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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2.5 KiB
Markdown
35 lines
2.5 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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## 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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