feat(cli): lift config-file headers/timeouts/OAuth into serverSettings (#1482) (#1500)

* feat(cli): lift config-file headers/timeouts/OAuth into serverSettings (#1482)

The CLI resolved file-sourced servers via resolveServerConfigs(), which
returns bare MCPServerConfig and dropped disk-level headers, timeouts, and
OAuth — CLI connections from a --catalog/--config file silently ignored
them. The TUI already lifted these via mcpConfigToServerEntries().

Extract the TUI's catalog/config -> per-server-settings resolution into a
shared core module (core/mcp/node/servers.ts: loadServerEntries +
selectServerEntry) and route both CLI and TUI through it, so the two share
one file->settings path. --header still overrides the file's headers for
the run while preserving the file's timeouts/OAuth.

- core: add loadServerEntries/selectServerEntry/headersToServerSettings
- tui: tui-servers.ts re-exports the shared core helpers (no logic dup)
- cli: resolve via loadServerEntries + selectServerEntry; drop the
  CLI-only conflict check and bare-config path
- tests: core servers.test.ts (settings lifting, header merge/override,
  stdio overrides, seed/error/conflict, selection); CLI integration tests
  asserting a config header is sent over HTTP and --header overrides it
- docs: CLI README note on file settings being applied

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

* refactor(core): address #1500 review — dedup overrides, drop dead wrapper, clearer error, spec refresh

- Remove the now-unused resolveLaunchServerConfigs() wrapper (both CLI and
  TUI route through loadServerEntries now); migrate its default-catalog
  launch tests to compose withDefaultCatalogPath + resolveServerConfigs.
- Deduplicate applyStdioOverrides against config.ts applyOverrides: export
  the latter (now trims cwd) and reuse it in servers.ts.
- selectServerEntry's unknown-name error is source-agnostic ("not found"
  not "not found in config file") since entries may be a single ad-hoc
  default, where "config file" would mislead.
- Refresh specification/ docs (v2_cli_tui_launcher.md,
  v2_catalog_launch_config.md): CLI/TUI resolution now via
  loadServerEntries/selectServerEntry; mark gap G1 resolved (#1482);
  withDefaultConfigPath → withDefaultCatalogPath.

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

* test(cli): extend smoke:cli to cover #1482 lift→serverSettings

Adds end-to-end smoke coverage for the config-file headers/timeouts/OAuth
lift introduced in #1482:

- unknown --server now errors source-agnostically ("not found")
- multi-server catalog selection via --server (and the omit-it error)
- --header merge does not break the stdio connect path
- HTTP transport: a config-file `headers` object is lifted onto the wire,
  and a CLI --header overrides it (verified against an in-process test
  server's recorded requests via a non-blocking spawn)

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 2026-06-20 11:33:21 -04:00 • committed by GitHub
commit e72d4307f3
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6 changed files with 1033 additions and 420 deletions

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@ -78,6 +78,8 @@ npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector --cli https://my-mcp-server.example.com --tr
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector --cli https://my-mcp-server.example.com --transport http --method tools/list --header "X-API-Key: your-api-key"
```
When a server is loaded from a `--catalog`/`--config` file, its per-server settings (headers, connection/request timeouts, and OAuth) are applied to the connection — the same resolution the TUI uses. A `--header` flag overrides the file's headers for that run while leaving the file's timeouts and OAuth in place.
## Options
### MCP server (which server to connect to)

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@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ import {
createEchoTool,
createTestServerInfo,
} from "@modelcontextprotocol/inspector-test-server";
import type { MCPServerConfig } from "@modelcontextprotocol/inspector-core/mcp/index.js";
describe("CLI Tests", () => {
describe("Basic CLI Mode", () => {
@ -320,6 +321,100 @@ describe("CLI Tests", () => {
});
});
describe("Config-file settings lifting (#1482)", () => {
it("applies a config file's custom header on a tools/call over HTTP", async () => {
const server = createTestServerHttp({
serverInfo: createTestServerInfo(),
tools: [createEchoTool()],
});
let configPath: string | undefined;
try {
await server.start();
// Write a config whose server carries disk-level headers + a timeout.
// `headers`/`requestTimeout` are Inspector-extension fields not present
// on MCPServerConfig, so build the entry as a loose record.
configPath = createTestConfig({
mcpServers: {
web: {
type: "streamable-http",
url: server.url,
headers: { "X-Custom-Token": "secret-123" },
requestTimeout: 8000,
} as unknown as MCPServerConfig,
},
});
const result = await runCli([
"--config",
configPath,
"--server",
"web",
"--cli",
"--method",
"tools/call",
"--tool-name",
"echo",
"--tool-arg",
"message=hi",
]);
expectCliSuccess(result);
// The server should have received a request carrying the disk header
// (Express lower-cases header names), proving the CLI lifted it from
// the config file into the connection's settings.
const sawHeader = server
.getRecordedRequests()
.some((r) => r.headers["x-custom-token"] === "secret-123");
expect(sawHeader).toBe(true);
} finally {
await server.stop();
if (configPath) deleteConfigFile(configPath);
}
});
it("overrides a config file's header with --header", async () => {
const server = createTestServerHttp({
serverInfo: createTestServerInfo(),
tools: [createEchoTool()],
});
let configPath: string | undefined;
try {
await server.start();
configPath = createTestConfig({
mcpServers: {
web: {
type: "streamable-http",
url: server.url,
headers: { "X-Custom-Token": "from-disk" },
} as unknown as MCPServerConfig,
},
});
const result = await runCli([
"--config",
configPath,
"--server",
"web",
"--header",
"X-Custom-Token: from-cli",
"--cli",
"--method",
"tools/list",
]);
expectCliSuccess(result);
const tokens = server
.getRecordedRequests()
.map((r) => r.headers["x-custom-token"]);
expect(tokens).toContain("from-cli");
expect(tokens).not.toContain("from-disk");
} finally {
await server.stop();
if (configPath) deleteConfigFile(configPath);
}
});
});
describe("Resource Options", () => {
it("should read resource with URI", async () => {
const { command, args } = getTestMcpServerCommand();

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@ -8,7 +8,6 @@ import type {
InspectorServerSettings,
MCPServerConfig,
} from "@inspector/core/mcp/types.js";
import { DEFAULT_TASK_TTL_MS } from "@inspector/core/mcp/types.js";
import { InspectorClient } from "@inspector/core/mcp/index.js";
import {
ManagedToolsState,
@ -18,9 +17,8 @@ import {
} from "@inspector/core/mcp/state/index.js";
import {
createTransportNode,
resolveLaunchServerConfigs,
serverSourceConflict,
hasAdHocServerOptions,
loadServerEntries,
selectServerEntry,
parseKeyValuePair as parseEnvPair,
parseHeaderPair,
} from "@inspector/core/mcp/node/index.js";
@ -46,23 +44,6 @@ type MethodArgs = {
metadata?: Record<string, string>;
};
function headersToServerSettings(
headers?: Record<string, string>,
): InspectorServerSettings | undefined {
if (!headers || Object.keys(headers).length === 0) {
return undefined;
}
return {
headers: Object.entries(headers).map(([key, value]) => ({ key, value })),
metadata: [],
connectionTimeout: 0,
requestTimeout: 0,
taskTtl: DEFAULT_TASK_TTL_MS,
autoRefreshOnListChanged: false,
roots: [],
};
}
async function callMethod(
serverConfig: MCPServerConfig,
serverSettings: InspectorServerSettings | undefined,
@ -397,30 +378,24 @@ function parseArgs(argv?: string[]): {
// back to MCP_CATALOG_PATH — keeps CLI and TUI flag resolution identical.
catalogPath: options.catalog?.trim() || process.env.MCP_CATALOG_PATH,
configPath: options.config?.trim() || undefined,
serverName: options.server,
target: targetArgs.length > 0 ? targetArgs : undefined,
transport: options.transport,
serverUrl: options.serverUrl,
cwd: options.cwd,
env: options.e,
// `--header` is merged into the resolved server's settings (overriding any
// file-level headers); file timeouts/OAuth are preserved. See #1482.
headers: options.header,
};
const conflict = serverSourceConflict({
hasCatalog: Boolean(serverOptions.catalogPath?.trim()),
hasConfig: Boolean(serverOptions.configPath?.trim()),
hasAdHoc: hasAdHocServerOptions(serverOptions),
});
if (conflict) {
throw new Error(conflict);
}
const configs = resolveLaunchServerConfigs(serverOptions, "single");
const serverConfig = configs[0];
if (!serverConfig) {
throw new Error(
"Could not resolve server config. Specify a URL or command, or use --config and --server.",
);
}
// Shared with the TUI: resolves the catalog/config source (or ad-hoc target),
// enforces the conflict matrix, and lifts disk headers/timeouts/OAuth into
// per-server settings. `--server` selects one when the file has several.
const entries = loadServerEntries(serverOptions);
const { config: serverConfig, settings: serverSettings } = selectServerEntry(
entries,
options.server,
);
if (!options.method) {
throw new Error(
@ -456,7 +431,7 @@ function parseArgs(argv?: string[]): {
return {
serverConfig,
serverSettings: headersToServerSettings(options.header),
serverSettings,
methodArgs,
};
}

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@ -1,112 +1,12 @@
import type {
InspectorServerSettings,
MCPServerConfig,
StdioServerConfig,
} from "@inspector/core/mcp/types.js";
import { DEFAULT_TASK_TTL_MS } from "@inspector/core/mcp/types.js";
import { mcpConfigToServerEntries } from "@inspector/core/mcp/serverList.js";
import {
resolveServerConfigs,
resolveServerSource,
serverSourceConflict,
readServerListFile,
hasAdHocServerOptions,
withDefaultCatalogPath,
type ServerConfigOptions,
} from "@inspector/core/mcp/node/config.js";
// The catalog/config → per-server-settings resolution is shared with the CLI in
// `@inspector/core/mcp/node` (see issue #1482). This module just re-exports it
// under the TUI's historical names so the TUI keeps a single import surface.
import type { ResolvedServer } from "@inspector/core/mcp/node/servers.js";
export type TuiServer = {
config: MCPServerConfig;
settings?: InspectorServerSettings;
};
export {
headersToServerSettings,
loadServerEntries as loadTuiServers,
} from "@inspector/core/mcp/node/servers.js";
export function headersToServerSettings(
headers?: Record<string, string>,
): InspectorServerSettings | undefined {
if (!headers || Object.keys(headers).length === 0) {
return undefined;
}
return {
headers: Object.entries(headers).map(([key, value]) => ({ key, value })),
metadata: [],
connectionTimeout: 0,
requestTimeout: 0,
taskTtl: DEFAULT_TASK_TTL_MS,
autoRefreshOnListChanged: false,
roots: [],
};
}
function applyStdioOverrides(
config: MCPServerConfig,
overrides: { env?: Record<string, string>; cwd?: string },
): MCPServerConfig {
if (config.type !== "stdio") return config;
const c = { ...config } as StdioServerConfig;
if (overrides.env && Object.keys(overrides.env).length > 0) {
c.env = { ...(c.env ?? {}), ...overrides.env };
}
if (overrides.cwd?.trim()) {
c.cwd = overrides.cwd.trim();
}
return c;
}
function mergeSettings(
base: InspectorServerSettings | undefined,
headers?: Record<string, string>,
): InspectorServerSettings | undefined {
const fromHeaders = headersToServerSettings(headers);
if (!fromHeaders) return base;
if (!base) return fromHeaders;
return { ...base, headers: fromHeaders.headers };
}
export function loadTuiServers(
serverOptions: ServerConfigOptions & { headers?: Record<string, string> },
): Record<string, TuiServer> {
serverOptions = withDefaultCatalogPath(serverOptions);
const conflict = serverSourceConflict({
hasCatalog: Boolean(serverOptions.catalogPath?.trim()),
hasConfig: Boolean(serverOptions.configPath?.trim()),
hasAdHoc: hasAdHocServerOptions(serverOptions),
});
if (conflict) {
throw new Error(conflict);
}
const source = resolveServerSource(serverOptions);
if (source) {
const config = readServerListFile(source.path, source.writable);
const entries = mcpConfigToServerEntries(config);
const result: Record<string, TuiServer> = {};
for (const entry of entries) {
result[entry.name] = {
config: applyStdioOverrides(entry.config, {
env: serverOptions.env,
cwd: serverOptions.cwd,
}),
// Deliberate broadcast: a single `--header` set is merged into EVERY
// server in the catalog/config (fine for the common single-server case;
// for multi-server files, prefer per-server headers in the file itself).
settings: mergeSettings(entry.settings, serverOptions.headers),
};
}
return result;
}
const configs = resolveServerConfigs(serverOptions, "multi");
if (configs.length === 0) {
throw new Error(
"At least one server is required. Use --catalog/--config <path> or an ad-hoc target (command/URL).",
);
}
return {
default: {
config: configs[0]!,
settings: headersToServerSettings(serverOptions.headers),
},
};
}
/** A server resolved for the TUI: transport config plus per-server settings. */
export type TuiServer = ResolvedServer;

View file

@ -14,7 +14,6 @@ import {
parseHeaderPair,
withDefaultCatalogPath,
resolveServerConfigs,
resolveLaunchServerConfigs,
resolveServerSource,
serverSourceConflict,
readServerListFile,
@ -243,9 +242,17 @@ describe("readServerListFile", () => {
});
});
describe("resolveLaunchServerConfigs", () => {
describe("default-catalog launch resolution (withDefaultCatalogPath + resolveServerConfigs)", () => {
// The CLI/TUI launch path: apply the default writable catalog when no source
// or ad-hoc target is given, then resolve. (Both clients now compose these
// via loadServerEntries; this exercises the underlying config primitives.)
let tempDir: string;
const resolveLaunch = (
options: Parameters<typeof resolveServerConfigs>[0],
mode: Parameters<typeof resolveServerConfigs>[1],
) => resolveServerConfigs(withDefaultCatalogPath(options), mode);
beforeEach(() => {
tempDir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "inspector-config-test-"));
});
@ -261,9 +268,9 @@ describe("resolveLaunchServerConfigs", () => {
process.env.HOME = homeDir;
const defaultConfig = join(homeDir, ".mcp-inspector", "mcp.json");
try {
expect(() =>
resolveLaunchServerConfigs({ target: [] }, "single"),
).toThrow(/No servers found/);
expect(() => resolveLaunch({ target: [] }, "single")).toThrow(
/No servers found/,
);
// The writable default catalog is seeded on first run (matches web),
// rather than erroring with "Config file not found".
expect(existsSync(defaultConfig)).toBe(true);
@ -281,7 +288,7 @@ describe("resolveLaunchServerConfigs", () => {
mkdirSync(homeDir, { recursive: true });
process.env.HOME = homeDir;
try {
expect(resolveLaunchServerConfigs({}, "multi")).toEqual([]);
expect(resolveLaunch({}, "multi")).toEqual([]);
expect(existsSync(join(homeDir, ".mcp-inspector", "mcp.json"))).toBe(
true,
);
@ -302,7 +309,7 @@ describe("resolveLaunchServerConfigs", () => {
);
process.env.HOME = homeDir;
try {
const configs = resolveLaunchServerConfigs({}, "multi");
const configs = resolveLaunch({}, "multi");
expect(configs).toHaveLength(1);
expect(configs[0]).toMatchObject({ type: "stdio", command: "a" });
} finally {

View file

@ -0,0 +1,240 @@
import { describe, it, expect, beforeEach, afterEach } from "vitest";
import {
existsSync,
mkdtempSync,
readFileSync,
rmSync,
writeFileSync,
} from "node:fs";
import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
import { join } from "node:path";
import {
headersToServerSettings,
loadServerEntries,
selectServerEntry,
type ResolvedServer,
} from "@inspector/core/mcp/node/servers.js";
describe("headersToServerSettings", () => {
it("returns undefined when no headers are given", () => {
expect(headersToServerSettings()).toBeUndefined();
expect(headersToServerSettings({})).toBeUndefined();
});
it("builds a settings object carrying the headers as key/value pairs", () => {
const settings = headersToServerSettings({ Authorization: "Bearer t" });
expect(settings?.headers).toEqual([
{ key: "Authorization", value: "Bearer t" },
]);
expect(settings?.metadata).toEqual([]);
expect(settings?.roots).toEqual([]);
});
});
describe("loadServerEntries", () => {
let tempDir: string;
beforeEach(() => {
tempDir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "server-entries-test-"));
});
afterEach(() => {
rmSync(tempDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
});
it("lifts disk headers, timeouts, and OAuth into per-server settings", () => {
const configPath = join(tempDir, "mcp.json");
writeFileSync(
configPath,
JSON.stringify({
mcpServers: {
web: {
type: "streamable-http",
url: "http://x/mcp",
headers: { Authorization: "Bearer disk" },
connectionTimeout: 5000,
requestTimeout: 9000,
oauth: {
clientId: "client-abc",
clientSecret: "shh",
scopes: ["a", "b"],
},
},
},
}),
);
const servers = loadServerEntries({ configPath });
const settings = servers.web?.settings;
expect(settings?.headers).toEqual([
{ key: "Authorization", value: "Bearer disk" },
]);
expect(settings?.connectionTimeout).toBe(5000);
expect(settings?.requestTimeout).toBe(9000);
expect(settings?.oauthClientId).toBe("client-abc");
expect(settings?.oauthClientSecret).toBe("shh");
expect(settings?.oauthScopes).toEqual(["a", "b"]);
});
it("merges --header over disk headers while preserving disk timeouts", () => {
const configPath = join(tempDir, "mcp.json");
writeFileSync(
configPath,
JSON.stringify({
mcpServers: {
web: {
type: "streamable-http",
url: "http://x/mcp",
headers: { Authorization: "Bearer disk" },
requestTimeout: 9000,
},
},
}),
);
const servers = loadServerEntries({
configPath,
headers: { Authorization: "Bearer cli" },
});
expect(servers.web?.settings?.headers).toEqual([
{ key: "Authorization", value: "Bearer cli" },
]);
// Disk timeout survives the header override.
expect(servers.web?.settings?.requestTimeout).toBe(9000);
});
it("merges --header into a server that has no disk settings", () => {
const configPath = join(tempDir, "mcp.json");
writeFileSync(
configPath,
JSON.stringify({
mcpServers: {
web: { type: "streamable-http", url: "http://x/mcp" },
},
}),
);
const servers = loadServerEntries({
configPath,
headers: { Authorization: "Bearer cli" },
});
expect(servers.web?.settings?.headers).toEqual([
{ key: "Authorization", value: "Bearer cli" },
]);
});
it("applies env and cwd overrides to stdio configs only", () => {
const configPath = join(tempDir, "mcp.json");
writeFileSync(
configPath,
JSON.stringify({
mcpServers: {
local: { command: "node", args: ["server.js"], env: { A: "1" } },
web: { type: "streamable-http", url: "http://x/mcp" },
},
}),
);
const servers = loadServerEntries({
configPath,
env: { B: "2" },
cwd: "/tmp/work",
});
expect(servers.local?.config).toMatchObject({
type: "stdio",
command: "node",
env: { A: "1", B: "2" },
cwd: "/tmp/work",
});
// Non-stdio config is left untouched by env/cwd overrides.
expect(servers.web?.config).toMatchObject({
type: "streamable-http",
url: "http://x/mcp",
});
});
it("seeds an empty writable catalog when --catalog is missing", () => {
const catalogPath = join(tempDir, "catalog.json");
const servers = loadServerEntries({ catalogPath });
expect(servers).toEqual({});
expect(existsSync(catalogPath)).toBe(true);
expect(JSON.parse(readFileSync(catalogPath, "utf-8"))).toEqual({
mcpServers: {},
});
});
it("throws when a read-only --config file is missing (never seeds)", () => {
const configPath = join(tempDir, "absent.json");
expect(() => loadServerEntries({ configPath })).toThrow(
/Config file not found/,
);
expect(existsSync(configPath)).toBe(false);
});
it("rejects --catalog and --config together", () => {
const catalogPath = join(tempDir, "catalog.json");
const configPath = join(tempDir, "config.json");
writeFileSync(catalogPath, JSON.stringify({ mcpServers: {} }));
writeFileSync(configPath, JSON.stringify({ mcpServers: {} }));
expect(() => loadServerEntries({ catalogPath, configPath })).toThrow(
/mutually exclusive/,
);
});
it("rejects --catalog combined with an ad-hoc target", () => {
const catalogPath = join(tempDir, "catalog.json");
writeFileSync(catalogPath, JSON.stringify({ mcpServers: {} }));
expect(() =>
loadServerEntries({ catalogPath, target: ["my-server"] }),
).toThrow(/--catalog cannot be combined/);
});
it("builds a single ad-hoc server from a positional target", () => {
const servers = loadServerEntries({
target: ["my-server", "--flag"],
headers: { Authorization: "Bearer t" },
});
expect(Object.keys(servers)).toEqual(["default"]);
expect(servers.default?.config).toMatchObject({
type: "stdio",
command: "my-server",
args: ["--flag"],
});
expect(servers.default?.settings?.headers).toEqual([
{ key: "Authorization", value: "Bearer t" },
]);
});
});
describe("selectServerEntry", () => {
const a: ResolvedServer = {
config: { type: "stdio", command: "a" },
};
const b: ResolvedServer = {
config: { type: "stdio", command: "b" },
};
it("returns the named entry when it exists", () => {
expect(selectServerEntry({ a, b }, "b")).toBe(b);
});
it("throws listing available servers when the name is unknown", () => {
expect(() => selectServerEntry({ a, b }, "missing")).toThrow(
/Server 'missing' not found.*Available servers: a, b/,
);
});
it("returns the only entry when no name is given", () => {
expect(selectServerEntry({ a })).toBe(a);
});
it("throws when the source is empty and no name is given", () => {
expect(() => selectServerEntry({})).toThrow(/No servers found/);
});
it("throws asking for --server when several exist and no name is given", () => {
expect(() => selectServerEntry({ a, b })).toThrow(
/Multiple servers found.*--server.*Available servers: a, b/,
);
});
});