MCP Server Troubleshooting Skill
This skill helps diagnose and resolve common issues with Model Context Protocol (MCP) server connections in OpenAI Agents SDK.
Purpose
- •Identify common MCP connection problems
- •Provide systematic troubleshooting steps
- •Resolve authentication, network, and configuration issues
- •Debug tool availability and communication problems
Common Issues Addressed
- •Connection failures - Network timeouts, unreachable servers
- •Authentication errors - Token issues, invalid credentials
- •Tool discovery problems - Tools not appearing, listing failures
- •Communication errors - Request/response failures
- •Performance issues - Slow responses, timeouts
- •Configuration problems - Incorrect parameters, headers
Troubleshooting Approach
- •Identify the transport method in use (Hosted, HTTP, SSE, stdio)
- •Check basic connectivity to the MCP server
- •Verify authentication credentials and tokens
- •Validate server configuration parameters
- •Test tool listing functionality
- •Examine error messages for specific details
- •Review logs for additional diagnostic information
Diagnostic Commands
- •Test server reachability
- •Validate authentication tokens
- •Check tool listing endpoints
- •Verify headers and parameters
- •Review timeout configurations
Resolution Strategies
- •Update authentication credentials
- •Adjust timeout values
- •Fix network configuration
- •Correct server parameters
- •Implement retry mechanisms
- •Add proper error handling