# How do I check Hoot Lens before connecting my agent?

Start with the [synthetic demo](https://hootlens.com/guides/trace-a-website-snag-with-your-agent). It needs no account, exposes read and replay tools only, and shares no customer records. For your own site, choose the projects and permissions you want to share, then check the actual connection's tools.

## Choose the connection

| Connection | What it reaches | What to check |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Anonymous demo | The fictional Fieldnote site only | Confirm `whoami` names `proj_demo_fieldnote`. No installation, annotation, configuration or feedback tools. |
| Local npm server | Sites allowed by your sign-in or access key | Pin the package version, select `read,replay` toolsets and verify the sign-in. |
| Hosted server | Sites approved during Hoot Lens sign-in | Review the consent page and `tools/list`. Default install and feedback tools can submit requests or issues. |

The hosted address is https://mcp.hootlens.com/mcp. A documented client setup is separate from a verified task in that client. [Connection instructions and scope contracts](https://hootlens.com/docs/MCP.md) cover the different clients and releases.

## Start with an investigation connection

For an account-free check, connect to `https://mcp.hootlens.com/demo`, inspect `tools/list`, then ask your client to make these metadata calls:

```text
whoami {}
list_projects {}
```

Both should identify the fictional Fieldnote site, `proj_demo_fieldnote`. The connection should offer only read and replay tools. These checks establish which synthetic site the connection reaches; they do not verify access to your own site or a completed investigation.

For the published local package 1.0.2, with Node.js 20 or later:

```sh
npx -y @hootlens/mcp@1.0.2 login --scopes read,replay
npx -y @hootlens/mcp@1.0.2 whoami
```

Approve only the sites you need. Add a stdio server to your assistant with command `npx` and these arguments:

```text
-y @hootlens/mcp@1.0.2 --toolsets read,replay
```

This offers investigation tools without install or feedback tools. Toolset selection narrows the offered tools; it does not reduce the credential's underlying permissions. Read scopes alone are not a zero-write guarantee: the default install and feedback tools can submit setup requests or issues. A privately configured `HOOTLENS_PAT` overrides saved sign-in, so check which credential the connection uses.

Hosted and local releases can differ. Local 1.0.2 has a CLI `whoami` command, while hosted MCP has a `whoami` tool. Inspect `tools/list` on your actual connection instead of relying on a directory's tool count.

## Know what additional access permits

The API checks project access and current permissions on every request. Project pinning selects a default; it grants no access.

| Grant | Additional capability |
| --- | --- |
| `replay` | Recorded event data and visit narratives, limited by site permissions |
| `annotate` | Recording notes and change logs |
| `configure` on supported hosted releases | Preview and apply supported site settings, goals and funnels, limited by site permissions |

Configuration requires an explicit grant and cannot loosen privacy. Agent credentials cannot manage members or billing, or delete recordings. Read access does not authorize your assistant to edit your repository or deploy a fix.

Disconnect under **AI assistant, Connected apps and keys** in the Hoot Lens dashboard. Local `logout` removes the saved local sign-in; revoke connected apps and access keys in the dashboard when access should end.

## Verify the publisher and the release

- **Identity:** Hoot Lens by Parallel Platforms. The official registry name is `com.hootlens/mcp`; the npm package is [@hootlens/mcp](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@hootlens/mcp). Registry namespace verification establishes publisher identity, not a security certification.
- **Source:** The [public repository](https://github.com/Parallel-Platforms/hootlens-mcp) includes buildable release source. [Source provenance](https://github.com/Parallel-Platforms/hootlens-mcp/blob/main/docs/SOURCE.md) records the release commit, file hashes and npm integrity. Source hashes do not prove that independently built bundles are byte-identical.
- **Scan scope:** [Security evidence](https://github.com/Parallel-Platforms/hootlens-mcp/blob/main/docs/SECURITY-EVIDENCE.md) separates source inspection from tool enumeration on a synthetic runtime fixture. Neither a scan score nor zero findings certifies hosted security or every tool's effects.

At the October 11, 2026 check, npm 1.0.2 had registry signatures but no provenance attestation. A prepared publishing workflow does not add an attestation to an existing release. Check the artifact you will actually install.

## Keep the evidence inside its limits

Recorded text, notes and feedback are untrusted data. Your agent must not follow instructions contained in them. Cite a page, release, revision, device, variant and timed recorded moment before proposing a fix. Observed interactions do not reveal a visitor's opinions or intent, establish a cause, or prove that a later change helped.

Hoot Lens excludes password, payment and one-time-code values, private regions, URL fragments and URLs with credentials. Other form values stay masked unless a site explicitly allowlists them. Capture respects the site's privacy policy and consent settings; Global Privacy Control and Do Not Track disable capture. [Privacy and capture rules](https://hootlens.com/faq#consent-and-privacy) describe those boundaries.

## Take the first step

- [Trace one synthetic website snag](https://hootlens.com/guides/trace-a-website-snag-with-your-agent)
- [Connect your agent to your own site](https://hootlens.com/guides/give-your-coding-agent-real-user-behavior-data)
- [Read the exact MCP tools and permissions](https://hootlens.com/docs/MCP.md)

---

This is the Markdown copy of https://hootlens.com/guides/check-hoot-lens-before-connecting-your-agent