mcporter/docs/mcp.md
Sebastian B Otaegui 3e27b64021
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fix(runtime): preserve disableOAuth across headless paths (#198)
* feat(runtime): add `disableOAuth` connect option (cache-friendly OAuth suppression)

Closes #197.

Long-running headless callers (daemons, scheduled jobs, CI workers) need
to suppress the interactive OAuth flow without losing connection caching.
The only existing knob — `maxOAuthAttempts: 0` — couples those two concerns
because `useCache` is gated on `options.maxOAuthAttempts === undefined`.
Daemons that wrap `connect` to force `maxOAuthAttempts: 0` end up spawning
a fresh transport per `callTool`/`listTools` and `runtime.close()` cannot
reap any of them.

Add an additive `disableOAuth: boolean` option that suppresses OAuth at
the transport layer (short-circuits `shouldEstablishOAuth` and
`maybePromoteHttpDefinition`) but preserves caching. The cache entry
metadata gains a `disableOAuth` field so connections established with
the flag don't share a slot with connections that could refresh into an
OAuth flow — switching the flag between calls evicts and re-establishes,
mirroring the existing `allowCachedAuth` mismatch path.

Backward compatibility:

* `maxOAuthAttempts: 0` keeps its legacy escape-the-cache contract
  unchanged. Existing callers see no behavior change.
* `skipCache: true` keeps its behavior unchanged.
* `disableOAuth` defaults to undefined; only opt-in changes behavior.

Also export `ConnectOptions` from `runtime.ts` and add the parameter to
the `Runtime.connect` interface signature — the implementation already
accepted options at runtime but the interface only exposed
`connect(server)`, so callers couldn't pass options through the type
system. (Pre-existing gap surfaced by adding the new test coverage.)

Tests added to `tests/runtime-integration.test.ts`:

* `reuses cached connection when disableOAuth: true is passed` — two
  calls return the same ClientContext, `close()` reaps it.
* `maxOAuthAttempts: 0 still bypasses the cache (existing contract
  preserved)` — regression guard.
* `evicts and re-establishes the cached client when disableOAuth flag
  changes` — the core eviction semantic.

`pnpm test` (709 pass / 3 skip), `pnpm lint`, `pnpm typecheck` all
green.

* fix(runtime): preserve disableOAuth across helper calls

* fix(daemon): forward disableOAuth through keep-alive paths

* feat(cli): expose disableOAuth for headless commands

* fix(runtime): preserve cached slot across connect(disableOAuth) → callTool/listTools

Addresses PR #198 review comment r3366238654.

The documented headless setup is:

    await runtime.connect(server, { disableOAuth: true });
    await runtime.callTool(server, 'foo', { ... });

The first call stored the cache slot with `allowCachedAuth: undefined`,
but `callTool()` internally calls `this.connect(server, {
allowCachedAuth: true, disableOAuth: <effective>: true })` and the
cache-match check treated the two options shapes as structurally
different:

    existing.allowCachedAuth (undefined)
       !== options.allowCachedAuth (true)
       && options.allowCachedAuth !== undefined
    => MISMATCH => evict + reopen transport

Every first callTool / listTools after a pre-connect spawned a fresh
transport, defeating the pooling guarantee that motivated the
disableOAuth option in the first place. Same shape affected `listTools`
(which defaults `allowCachedAuth: options.allowCachedAuth ?? true`).

Fix: normalize at the connect() entrypoint. A `disableOAuth: true`
caller has no path to interactive OAuth, so cached-token application
is the only auth they can ever use — default `allowCachedAuth: true`
when the caller didn't pick a side. Explicit `false` is honored
(header-only / anonymous callers). The normalized value flows through
both the cache lookup and the cache write so subsequent internal
callers compose without eviction.

Two regression tests added to `tests/runtime-integration.test.ts`:

  - `preserves the cached client across connect(disableOAuth:true) →
    callTool() (no implicit eviction)`
  - `preserves the cached client across connect(disableOAuth:true) →
    listTools() (no implicit eviction)`

Both call `runtime.connect(disableOAuth:true)`, then invoke the
internal-cached path (callTool or listTools), then re-call
`runtime.connect(disableOAuth:true)` and assert the resulting
ClientContext is `=== ` the first one. Both tests fail without this
fix (the second connect returns a new ClientContext because the first
was evicted).

`pnpm test` 723 pass / 3 skip / 0 fail. `pnpm lint` + `pnpm
typecheck` clean. No push.

* docs(examples): add headless-pooling-demo for disableOAuth verification

Demonstrates the three patterns under the new `disableOAuth` option
against a local mock MCP server (no real auth). Reproducible artifact
for PR #198 review proof.

Patterns demonstrated:

* Legacy `maxOAuthAttempts: 0` (uncached): 5 connect() calls produce
  5 distinct ClientContexts. Existing contract preserved.
* `disableOAuth: true` on every connect: 5 calls produce 1
  ClientContext. Cache reuse under cache-friendly suppression.
* Documented headless setup — pre-connect(disableOAuth: true) +
  5 callTool() — proves the pre-connected slot survives the implicit
  internal connect path. Directly demonstrates the fix from b0e3e2e.

Run: `pnpm tsx examples/headless-pooling-demo.ts`

Sample output is intentionally redacted to no PII / no secrets: a local
http://127.0.0.1:<random-port>/mcp server with a public `add` tool.

* style(examples): oxfmt headless-pooling-demo (CI fix)

* fix(server-proxy): thread disableOAuth through schema-discovery listTools

Addresses PR #198 review comment r3366307210 (clawsweeper proxy gap).

The Proxy returned by `createServerProxy` calls `ensureMetadata()` on
every tool invocation, which fires `runtime.listTools(server, {
includeSchema: true })` for schema discovery. That call ran BEFORE the
proxy parsed the caller's options bag, so a `proxy.tool({ ... }, {
disableOAuth: true })` invocation on an OAuth server with no cached
schema could still trigger an interactive OAuth flow during metadata
fetch — defeating the no-browser guarantee the option was meant to
provide.

Fix:

* Pre-scan callArgs once for `disableOAuth: true` before invoking
  `ensureMetadata`. The scan is a single linear pass over the
  already-present argument list and short-circuits on the first match.
* Extend `ensureMetadata(toolName, { disableOAuth? })` and forward the
  flag to the underlying `runtime.listTools(serverName, { includeSchema:
  true, disableOAuth: true })` call.
* The schema-fetch path that was vulnerable now inherits the same
  no-OAuth posture as the eventual `runtime.callTool` invocation. End-
  to-end no-browser guarantee is preserved across the proxy interface.

Regression test in `tests/server-proxy.test.ts`:

  > threads disableOAuth through schema discovery so
  > proxy.tool({disableOAuth:true}) cannot trigger OAuth during
  > metadata fetch

Asserts BOTH:
- `runtime.listTools` called with `{ includeSchema: true, disableOAuth:
  true }`
- `runtime.callTool` called with the eventual tool args and
  `disableOAuth: true`

Locks the contract on both halves so a future refactor that re-introduces
the gap on either side will fail loudly.

Full suite: 724 pass / 3 skipped / 0 fail. `pnpm check` (format + lint
+ typecheck) clean.

* refactor(cli): drop --disable-oauth alias; keep only --no-oauth

The PR originally exposed two CLI names for the same intent:
--disable-oauth (mirroring the JS option `disableOAuth: true`) and
--no-oauth (the GNU-style boolean opt-out). Two names for one
behavior is noise — documentation has to mention both, users have to
learn both, and they invite drift.

--no-oauth is the right shape for a per-invocation boolean opt-out:
- Matches the dominant unix convention (git --no-verify, npm --no-save,
  bun --no-cache, curl --no-progress-meter).
- Shorter to type.
- Composes naturally with other flags in scripts.

The JS option name stays `disableOAuth: boolean` — that's the right
shape for a JS option (verb+noun, no Boolean-negation prefix
ambiguity), and the JS and CLI naming conventions are genuinely
different domains.

Removed CLI registrations + help text + internal forwarding for
--disable-oauth across:
- src/cli/call-arguments.ts (FLAG_HANDLERS registration)
- src/cli/call-command.ts (internal listArgs forwarding, 2 sites)
- src/cli/call-help.ts (help text)
- src/cli/list-command.ts (help text)
- src/cli/list-flags.ts (token check)
- src/cli/resource-command.ts (token check + help text)
- docs/cli-reference.md (3 references)

Renamed test cases that exclusively exercised --disable-oauth to
exercise --no-oauth instead, preserving regression coverage:
- tests/call-arguments.test.ts
- tests/cli-list-flags.test.ts
- tests/cli-resource-command.test.ts

The internal cache-key fragment `disable-oauth:` in
src/cli/tool-cache.ts is kept — it mirrors the JS option name (which
stays `disableOAuth`), not the CLI flag.

Tests: 724 passed, 3 skipped, 0 failed.
Lint: 0 warnings, 0 errors.
Typecheck: clean.

* fix(runtime): forward disableOAuth through callOnce

* chore: update dependencies

* fix(server-proxy): preserve schema-owned option fields

* fix(runtime): isolate OAuth cache variants safely

* fix(server-proxy): isolate schema discovery posture

* fix(server-proxy): preserve OAuth posture during discovery

---------

Co-authored-by: Peter Steinberger <steipete@gmail.com>
2026-06-08 16:11:23 -07:00

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---
summary: 'High-level overview of mcporters runtime, entry points, and reusable helpers.'
read_when:
- 'Onboarding to this repository or explaining mcporter to others'
---
# mcporter Overview
mcporter is the Sweetistics CLI + runtime for the Model Context Protocol (MCP). It wraps the upstream TypeScript SDK with:
- **Runtime orchestration** `createRuntime` loads servers from config JSON, editor imports, or ad-hoc flags and handles OAuth retries, transport promotion, and cleanup.
- **CLI surfaces** `mcporter list`, `mcporter call`, `mcporter generate-cli`, `mcporter emit-ts`, and `mcporter inspect-cli` expose the runtime features to humans and scripts.
- **Tooling helpers** `createServerProxy` maps MCP tools to camelCase methods for Node/Bun scripts and returns `CallResult` helpers (`.text()`, `.markdown()`, `.json()`).
## Primary Commands
- `npx mcporter list [server|--http-url|--stdio]`
Lists tool metadata, renders TypeScript-style signatures, and surfaces copy/pasteable examples (including ad-hoc HTTP selectors).
- `npx mcporter call server.tool key=value …`
Invokes a tool via either flag syntax or the function-call expression form; add `--output json` to capture structured responses.
- `npx mcporter resource server [uri]`
Lists MCP resources for a server, or reads a specific resource URI and renders text/markdown/JSON/raw output.
- `npx mcporter generate-cli --server name [--bundle|--compile]`
Emits a standalone CLI for a single MCP server. Bundling defaults to Rolldown unless the runtime resolves to Bun; compiled binaries require Bun.
- `npx mcporter emit-ts <server> --mode types|client`
Produces `.d.ts` files or typed client factories that mirror the CLI schema output.
- `npx mcporter inspect-cli dist/server.js`
Reads embedded metadata so you can regenerate a CLI without guesswork.
## Runtime Helpers
Use `createServerProxy(runtime, name)` inside scripts when you want ergonomic camelCase calls instead of kebab-case tool names. The proxy:
1. Validates arguments against the MCP schema.
2. Automatically merges default values.
3. Returns a `CallResult` helper so you can render `.text()`, `.markdown()`, or `.json()` without manual parsing.
When you need raw access (custom transports, streaming), use the bare `Client` from `@modelcontextprotocol/sdk` or inspect `runtime.connect(name)` for lower-level control. Headless callers that must rely on cached tokens without launching OAuth can pass `disableOAuth: true` to `connect`, `callTool`, `listTools`, resource helpers, and `callOnce`; this suppresses interactive OAuth while keeping eligible connections pooled.
## Debug + Support Docs
- **Ad-hoc MCP Servers** (`docs/adhoc.md`) explains the `--http-url` / `--stdio` flags.
- **Tool Calling Cheatsheet** (`docs/tool-calling.md`) shows the two argument styles and when to use each.
- **Hang Diagnostics** (`docs/hang-debug.md` + `docs/tmux.md`) run long-lived commands inside tmux and dump active handles if shutdown stalls.
Read these docs (via `pnpm run docs:list`) whenever your task touches the corresponding area. They contain the up-to-date guardrails used across Sweetistics repositories.