MCP Failure Lab
MCP server by anilloutombam
Reproduce MCP timeouts, cancellation races, transport loss and invalid responses with repeatable scenarios and CI reports.
Install MCP Failure Lab
Runs on your machine. Your client starts it with this command:
Needs Node.js on your computer. The setup steps below show where the command goes in each client.
Share this server
Opens this page, with the install command and setup steps.
mcp.tc/i/mcp-failure-labAbout
MCP Failure Lab is a chaos-engineering and resilience-testing toolkit for MCP clients and servers. Its built-in server exposes fault tools such as delay, hang, disconnect, malformed messages, duplicate responses and session loss, so you can check both the failed call and whether the next request on the same connection works.
What you can do
- Run a built-in demo of a deterministic delay scenario
- Trigger timeouts, hangs and transport disconnects against an MCP client
- Send malformed or duplicate JSON-RPC responses to test client handling
- Run scenario files against external HTTP or stdio MCP servers
- Produce JUnit reports for CI with documented exit codes
- Serve over stdio or local Streamable HTTP
Tools
Local servers list their tools once they’re running, and this one doesn’t publish its list in advance. Your client shows them after you add it.
Example prompts
Call the delay tool and tell me how long the response took.
Use the hang tool so I can test my client's cancellation handling.
Send a duplicate response, then ping to check the connection still works.
Trigger a malformed message and report how my client reacted.
Set up
Every client starts MCP Failure Lab on your machine with the same command. Pick yours; the page remembers your choice.
Claude Code
- Run this in a terminal, in your project folder:
claude mcp add --transport stdio mcp-failure-lab -- npx -y mcp-failure-lab- Start Claude Code and type
/mcp. mcp-failure-lab should show as connected.
Add --scope user to make it available in every project.
Claude Desktop
- Open Settings → Developer → Edit Config. It opens
claude_desktop_config.json. Add:
{
"mcpServers": {
"mcp-failure-lab": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"mcp-failure-lab"
]
}
}
}- Save the file and restart Claude Desktop.
Needs Node.js on your computer. The file lives in ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/ on macOS and %APPDATA%\Claude\ on Windows.
Cursor
Add to Cursor (opens in a new tab)
Or add it by hand to ~/.cursor/mcp.json (all projects) or .cursor/mcp.json (this project):
{
"mcpServers": {
"mcp-failure-lab": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"mcp-failure-lab"
]
}
}
}Needs Node.js on your computer.
VS Code
Install in VS Code (opens in a new tab)
Or from a terminal:
code --add-mcp '{"name":"mcp-failure-lab","type":"stdio","command":"npx","args":["-y","mcp-failure-lab"]}'Or commit it to the repo in .vscode/mcp.json:
{
"servers": {
"mcp-failure-lab": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"mcp-failure-lab"
]
}
}
}Needs Node.js on your computer.
Devin Desktop
- Add it to
~/.config/devin/mcp_config.json(macOS and Linux) or%APPDATA%\devin\mcp_config.json(Windows):
{
"mcpServers": {
"mcp-failure-lab": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"mcp-failure-lab"
]
}
}
}- Refresh the MCP server list in Cascade.
Devin Desktop is the new name for Windsurf.
Codex
codex mcp add mcp-failure-lab -- npx -y mcp-failure-labOr edit ~/.codex/config.toml directly:
[mcp_servers.mcp-failure-lab]
command = "npx"
args = ["-y", "mcp-failure-lab"]Needs Node.js on your computer.
Gemini CLI
gemini mcp add mcp-failure-lab npx -- -y mcp-failure-labThis adds it to the current project. Add -s user to use it everywhere.
Any client
Most clients that start local servers accept this shape:
{
"mcpServers": {
"mcp-failure-lab": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"mcp-failure-lab"
]
}
}
}Zed puts servers under context_servers in its settings, with the same command, args and env fields.
Needs Node.js on your computer.
Embed
Show MCP Failure Lab in a README or on your site. Each embed links to this page, uses the server’s own install command, and sets no cookies. How embeds work
The card, the iframe and the JSON are in English. Add ?lang=it, fr, de or es to their address for another language.
README badge
[](https://mcp.tc/i/mcp-failure-lab)<a href="https://mcp.tc/i/mcp-failure-lab"><img src="https://mcp.tc/i/mcp-failure-lab/badge.svg" alt="MCP Failure Lab on mcp.tc" height="20"></a>It follows the reader’s light or dark mode. Add ?theme=light or ?theme=dark to fix it, or ?style=compact to show the mark without the word.
Website card
<script src="https://mcp.tc/w/mcp-failure-lab.js" async></script>The card appears where the tag is. Add data-theme="dark" or data-size="compact" to the tag to change it. The file holds everything it needs, so it makes no other requests and sets no cookies.
iframe
<iframe src="https://mcp.tc/embed/mcp-failure-lab" title="MCP Failure Lab on mcp.tc" width="420" height="200" loading="lazy" allow="clipboard-write" style="border:0;border-radius:8px;max-width:100%"></iframe>Use it on pages that don’t allow scripts. Add ?theme=light or ?theme=dark to the address to fix the colors.
JSON
The listing as data for your own pages and tools: name, tagline, install command, tools and the “Add to” links. Any site can read it (CORS is open).
https://mcp.tc/i/mcp-failure-lab.jsonAI prompt
Paste this into an AI coding assistant, such as Claude Code or Cursor, and it adds the MCP Failure Lab card to your site.
Add the mcp.tc card for MCP Failure Lab, an MCP server, to my website. It is one static script: no build step, no package to install, no cookies.
Put this tag where the card should appear. The card renders right before it:
```html
<script src="https://mcp.tc/w/mcp-failure-lab.js" async></script>
```
To show the card somewhere else, put this placeholder there and load the same script once, for example before `</body>`. Keep the link inside: visitors without JavaScript see it.
```html
<div data-mcptc="mcp-failure-lab"><a href="https://mcp.tc/i/mcp-failure-lab">MCP Failure Lab on mcp.tc</a></div>
```
Options:
- `data-theme="light"` or `"dark"` on the tag or the placeholder fixes the colors. Without it, the card follows the visitor’s light or dark mode.
- `data-size="compact"` gives a smaller card without the tagline.
- The CSS variable `--mcptc-max-width` on the placeholder or a parent sets the width (default `520px`).
- `?lang=` on the script URL sets the card’s language: `en`, `it`, `fr`, `de` or `es`.
If the site has a Content Security Policy, allow `script-src https://mcp.tc` and `img-src data:` (the icon is inline).
For a README or other Markdown docs, use the badge instead:
```markdown
[](https://mcp.tc/i/mcp-failure-lab)
```
Reference: https://mcp.tc/embedChange history
This server runs on your computer, so we follow its npm package: each new version shows up here, with edits by its owner.
FAQ
Can I paste mcp.tc/i/mcp-failure-lab into my MCP client?
No. MCP Failure Lab runs on your own computer, started by your client, so it has no web address to connect to. The quick link is the page to share; the install command is npx -y mcp-failure-lab.
Does MCP Failure Lab need an API key?
No. It doesn’t declare any keys or environment variables. It runs with your user account’s permissions, so check what its tools can reach.
Is MCP Failure Lab a remote or a local server?
Local. Your client starts it as a process on your computer with npx -y mcp-failure-lab, which needs Node.js.
What can MCP Failure Lab do?
You can run a built-in demo of a deterministic delay scenario, trigger timeouts, hangs and transport disconnects against an MCP client and send malformed or duplicate JSON-RPC responses to test client handling.
Which clients can use it?
Any client that starts local servers: Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code, Devin Desktop, Codex, Gemini CLI, Zed and others. claude.ai and ChatGPT only connect to remote servers.
Does mcp.tc track changes to MCP Failure Lab?
Partly. It runs on your computer, so we follow its npm package: its History tab shows each new version and edits by its owner. Follow the listing to get an email when it changes.
Who wrote this page?
mcp.tc’s robot read MCP Failure Lab’s public metadata (its package and repository pages), and an AI model drafted the text from it. A person reviews anything the checks can’t confirm. The text can still be wrong, so if you spot a mistake, use Report this listing on this page.
mcp.tc isn’t affiliated with anilloutombam. This page was built from MCP Failure Lab’s public metadata, last checked on 5 Oct 2026, and an AI model wrote the description, so it can be wrong. Names and marks belong to their owners. Something off? Report this listing.