Inspect Command

Inspect servers or tools from a running 1MCP serve instance.

Synopsis

npx -y @1mcp/agent inspect [target] [options]

Description

The inspect command is the discovery and schema step in the CLI workflow. Use it after instructions and before run.

Depending on the target, inspect can:

• List all exposed servers when no target is provided
• List the exposed tools for a server when the target is <server>
• Show a readable tool schema summary when the target is <server>/<tool>

When supported, inspect uses the fast /api/inspect endpoint first and falls back to the MCP protocol when needed.

This is the command that turns the broad inventory from instructions into a scoped view. First inspect one server, then inspect one tool, and only then move to execution.

Targets

• Omit target - List all servers exposed by the running 1MCP instance
• <server> - List tools for one server
• <server>/<tool> - Inspect a single tool schema

Options

Connection and Filtering

• --url, -u <url> - Override auto-detected 1MCP server URL
• --preset, -p <name> - Use a preset when querying the running server
• --tag-filter, -f <expression> - Apply an advanced tag filter expression
• --tags <tag> - Apply simple comma-separated tags

Output and Pagination

• --format <toon|text|json> - Output format
• --all - Fetch all tools without pagination for a server target
• --limit <number> - Page size for server tool listings (default: 20)
• --cursor <cursor> - Cursor returned from a previous paginated response

Related Global Options

• --config-dir, -d <path> - Config directory for auth profile lookup and server discovery
• --cli-session-cache-path <path> - Override the session cache path template used by inspect and run

Examples

List All Servers

npx -y @1mcp/agent inspect

List a Server's Tools

npx -y @1mcp/agent inspect filesystem

Inspect a Tool Schema

npx -y @1mcp/agent inspect filesystem/read_file

Use JSON Output for Scripting

npx -y @1mcp/agent inspect filesystem --format json

Fetch Every Tool for a Server

npx -y @1mcp/agent inspect filesystem --all

Continue a Paginated Listing

npx -y @1mcp/agent inspect filesystem --limit 20 --cursor next-page-token

When to Use Inspect

Use inspect when you need to:

• Confirm which servers are currently available
• Discover the exact qualified name of a tool
• Review a tool's input and output schema before calling it
• Build scriptable automation using JSON output
• Keep the agent focused on one part of the tool surface at a time

See Also

• CLI Mode Guide - Why progressive server and tool inspection is recommended
• Instructions Command - Start with the current CLI playbook and server inventory
• Run Command - Call a tool after you have inspected its schema
• Serve Command - Start the 1MCP server that inspect queries
• Configuration Deep Dive - Global flags including CLI session cache configuration