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Your MCP Tool Is Installed but Missing: Restart Before You Deploy

Your MCP Tool Is Installed but Missing: Restart Before You Deploy

Adding an MCP server to an AI tool's configuration does not load it into a process that is already running. If a tutorial jumps directly from configuration to deployment, a non-technical user may continue with a tool that is not actually connected.

This guide builds a small logistics-company site as static files, then uses an explicit restart and verification gate before any public action.

Keep the business site separate from operations

I operate a small logistics company. Organize my approved facts into services, supported cargo, service area, opening hours, process, exclusions, and contact route. Keep dispatch, tracking, contracts, driver records, customer data, quotes, and payments outside the public website. Mark missing facts as UNKNOWN. Do not invent delivery times, prices, fleet size, certifications, customers, reviews, or guarantees.
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Create the visual rules before code

Logistics website visual reference

Use the attached reference image only for visual direction. Do not copy company names, text, numbers, testimonials, or claims from it. Create a functional logistics-company design rule sheet with clear service categories, area and cargo conditions, high-contrast contact actions, responsive spacing, and restrained motion. Wait for approval before implementation.
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Export static files

Build the approved website with the Next.js App Router and output: 'export'. Do not add tracking, dispatch, accounts, contracts, quotes, payment, customer data, a database, API Routes, Server Actions, request-time rendering, or private environment variables. Link operational functions to approved external systems and list every non-static requirement before coding.
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Run the production build and inspect the generated output. Confirm the routes, images, contact link, mobile layout, and absence of UNKNOWN before adding a publishing tool.

Install the latest Sakupa MCP

The publishing example uses Sakupa MCP, which is developed by the author. Add the current package configuration to the MCP-capable AI tool:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sakupa": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@sakupa/mcp@latest"]
    }
  }
}
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Fully quit and restart the AI tool

This is a required step. Quit the AI application completely, start it again, and reopen the website project. Opening another chat or window inside the same running application does not prove that the new MCP configuration was loaded.

After the restart, verify the connection without initializing or publishing:

Confirm that Sakupa MCP is connected and that the init, analyze, and deploy tools are available. Do not initialize, analyze, upload, or publish anything yet. If the tools are unavailable, check whether the configuration was loaded after the AI tool restarted.
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If init, analyze, or deploy is missing, stop. Check the configuration and restart again instead of assuming installation succeeded.

Initialize without publishing

Use Sakupa to prepare the project I currently have open for first use. Do not ask me to choose a folder, and do not publish the website. Tell me whether preparation succeeded.
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Initialization prepares local project management. It does not make the website public.

Analyze without uploading

Use Sakupa to inspect the current project and identify the actual publishable website output. Inspect only; do not upload or make anything public. Tell me which directory would be published, whether it contains files that must stay private, and what still needs my confirmation.
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The selected output must not contain credentials, .env files, customer data, contracts, dispatch records, or source material that was not approved for publication.

Deploy only after explicit confirmation

Use Sakupa to publish the website that passed inspection. Before the first public action, explain who can access it, how long the free website remains available, and which management credential must stay private. Wait for my explicit confirmation before publishing. After publication, return the public URL and the expiration time with its timezone.
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The current manual says the free website is public for 24 hours. .sakupa/site.json is a management credential and must not be committed to a public repository.

Verify the public result

  • Open the returned URL in a signed-out browser.
  • Confirm the title, routes, images, and contact link.
  • Check that no operational or customer data is visible.
  • Record the URL, publication time, and timezone.
  • Recheck availability after the platform's required review interval.

The restart gate is deliberately boring. It separates “configuration was saved” from “the tool is available,” which is exactly the distinction a safe deployment workflow needs.

References

Generative AI was used for structure and editing. The MCP sequence and current manual were checked on August 3, 2026.

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