MCP server and tool telemetry

Test the integration

Send and verify events with MCP server and tool telemetry

Use MCP server and tool telemetry where your app knows the final result. Collect only the fields you need, then verify a test event before building charts.

1
Choose the outcome
MCP tool reliability
2
Define the contract
tool_call_id, run_id, server_name, tool_name, client_type, transport, and release
3
Log the final result
Instrument the registered tool handler so each attempted invocation produces one outcome event, including returned MCP errors.
4
Check the stored event
Exercise a known fixture, then inspect mcp_tool_completed for one correctly typed terminal row.

Before you start

@modelcontextprotocol/sdk, zod, and telemetry-sh initialized in a trusted server process
A fixed list of tool categories and a call or run identifier assigned by your app
An authorization and privacy policy for tool inputs, outputs, approvals, client identity, and side effects

Delivery setup

Install and initialize server-side

Import telemetry-sh in server-only code and initialize it once with process.env.TELEMETRY_API_KEY. Keep ingestion credentials out of browser bundles, client-visible environment variables, source control, logs, and exception messages.

model-context-protocol-install

npm installation

bash

npm install telemetry-sh

1Create one reusable server-side client. Set its timeout and retry limit.
2Log an event when the operation succeeds, fails, retries, or times out.
3Send test events with known results and inspect the stored rows before enabling an alert.

Snippet

Start with one structured event

Add this shape where the workflow completes, fails, or retries. Then build the dashboard from real fields.

model-context-protocol

MCP server and tool telemetry event

javascript

server.registerTool(
  "lookup-account",
  {
    title: "Look up account",
    description: "Return an approved account summary",
    inputSchema: { accountId: z.string() },
  },
  async ({ accountId }) => {
    const startedAt = performance.now();
    const toolCallId = crypto.randomUUID();
    let status = "success";
    let errorType;

    try {
      const summary = await lookupApprovedAccountSummary(accountId);
      return {
        content: [{ type: "text", text: summary }],
      };
    } catch (error) {
      status = "failed";
      errorType = classifyToolError(error);
      return {
        content: [{ type: "text", text: "Account lookup failed" }],
        isError: true,
      };
    } finally {
      await telemetry.log("mcp_tool_completed", {
        tool_call_id: toolCallId,
        server_name: "account-tools",
        tool_name: "lookup-account",
        status,
        error_type: errorType,
        duration_ms: Math.round(performance.now() - startedAt),
        release: process.env.APP_RELEASE,
      }).catch(reportTelemetryDeliveryFailure);
    }
  },
);

Event schema

tool_call_id, run_id, server_name, tool_name, client_type, transport, and release

status, duration_ms, retry_count, error_type, approval_required, and approval_result

side_effect_category and output_category only when bounded and approved

Check your setup

Checkpoint 1

Instrument the registered tool handler so each attempted invocation produces one outcome event, including returned MCP errors.

Checkpoint 2

Keep tool inputs, returned content, embedded resources, file paths, credentials, tokens, and unrestricted errors out of Telemetry by default.

Checkpoint 3

Do not let Telemetry delivery failure change a successful tool result; use a short timeout, local error reporting, and bounded shutdown behavior.

Verification

Prove the event arrived

Run this after exercising known success and failure cases. Replace the fallback table name if your final event contract differs from the snippet.

model-context-protocol-verification

MCP server and tool telemetry verification query

sql

SELECT *
FROM mcp_tool_completed
ORDER BY timestamp_utc DESC
LIMIT 20;

Confirm one terminal row per logical outcome, with the expected status, identifiers, units, and UTC time.

Inspect the inferred schema and verify that retries do not change field types or generate a new logical event ID.

Search the stored fields for credentials, raw payloads, prompts, private content, and unbounded error messages.

Exercise a provider timeout, ingestion rejection, and process shutdown before treating the dashboard as complete.

Implementation references

Review the event contract, data-safety guidance, and upstream primary documentation before enabling a new production path.

OpenTelemetry GenAI outcome events Nested tool-call SQL Privileged action audit SQL MCP TypeScript SDK MCP server and tool guide Model Context Protocol specification

Where to log

Keep the outcome event small and recoverable

This pattern provides

Record the outcome as an event you can query with SQL.
Stable fields for dashboards, alerts, and cross-event correlation.
Test events for checking success, failure, retries, and timeouts.

This pattern does not provide

An OTLP exporter, automatic collection pipeline, or replacement for detailed traces and diagnostic logs.
Exactly-once delivery merely because the payload contains an event ID.
Permission to collect raw provider payloads, user content, credentials, or regulated data.

Delivery and idempotency Batching and shutdown Troubleshoot ingestion

Example event schemas

Check what each event records, when to send it, and which field types it needs. Review the example payload and privacy checklist before using it in production.

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