| Filename | Latest commit message | Latest commit date |
|---|---|---|
91f02fd6db* 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> |
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| package-lock.json | ||
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| README.md | ||
| tsconfig.json | ||
MCP Inspector Launcher
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).
Responsibility
- Parse mode from a leading prefix of
--web(default),--cli, or--tuiimmediately after the script name. - Forward all following arguments unchanged (including tokens that look like mode flags).
- 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 (nospawn()).
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.
Web server-list flags (--web)
mcp-inspector --web chooses which server list the UI shows and whether it is
editable (see specification/v2_catalog_launch_config.md):
| Invocation | Server list | Editable in UI? |
|---|---|---|
mcp-inspector --web |
Default catalog ~/.mcp-inspector/mcp.json |
Yes |
mcp-inspector --web --catalog <path> (or MCP_CATALOG_PATH=<path>) |
That file as the active catalog (created/seeded if missing) | Yes |
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 |
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 --headers |
No |
Rules: --catalog and --config are mutually exclusive; neither combines with
an ad-hoc target or --header; --header requires an ad-hoc HTTP/SSE server
and is applied to that connection (it is no longer a warn-only no-op).
Publishing
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.
Architecture
For how the launcher fits with the shared config processor and app runners, see the Launcher and config consolidation document in the repo root docs/ folder.