A server can connect and still be broken.
A successful connection only proves that the server answered once. Its tools can still have invalid schemas, unclear instructions, broken responses, timeouts, or cleanup problems. MCP Doctor checks those parts before release.
A deliberately bounded workflow
- 1 Inspect passively Validate discovery, definitions, schemas, protocol behavior, and runtime boundaries without calling a tool.
- 2 Exercise reviewed behavior Replay explicit scenarios or generate bounded cases only after granting exact authority to the selected tool.
- 3 Keep evidence Use the same redacted result in human, JSON, JUnit, Markdown, and badge output for local fixes and CI.
Passive first. Active only with exact authority.
Know what the utility will—and will not—do
inspect never calls a tool. Active diagnostics require a named tool, an explicit effect boundary, and redundant authorization. Reports omit raw arguments, results, credentials, headers, stderr, and server logs.