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MCPHub — Agent Guide

Authoritative instructions for AI agents and contributors working in this repo. Trust this file first; only fall back to wider search when something here is missing or contradicts the code. When you discover a contradiction, fix the code or fix this file — never let them drift.

This guide is intentionally short. It points to where the details live rather than restating them. Read the linked file when you need depth.

1. What this repo is

@samanhappy/mcphub is a TypeScript/Node (ESM) hub that aggregates multiple MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers behind a single HTTP surface, with a React/Vite dashboard.

Layer Entry Notes
Backend src/index.ts → src/server.ts Express + TypeORM (optional) + MCP SDK
Frontend frontend/src/ Vite + React + Tailwind, i18n via react-i18next
Config mcp_settings.json MCP server defs, users, groups, OAuth state
Docs docs/ Public docs (Mintlify). See docs/development/ for architecture

Layout map (read the directory when you need specifics, don't expand it here):

  • src/{routes,controllers,services,dao,db,middlewares,models,utils,types,config,clients}/
  • src/services/mcpService.ts — core MCP connection/lifecycle logic
  • src/dao/ + src/db/ — dual datasource (JSON file by default, PostgreSQL when USE_DB=true)
  • tests/ mirrors src/; colocated *.test.ts also picked up
  • locales/{en,fr,tr,zh}.json — i18n strings
  • dist/, frontend/dist/, coverage/ — generated; never hand-edit

2. Workflow contract

Commands (canonical list — don't duplicate elsewhere)

Purpose Command
Install pnpm install
Dev (both) pnpm dev
Dev backend only pnpm backend:dev
Dev frontend pnpm frontend:dev
Lint pnpm lint
Format pnpm format
Test (CI mode) pnpm test:ci
Test (watch) pnpm test:watch
Build all pnpm build
Verify dist node scripts/verify-dist.js
Start prod pnpm start

Backend listens on :3000 (or $PORT). Frontend dev server :5173 proxies API calls to the backend.

Pre-commit gate (must all pass)

pnpm lint && pnpm test:ci && pnpm build

The runtime requirement is ^18.0.0 || >=20.0.0 (see package.json); CI runs on Node 20.x, and the published Docker image is built on Node 22 (see Dockerfile). If a hook fails, fix the root cause — do not bypass with --no-verify.

Post-change manual checks (when relevant)

  • Touched backend startup / MCP wiring → pnpm dev, hit GET /health, scan logs for Successfully connected client for server: ….
  • Touched frontend UI → open the page in pnpm frontend:dev and exercise the path; tests don't catch UX regressions.
  • Some MCP servers fail to connect without API keys — that is expected locally and not a regression signal.

3. Conventions (hard rules)

  • ESM imports: always use .js extensions for relative imports (e.g. import { x } from './foo.js'). TS files included.
  • TypeScript strict is on; do not weaken it. Don't paper over types with any — narrow or define a type.
  • Comments in English only.
  • Formatting: 2-space indent, single quotes — let Prettier decide (pnpm format). ESLint config is the flat eslint.config.mjs.
  • Naming:
    • Services / DAOs: XxxService, XxxDao (suffix-based).
    • React components & their files: PascalCase.
    • Utility modules: camelCase.
  • Shared types live in src/types/. Don't redefine DTOs locally.
  • Conventional Commits (feat:, fix:, chore:, refactor:, …), imperative present tense.
  • PRs: describe behavior change, list manual + automated tests, attach before/after for UI work, link issues. Keep generated artifacts out of the diff.

4. Architecture invariants

Dual datasource (JSON ⇄ PostgreSQL)

USE_DB=true + DB_URL switches storage from mcp_settings.json to Postgres via TypeORM.

When adding/changing a persisted field, update every layer or migrations will silently drop it:

# File What to do
1 src/types/index.ts Add/modify the interface
2 src/dao/*Dao.ts JSON impl (if behavior changes)
3 src/db/entities/*.ts TypeORM @Column (mark nullable, use simple-json for objects)
4 src/dao/*DaoDbImpl.ts Map field in create/update
5 src/db/repositories/*.ts Update if the wrapper exposes it
6 src/utils/migration.ts Include in JSON→DB migration
7 mcp_settings.json Update the example if user-facing

Model ↔ DAO ↔ entity ↔ JSON-path mapping: inspect the DAO files in src/dao/ directly — they are the source of truth, and any table reproduced here would drift.

Common pitfalls: forgetting step 6 → silent migration drop; missing nullable: true → DB write fails; complex object stored without simple-json → serialization error.

Bearer keys have two explicit kinds: legacy and operator-created keys are kind: 'system'; user-level keys are kind: 'user' and must have an owner. Do not infer kind from whether owner is empty. User-level keys restore the owner's live user context on MCP transport requests and are never dashboard API credentials.

Routing surface

  • /mcp/{group|server} — route to a specific group or single server.
  • /mcp/$smart — smart routing.
  • /:user/mcp/{group|server}, /:user/sse/{group} — user-scoped variants; the :user prefix selects which owner's servers/groups are visible. See AppServer.initialize() in src/server.ts.
  • Auth: JWT (HS256) + bcrypt for the dashboard, layered with bearer keys (/api/auth/keys), MCPHub's own OAuth authorization server (@node-oauth/oauth2-server), and optional Better Auth (GitHub/Google). Default admin password is randomized unless ADMIN_PASSWORD is set on first launch.

For deeper architecture context, read docs/development/architecture.mdx.

5. Testing

  • Jest with ts-jest ESM preset. Shared setup in tests/setup.ts, helpers in tests/utils/.
  • Place suites under tests/<area>/ mirroring src/, or colocate as src/**/*.test.ts. Both are picked up.
  • Name files *.test.ts / *.spec.ts.
  • Touching auth, OAuth, or SSE flows? Add or extend an integration test under tests/integration/. Don't lower coverage on these paths.
  • Do not modify tests to make them pass unless the behavior change is the point of the PR.

6. Common entry points

Task Where to start
Add an MCP server Edit mcp_settings.json, restart backend, check connect log line
Add an HTTP API src/routes/ → src/controllers/ → types in src/types/ → tests
Add a frontend page frontend/src/pages/ (+ frontend/src/components/), wire in router
Add a CLI subcommand src/cli/commands/<name>.ts + register in src/cli/main.ts dispatcher + src/cli/help.ts + tests in tests/cli/commands/
Add a translation key Add to all four locales/*.json files
Update public docs docs/ (Mintlify); reflect major changes in README.md

7. Troubleshooting (quick pointers)

  • MCP server fails to start: validate JSON in mcp_settings.json; check the command/args resolves on PATH (e.g. uvx is required for Python-based servers that use it, such as the default fetch server).
  • Frontend not served: production mode needs pnpm frontend:build first.
  • Type errors: pnpm backend:build shows the full TS output.
  • Port conflict: change PORT or kill the holder.

GitHub security advisories / code scanning (private)

gh auth status
gh api repos/samanhappy/mcphub/security-advisories/<ghsa_id>
gh api repos/samanhappy/mcphub/code-scanning/alerts/<alert_number>
gh api repos/samanhappy/mcphub/code-scanning/alerts/<alert_number>/instances

Compare advisory details against current main and the tagged fix commit before deciding if the issue is still live. For CodeQL/code-scanning alerts, prefer the API calls above over opening github.com/.../security/code-scanning/... directly — the web page may 404 or hide details without the right GitHub session, while alerts/<id> returns the rule, severity, most_recent_instance, and message, and /instances confirms the concrete locations.

8. Agent self-maintenance

This file is a living contract. Keep it accurate; resist the urge to grow it.

Update when:

  • A path, command, or invariant referenced here no longer matches the code.
  • The user states a durable preference (style, workflow, tool choice) that future agents need to honor.
  • A new architectural invariant emerges (something that, if violated, will silently break things) — like the dual-datasource checklist above.

Don't add:

  • Step-by-step build logs, command timings, or "NEVER CANCEL" warnings — agents read the docs, not the stopwatch.
  • Anything trivially discoverable by ls, grep, or reading the file the section already points to.
  • Per-task narratives or recent-change summaries — those belong in commits and PRs.

How to edit:

  1. Find the smallest section that owns the fact. Edit in place.
  2. Prefer a pointer (see X) over copying details. One source of truth per fact.
  3. If a section grows past a screen, it's probably duplicating something downstream — push detail into the relevant subdirectory's README/AGENTS.md instead.
  4. After editing, skim the rest for stale references to what you changed.

Scoped guides: when a subsystem accumulates rules that don't generalize (e.g. frontend-only conventions), prefer a nested frontend/AGENTS.md over bloating this file. Agents read the nearest AGENTS.md to the files they're editing.

Agent skills

Issue tracker

GitHub Issues for samanhappy/mcphub, accessed via the gh CLI. See docs/agents/issue-tracker.md.

Triage labels

Five canonical labels: needs-triage, needs-info, ready-for-agent, ready-for-human, wontfix. See docs/agents/triage-labels.md.

Domain docs

Single-context layout: CONTEXT.md at repo root + docs/adr/ for architectural decision records. See docs/agents/domain.md.