73b651ff21* feat(cli,tui): normalize --catalog / --config with web; update --help (#1347) Bring the CLI and TUI in line with the web catalog vs read-only session model introduced in #1481/#1483, and close the outstanding --help item from #1347. Core (core/mcp/node/config.ts): - Add `catalogPath` to ServerConfigOptions (writable catalog slot). - `resolveServerSource()` picks the active source: `--catalog` (writable, seed-if-missing) wins over `--config` (read-only, error-if-missing). - Writable sources seed an empty `{"mcpServers":{}}` on first run (matches the web backend) instead of erroring; read-only `--config` still errors. - `serverSourceConflict()` shared conflict matrix (mirrors run-web): --catalog/--config mutually exclusive; neither combines with an ad-hoc target. - `readServerListFile()` public loader for runners (TUI) needing the raw map. - Rename `withDefaultConfigPath` → `withDefaultCatalogPath`; the no-flag default now fills the writable catalog slot, not --config. CLI / TUI: - Add `--catalog <path>` (+ MCP_CATALOG_PATH) and re-document `--config` as a read-only session in --help. - Enforce the shared conflict matrix before resolution. Full writable persistence/CRUD threading remains deferred to #1482 / #1432 (CLI/TUI are read consumers today; the split surfaces as seed- vs error-on-missing). Tests: core resolution matrix (source/conflict/seed/read-only), CLI catalog + conflict integration tests, TUI loadTuiServers unit tests. READMEs updated. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com> * test(launcher): add smoke:cli + smoke:tui e2e launcher smokes (#1347) The launcher smokes only checked `--help` for --cli/--tui; nothing exercised the launcher → CLI/TUI → core path on the built artifact (only smoke:web did, for web). Add two end-to-end smokes wired into validate:launcher between smoke:launcher and smoke:web: - smoke:cli (scripts/smoke-cli.mjs): runs `--cli` against the bundled stdio test server via a temp --catalog and asserts tools/list returns the tools, plus the #1347 resolution paths — default-catalog seed-on-missing, read-only --config error-without-seed, and the --catalog/--config conflict. - smoke:tui (scripts/smoke-tui.mjs): launches `--tui --catalog <temp>` and asserts the Ink app renders its first frame ("MCP Servers") within a timeout, then SIGTERMs it (shallow boot/render check). Both build test-servers/build on demand if missing. Docs updated (AGENTS.md validate description, launcher README). Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com> * refactor: address review on #1499 (comment accuracy, CLI/TUI flag parity) Review feedback from @claude on PR #1499 (all non-blocking): - Align CLI catalogPath resolution with the TUI: `options.catalog?.trim() || process.env.MCP_CATALOG_PATH` so an explicit empty `--catalog ""` falls back to MCP_CATALOG_PATH identically in both front-ends (CLI used `??`, which only guards undefined/null). - Clarify the `serverSourceConflict` comment: it mirrors only the source-selection portion of web's matrix and deliberately omits web's `--header` rejection, since CLI/TUI merge --header into per-server settings. - Note the deliberate --header broadcast semantics in loadTuiServers. - Share an EMPTY_CATALOG_CONTENT constant between seedEmptyCatalog and readServerListContent instead of two separate literals. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com> * refactor(cli): trim --config to match --catalog and the TUI (#1499 review) Cosmetic uniformity follow-up from the re-review: configPath now uses `options.config?.trim() || undefined`, matching the catalog slot above it and the TUI. Behavior is unchanged (resolveServerSource/serverSourceConflict already trim downstream). Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com> --------- Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
87 lines
6.6 KiB
Markdown
87 lines
6.6 KiB
Markdown
# MCP Inspector Launcher
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The launcher is the package that provides the global `mcp-inspector` binary (e.g. when users run `npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector`). It is not a separate user-facing app—it is the single entrypoint that selects and runs one of the clients (web, CLI, or TUI).
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## Responsibility
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- Parse mode from a leading prefix of `--web` (default), `--cli`, or `--tui` immediately after the script name.
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- Forward all following arguments unchanged (including tokens that look like mode flags).
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- Dynamically import that app’s runner from `clients/{web,cli,tui}/build/index.js` (relative to the launcher build output) and call it **in-process** (no `spawn()`).
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All configuration parsing, config-file loading, and server setup are handled by the app runners and by **core**; the launcher does not interpret config or env vars.
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## Web server-list flags (`--web`)
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`mcp-inspector --web` chooses which server list the UI shows and whether it is
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editable (see [specification/v2_catalog_launch_config.md](../../specification/v2_catalog_launch_config.md)):
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| Invocation | Server list | Editable in UI? |
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| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------- |
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| `mcp-inspector --web` | Default catalog `~/.mcp-inspector/mcp.json` | Yes |
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| `mcp-inspector --web --catalog <path>` (or `MCP_CATALOG_PATH=<path>`) | That file as the active catalog (created/seeded if missing) | Yes |
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| `mcp-inspector --web --config <path>` | That file as a **read-only session** — shown but never written, seeded, or migrated (safe for a foreign config) | No |
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| `mcp-inspector --web --server-url <url> --transport http --header "Name: Value"` (or a positional command) | One ad-hoc server held in memory, connectable with the given `--header`s | No |
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Rules: `--catalog` and `--config` are mutually exclusive; neither combines with
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an ad-hoc target or `--header`; `--header` requires an ad-hoc HTTP/SSE server
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and is applied to that connection (it is no longer a warn-only no-op).
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## CLI and TUI server-list flags (`--cli` / `--tui`)
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The CLI and TUI use the same `--catalog` / `--config` vocabulary as `--web`,
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resolved by the shared `core/mcp/node/config.ts` helpers:
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| Invocation | Server list source |
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| ------------------------------------------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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| `mcp-inspector --cli` / `--tui` (no source flag, no ad-hoc target) | Default writable catalog `~/.mcp-inspector/mcp.json` (created/seeded empty if missing) |
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| `--catalog <path>` (or `MCP_CATALOG_PATH=<path>`) | That file as a **writable catalog** — seeded empty if missing |
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| `--config <path>` | That file as a **read-only session** — served as-is, never written or seeded; **errors if absent** |
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| positional command / `--server-url <url>` | One ad-hoc server |
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Rules (shared `serverSourceConflict`): `--catalog` and `--config` are mutually
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exclusive, and neither combines with an ad-hoc command/URL target. The CLI/TUI
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do not perform catalog CRUD yet — they are read consumers — so the
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writable/read-only split currently surfaces only as **seed-if-missing**
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(`--catalog`/default) vs **error-if-missing** (`--config`). Full writable
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persistence is tracked in #1482 / #1432.
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### Production web build (`--web`, no `--dev`)
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Prod `--web` serves static assets from `clients/web/dist/`, which only exists
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after a build. In the published package `dist/` always ships. In a fresh dev
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checkout it is absent, so the runner **builds it on demand** the first time you
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launch (`vite build` via `npm run build:client`, run in `clients/web`) instead
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of serving a broken page (#1486). If that build can't run — e.g. dev
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dependencies are missing — the launcher exits with an actionable error telling
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you to run `npm run build` (from `clients/web`) or relaunch with `--dev` to use
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the Vite dev server. `--dev` never needs `dist/`; it runs Vite directly.
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CI and `npm run validate` (via `validate:launcher`) exercise this prod path
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end-to-end with `npm run smoke:web` (`scripts/smoke-web.mjs`): it starts
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`mcp-inspector --web` against the built `dist/` and asserts `GET /` returns the
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SPA (HTTP 200) with the injected `__INSPECTOR_API_TOKEN__`.
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### CLI and TUI smokes
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`validate:launcher` also runs end-to-end smokes for the other two modes through
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the built launcher artifact (beyond the `--help` checks in `smoke:launcher`):
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- `npm run smoke:cli` (`scripts/smoke-cli.mjs`) — runs `mcp-inspector --cli`
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against the bundled stdio test server via a temp `--catalog` and asserts
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`tools/list` returns the server's tools, plus the `--catalog`/`--config`
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resolution paths (default-catalog seed-on-missing, read-only `--config`
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error-without-seed, `--catalog`/`--config` conflict).
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- `npm run smoke:tui` (`scripts/smoke-tui.mjs`) — launches
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`mcp-inspector --tui --catalog <temp>` and asserts the Ink app renders its
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first frame within a timeout, then shuts it down (a shallow boot/render
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check, not full interaction).
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Both build `test-servers/build` on demand if it is missing.
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## Publishing
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The root `@modelcontextprotocol/inspector` package ships as one fat tarball: `npm run build` at the repo root builds all clients, then `prepack` runs before `npm publish`. Runtime dependencies are declared on the root `package.json`; client builds bundle `@inspector/core` and externalize npm packages resolved from the root install.
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## Architecture
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For how the launcher fits with the shared config processor and app runners, see the [Launcher and config consolidation](../../docs/launcher-config-consolidation-plan.md) document in the repo root `docs/` folder.
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