feat(web): catalog vs read-only session launch model + apply --header (#1481, #1483) (#1496)

* feat(web): catalog vs read-only session launch model + apply --header (#1481, #1483)

Per specification/v2_catalog_launch_config.md, `mcp-inspector --web` now selects
the backend's server-list source and a session-wide writability, instead of
seeding an inert `initialMcpConfig` the UI never read:

- `--catalog <path>` (and `MCP_CATALOG_PATH`) → active WRITABLE catalog
  (seed/CRUD/watch), like the default catalog.
- `--config <path>` → READ-ONLY session file: served in the UI but never
  written, seeded, or plaintext-secret-migrated — safe to point at a foreign
  config (e.g. claude_desktop_config.json).
- ad-hoc `--server-url`/command (+ `--header`) → one server held IN MEMORY
  (no file written); `--header` is lifted onto the entry so the seeded
  connection actually uses it (closes the #1483 warn-only no-op).
- nothing → default catalog (writable), unchanged.

Backend (`createRemoteApp`): new `writable` + `initialServers` options. GET
/api/servers branches three ways (in-memory / read-only file with no
seed+no migrate / writable catalog); the four mutating routes return 403 when
read-only; `/api/config` carries `writable`; the file watcher is skipped for
in-memory sessions. `--catalog`/`--config` are mutually exclusive and neither
combines with an ad-hoc target or `--header`; `--header` requires an ad-hoc
HTTP/SSE server (clear errors otherwise — no silent no-op).

UI: `useServerListWritable` reads `writable` from /api/config; the Servers
screen hides add/edit/clone/remove/reorder/settings and shows a read-only
banner when false. All new props default to writable=true (back-compatible).

Docs: spec gaps G2/G3/G4 updated; launcher README documents the flags.

Verified end-to-end against the built launcher: --config (writable:false,
file byte-stable, mutations 403), ad-hoc --header (in-memory, header lifted),
and --catalog (writable:true, POST persists).

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

* refactor(web): address review — Mantine <Code> in read-only banner, clarify watcher comment

- Replace raw <code> with Mantine <Code> in the read-only-session Alert
  (repo convention: prefer Mantine primitives over raw HTML).
- Add a comment near `watchable` clarifying that a read-only `--config` file
  is still watched on purpose (read-only blocks UI writes, not external
  observation; `writable` does not gate watching).

Deferred (per reviewer): consolidating useSandboxUrl + useServerListWritable
into one useConfig hook to avoid the duplicate /api/config fetch — optional
follow-up. The redundant ad-hoc header type-guard is kept as defensive.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

---------

Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
This commit is contained in:
Cliff Hall 2026-06-16 14:24:58 -04:00 • committed by GitHub
commit 91f02fd6db
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3 changed files with 1281 additions and 157 deletions

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@ -55,4 +55,29 @@ describe("createRemoteApp GET /api/config", () => {
expect(data.defaultCwd).toBe("/tmp");
expect(data.defaultEnvironment).toEqual({ PATH: "/usr/bin" });
});
it("reports writable:true by default and writable:false when set", async () => {
const writableApp = createRemoteApp({
dangerouslyOmitAuth: true,
initialConfig: { defaultEnvironment: {} },
}).app;
const writableRes = await writableApp.request(
new Request("http://test/api/config"),
);
expect(
((await writableRes.json()) as { writable?: boolean }).writable,
).toBe(true);
const readOnlyApp = createRemoteApp({
dangerouslyOmitAuth: true,
writable: false,
initialConfig: { defaultEnvironment: {} },
}).app;
const readOnlyRes = await readOnlyApp.request(
new Request("http://test/api/config"),
);
expect(
((await readOnlyRes.json()) as { writable?: boolean }).writable,
).toBe(false);
});
});

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@ -386,3 +386,57 @@ describe("GET /api/servers/events", () => {
sink2.close();
});
});
describe("GET /api/servers/events (in-memory ad-hoc session)", () => {
let h: Harness;
beforeEach(async () => {
const tempDir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "inspector-events-mem-"));
const configPath = join(tempDir, "mcp.json");
const { app, close: closeApi } = createRemoteApp({
dangerouslyOmitAuth: true,
mcpConfigPath: configPath,
writable: false,
initialServers: {
mcpServers: { srv: { type: "stdio", command: "node" } },
},
initialConfig: { defaultEnvironment: {} },
secretStore: new InMemorySecretStore(),
});
const { baseUrl, server } = await new Promise<{
baseUrl: string;
server: ServerType;
}>((resolve, reject) => {
const s = serve(
{ fetch: app.fetch, port: 0, hostname: "127.0.0.1" },
(info) => {
const port =
info && typeof info === "object" && "port" in info
? (info as { port: number }).port
: 0;
resolve({ baseUrl: `http://127.0.0.1:${port}`, server: s });
},
);
s.on("error", reject);
});
h = { baseUrl, server, configPath, tempDir, closeApi };
});
afterEach(async () => {
await teardown(h);
});
it("opens the stream but never broadcasts (no watcher, nothing to watch)", async () => {
const sink = await subscribe(h.baseUrl); // 200 + open stream or it throws
// Writing to the (unwatched) config path must not produce any event.
writeFileSync(
h.configPath,
JSON.stringify({
mcpServers: { other: { type: "stdio", command: "x" } },
}),
);
await expect(sink.waitFor(1, 400)).rejects.toThrow(/Timed out/);
expect(sink.events).toHaveLength(0);
sink.close();
});
});

View file

@ -1845,3 +1845,214 @@ describe("/api/servers routes", () => {
});
});
});
describe("/api/servers read-only sessions (#1481/#1483)", () => {
interface RoHarness {
baseUrl: string;
server: ServerType;
tempDir: string;
configPath: string;
}
async function listen(app: {
fetch: (req: Request) => Response | Promise<Response>;
}): Promise<{ baseUrl: string; server: ServerType }> {
return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
const server = serve(
{ fetch: app.fetch, port: 0, hostname: "127.0.0.1" },
(info) => {
const port =
info && typeof info === "object" && "port" in info
? (info as { port: number }).port
: 0;
resolve({ baseUrl: `http://127.0.0.1:${port}`, server });
},
);
server.on("error", reject);
});
}
async function close(h: RoHarness): Promise<void> {
await new Promise<void>((r) => h.server.close(() => r()));
try {
rmSync(h.tempDir, { recursive: true });
} catch {
/* ignore */
}
}
/** Read-only session backed by a `--config`-style file. */
async function setupReadOnlyFile(contents?: string): Promise<RoHarness> {
const tempDir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "inspector-ro-file-"));
const configPath = join(tempDir, "mcp.json");
if (contents !== undefined) writeFileSync(configPath, contents);
const { app } = createRemoteApp({
dangerouslyOmitAuth: true,
mcpConfigPath: configPath,
writable: false,
initialConfig: { defaultEnvironment: {} },
secretStore: new InMemorySecretStore(),
});
const { baseUrl, server } = await listen(app);
return { baseUrl, server, tempDir, configPath };
}
/** Read-only session backed by an in-memory ad-hoc list (no file). */
async function setupInMemory(servers: MCPConfig): Promise<RoHarness> {
const tempDir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "inspector-ro-mem-"));
const configPath = join(tempDir, "mcp.json");
const { app } = createRemoteApp({
dangerouslyOmitAuth: true,
// mcpConfigPath points at a path that must NEVER be touched.
mcpConfigPath: configPath,
writable: false,
initialServers: servers,
initialConfig: { defaultEnvironment: {} },
secretStore: new InMemorySecretStore(),
});
const { baseUrl, server } = await listen(app);
return { baseUrl, server, tempDir, configPath };
}
const jsonHeaders = { "Content-Type": "application/json" };
it("rejects every mutation with 403 and leaves the file untouched", async () => {
const original = JSON.stringify(
{ mcpServers: { api: { type: "stdio", command: "node" } } },
null,
2,
);
const h = await setupReadOnlyFile(original);
try {
const mutations: Array<{ method: string; path: string; body: unknown }> =
[
{
method: "POST",
path: "/api/servers",
body: { id: "new", config: { type: "stdio", command: "x" } },
},
{
method: "PUT",
path: "/api/servers/api",
body: { config: { type: "stdio", command: "y" } },
},
{
method: "PUT",
path: "/api/servers/order",
body: { order: ["api"] },
},
{ method: "DELETE", path: "/api/servers/api", body: undefined },
];
for (const m of mutations) {
const res = await fetch(`${h.baseUrl}${m.path}`, {
method: m.method,
headers: m.body ? jsonHeaders : undefined,
body: m.body ? JSON.stringify(m.body) : undefined,
});
expect(res.status).toBe(403);
const body = (await res.json()) as { error?: string };
expect(body.error).toMatch(/read-only/i);
}
// The file is byte-for-byte unchanged.
expect(readFileSync(h.configPath, "utf-8")).toBe(original);
} finally {
await close(h);
}
});
it("returns 403 (not 404) for a mutation on a missing id — no existence leak", async () => {
const h = await setupReadOnlyFile(
JSON.stringify({ mcpServers: {} }, null, 2),
);
try {
const res = await fetch(`${h.baseUrl}/api/servers/ghost`, {
method: "DELETE",
});
expect(res.status).toBe(403);
} finally {
await close(h);
}
});
it("serves a read-only file as-is and never seeds when the file is missing", async () => {
const h = await setupReadOnlyFile(); // no file written
try {
const res = await fetch(`${h.baseUrl}/api/servers`);
expect(res.status).toBe(200);
expect(await res.json()).toEqual({ mcpServers: {} });
// No seed write happened.
expect(existsSync(h.configPath)).toBe(false);
} finally {
await close(h);
}
});
it("does not migrate on-disk plaintext secrets on read (file bytes stable)", async () => {
// A foreign config with a plaintext stdio env value that the writable path
// would migrate into the keychain (a write). Read-only must leave it be.
const original = JSON.stringify(
{
mcpServers: {
api: {
type: "stdio",
command: "node",
env: { API_KEY: "plaintext-secret" },
},
},
},
null,
2,
);
const h = await setupReadOnlyFile(original);
try {
const res = await fetch(`${h.baseUrl}/api/servers`);
expect(res.status).toBe(200);
const body = (await res.json()) as MCPConfig;
// Plaintext flows straight back (no keychain swap) and disk is untouched.
expect(
(body.mcpServers.api as { env?: Record<string, string> }).env?.API_KEY,
).toBe("plaintext-secret");
expect(readFileSync(h.configPath, "utf-8")).toBe(original);
} finally {
await close(h);
}
});
it("serves an in-memory ad-hoc list (with lifted headers) and writes no file", async () => {
const h = await setupInMemory({
mcpServers: {
"example.com": {
type: "streamable-http",
url: "https://example.com/mcp",
headers: { Authorization: "Bearer x" },
},
},
});
try {
const res = await fetch(`${h.baseUrl}/api/servers`);
expect(res.status).toBe(200);
const body = (await res.json()) as MCPConfig;
expect(body.mcpServers["example.com"]).toMatchObject({
type: "streamable-http",
url: "https://example.com/mcp",
headers: { Authorization: "Bearer x" },
});
// The configPath must never be created for an in-memory session.
expect(existsSync(h.configPath)).toBe(false);
// Mutations are still rejected.
const post = await fetch(`${h.baseUrl}/api/servers`, {
method: "POST",
headers: jsonHeaders,
body: JSON.stringify({
id: "x",
config: { type: "stdio", command: "n" },
}),
});
expect(post.status).toBe(403);
expect(existsSync(h.configPath)).toBe(false);
} finally {
await close(h);
}
});
});