## Motivation and Context
SEP-1865 "MCP Apps - Interactive User Interfaces for MCP" is Final on the Extensions Track:
(https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/modelcontextprotocol/pull/1865) an optional extension,
negotiated through the SEP-2133 `capabilities.extensions` mechanism, that lets a server ship
HTML user interfaces which the host renders for tool results.
The normative spec lives in the ext-apps repository (`specification/2026-01-26/apps.mdx`).
The Python SDK implements it in-SDK (python-sdk#3003, the `Apps` extension); the TypeScript
ecosystem ships it as the separate `@modelcontextprotocol/ext-apps` package on top of
the core SDK's SEP-2133 support.
Server-side support is a thin convention layer over primitives this SDK already has
(SEP-2133 extension capabilities, `_meta` on tools and resources, free-form resource URIs
and MIME types). New `MCP::Apps` module:
- Wire vocabulary constants shared with the reference implementations: `EXTENSION_ID`
(`"io.modelcontextprotocol/ui"` - note `/ui`, not `/apps`), `RESOURCE_MIME_TYPE`
(`"text/html;profile=mcp-app"`), `URI_SCHEME` (`"ui://"`), and the legacy flat meta key
`RESOURCE_URI_META_KEY` (`"ui/resourceUri"`).
- `Apps.capability(mime_types:)` builds the `capabilities.extensions` fragment for
`support_extensions` on the server or `connect` on the client.
- `Apps.ui_resource(uri:, name:, ...)` builds an `MCP::Resource` for a UI template,
enforcing the spec's MUSTs (a `ui://` URI; the parameterized HTML MIME type by default).
- `Apps.tool_meta(resource_uri:, visibility:, meta:, legacy:)` builds the `_meta.ui.resourceUri`
linkage (optionally also emitting the legacy flat alias, matching the reference server helper
that keeps both shapes in sync), merged non-destructively into caller-supplied meta.
- `Apps.client_supports?(client_capabilities, mime_type:)` gates the text-only fallback
the extension requires for clients that did not declare the capability (symbol/string tolerant).
Everything else the extension defines (the sandboxed iframe, the `ui/*` postMessage bridge methods,
consent for UI-initiated calls) is HOST responsibility and out of scope for a server SDK;
a server only ever receives ordinary `resources/read` and `tools/call` requests.
The README section states this boundary.
Resolves#376.
## How Has This Been Tested?
New `test/mcp/apps_test.rb` pins the wire vocabulary and covers the capability fragment,
`ui_resource` scheme validation and MIME default, `tool_meta` non-destructive merging,
visibility, the legacy alias, and `client_supports?` across symbol/string keys, mimeTypes narrowing,
and missing declarations.
New integration tests in `test/mcp/server_test.rb` drive a full server: the `initialize` result
advertises the extension, tools/list serializes `_meta.ui.resourceUri`, `resources/read` serves
the HTML template, and `client_supports?` distinguishes hosts with and without the declared extension.
`bundle exec rake` (tests, RuboCop, and conformance baseline) passes. Also verified end-to-end
over stdio: a client connecting with the extension declared negotiates the capability,
discovers the tool linkage via `_meta.ui.resourceUri`, and reads the `ui://` template
as `text/html;profile=mcp-app` content.
## Breaking Changes
None. Purely additive helper module; no existing code paths change.
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