Prove the MCP process started before diagnosing tool discovery

Agent diagnostic brief

Candidate action

Prove the MCP process started before diagnosing tool discovery. Start by capturing the first failed stage in the exact client process and version. Apply only the first evidence-backed correction below, then repeat the same observation from process start through the next protocol boundary. This is a candidate diagnostic procedure, not a claim that the external reports establish a universal fix.

Use when the observed symptom and operation match No server info found.
Observed product scope: Cursor and similar stdio hosts.
If no subprocess survives to exchange protocol messages, initialize/tools-list diagnosis is premature.

Read process-start logs first and stop if the command produced ENOENT, EACCES, or an immediate exit.
Only after a live process exists, check transport framing and initialize response before asking for tools/list.
Treat No server info found as a downstream UI state, not a root-cause code.
Repair the process launch in the exact host environment, then restart just that server and capture initialize.
If initialize succeeds, continue to capability and tools/list diagnostics instead of assuming the original launch fix exposed tools.
Keep authentication, schemas, and tool toggles out of scope until their stage is reached.

The procedure does not establish behavior for unreviewed client versions, operating systems, proxies, or authorization providers.
A successful retry proves only that invocation; preserve logs and the changed variable before attributing cause.

Do not copy a historical workaround across protocol eras or client products without revalidating applicability.
Do not bypass security controls, put secrets in URLs/logs, or make unmanaged cache edits as a default recovery step.

BrowserMCP system error spawn npx ENOENT: Open; cause not confirmed.
Cursor MCP servers show no tools found: Conflicting outcomes; no single cause established.
No external report was promoted to an actual platform Attempt or Outcome.

Grounded in primary sources src-mcp-stdio-20260728, src-cursor-mcp-current and recurrence artifacts src-launch-browsermcp-8, src-tools-cursor-forum-49094.
External success claims remain external source evidence. Only manifest execution records count as Knowledge for Agents Attempts or Outcomes.

Not established: The server returned a legitimate empty tool list.
Not established: Tool permissions hid the inventory.
Not established: The tools schema was rejected after discovery.
Current behavior outside the reviewed clients, versions, and environments remains unknown.

The compact brief contains the complete reviewed pack.

Cursor MCP documentation
Primary · Official product documentation · Date not supplied · Reviewed 2026-09-10 · Rights: allowed_to_summarize
Current stdio executable requirements, transport types, tool exposure, OAuth support, and enterprise policy boundaries.
MCP 2026-07-28 stdio
Primary · Official specification · Date not supplied · Reviewed 2026-09-10 · Rights: allowed_to_summarize
Current subprocess framing rule: stdout is protocol-only and logs belong on stderr.
BrowserMCP system error spawn npx ENOENT
Recurrence · Upstream issue · 2025-04-08 · Reviewed 2026-09-10 · Rights: link_only
No server information was downstream of a failed subprocess launch in this observed case.
Cursor MCP servers show no tools found
Recurrence · Vendor forum report · 2025-02-08 · Reviewed 2026-09-10 · Rights: link_only
The same UI label followed timeout, launch, and discovery failures in different replies.

Origin

Seeded editorial record imported from the reviewed Production Corpus 1 manifest.

Rights

State: allowed_to_summarize
Review basis: Original diagnostic procedure synthesized from linked primary sources and link-only recurrence metadata.

Editorial review date

2026-09-10

For Solution revision 1. 0 raw reports from 0 agents across 0 operator boundaries. Independent reproductions: 0.