Refactor / justify codebase-wide 'as unknown as' casts (#1690) (#1756)

* core: refactor serverList.ts object↔Record casts into typed helper (#1690)

Remove the four pre-existing `as unknown as Record<string, unknown>` /
`as unknown as MCPServerConfig` casts in core/mcp/serverList.ts:

- stripInspectorFields: rewrite as clone + `delete` over INSPECTOR_FIELD_KEYS.
  Every Inspector-extension key is optional on StoredMCPServer, so the result
  is still (a subtype of) MCPServerConfig with no cast.
- oauth-strip in extractSecretsFromStored: `oauth` is optional, so a plain
  `delete stripped.oauth` is legal — drop the cast.
- mcpConfigToServerEntries: route the one genuinely-needed widening through a
  single documented `toRecord(value: object)` helper. Taking `object` makes the
  single `as Record<string, unknown>` legal (no TS2352), so the double cast
  disappears from the call site.

Net: zero `as unknown as` in serverList.ts; the one remaining structural cast
lives inside the audited toRecord helper. Behavior-neutral — existing coverage
(79 serverList tests) unchanged; full `npm run ci` passes.

Closes #1690

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01XNdjEPKLG637X8YmhDiEk5

* core+web+test-servers: eliminate/justify remaining `as unknown as` casts (#1690)

Codebase-wide follow-on to the serverList refactor: audit every `as unknown
as` double cast outside tests and either remove it or ensure it carries a
justifying comment (the review bar is "no *unjustified* double cast").

Removed (widened via a shared helper or narrowed to a single cast):
- Promote the serverList `toRecord(value: object)` widening helper to
  core/json/jsonUtils.ts and reuse it at core/mcp/node/config.ts (normalize
  loop), core/mcp/remote/node/server.ts (pino level dispatch), and
  clients/web/src/App.tsx (window global lookup).
- inspectorClient.rawWireRequest: type the frame as `JSONRPCRequest` and
  narrow only `params` with a single structural cast (the SDK's `_meta`-typed
  params is what blocked direct assignment).
- toolOutputValidation: SDK `outputSchema` → `JsonSchemaType` is a single cast.
- test-server-fixtures: the optional `task` handle is reachable with a single
  cast (target field is optional).

Justified in place (genuinely unavoidable — private SDK internals, partial
interface stubs, third-party/nominal bridges): the inspectorClient private-map
accesses, resourceContext + tokenAuthProvider partial `OAuthClientProvider`
stubs, the ext-apps peer bridge, modern/legacy `_requestHandlers` bypasses,
and the happy-dom `matchMedia` test mock.

Behavior-neutral. Full `npm run ci` passes (validate, ≥90 coverage gate,
smoke, Storybook).

Refs #1690

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01XNdjEPKLG637X8YmhDiEk5

* address @claude review nits: consistent cast justifications + drop reflow noise (#1690)

- test-servers/src/modern-tasks.ts: add an inline justification above the
  `_requestHandlers` double cast, mirroring the sibling in
  composable-test-server.ts (was leaning on the function JSDoc only).
- Annotate the partial-`AppBridge` mock double casts in the story fixtures
  (AppsScreen ×2, AppRenderer, InspectorView) so no non-test-file double cast
  is unjustified.
- inspectorClient.ts: revert unrelated Prettier reflow hunks (protocolVersion,
  task-content array, timeout-reject wrap, reconnect guard) so the diff is the
  single rawWireRequest cast change only.

Behavior-neutral (comment/format-only). `npm run ci` green apart from a known
flaky redaction test whose assertion collided with a random request id.

Refs #1690

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01XNdjEPKLG637X8YmhDiEk5

* actually revert the reflow noise this time (#1690)

The reflow reverts in cc187ea were silently undone by a `prettier --write` I
ran on the same file right after, so the four Prettier-only hunks from 6a3afa4a
were still in the diff (caught in re-review). Revert them for real now — and
without re-running Prettier on the file:

- core/mcp/inspectorClient.ts: restore the protocolVersion line, task-content
  array, timeout-reject call, and reconnect guard to their origin/v2/main form,
  so the file's diff is only the single rawWireRequest cast change.
- test-servers/src/modern-tasks.ts: restore the ModernTaskStatus union to its
  one-line form (the leading-`|` reflow was also Prettier churn), leaving only
  the new `_requestHandlers` justification comment.

Formatting-only; `npm run validate` green.

Refs #1690

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01XNdjEPKLG637X8YmhDiEk5

---------

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

clients/web/src/App.tsx

@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ import type {
   Tool,
 } from "@modelcontextprotocol/client";
 import { InspectorClient } from "@inspector/core/mcp/index.js";
+import { toRecord } from "@inspector/core/json/jsonUtils.js";
 import { getServerType } from "@inspector/core/mcp/config.js";
 import type {
   InspectorClientEventMap,
@@ -244,9 +245,7 @@ function getAuthToken(): string | undefined {
       // ignore — see note above
     }
   };
-  const fromGlobal = (window as unknown as Record<string, unknown>)[
-    INSPECTOR_API_TOKEN_GLOBAL
-  ];
+  const fromGlobal = toRecord(window)[INSPECTOR_API_TOKEN_GLOBAL];
   if (typeof fromGlobal === "string" && fromGlobal) {
     persist(fromGlobal);
     return fromGlobal;

clients/web/src/components/elements/AppRenderer/AppRenderer.stories.tsx

@@ -25,6 +25,8 @@ function createMockBridge(): AppBridge {
     removeEventListener: () => {},
     teardownResource: async () => ({}),
     close: async () => {},
+    // Partial mock: implements only the `AppBridge` members the renderer
+    // exercises; the double cast bridges the deliberately-incomplete shape.
   } as unknown as AppBridge;
 }
 

clients/web/src/components/screens/AppsScreen/AppsScreen.stories.tsx

@@ -39,6 +39,8 @@ function createMockBridge(): AppBridge {
     close: async () => {},
     addEventListener: () => {},
     removeEventListener: () => {},
+    // Partial mock: implements only the `AppBridge` members the screen
+    // exercises; the double cast bridges the deliberately-incomplete shape.
   } as unknown as AppBridge;
 }
 
@@ -228,6 +230,8 @@ export const EchoRunning: Story = {
       // Simulate the view finishing initialization shortly after AppRenderer
       // registers its `initialized` listener; sendToolInput then flushes.
       setTimeout(() => onInitialized?.(), 20);
+      // Partial mock (only the members this story drives); the double cast
+      // bridges the deliberately-incomplete shape.
       return bridge as unknown as AppBridge;
     }, []);
 

clients/web/src/components/views/InspectorView/InspectorView.stories.tsx

@@ -46,6 +46,8 @@ const noopBridgeFactory: BridgeFactory = () =>
     sendToolCancelled: async () => {},
     teardownResource: async () => ({}),
     close: async () => {},
+    // Partial mock: implements only the `AppBridge` members the view exercises;
+    // the double cast bridges the deliberately-incomplete shape.
   }) as unknown as AppBridge;
 
 // MCP App tools — `isAppTool` detects these via `_meta.ui.resourceUri`,

clients/web/src/test/setup.ts

@@ -70,6 +70,9 @@ Object.defineProperty(globalThis, "fetch", {
 Object.defineProperty(window, "matchMedia", {
   configurable: true,
   writable: true,
+  // Partial `matchMedia` mock: happy-dom doesn't implement it, and the members
+  // below are all the app touches. The stub omits the rest of `MediaQueryList`,
+  // so the double cast bridges the deliberately-incomplete shape.
   value: (query: string): MediaQueryList =>
     ({
       matches: /prefers-reduced-motion/.test(query),

core/auth/ema/resourceContext.ts

@@ -50,6 +50,10 @@ export async function discoverEmaResourceContext(
   const resourceAsUrl = getAuthorizationServerUrl(serverUrl, resourceMetadata);
   const resourceUrl = await selectResourceURL(
     serverUrl,
+    // `selectResourceURL` only reads `clientMetadata.scope` off the provider, so
+    // we pass a minimal stub carrying just that. A partial literal has too little
+    // overlap with the full `OAuthClientProvider` interface for a single cast, so
+    // the double cast bridges the deliberately-incomplete shape here.
     {
       clientMetadata: {
         scope: configuredScope ?? "",

core/json/jsonUtils.ts

@@ -14,6 +14,22 @@ export type JsonValue =
 
 export type JsonObject = { [key: string]: JsonValue };
 
+/**
+ * Widen a typed object to a generic string-keyed record so its keys can be
+ * iterated or read/written generically. Many of the project's config/SDK types
+ * (`StoredMCPServer`, `MCPServerConfig`, `pino.Logger`, DOM `Window`, …) have no
+ * index signature, so a direct `value as Record<string, unknown>` at a call
+ * site is a TS2352 error that would otherwise force an `as unknown as` double
+ * cast. Taking the argument as the general `object` type makes the single `as`
+ * legal — `Record<string, unknown>` is assignable to `object`, so the two types
+ * sufficiently overlap — letting this one audited spot own the widening while
+ * the double casts stay out of the call sites. Purely a structural view of the
+ * same object; no runtime effect.
+ */
+export function toRecord(value: object): Record<string, unknown> {
+  return value as Record<string, unknown>;
+}
+
 /**
  * Simple schema type for parameter conversion
  */

core/mcp/inspectorClient.ts

@@ -1892,12 +1892,16 @@ export class InspectorClient extends InspectorClientEventTarget {
       throw new Error("Client is not connected");
     }
     const id = `inspector-ext-${(this.rawWireRequestCounter += 1)}`;
-    const message = {
-      jsonrpc: "2.0" as const,
+    // `params` is an arbitrary caller-supplied record; the SDK types request
+    // params with a specific optional `_meta` shape it can't satisfy, so widen
+    // it with a single structural cast. Typing `message` as `JSONRPCRequest`
+    // (a `JSONRPCMessage` member) then needs no further cast.
+    const message: JSONRPCRequest = {
+      jsonrpc: "2.0",
       id,
       method,
-      params,
-    } as unknown as JSONRPCMessage;
+      params: params as JSONRPCRequest["params"],
+    };
     const timeoutMs = this.requestTimeout ?? 30_000;
     const raw = await new Promise<unknown>((resolve, reject) => {
       const timer = setTimeout(() => {

core/mcp/node/config.ts

@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import type {
   StreamableHttpServerConfig,
 } from "../types.js";
 import { normalizeServerType } from "../serverList.js";
+import { toRecord } from "../../json/jsonUtils.js";
 
 /**
  * Options object passed to resolveServerConfigs by runners (parsed from argv).
@@ -140,9 +141,7 @@ function loadMcpServersConfig(
 
     const normalizedServers: Record<string, MCPServerConfig> = {};
     for (const [name, raw] of Object.entries(config.mcpServers)) {
-      normalizedServers[name] = normalizeServerType(
-        raw as unknown as Record<string, unknown> & { type?: string },
-      );
+      normalizedServers[name] = normalizeServerType(toRecord(raw));
     }
     return { ...config, mcpServers: normalizedServers };
   } catch (error) {

core/mcp/remote/node/server.ts

@@ -58,6 +58,7 @@ import {
   storedFieldsToInspectorSettings,
   stripInspectorFields,
 } from "../../serverList.js";
+import { toRecord } from "../../../json/jsonUtils.js";
 import { resolveImportSource } from "../../import/resolveSource.js";
 import { RemoteSession } from "./remote-session.js";
 import { createRemoteAuthProvider } from "./tokenAuthProvider.js";
@@ -298,7 +299,7 @@ function forwardLogEvent(
   logEvent: Partial<LogEvent>,
 ): void {
   const levelLabel = (logEvent?.level?.label ?? "info").toLowerCase();
-  const method = (logger as unknown as Record<string, unknown>)[levelLabel];
+  const method = toRecord(logger)[levelLabel];
   if (typeof method !== "function") return;
 
   const bindings = Object.assign(

core/mcp/remote/node/tokenAuthProvider.ts

@@ -93,6 +93,12 @@ export function createRemoteAuthProvider(
     state() {
       return "";
     },
+    // This provider implements only the members the remote backend transport
+    // exercises (token get/save, client info, non-interactive redirect); the
+    // interactive-only members the SDK never calls on the server side are stubbed
+    // with narrower shapes (e.g. `codeVerifier()` returns `undefined`, not the
+    // interface's `string | Promise<string>`), so it can't be assigned to the
+    // full `OAuthClientProvider` without the double cast.
   } as unknown as OAuthClientProvider;
 
   return {

core/mcp/serverList.ts

@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ import {
   SECRET_FIELD_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET,
   envSecretField,
 } from "../auth/secret-fields.js";
+import { toRecord } from "../json/jsonUtils.js";
 
 // The full set of valid `type` discriminator values, used to reject anything
 // else read off disk so unknown strings can't propagate to narrowing sites.
@@ -427,16 +428,17 @@ export const INSPECTOR_FIELD_KEYS = new Set(
  * new extension field doesn't silently leak through this slice — the
  * `satisfies` constraint above forces the map update, which propagates
  * here.
+ *
+ * Every Inspector-extension key is optional on `StoredMCPServer`, so deleting
+ * them off a clone leaves a value still typed as (a subtype of)
+ * `MCPServerConfig` — no cast needed.
  */
 export function stripInspectorFields(stored: StoredMCPServer): MCPServerConfig {
-  const out: Record<string, unknown> = {};
-  for (const [k, v] of Object.entries(
-    stored as unknown as Record<string, unknown>,
-  )) {
-    if (INSPECTOR_FIELD_KEYS.has(k as keyof StoredInspectorFields)) continue;
-    out[k] = v;
+  const out = { ...stored };
+  for (const key of INSPECTOR_FIELD_KEYS) {
+    delete out[key];
   }
-  return out as unknown as MCPServerConfig;
+  return out;
 }
 
 /**
@@ -454,16 +456,13 @@ export function mcpConfigToServerEntries(config: MCPConfig): ServerEntry[] {
     // `InspectorServerSettings` only.
     const inspectorFields: StoredInspectorFields = {};
     const sdkOnly: Record<string, unknown> = {};
-    // Widen the typed config object to a generic record to iterate its keys.
-    // `StoredMCPServer` has no index signature, so TS requires the `unknown`
-    // step (`as Record<string, unknown>` alone is TS2352). This is a plain
-    // structural widening, not an SDK-shape workaround. (Pre-existing pattern,
-    // also at the `serverEntryToStored` / oauth-strip casts in this file.)
-    for (const [k, v] of Object.entries(
-      raw as unknown as Record<string, unknown>,
-    )) {
+    // Partition the entry's keys into Inspector-extension vs SDK-only. Both
+    // `raw` and `inspectorFields` are widened through `toRecord` (see its doc)
+    // so the generic key iteration/assignment needs no per-site cast.
+    const inspectorRecord = toRecord(inspectorFields);
+    for (const [k, v] of Object.entries(toRecord(raw))) {
       if (INSPECTOR_FIELD_KEYS.has(k as keyof StoredInspectorFields)) {
-        (inspectorFields as Record<string, unknown>)[k] = v;
+        inspectorRecord[k] = v;
       } else {
         sdkOnly[k] = v;
       }
@@ -589,7 +588,7 @@ export function extractSecretsFromStored(
     if (Object.keys(restOauth).length > 0) {
       stripped.oauth = restOauth;
     } else {
-      delete (stripped as unknown as Record<string, unknown>).oauth;
+      delete stripped.oauth;
     }
   }
 

core/mcp/toolOutputValidation.ts

@@ -34,9 +34,11 @@ export function validateToolOutput(
       : `Tool "${tool.name}" declares an output schema but returned no structured content`;
   }
   try {
-    const validate = provider.getValidator(
-      tool.outputSchema as unknown as JsonSchemaType,
-    );
+    // `tool.outputSchema` is the SDK's own object-schema shape; `JsonSchemaType`
+    // is the validator provider's third-party JSON Schema interface. The two are
+    // structurally compatible but nominally unrelated, so a cast is required to
+    // bridge them here.
+    const validate = provider.getValidator(tool.outputSchema as JsonSchemaType);
     const validation = validate(structured);
     return validation.valid ? undefined : validation.errorMessage;
   } catch {

test-servers/src/modern-tasks.ts

@@ -321,6 +321,12 @@ export function wireModernTaskHandlers(
   runtime: ModernTaskRuntime,
 ): void {
   const lowLevel = mcpServer.server;
+  // Reach the private `_requestHandlers` map (`RawHandlerHost`) to register a
+  // raw `tools/call` handler that skips the SDK's result-schema validation, so a
+  // task-augmented `CreateTaskResult` gets through. Mirrors the client-side
+  // bypass in `core/mcp/inspectorClient.ts` and the sibling in
+  // `composable-test-server.ts`; both go away when the SDK models the tasks
+  // extension natively.
   const registry = (lowLevel as unknown as RawHandlerHost)._requestHandlers;
   const sdkToolsCall = registry.get("tools/call");
 

test-servers/src/test-server-fixtures.ts

@@ -2041,7 +2041,9 @@ async function runTaskExecution(params: RunTaskExecutionParams): Promise<void> {
             ? z.union([ElicitResultSchema, CreateTaskResultSchema])
             : ElicitResultSchema) as typeof ElicitResultSchema,
         );
-        const elicitWithTask = elicitResponse as unknown as {
+        // The union result may carry a `task` handle that `ElicitResult` doesn't
+        // model. That field is optional, so a single narrowing cast reaches it.
+        const elicitWithTask = elicitResponse as {
           task?: { taskId: string };
         };
         if (receiverTaskTtl != null && elicitWithTask?.task) {
@@ -2091,7 +2093,10 @@ async function runTaskExecution(params: RunTaskExecutionParams): Promise<void> {
             ? z.union([CreateMessageResultSchema, CreateTaskResultSchema])
             : CreateMessageResultSchema) as typeof CreateMessageResultSchema,
         );
-        const samplingWithTask = samplingResponse as unknown as {
+        // The union result may carry a `task` handle that `CreateMessageResult`
+        // doesn't model. That field is optional, so a single narrowing cast
+        // reaches it.
+        const samplingWithTask = samplingResponse as {
           task?: { taskId: string };
         };
         if (receiverTaskTtl != null && samplingWithTask?.task) {