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Beta Feature - This API is in active development. We’d love your feedback!Share feedback on Discord or open a GitHub issue
Launch MCPJam Inspector programmatically from your code. This is useful for:
  • MCP server developers - Auto-launch the inspector when running your dev server
  • Framework integrations - Embed inspector into your Vite dev workflow

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CLI Flags

Configure the inspector via CLI flags when running npx @mcpjam/inspector@latest: 
npx @mcpjam/inspector@latest \
  --url http://localhost:3000/mcp \
  --name "My Server" \
  --tab app-builder

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Available Flags

FlagDescriptionExample
--url <url>HTTP transport URL to connect to--url http://localhost:3000/mcp
--name <name>Display name for the server--name "My Server"
--tab <tab>Initial tab to navigate to--tab app-builder
--bearer <token>Bearer token for Authorization header--bearer sk-xxx
--oauthTrigger OAuth flow on connect--oauth
--header <key=value>Custom header (repeatable)-H "X-Custom=value"

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Example: OAuth Server

npx @mcpjam/inspector@latest \
  --url https://my-oauth-server.com/mcp \
  --name "OAuth Server" \
  --oauth \
  --tab servers

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Programmatic API

Use launchInspector() to spawn the inspector from any Node.js script: 
npm install @mcpjam/inspector

import { launchInspector } from "@mcpjam/inspector";

const inspector = await launchInspector({
  server: {
    name: "My MCP Server",
    url: "http://localhost:3000/mcp",
  },
  defaultTab: "tools",
});

console.log(`Inspector running at ${inspector.url}`);

// When done, stop the inspector
await inspector.stop();

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LaunchOptions

OptionTypeDefaultDescription
server.namestring-Display name for the server in the UI
server.urlstring-HTTP URL of the MCP server
server.headersRecord<string, string>-Custom headers to send with requests
server.useOAuthbooleanfalseTrigger OAuth flow on connect
defaultTabstring-Initial tab: "servers", "tools", "resources", "prompts", "chat", "app-builder"

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InspectorInstance

The returned instance provides:
PropertyTypeDescription
urlstringFull URL where inspector is running
processChildProcessUnderlying Node.js child process
stop()() => Promise<void>Gracefully stop the inspector

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Example: Auto-launch with your MCP server

// dev.ts - Run with: npx tsx dev.ts
import { launchInspector } from "@mcpjam/inspector";
import { startMyMCPServer } from "./server";

async function main() {
  // Start your MCP server
  const server = await startMyMCPServer({ port: 3000 });
  console.log("MCP server running on http://localhost:3000/mcp");

  // Launch inspector connected to it
  const inspector = await launchInspector({
    server: {
      name: "Dev Server",
      url: "http://localhost:3000/mcp",
    },
    defaultTab: "app-builder",
  });

  console.log(`Inspector: ${inspector.url}`);

  // Handle cleanup
  process.on("SIGINT", async () => {
    await inspector.stop();
    await server.close();
    process.exit(0);
  });
}

main();

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Vite Plugin

For Vite-based projects, use the plugin to auto-launch the inspector alongside your dev server: 
// vite.config.ts
import { defineConfig } from "vite";
import { mcpInspector } from "@mcpjam/inspector/vite";

export default defineConfig({
  plugins: [
    mcpInspector({
      server: {
        name: "My MCP Server",
        url: "http://localhost:3000/mcp",
      },
      defaultTab: "app-builder",
    }),
  ],
});
When you run npm run dev, the inspector automatically launches and connects to your server.

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Plugin Options

OptionTypeDefaultDescription
serverobject-Server configuration (same as programmatic API)
defaultTabstring"app-builder"Initial tab to navigate to
autoLaunchbooleantrueLaunch inspector when Vite starts

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Feedback Wanted

This is a beta feature and we’re actively iterating on the API. We’d love to hear:
  • What use cases are you building?
  • What’s missing from the API?
  • Any bugs or rough edges?

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