TOKEN`; when that env var is unset the link is still emitted but a `note` field flags that the web app's `autoConnect` gate will reject it until the inspector is launched with a known token.
```bash
# On a remote VM: print what a human needs to complete OAuth in their browser.
mcp-inspector --cli --server-url https://api.example/mcp --print-handoff
# Then block until the token lands and run the call with it.
mcp-inspector --cli --transport http --server-url https://api.example/mcp \
--wait-for-auth 120 --method tools/list
```
## Exit codes & error envelopes
Every non-zero exit maps to a stable failure class, so a programmatic caller
(CI, a script, an agent) can branch on _why_ the CLI failed without scraping
prose from stderr:
| Code | Meaning |
| ---- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `0` | Success. |
| `1` | Usage / unexpected error (the catch-all). |
| `2` | No MCP App found on the tool (`--app-info` probe). |
| `3` | Server requires authentication (401/403, `WWW-Authenticate`, OAuth). |
| `4` | Server unreachable (DNS, connection refused, timeout, `fetch failed`). |
| `5` | Tool error (`tools/call` returned `isError:true`, or the tool was not found). |
On any non-zero exit the CLI also writes a single JSON line to **stderr** — the
`ErrorEnvelope`:
```json
{
"error": {
"code": "auth_required",
"message": "Unauthorized",
"status": 401,
"url": "https://api.example/mcp"
}
}
```
The `code` is a stable identifier for the failure class; `message` is the
human-readable error; `cause`, `status`, and `url` are included when known.
Because it is one line, a caller can parse it with `2>&1 | tail -1 | jq .error`.
## Why use the CLI?
While the Web Client provides a rich visual interface, the CLI is designed for:
- **Automation**: Ideal for CI/CD pipelines and batch processing.
- **AI Coding Assistants**: Provides a direct, machine-readable interface (JSON) for tools like Cursor or Claude to verify changes immediately.
- **Log Analysis**: Easier integration with command-line utilities (like `jq`) to process and analyze MCP server output.
## Development
Like the other clients, the CLI self-validates from its own folder:
```bash
npm run validate # format:check && lint && typecheck && test (fast; no coverage gate)
npm test # build test-servers + binary, then run all tests
npm run test:coverage # build + tests under the per-file ≥90 coverage gate
```
The CLI's `test` / `test:coverage` **build the binary first** (out-of-process
`e2e.test.ts` spawns it). `validate` is `format:check && lint && typecheck && test`
with no separate `build` step (`pretest` builds). Repo-root `validate:cli`
delegates here; the coverage gate is `npm run coverage` / `coverage:cli` (also in
`npm run ci`), matching AGENTS.md.
Tests run the CLI **in-process** (importing `runCli()`) so `src/` is measured
under coverage, with a thin out-of-process spawn layer for the real binary. See
[`__tests__/README.md`](./__tests__/README.md) for details.