How to Debug your MCP Server

In this video, Kent explains how to spin up and inspect your own MCP (Model Context Protocol) server after finishing the Epic AI MCP workshop. He walks through setting up a basic server, running it with a dev script, and connecting to it using the MCP Inspector—a client that makes debugging and experimenting much easier. This is a practical guide for anyone extending their AI-powered tools beyond the workshop setup.

Here's what that configuration looks like in Cursor and Claude:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-example": {
      "command": "npm",
      "args": ["--silent", "--prefix", "/Users/kentcdodds/Desktop/mcp-example", "run", "dev"]
    }
  }
}

Note, the --prefix path will look different for you!