CLI Reference

Every subcommand accepts the global connection flags below, followed by subcommand-specific flags and arguments:

mcp-tui [global-flags] <subcommand> [subcommand-flags] [args]

Global flags

Connection

Flag	Default	Description
--cmd <bin>		STDIO transport command
--args <a,b,...>		Comma-separated args for --cmd
--url <url>		URL for HTTP/SSE transports
--transport <stdio|sse|http|streamable-http>	stdio	Transport selection
--timeout <duration>	10s	Connection timeout (e.g. 30s, 2m)
--header KEY=VALUE		Add an HTTP header to every request (repeatable; HTTP transports only)
--mcp-method-headers	false	Inject SEP-2243 MCP-Method/MCP-Name headers on every JSON-RPC request (HTTP transports only)
--version		Print version and exit

Output

Flag	Default	Description
--format, -f <text|json>	text	Output format
--porcelain	false	Machine-readable output (suppresses progress messages)
--debug	false	Print extra diagnostics to stderr (e.g. negotiated protocol version)
--log-level <debug|info|warn|error>	error	Log level
--show-headers <a,b,...>		Comma-separated header names to show verbatim in the debug HTTP tab (otherwise Authorization, Cookie, and Set-Cookie are redacted)

There is no --json global flag. Use --format json (or -f json). The verify subcommand is the one exception — it has its own --json flag.

Client features

These flags let the CLI answer server-initiated requests non-interactively. See Client features.

Flag	Description
--sampling-stub <text>	Auto-reply text for sampling/createMessage requests
--sampling-stub-file <path>	JSON reply template for sampling/createMessage (can override role/model/stopReason)
--sampling-tool-use <tool:json>	Auto-reply with a tool_use block of the form <tool_name>:<json args>
--elicit-stub <json>	Auto-reply JSON for elicitation/create requests
--elicit-stub-file <path>	JSON reply file for elicitation/create
--root <name=path>	Declare a root the server may access (repeatable)
--roots-file <path>	JSON file with a roots array of {name, uri} entries
--watch-notifications	Stream server-to-client notifications to stderr

OAuth

See OAuth for the full flow.

Flag	Default	Description
--oauth-client-id <id>		OAuth client ID (enables OAuth on HTTP transports)
--oauth-client-secret <secret>		Client secret (with --oauth-client-id, switches to client-credentials grant)
--oauth-token-url <url>		Token endpoint override (skips auto-discovery)
--oauth-scopes <a,b>		Comma- or space-separated scopes to request
--oauth-redirect-host <host>	127.0.0.1	Host for the auth-code redirect URI (loopback only)
--oauth-redirect-port <port>	0	Port for the redirect URI (0 = ephemeral)
--oauth-dynamic-registration	false	Enable RFC 7591 dynamic client registration when client ID is empty
--oauth-cache <dir>	platform cache dir	Token cache directory (- to disable persistence)

tool subcommand

mcp-tui [global-flags] tool <list|describe|call> [args]

• tool list — print every tool with its title and description.
• tool describe <name> — print the tool’s full JSON Schema.
• tool call <name> [key=value ...] — invoke the tool.

tool call flags:

Flag	Description
--no-confirm	Skip the confirmation prompt for destructive tools. Required for non-TTY callers invoking a tool flagged destructiveHint:true.
--strict-output	Exit non-zero when the result violates the tool’s outputSchema
--strict-errors	Exit non-zero when the tool returns a result with isError:true

resource subcommand

mcp-tui [global-flags] resource <list|get|templates|complete> [args]

• resource list — list all resources.
• resource get <uri> — read and print a resource (alias: read).
• resource templates — list RFC 6570 URI templates from resources/templates/list (alias: tmpl).
• resource complete <uri-template> <var>=<prefix> — variable suggestions via completion/complete (JSON output).

prompt subcommand

mcp-tui [global-flags] prompt <list|get|execute|complete> [args]

• prompt list — list all prompts.
• prompt get <name> — render a prompt template.
• prompt execute <name> [--arg key=value ...] — execute a prompt (aliases: exec, run). --arg/-a is repeatable.
• prompt complete <name> <var>=<prefix> — prompt-argument suggestions via completion/complete.

server subcommand

mcp-tui [global-flags] server

Print MCP server information (name, version, protocol).

capabilities subcommand

mcp-tui [global-flags] capabilities

Print the negotiated MCP capabilities (server and client) as JSON.

verify subcommand

Run behavior probes that detect MCP-server compliance gaps. Each probe drives its own short-lived connection. See Conformance testing.

mcp-tui verify [url|--cmd <cmd>]

Flag	Description
--probe <name>	Run a single probe (see list below)
--json	Machine-readable JSON output
--tool <name>	(seterror-content) Tool to call, default echo

Probes: cross-origin, dns-rebind, content-type, origin-header, mcp-method-headers, seterror-content. The first five need a URL target; seterror-content needs a stdio --cmd.

conform subcommand

Run every protocol scenario plus all verify probes, print a per-scenario PASS/FAIL summary, and optionally emit a JUnit XML report.

mcp-tui conform [url|--cmd <cmd>]

Flag	Description
--scenario <name>	Run a single scenario
--report-junit <path>	Write a JUnit XML report (for CI)
--sampling-trigger-tool <name>	Tool that triggers sampling/createMessage (default sampleLLM)
--elicit-trigger-tool <name>	Tool that triggers elicitation/create (default startElicitation)
--completion-prompt <name>	Prompt name (or template URI with --completion-resource) for completion/complete
--completion-resource	Treat --completion-prompt as a resource template URI
--completion-arg <name>	Argument name for completion/complete
--completion-prefix <value>	Prefix value for completion/complete

Scenarios: initialize, tools.list, tools.call, tools.call.isError, resources.list, resources.read, resources.templates.list, prompts.list, prompts.get, sampling.createMessage, elicitation.create, notifications, completion.complete, plus every probe as verify.<probe-name>. The stub flags from Client features apply here too.

Exit codes

Code	Meaning
0	Success
1	Any failure — connection error, invalid usage, tool/protocol error, a failing probe or scenario, or (with --strict-output/--strict-errors) a tool-layer error

mcp-tui does not use distinct numeric codes per error class; any error exits 1.