@mcp-z/cli

Docs: https://mcp-z.github.io/cli MCP server lifecycle management and inspection from the command line.

Common uses

• Spawn servers from .mcp.json
• Inspect tools, resources, prompts, and health
• Call tools, prompts, and resources directly
• Search capabilities across servers
• Generate or validate server.json

Install

npm install -g @mcp-z/cli

Quick start

Stdio servers

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "my-server": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["path/to/server.js"]
    }
  }
}

mcp-z up

HTTP servers

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "my-server": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "http://localhost:3000/mcp"
    }
  }
}

mcp-z up

HTTP + start block (extension)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "my-server": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "http://localhost:3000/mcp",
      "start": {
        "command": "node",
        "args": ["path/to/http-server.js"]
      }
    }
  }
}

start is an extension used by npx @mcp-z/cli up to launch HTTP servers for you.

Commands

mcp-z up

Start MCP servers from .mcp.json.

Common use cases:

• Start stdio servers for local development
• Start HTTP servers with start blocks

mcp-z inspect

Inspect tools, resources, prompts, and health.

Common use cases:

• See what a server exposes before writing code
• Debug startup issues

mcp-z call-tool

Call a tool with JSON arguments.

Common use cases:

• Test a tool without writing code
• Script quick one-offs

mcp-z get-prompt

Get a prompt with optional JSON arguments.

Common use cases:

• Preview prompt outputs
• Validate prompt arguments

mcp-z read-resource

Read a resource by URI.

Common use cases:

• Fetch file-backed resources
• Verify resource handlers

mcp-z search

Search tools, prompts, and resources across servers.

Common use cases:

• Discover capabilities by keyword
• Find the right tool in multi-server setups

mcp-z manifest

Generate or validate server.json.

Common use cases:

• Author or validate MCP server manifests

Inline usage

# Stdio
mcp-z inspect --run "npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-everything"

# HTTP
mcp-z inspect --url "https://api.example.com/mcp"

Configuration

MCP server config supports stdio and HTTP.

Stdio

{
  "command": "node",
  "args": ["server.js"],
  "env": { "LOG_LEVEL": "info" }
}

HTTP

{
  "type": "http",
  "url": "http://localhost:3000/mcp",
  "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer token" }
}

Requirements

• Node.js >= 24