Checked the Way Assistants Connect
MCP Server Monitoring
An MCP server can answer its health endpoint while assistants can't use it. Uptimy connects like Claude or ChatGPT does, from every region, and tells you when sign-in or a tool breaks.
- 03:06:00initialize · 24 tools · 180 ms
03:07 · the problem
Why a Health Endpoint Isn't Enough
An HTTP check of /health says the process is running. Assistants need more: an endpoint that speaks MCP, a sign-in they can discover, and the tools they were told about.
Speaks MCP
initialize returns a protocol version and server info.
Sign-in Discoverable
A 401 leads to OAuth metadata clients can follow.
Tools Listed
tools/list still has the tools that matter.
From Everywhere
Assistants connect from wherever your users are.
03:08 · where it breaks
MCP Failures a Health Endpoint Misses
Each of these can leave /health green:
- ✗The MCP route answers with HTML after a routing or proxy change
- ✗OAuth metadata returns 404, so assistants get a 401 and can't start signing in
- ✗A deploy drops or renames a tool that prompts and agents rely on
- ✗initialize returns a JSON-RPC error because a dependency is down
07:30 · how Uptimy fixes it
How Uptimy Monitors MCP Servers
Each check makes the requests an assistant makes, from every region on your plan:
initialize and tools/list
Over Streamable HTTP, with sessions and event streams.
Sign-in Without a Key
Follows RFC 9728 and RFC 8414 discovery after a 401.
Required Tools
Fails and names the tools that went missing.
Server, Protocol, Tools
Every result shows what the server said about itself.
10:00 · set it up
Getting Started
Set up MCP monitoring in the dashboard:
- 1
Create an MCP Check
Pick the MCP tab and paste your server's URL, often ending in /mcp.
- 2
Add Required Tools
Optional: the tools that must be listed, or a minimum count. Behind sign-in, add a key to the headers.
- 3
Route the Alerts
Slack, Discord, Teams, email or a webhook, and a status page your users can check.
Every setting is in the MCP check docs.
17:00 · questions
Frequently Asked Questions
No. The check sends initialize and tools/list, the requests every assistant makes before it uses a tool, and never calls a tool, so it has no side effects.
No. Without a key, a 401 counts as up when the server's sign-in can be discovered: its protected resource metadata names an authorization server whose metadata loads. That's what Claude and ChatGPT follow to connect. Add a key in the monitor's headers only to check its tools.
Yes. List the tools that must be there, or a minimum count. The check fails when the server stops listing one and names the missing tools. Open servers list their tools without a key; servers behind sign-in need one.
Any server reachable from the internet over the Streamable HTTP transport, answering in JSON or as an event stream, with or without sessions. The older HTTP+SSE transport and local stdio servers aren't supported.
Yes. MCP checks are on every plan, Free included, and count toward your plan's checks like any other monitor.
Yes. Connected to the Uptimy MCP server, ask it to monitor your MCP server's URL and it adds the check. uptimyctl takes type: mcp in its workspace file.
20:00 · keep exploring
Related Topics
23:00 · goodnight
Stop wondering if production is okay.
Tonight, if something breaks, you will know first — with the context to fix it and a status page that keeps customers informed. And if nothing breaks, you get to sleep.
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