Connect to MCP Inspector

MCP Inspector is the official tool for testing & developing MCP servers.

This guide is for technical or advanced users and outlines how to configure the MCP Inspector playground. See also the MCP Inspector Official Documentation.

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Installing MCP Inspector

This guide assumes you already have npm installed.

1. Run MCP Inspector v0.17.5

npx @modelcontextprotocol/[email protected] \
  --transport http \
  --server-url https://govtribe.com/mcp

1. Add your API Key

Open the Authentication dropdown, and then add a custom authorization header:

• Header Name: "Authorization"

• Header Value: "Bearer <YOUR_API_KEY>"

1. Connect to the MCP

Press the ► Connect button, which shows a connected status when successful.

1. Navigate to "Tools"

Click into the Tools tab on the top, then click List Tools which shows all currently available tools. You can run tools, modify parameters, and test output all from this view.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why are there only tools, and not resources / prompts / other MCP features?

GovTribe's MCP only offers tools right now because of the limited support for other MCP features across all AI clients.

What if I only have OAuth credentials (no API key)?

For Beta testers who only have OAuth credentials, MCP Inspector works, but is a bit more involved, and requires setting up a full OAuth flow. In favor of keeping documentation simple for now, please ask support for an API key.