MCP Shark is a Wireshark-like forensic analysis tool for Model Context Protocol (MCP) communications. It captures, inspects, and investigates all HTTP traffic between your IDE and MCP servers.

How does MCP Shark work?

MCP Shark acts as an intermediary gateway between your IDE and MCP servers. It captures all HTTP requests and responses, logs them to SQLite, and provides a real-time web interface for monitoring and analysis.

What is the MCP Playground?

The MCP Playground is a feature in MCP Shark where you can run commands and see results. You can call tools, test prompts, and read resources from your connected MCP servers.

Which IDEs are supported?

MCP Shark works with any IDE that supports the Model Context Protocol, including Cursor, Windsurf, Claude Code, and any other MCP-compatible development environment. As long as your IDE can connect to MCP servers via HTTP or stdio, MCP Shark can capture and analyze the traffic.

Building a Secure MCP Setup: Proxying, Logging and Auditing MCP Servers

Why MCP Observability Matters

Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers have significant access to your development environment. Without proper observability, you're operating blind to:

What tools are being called and when
What data is being accessed or transmitted
Which servers are communicating with your IDE
Potential security threats or anomalies
Performance bottlenecks or errors

MCP Shark provides comprehensive MCP observability, acting as an aggregation layer that combines multiple MCP servers and logs, audits, and monitors all MCP traffic while maintaining full functionality.

Architecture: MCP Shark as Your Observability Layer

MCP Shark sits between your IDE and MCP servers, providing:

1. Multi-Server Aggregation

MCP Shark aggregates multiple MCP servers (both HTTP and stdio-based) into one cohesive endpoint. Your IDE connects to MCP Shark, and MCP Shark forwards requests to the appropriate servers while capturing all traffic for analysis.

This approach means zero impact on functionality while providing complete visibility into all MCP communications.

2. Comprehensive Logging

All MCP communications are logged to SQLite (default location: ~/.mcp-shark/db/mcp-shark.sqlite) with:

Request/Response Tracking: Full payload logging with correlation IDs
Performance Metrics: Duration, latency, and timing information
Error Tracking: Comprehensive error logging with stack traces
Session Management: Session ID tracking for stateful interactions
Server Identification: Track which external server handled each request
Request Correlation: Match requests with their responses

This creates a complete audit trail of all MCP activity.

3. Real-Time Monitoring

MCP Shark's web interface provides real-time visibility into:

Live traffic as it happens
Search and filter capabilities
Multiple view modes (by session, by server, chronological)
Detailed inspection of individual requests

MCP Audit Logging Best Practices

1. Enable Continuous Logging

Always run MCP Shark when using MCP servers in production. This ensures you have a complete audit trail of all interactions, which is essential for:

Security incident investigation
Compliance requirements
Debugging and troubleshooting
Performance analysis

2. Regular Log Review

Schedule regular reviews of captured traffic:

Weekly reviews for active development environments
Daily reviews for production or sensitive environments
Immediate review after any security concerns
Post-incident analysis for troubleshooting

Use MCP Shark's export features to create reports for team reviews.

3. Archive and Retention

Export and archive logs regularly:

Go to Traffic Capture tab
Apply any filters (optional)
Click Export and choose JSON format
Store exported logs in secure, encrypted locations
Maintain archives for compliance requirements
Keep logs for at least 90 days (adjust based on your needs)

4. Secure Log Storage

Protect your audit logs:

Store exported logs in secure, encrypted locations
Limit access to logs to authorized personnel only
Use version control or backup systems for log archives
Consider log rotation to manage storage

MCP Observability Strategy

Baseline Establishment

Before deploying MCP servers to production:

Use MCP Shark to capture baseline traffic patterns
Use the MCP Playground to explore available tools and resources
Document expected tool calls and resource access
Establish normal traffic volumes and patterns
Export baseline data for comparison later

Anomaly Detection

Use MCP Shark to identify:

Unexpected tool calls or frequency changes
Unusual resource access patterns
Anomalous response sizes or timing
Errors or failures that indicate problems
Traffic from unknown or unexpected servers

Performance Monitoring

Track performance metrics using MCP Shark's built-in analytics:

Response times for tool calls (shown in Traffic Capture)
Traffic volume and patterns (Statistics view)
Error rates and types (filter by status code)
Server availability and reliability

Export data to analyze trends over time and identify optimization opportunities.

Security Hardening with MCP Shark

1. Server Whitelisting

Use MCP Shark to identify all MCP servers in use:

Review the MCP Server Setup tab to see all configured servers
Maintain a whitelist of approved servers
Review and approve new servers before use
Monitor for unexpected server connections in Traffic Capture
Document server purposes and permissions

2. Tool Auditing

Regularly audit available tools:

Use the MCP Playground to view all tools from all servers
Review tool lists from each server
Verify tools match their stated purposes
Monitor for new tools appearing unexpectedly in Traffic Capture
Document tool permissions and usage

3. Access Control

Use MCP Shark logs to:

Track which servers are being accessed (filter by server name)
Monitor resource access patterns (filter by resources/read)
Identify unauthorized access attempts (review error logs)
Enforce least-privilege principles (disable unnecessary servers in Setup)

4. Incident Response

When security incidents occur:

Use filters to isolate suspicious activity in Traffic Capture
Export relevant traffic logs immediately (choose JSON format)
Trace sessions to understand attack vectors (use session grouping view)
Document findings for post-incident review

Implementation Checklist

□Install and configure MCP Shark as your MCP proxy
□Update IDE configurations to use MCP Shark endpoint
□Establish baseline traffic patterns for all MCP servers
□Set up regular log review schedule
□Create log export and archiving procedures
□Document approved MCP servers and their purposes
□Train team on using MCP Shark for monitoring
□Establish incident response procedures

Next Steps

Continue building your secure MCP setup:

Detecting Malicious MCP Servers - Security threat detection

How to Capture and Inspect MCP Traffic

MCP Shark Architecture - Understand how it works