Debugging changeddocs/2025-03-26/tools/debugging
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1111MCP provides several tools for debugging at different levels:
1212
131. **[MCP Inspector](/docs/2025-03-26/tools/inspector)**: interactive, transport-agnostic
131. **[MCP Inspector](/docs/2025-03-26/tools/inspector.md)**: interactive, transport-agnostic
1414 testing UI. Connect to stdio or Streamable HTTP servers, invoke
15 [tools](/specification/2025-03-26/server/tools),
16 [prompts](/specification/2025-03-26/server/prompts), and
17 [resources](/specification/2025-03-26/server/resources), and watch the
15 [tools](/specification/2025-03-26/server/tools.md),
16 [prompts](/specification/2025-03-26/server/prompts.md), and
17 [resources](/specification/2025-03-26/server/resources.md), and watch the
1818 notification stream. This should be your first stop.
19192. **Server logging**: structured logs to stderr (stdio transport) or via
2020 [`notifications/message`](/specification/2025-03-26/server/utilities/logging#log-message-notifications)
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2828### Server-side logging
2929
3030When building a server that uses the local
31[stdio transport](/specification/2025-03-26/basic/transports#stdio), all messages
31[stdio transport](/specification/2025-03-26/basic/transports.md#stdio), all messages
3232logged to stderr (standard error) will be captured by the host application
3333automatically.
3434
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3838> will interfere with protocol operation.
3939
4040For servers using the
41[Streamable HTTP transport](/specification/2025-03-26/basic/transports#streamable-http),
41[Streamable HTTP transport](/specification/2025-03-26/basic/transports.md#streamable-http),
4242stderr is not captured by the client. Use the log message notifications below,
4343your own server-side log aggregation, or standard HTTP tooling (curl, browser
4444DevTools Network panel) to inspect requests,
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4545[`Mcp-Session-Id` headers](/specification/2025-03-26/basic/transports#session-management),
4646and SSE streams.
4747
48For all [transports](/specification/2025-03-26/basic/transports), you can also
48For all [transports](/specification/2025-03-26/basic/transports.md), you can also
4949provide logging to the client by sending a log message notification:
5050
5151```python Python theme={null}
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6666```
6767
6868MCP defines eight
69[RFC 5424 severity levels](/specification/2025-03-26/server/utilities/logging#log-levels)
69[RFC 5424 severity levels](/specification/2025-03-26/server/utilities/logging.md#log-levels)
7070(`debug` through `emergency`). Clients can adjust the minimum level at runtime
7171via the
7272[`logging/setLevel`](/specification/2025-03-26/server/utilities/logging#setting-log-level)
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164164
1651651. Check client logs
1661662. Verify server process is running
1673. Test standalone with [Inspector](/docs/2025-03-26/tools/inspector)
1673. Test standalone with [Inspector](/docs/2025-03-26/tools/inspector.md)
1681684. Verify
169 [protocol compatibility](/specification/2025-03-26/basic/lifecycle#version-negotiation)
169 [protocol compatibility](/specification/2025-03-26/basic/lifecycle.md#version-negotiation)
1701705. Check
171 [capability negotiation](/specification/2025-03-26/basic/lifecycle#capability-negotiation):
171 [capability negotiation](/specification/2025-03-26/basic/lifecycle.md#capability-negotiation):
172172 error [`-32602`](/specification/2025-03-26/basic/lifecycle#error-handling) is
173173 the standard JSON-RPC "Invalid params" code and is returned in many
174174 contexts. One common cause is a server sending
175 [sampling](/specification/2025-03-26/client/sampling) requests to a
175 [sampling](/specification/2025-03-26/client/sampling.md) requests to a
176176 client that hasn't declared that capability. Inspect the
177177 [`initialize` exchange](/specification/2025-03-26/basic/lifecycle#initialization)
178178 to verify both sides declared what you expect
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246246### Development cycle
247247
2482481. Initial Development
249 * Use [Inspector](/docs/2025-03-26/tools/inspector) for basic testing
249 * Use [Inspector](/docs/2025-03-26/tools/inspector.md) for basic testing
250250 * Implement core functionality
251251 * Add logging points
252252
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262262* **Configuration changes**: Restart the MCP client
263263* **Server code changes**: Restart the client (for Claude Desktop, fully quit
264264 and reopen; closing the window is not enough)
265* **Quick iteration**: Use [Inspector](/docs/2025-03-26/tools/inspector) during
265* **Quick iteration**: Use [Inspector](/docs/2025-03-26/tools/inspector.md) during
266266 development
267267
268268## Best practices
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302302 * Monitor access patterns
303303
304304For a full treatment of MCP attack vectors and mitigations, see
305[Security Best Practices](/docs/2025-03-26/tutorials/security/security_best_practices).
305[Security Best Practices](/docs/2025-03-26/tutorials/security/security_best_practices.md).
306306
307307## Getting help
308308
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310310
3113111. **First Steps**
312312 * Check server logs
313 * Test with [Inspector](/docs/2025-03-26/tools/inspector)
313 * Test with [Inspector](/docs/2025-03-26/tools/inspector.md)
314314 * Review configuration
315315 * Verify environment
316316
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326326
327327## Next steps
328328
329> **[MCP Inspector](/docs/2025-03-26/tools/inspector)**
329> **[MCP Inspector](/docs/2025-03-26/tools/inspector.md)**
330330>
331331> Learn to use the MCP Inspector
332332
333> **[Build an MCP server](/docs/2025-03-26/develop/build-server)**
333> **[Build an MCP server](/docs/2025-03-26/develop/build-server.md)**
334334>
335335> Walk through building a server from scratch
336336
337> **[Connect local servers](/docs/2025-03-26/develop/connect-local-servers)**
337> **[Connect local servers](/docs/2025-03-26/develop/connect-local-servers.md)**
338338>
339339> Full claude\_desktop\_config.json reference and troubleshooting
340340
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