MCP Probe vs Symbols

In-depth architectural comparison of the MCP Probe and Symbols MCP servers. Compare execution transports, security boundaries, tool capabilities, quality scores, and ready-to-paste client installation snippets for Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, and VS Code.

Which MCP Server Should You Choose?

Choose MCP Probe when:

• You need dedicated capabilities in the Developer Tools domain.
• You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
• Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).

Explore MCP Probe Details

Choose Symbols when:

• You need dedicated capabilities in the Developer Tools domain.
• You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
• Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).

Explore Symbols Details

Feature & Specification Comparison

Specification	MCP Probe Developer Tools	Symbols Developer Tools
Summary	Inspect and score any MCP server 0-100 on publishability, schema and protocol before publish.	MCP server to read, inspect and troubleshoot codebase symbols
Category & Scope	Developer Tools	Developer Tools
Quality signal

Tools & Capabilities Breakdown

Ready-to-Paste Client Configurations

Paste either (or both) of these JSON server blocks into your client config file (e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json).

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-probe": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@incultnitollc/mcp-probe"
      ]
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "symbols-2": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "symbols-2"
      ]
    }
  }
}

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