Pinned npm versions in MCP install guides can silently 404 at install time
A documentation review of an MCP guide found that nine out of ten pinned npm package versions listed did not exist in the registry, causing silent 404 errors for users attempting installation. The issue surfaced during the fourth review round of pull request #236, when floating version tags were replaced with pinned versions — a best practice applied incorrectly due to unverified version strings. Unlike floating tags, which install whatever is available, a non-existent pinned version installs nothing and provides no clear error signal to the user. A fix was committed on September 11, 2026, spanning six files with 162 lines added, introducing a verification step to confirm pinned versions resolve before documentation is published. The key takeaway for technical writers is to always verify that a pinned npm version resolves in the registry before including it in install instructions.
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