# Why Backwatch exists

When someone adds an MCP server to ChatGPT, Claude or Cursor, the host signs in on their behalf, through a chain of steps the server publishes. When one step breaks, the host shows a generic error and the request never reaches the server's logs. Its dashboards stay green.

On 3 November 2026 we checked a random 1,000 servers from the official MCP Registry. Of those that use sign-in, about 1 in 9 break before a user ever sees a login page.

Backwatch checks from the side the user is on: outside, the way each host reaches the server.

## How we work

- **Observed, not claimed.** Every verdict comes with the evidence it was reached on. A check we can't resolve is shown as unresolved and left out of the score.
- **No AI decides a score.** AI may explain a finding. Scores come only from checks you can read and run yourself.
- **On the engineer's side.** Every request declares the Backwatch User-Agent. It sends no credentials and no telemetry, and registers OAuth clients only when you ask, on your own server.
- **Open source.** The CLI and its checks are MIT licensed. Read how a verdict is reached, or run it yourself.

Questions or a check we got wrong: open an issue on GitHub.