CommunityToolkit.Aspire.Hosting.McpInspector

CommunityToolkit.Aspire.Hosting.McpInspector library

Provides extension methods and resource definitions for the Aspire AppHost to support adding an MCP Inspector resource. The MCP Inspector enables inspection and debugging of MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers, with support for multiple server configurations and transport types.

Getting Started

Install the package

In your AppHost project, install the package using the following command:

dotnet add package CommunityToolkit.Aspire.Hosting.McpInspector

Example usage

In your Program.cs, add an MCP Inspector resource and configure it with one or more MCP servers:

var mcpServer = builder.AddProject<Projects.McpServer>("mcp-server");

var inspector = builder.AddMcpInspector("inspector")
    .WithMcpServer(mcpServer);

You can specify the transport type (StreamableHttp) and set which server is the default for the inspector.

Using alternative package managers

By default, the MCP Inspector uses npm/npx. You can configure it to use yarn, pnpm, or bun instead by chaining the appropriate method:

// Using yarn
var inspector = builder.AddMcpInspector("inspector")
    .WithYarn()
    .WithMcpServer(mcpServer);

// Using pnpm
var inspector = builder.AddMcpInspector("inspector")
    .WithPnpm()
    .WithMcpServer(mcpServer);

// Using bun
var inspector = builder.AddMcpInspector("inspector")
    .WithBun()
    .WithMcpServer(mcpServer);

When using yarn, pnpm, or bun, the inspector will use yarn dlx, pnpm dlx, or bunx respectively to run the MCP Inspector package.

Using options for complex configurations

For more complex configurations with multiple parameters, you can use the options-based approach:

var customToken = builder.AddParameter("custom-proxy-token", secret: true);

var options = new McpInspectorOptions
{
    ClientPort = 6275,
    ServerPort = 6278,
    InspectorVersion = "0.16.2",
    ProxyToken = customToken
};

var inspector = builder.AddMcpInspector("inspector", options)
    .WithMcpServer(mcpServer);

Alternatively, you can use a configuration delegate for a more fluent approach:

var inspector = builder.AddMcpInspector("inspector", options =>
{
    options.ClientPort = 6275;
    options.ServerPort = 6278;
    options.InspectorVersion = "0.16.2";
})
    .WithMcpServer(mcpServer);

Configuration options

The McpInspectorOptions class provides the following configuration properties:

• ClientPort: Port for the client application (default: 6274)
• ServerPort: Port for the server proxy application (default: 6277)
• InspectorVersion: Version of the Inspector app to use (default: latest supported version)
• ProxyToken: Custom authentication token parameter (default: auto-generated)

Additional Information

See the official documentation for more details.

Feedback & contributing

https://github.com/CommunityToolkit/Aspire