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+# CLI Smoke Testing for MCP Servers
+
+This guide shows how to use the MCP Inspector in [CLI mode](../README.md#cli-mode) to run lightweight smoke tests against an MCP server. The method is generic and works with any MCP server that exposes a stdio, SSE, or Streamable HTTP transport. A couple of concrete servers are used as examples, but you can substitute your own.
+
+CLI mode prints structured JSON to stdout and uses a non-zero exit code on failure, which makes it straightforward to drive from a shell script or a CI job.
+
+## When to use this
+
+- Verifying that a server starts and advertises the expected tools, resources, and prompts.
+- Confirming that a representative tool call returns a well-formed response.
+- Catching regressions in the tool manifest or transport layer before merging changes.
+- Asserting that outputs do not leak sensitive content.
+
+This is a smoke test, not a substitute for unit tests. It checks the wiring end to end without covering every code path.
+
+## Prerequisites
+
+- Node.js `^22.7.5` (see the root [README](../README.md)).
+- The MCP Inspector CLI, available via `npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector`.
+- [`jq`](https://jqlang.github.io/jq/) (optional) for JSON assertions in shell scripts.
+- A built MCP server you can launch with a single command.
+
+## The smoke test workflow
+
+Every smoke test follows the same four steps:
+
+1. **Connect** — launch the server (stdio) or point the CLI at a URL (SSE / Streamable HTTP).
+2. **List** — enumerate tools, resources, or prompts and assert the expected entries are present.
+3. **Call** — invoke one representative tool with safe arguments and assert the response shape.
+4. **Assert safe output** — confirm the response does not contain secrets or blocked content.
+
+The CLI exits with code `0` on success and `1` on error, so a failing assertion or a server error fails the step.
+
+### Supported methods
+
+The `--method` flag accepts:
+
+| Method                     | Required options                                    |
+| -------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------- |
+| `tools/list`               | none                                                |
+| `tools/call`               | `--tool-name`, optional `--tool-arg key=value`      |
+| `resources/list`           | none                                                |
+| `resources/read`           | `--uri <uri>`                                       |
+| `resources/templates/list` | none                                                |
+| `prompts/list`             | none                                                |
+| `prompts/get`              | `--prompt-name`, optional `--prompt-args key=value` |
+| `logging/setLevel`         | `--log-level <level>`                               |
+
+Run `npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector --cli --help` to see the full set of options.
+
+## Example 1: reference `server-everything`
+
+The [`@modelcontextprotocol/server-everything`](https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/servers) reference server is a convenient target because it runs anywhere with `npx` and requires no configuration.
+
+```bash
+INSPECTOR="npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector --cli"
+
+# 1. List tools and confirm the manifest is non-empty.
+$INSPECTOR npx @modelcontextprotocol/server-everything --method tools/list > tools.json
+jq '.tools | length' tools.json           # expect > 0
+jq '.tools[].name' tools.json | grep -q '^echo$'
+
+# 2. Call the `echo` tool and assert the response.
+$INSPECTOR npx @modelcontextprotocol/server-everything \
+  --method tools/call --tool-name echo --tool-arg message=smoke > echo.json
+jq '.content[0].text' echo.json           # expect the echoed message
+```
+
+If any command exits non-zero or the `jq` assertion finds no match, the smoke test fails.
+
+## Example 2: a local stdio server (PatchWarden)
+
+The same workflow applies to any local MCP server built to a `dist/index.js` entry point. [PatchWarden](https://github.com/jiezeng2004-design/PatchWarden) is used here as one real-world example; substitute your own server command and tool names as needed.
+
+```bash
+INSPECTOR="npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector --cli"
+SERVER="node dist/index.js"
+
+# 1. List tools and assert a known tool is advertised.
+$INSPECTOR $SERVER --method tools/list > tools.json
+jq '.tools[].name' tools.json | grep -q '^health_check$'
+
+# 2. Call a safe, read-only tool and assert the response shape.
+$INSPECTOR $SERVER --method tools/call --tool-name health_check > health.json
+jq '.content[0].text | fromjson | .status' health.json   # expect a status string
+```
+
+Environment variables are passed with `-e` (repeated for each variable), which is useful for servers that read configuration from the environment:
+
+```bash
+$INSPECTOR -e PATCHWARDEN_CONFIG=/path/to/config.json $SERVER --method tools/list
+```
+
+## Asserting safe output
+
+A smoke test should also confirm that outputs do not leak sensitive content. Two complementary checks are useful:
+
+1. **Block-list check** — assert the response text does not contain known secret patterns (tokens, private keys, `.env` contents).
+2. **Server-side guard** — for servers that gate access to sensitive paths, call the tool that reads files and assert it refuses a sensitive target.
+
+The second check is server-specific. PatchWarden, for example, exposes a `read_workspace_file` tool that rejects sensitive filenames such as `.env`. The smoke test asserts the refusal rather than the content:
+
+```bash
+# The server should return an error (isError: true), not the file contents.
+$INSPECTOR $SERVER --method tools/call --tool-name read_workspace_file \
+  --tool-arg path=.env > read.json
+jq -e '.isError == true' read.json        # -e exits non-zero if the assertion fails
+```
+
+For a generic block-list check on any tool response, scan the serialized output for patterns that must never appear in a safe response:
+
+```bash
+# Fail if the response looks like it contains a secret.
+jq -r '.content[]?.text // empty' health.json \
+  | grep -Ei '(sk-[a-z0-9]{20,}|-----BEGIN .*PRIVATE KEY-----|AKIA[0-9A-Z]{16})' \
+  && { echo "sensitive content detected"; exit 1; } || true
+```
+
+Adjust the regular expression to the secret formats relevant to your environment. Treat this as defence in depth, not a substitute for keeping secrets out of server output in the first place.
+
+## Remote servers (SSE / Streamable HTTP)
+
+The same methods work against a running remote server. The transport is auto-detected from the URL (`/sse` → SSE, `/mcp` → Streamable HTTP) or set explicitly with `--transport`:
+
+```bash
+# Streamable HTTP (auto-detected from the /mcp path).
+$INSPECTOR https://example.com/mcp --method tools/list
+
+# SSE, with a custom authentication header.
+$INSPECTOR https://example.com/sse --transport sse \
+  --method tools/list --header "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN"
+```
+
+For smoke tests against authenticated endpoints, provide the token through an environment variable so it is not recorded in the command history or CI logs.
+
+## A minimal smoke test script
+
+Putting the pieces together, a minimal shell script for a local stdio server:
+
+```bash
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+INSPECTOR="npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector --cli"
+SERVER="node dist/index.js"
+
+# tools/list is non-empty and advertises health_check.
+$INSPECTOR $SERVER --method tools/list > tools.json
+jq -e '.tools | length > 0' tools.json >/dev/null
+jq -e '.tools[].name | select(. == "health_check")' tools.json >/dev/null
+
+# tools/call returns a well-formed response.
+$INSPECTOR $SERVER --method tools/call --tool-name health_check > health.json
+jq -e '.content[0].text != null' health.json >/dev/null
+
+# Sensitive path access is refused.
+$INSPECTOR $SERVER --method tools/call --tool-name read_workspace_file \
+  --tool-arg path=.env > read.json
+jq -e '.isError == true' read.json >/dev/null
+
+# No obvious secret patterns in any captured output.
+for f in tools.json health.json read.json; do
+  if grep -Ei '(sk-[a-z0-9]{20,}|-----BEGIN .*PRIVATE KEY-----)' "$f"; then
+    echo "sensitive content detected in $f" >&2
+    exit 1
+  fi
+done
+
+echo "smoke test passed"
+```
+
+## Running in CI
+
+Because the CLI returns a non-zero exit code on failure, the script above drops into a CI step with no wrapper:
+
+```yaml
+# GitHub Actions example
+- name: MCP smoke test
+  run: |
+    npm run build
+    bash scripts/mcp-smoke.sh
+```
+
+Pin the Inspector version in CI (for example `npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector@0.22.0 --cli ...`) so a future release does not silently change the output format your assertions rely on.