MCP Inspector Guide

The MCP Inspector is an interactive developer tool that lets you test and debug MCP servers by visually exploring available tools, resources, and prompts.

Prerequisites

  • Node.js (v18 or higher)
  • Access to the Design MCP endpoint

Use the Inspector with Design MCP

To run the MCP Inspector against the Design MCP public endpoint, use the npx command.

npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector https://design.googleapis.com/mcp

Features

  • List Tools: See all available design tools (e.g., GetColorPalette).
  • Execute Tools: Run tools with custom arguments and view the results.
  • Inspect Resources: Explore design resources exposed by the server.

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues connecting to the Design MCP:

  1. Network Access: Ensure your environment has access to https://design.googleapis.com.
  2. Authentication: Some tools may require an API key or OAuth token. Use the --header flag to provide authentication if necessary.
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector --header "Authorization: Bearer <TOKEN>" https://design.googleapis.com/mcp