# Connector setup: identify the failing stage

Synthetic troubleshooting cases, not logs from a tested client. Checked against the current official Inspector documentation on 2026-09-04:
https://modelcontextprotocol.io/docs/tools/inspector

This checklist is available now. There is no automatic account connection or diagnostic service on the website. Never put credentials in this file or a shared screenshot.

| Observed symptom | Narrow check | Small next test | Evidence to record |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Local process exits before tools appear | Confirm the configured executable, arguments, working directory and environment in this exact client | Run the documented start command in the same environment and inspect stderr | Exit code and redacted stderr, not environment values |
| HTTP authentication fails | Confirm server URL, authentication method, token scope and expiry using the server's current docs | Re-authenticate through the documented flow, then retry tool discovery | HTTP status and request ID, with authorization headers removed |
| Connection succeeds but expected tool is absent | Check tools/list result, tool filters and this account's available capabilities | Use Inspector to inspect the listed names and input schema | Tool name and redacted schema, not account records |
| Discovery is slow | Separate process startup time from network and tool discovery time | Measure one start and one tools/list request before changing a timeout | Durations and stage labels; increasing a timeout is not a fix for a bad command |
| Tool is listed but arguments fail validation | Compare input field names and types with the advertised schema | Call one small read-only tool with synthetic arguments | Sanitized argument shape and exact validation message |

## Reproduction record

- Date / operating system:
- Client and exact version:
- Connector and exact version / commit:
- Transport (local stdio or documented remote transport):
- Last successful stage (start / authenticate / discover / invoke):
- Smallest read-only action:
- Expected result:
- Actual result, with private data removed:
- One variable changed:
- Retest result:

A directory listing is not a compatibility or security audit. Use the current client/server setup guide; do not copy an unrelated client's configuration format. The optional Inspector is a local debugging application, not a promise that this site can access your machine.