TL;DR: `uvx` is not a system command, it ships with the `uv` package manager, and the SQLite MCP server needs it to launch. Install uv, confirm `uvx --version` works in a terminal, then restart your MCP client.

```text
spawn uvx ENOENT
```

Variant: `uvx: command not found`.

## Fix it

1. Install uv:

```bash
curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh
```

   On Windows: `powershell -ExecutionPolicy ByPass -c "irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | iex"`.

2. Verify it is on PATH in a fresh terminal:

```bash
uvx --version
```

   Expected: a version number like `uv 0.7.x`.

3. If the terminal sees it but the MCP client does not, the client was launched before uv updated PATH, or GUI apps do not read your shell profile. Either restart the machine, or put the absolute path to `uvx` in the client config `"command"` field. Find it with `which uvx`.

4. Restart the MCP client.

   Expected: the sqlite server spawns and its tools appear.

## When to use this

- The MCP client shows the sqlite server as failed/disconnected immediately at startup.
- Logs or errors mention `uvx`, `ENOENT`, or `command not found`.

## When NOT to use this

- The server starts but queries fail. That is a database problem, not a launcher problem.
- You installed the server via pip or another method. Then `uvx` is not involved at all.

## Compatibility

- @modelcontextprotocol/server-sqlite installed via uvx.
- Any MCP client that spawns stdio servers: Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor.

## Why it happens

uvx is uv's tool-runner, similar to npx for npm. The official install docs assume it exists, but fresh machines (and especially GUI-launched MCP clients with a minimal PATH) do not have it. The client then fails to spawn the server process at all, which surfaces as ENOENT rather than any database error.

## Edge cases

- Homebrew installs of uv usually land on PATH for terminals but not for GUI apps. The absolute-path trick in step 3 is the reliable fix on macOS.
- Corporate machines sometimes block the install script. `pip install uv` or `brew install uv` are alternatives.
- After installing, the first `uvx` run downloads the server package. Give it a minute on slow networks.