mcp-windbg MCP — Use Cases, Install & Live Demo

Why use it

Key features

Crash dump analysis with AI-assisted interpretation
Live remote debugging connections
Batch processing of multiple dump files
7 MCP tools for complete debugging workflows
Multiple transport protocols: stdio and streamable HTTP

Live Demo

What it looks like in practice

mcp-windbg.replay ▶ ready

0/0

Install

Pick your client

~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json · Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-windbg": {
      "command": "TODO",
      "args": [
        "See README: https://github.com/svnscha/mcp-windbg"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Open Claude Desktop → Settings → Developer → Edit Config. Restart after saving.

~/.cursor/mcp.json · .cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-windbg": {
      "command": "TODO",
      "args": [
        "See README: https://github.com/svnscha/mcp-windbg"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Cursor uses the same mcpServers schema as Claude Desktop. Project config wins over global.

VS Code → Cline → MCP Servers → Edit

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-windbg": {
      "command": "TODO",
      "args": [
        "See README: https://github.com/svnscha/mcp-windbg"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Click the MCP Servers icon in the Cline sidebar, then "Edit Configuration".

~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-windbg": {
      "command": "TODO",
      "args": [
        "See README: https://github.com/svnscha/mcp-windbg"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Same shape as Claude Desktop. Restart Windsurf to pick up changes.

~/.continue/config.json

{
  "mcpServers": [
    {
      "name": "mcp-windbg",
      "command": "TODO",
      "args": [
        "See README: https://github.com/svnscha/mcp-windbg"
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Continue uses an array of server objects rather than a map.

~/.config/zed/settings.json

{
  "context_servers": {
    "mcp-windbg": {
      "command": {
        "path": "TODO",
        "args": [
          "See README: https://github.com/svnscha/mcp-windbg"
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

Add to context_servers. Zed hot-reloads on save.

claude mcp add mcp-windbg -- TODO 'See README: https://github.com/svnscha/mcp-windbg'

One-liner. Verify with claude mcp list. Remove with claude mcp remove.

Use Cases

Real-world ways to use mcp-windbg

How to analyze a Windows crash dump with AI assistance

👤 Windows developers investigating application crashes ⏱ ~30 min intermediate

When to use: You have a .dmp file from a crash and need to understand what happened.

Prerequisites

Windows with Debugging Tools/WinDbg — Install from Microsoft Store or Windows SDK
mcp-windbg installed — pip install mcp-windbg

Flow

Open the dump

Open the crash dump at C:\dumps\app_crash.dmp. Run !analyze -v and explain what caused the crash.✓ Copied

→ Detailed crash analysis with exception type, faulting module, and call stack
Investigate the call stack

Show me the full call stack of the faulting thread. What was the application doing when it crashed?✓ Copied

→ Annotated call stack with function descriptions
Check for patterns

Run !locks and !heap -s. Is there a deadlock or heap corruption?✓ Copied

→ Lock/heap analysis results with interpretation

Outcome: Root cause of the crash identified with a clear explanation.

Pitfalls

Missing symbol files — Set up a symbol path: .sympath SRV*c:\symbols*https://msdl.microsoft.com/download/symbols

Combine with: filesystem

Batch analyze multiple crash dumps to find patterns

👤 Support engineers investigating recurring crashes ⏱ ~45 min intermediate

When to use: You have multiple crash dumps from the same application and need to find common patterns.

Prerequisites

mcp-windbg and WinDbg installed — pip install mcp-windbg

Flow

List available dumps

List all crash dump files in C:\dumps\. How many are there and when were they created?✓ Copied

→ List of dumps with timestamps
Analyze and compare

Open each dump, run !analyze -v, and give me a summary comparing the crash reasons. Are they the same bug or different issues?✓ Copied

→ Comparison table showing crash type, module, and stack similarity

Outcome: Pattern analysis across multiple crashes to prioritize fixes.

Pitfalls

Large dumps take time to analyze — Start with minidumps if available — they're faster to open

Combine with: filesystem

Combinations

Pair with other MCPs for X10 leverage

mcp-windbg + filesystem

Export crash analysis reports to files for bug tracking

Analyze all dumps in C:\dumps\ and write a summary report to C:\reports\crash-analysis.md.✓ Copied

Tools

What this MCP exposes

Tool	Inputs	When to call
list_windbg_dumps	directory: str	Discover crash dump files in a directory
open_windbg_dump	dump_path: str	Open and analyze a crash dump
close_windbg_dump	session_id: str	Close a dump analysis session
open_windbg_remote	connection_string: str	Connect to a remote debug target
run_windbg_cmd	session_id: str, command: str	Execute any WinDbg command in a session
send_ctrl_break	session_id: str	Break into a running debug target

Cost & Limits

What this costs to run

API quota: N/A — fully local
Tokens per call: 300–3000 tokens per command output
Monetary: Free — WinDbg is free from Microsoft
Tip: Use targeted WinDbg commands (!analyze -v, k) instead of verbose outputs to reduce tokens.

Security

Permissions, secrets, blast radius

Credential storage: N/A for local dumps. Remote debugging may require authentication.

Data egress: Local analysis only. Symbol downloads go to Microsoft's symbol server.

⚠ This tool is designed for authorized security research, CTF competitions, and defensive analysis only. Do not use it against systems you don't own or have written authorization to test.
Crash dumps may contain sensitive data (memory contents, credentials). Handle them securely.
Live debugging can affect the target process — use with caution on production systems.

Troubleshooting

Common errors and fixes

WinDbg/CDB not found

Install Debugging Tools for Windows from the Windows SDK or WinDbg from Microsoft Store.

Verify: where cdb

Symbols not loading

Configure symbol path: run_windbg_cmd with '.sympath SRV*c:\symbols*https://msdl.microsoft.com/download/symbols' then '.reload'

Verify: Run 'lm' to check loaded modules

Dump file corrupted or incomplete

The dump may be a minidump missing key data. Request a full dump from the application or use procdump to capture a new one.

Verify: Check dump file size — minidumps are typically <100MB

Alternatives

mcp-windbg vs others

Alternative	When to use it instead	Tradeoff
cheatengine-mcp-bridge	You need live memory analysis of running processes rather than crash dump analysis	Live process manipulation vs post-mortem analysis

More

Resources

📖 Read the official README on GitHub

🐙 Browse open issues

🔍 Browse all 400+ MCP servers and Skills