# Developer Protocol **Server:** hn-mcp-server **Version:** 0.7.0 **Framework:** [@cyanheads/mcp-ts-core](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@cyanheads/mcp-ts-core) `^0.13.22` **Engines:** Bun ≥1.4.4, Node ≥24.0.0 **MCP SDK:** `@modelcontextprotocol/server` 2.4.0 **Zod:** ^4.6.7 > **Read the framework docs first:** `node_modules/@cyanheads/mcp-ts-core/CLAUDE.md` contains the full API reference — builders, Context, error codes, exports, patterns. This file covers server-specific conventions only. --- ## What's Next? When the user asks what to do next, what's left, or needs direction, suggest relevant options based on the current project state: 1. **Re-run the `setup` skill** — ensures CLAUDE.md, skills, structure, and metadata are populated and up to date with the current codebase 2. **Run the `design-mcp-server` skill** — if the tool/resource surface hasn't been mapped yet, work through domain design 3. **Add tools/resources/prompts** — scaffold new definitions using the `add-tool`, `add-app-tool`, `add-resource`, `add-prompt` skills 4. **Add services** — scaffold domain service integrations using the `add-service` skill 5. **Add tests** — scaffold tests for existing definitions using the `add-test` skill 6. **Field-test definitions** — exercise tools/resources/prompts with real inputs using the `field-test` skill, get a report of issues and pain points 7. **Run `devcheck`** — lint, format, typecheck, and security audit 8. **Run the `security-pass` skill** — audit handlers for MCP-specific security gaps: output injection, scope blast radius, input sinks, tenant isolation 9. **Run the `polish-docs-meta` skill** — finalize README, CHANGELOG, metadata, and agent protocol for shipping 10. **Run the `maintenance` skill** — investigate changelogs, adopt upstream changes, and sync skills after `bun update --latest` Tailor suggestions to what's actually missing or stale — don't recite the full list every time. --- ## Core Rules - **Logic throws, framework catches.** Tool/resource handlers are pure — throw on failure, no `try/catch`. Plain `Error` is fine; the framework catches, classifies, and formats. Use error factories (`notFound()`, `validationError()`, etc.) when the error code matters. - **Use `ctx.log`** for request-scoped logging. No `console` calls. - **Use `ctx.state`** for tenant-scoped storage. Never access persistence directly. - **Need input the caller didn't supply?** `return ctx.requestInput(...)` and read `ctx.inputs` when the handler is re-entered. Never `await` for user input mid-handler. - **Secrets in env vars only** — never hardcoded. - **Cut noise.** Add only what earns its place: no speculative generality, no guards for states the framework already prevents (Zod-validated params, classified errors), no abstraction until a third caller proves it, no option nothing sets. - **Close the loop on issues.** When implementing work tracked by a GitHub issue, comment on the issue with what landed and close it. Do both — a comment without a close leaves stale issues open; a close without a comment leaves no record of what shipped. The comment is for future readers — state the concrete changes, not the conversation that produced them. --- ## Patterns ### Tool ```ts import { tool, z } from '@cyanheads/mcp-ts-core'; import { CALL_BUDGET_MS, getHnService, settlePage, normalizeUrl, stripHtml } from '@/services/hn/hn-service.js'; export const getStories = tool('hn_get_stories', { description: 'Fetch stories from an HN feed (top, new, best, ask, show, jobs).', annotations: { readOnlyHint: true }, input: z.object({ feed: z.enum(['top', 'new', 'best', 'ask', 'show', 'jobs']).describe('Which HN feed to fetch.'), count: z.number().int().min(1).max(100).default(30).describe('Number of stories to return (1–100).'), offset: z.number().int().min(0).default(0).describe('Number of stories to skip for pagination.'), }), output: z.object({ stories: z.array(z.object({ id: z.number().describe('Item ID.'), title: z.string().describe('Story title.'), // ... })).describe('Stories from the feed.'), feed: z.string().describe('Which feed was fetched.'), total: z.number().describe('Total items in the feed.'), }), async handler(input, ctx) { const hn = getHnService(); // One time budget for the feed and every item fetch after it. const deadline = Date.now() + CALL_BUDGET_MS; const feedIds = await hn.fetchFeed(input.feed, ctx, deadline); const sliced = feedIds.slice(input.offset, input.offset + input.count); // Live items plus the IDs whose fetch failed; throws when every item failed. const { items, failedIds } = settlePage(await hn.fetchItems(sliced, ctx, deadline)); if (failedIds.length > 0) ctx.enrich({ failedIds }); ctx.log.info('Fetched stories', { feed: input.feed, count: items.length }); return { stories: items.map(/* ... */), feed: input.feed, total: feedIds.length }; }, // format() populates MCP content[] — the ONLY field most LLM clients forward to the model. // structuredContent (from output) is for programmatic use. Make format() content-complete. format: (result) => { const lines = result.stories.map((s) => { const meta = [`${s.score} pts`, `by ${s.by}`, `id:${s.id}`].join(' | '); return `### ${s.title}\n${meta}${s.url ? `\n${s.url}` : ''}`; }); return [{ type: 'text', text: `## ${result.feed} stories\n\n${lines.join('\n\n')}` }]; }, }); ``` ### Server config ```ts // src/config/server-config.ts — lazy-parsed, separate from framework config const ServerConfigSchema = z.object({ concurrencyLimit: z.coerce.number().min(1).max(50).default(10) .describe('Max concurrent HTTP requests for batch item fetches.'), }); let _config: z.infer | undefined; export function getServerConfig() { _config ??= ServerConfigSchema.parse({ concurrencyLimit: process.env.HN_CONCURRENCY_LIMIT, }); return _config; } ``` For env booleans use `z.stringbool()`, never `z.coerce.boolean()` — `Boolean("false")` is `true`, so a coerced flag can't be disabled through the environment. ### Server identity `createApp()` requires `name` and `title`, both set to the hyphenated repo name: ```ts await createApp({ name: 'hn-mcp-server', title: 'hn-mcp-server', // ... }); ``` `lint:packaging` (check 9) validates the pair against the unscoped package name. ### Session posture and shutdown Two more `createApp()` options shape how the server runs rather than how it presents itself: ```ts await createApp({ sessionMode: 'stateless', // or { default: 'stateful', require: 'stateful' } setup() { initHnService(); }, }); ``` `sessionMode` declares the HTTP session posture in `src/` instead of leaving it to a deployment's `MCP_SESSION_MODE`, which still wins whenever it carries a meaningful value (an empty string and an unsubstituted `${…}` placeholder read as unset and fall through to the option). Stateless is right here: no tool calls `ctx.requestInput`, so no caller ever needs a session to answer a mid-handler prompt. Add `require: 'stateful'` if one ever does — startup then fails with a `ConfigurationError` rather than serving a mode in which a 2025-era client can never answer. Stdio is never refused. `teardown(core)` is the `setup()` counterpart — release a watcher, socket, or non-`unref()`'d timer there. `initHnService()` allocates none of those (the service holds a concurrency limit and nothing else), so this server declares no `teardown`. Add one alongside any future long-lived handle. --- ## Context Handlers receive a unified `ctx` object. Key properties: | Property | Description | |:---------|:------------| | `ctx.log` | Request-scoped logger — `.debug()`, `.info()`, `.notice()`, `.warning()`, `.error()`. Auto-correlates requestId, traceId, tenantId. Dual-sink: Pino **and** `notifications/message` to the client, so treat it as client-visible. | | `ctx.state` | Tenant-scoped KV — `.get(key)`, `.set(key, value, { ttl? })`, `.delete(key)`, `.getMany(keys)`, `.list(prefix, { cursor, limit })`. Accepts any JSON-serializable value; reads return its JSON form (a `Date` comes back as an ISO string). | | `ctx.requestInput` | Suspend and ask the caller for more input — `return ctx.requestInput({ inputRequests: { key: inputRequired.elicit({ message, requestedSchema }) } })`. Never returns; the handler is re-entered with the answers. Always present. | | `ctx.inputs` | The request's responses — `.accepted(key, schema)`, `.view(key)`, `.state()`, `.dropped` — limited to what the client declared (`elicitation` and its form/url modes, `sampling`, `roots`). Client-supplied: a consent gate trusts only a `ctx.state` record it stored when it asked, bound to the operation, caller, and target (see the `api-context` skill). | | `ctx.clientCapabilities` | What the client declared for this request, `undefined` when no view exists. Decides whether to ask for optional context (e.g. roots); never a reason to skip a consent prompt. | | `ctx.enrich` | Success-path agent context (empty-result notices, query echo, pagination totals) — `ctx.enrich(...)` or `.notice()` / `.total()` / `.echo()` / `.truncated()`. Reaches `structuredContent` and `content[]`; lands only when the definition declares an `enrichment` block (no-op otherwise). | | `ctx.content` | Non-text content blocks — `.image(data, mimeType)`, `.audio(data, mimeType)`, or `ctx.content(block)` for a raw block. Prepended to `content[]` after `format()`; never enters `structuredContent`. | | `ctx.signal` | `AbortSignal` for cancellation. | | `ctx.requestId` | Request ID — the one every log record of the call carries and its error envelope returns as `data.requestId`. | | `ctx.tenantId` | Tenant ID from JWT; `'default'` for stdio or HTTP with auth off. | --- ## Errors Handlers throw — the framework catches, classifies, and formats. **Recommended: typed error contract.** Declare `errors: [{ reason, code, when, recovery, retryable?, severity?, thrownBy? }]` on `tool()` / `resource()` to receive `ctx.fail(reason, …)` typed against the reason union. TypeScript catches typos at compile time, `data.reason` is auto-populated for observability, linter enforces conformance against the handler body. `recovery` is required (≥ 5 words, lint-validated) — the single source of truth for the agent's next move. The framework puts it on the wire whenever a failure carrying that `reason` arrives without a hint — a bare `ctx.fail('reason')` or a service throw with `data: { reason }` — as `data.recovery.hint`, mirrored into `content[]` text unless the message already contains it verbatim; override with an explicit `{ recovery: { hint: '...' } }` when dynamic runtime context matters. Every error envelope also carries `data.requestId`, the id the server's log records for that call carry, and `content[]` closes with `(reason … · request )`. `severity` (`debug` / `info` / `notice` / `warning`) drops the log record for a modeled outcome below `error` — the `item_not_found` / `user_not_found` misses use `notice`; upstream faults keep `error`. Mark an entry the service layer throws with `thrownBy: 'service'` so `error-contract-unthrown` skips it — lint-only metadata, nothing at runtime reads it. Baseline codes (`InternalError`, `ServiceUnavailable`, `Timeout`, `ValidationError`, `SerializationError`, `RequestCancelled`) bubble freely and don't need declaring. ```ts import { JsonRpcErrorCode } from '@cyanheads/mcp-ts-core/errors'; errors: [ { reason: 'item_not_found', code: JsonRpcErrorCode.NotFound, when: 'HN reports no item exists for the given itemId.', recovery: 'Verify the itemId via hn_search_content or hn_get_stories.', severity: 'notice' }, ], async handler(input, ctx) { const root = await hn.fetchItem(input.itemId, ctx); if (!root) { throw ctx.fail('item_not_found', `Item ${input.itemId} not found`, { itemId: input.itemId }); } } ``` **Declare contracts inline on each tool.** The contract is part of the tool's public surface — one file should give the full picture. Don't extract a shared `errors[]` constant; per-tool repetition is the intended cost of locality. **Fallback (no contract entry fits):** throw via factories or plain `Error`. ```ts import { notFound, serviceUnavailable } from '@cyanheads/mcp-ts-core/errors'; throw notFound('Item not found', { itemId }); throw serviceUnavailable('API unavailable', { url }, { cause: err }); // Plain Error — framework auto-classifies from message patterns throw new Error('Item not found'); // → NotFound throw new Error('Invalid query format'); // → ValidationError // McpError — when no factory exists for the code import { McpError, JsonRpcErrorCode } from '@cyanheads/mcp-ts-core/errors'; throw new McpError(JsonRpcErrorCode.DatabaseError, 'Connection failed', { pool: 'primary' }); ``` **Service-layer:** services don't have `ctx.fail`, but can carry the contract reason via `data: { reason: 'X' }` on a factory throw. The auto-classifier preserves `data` on the wire so clients see the same `error.data.reason` they'd see from `ctx.fail`, and the framework fills the contract's `recovery` for a throw that carries none. `hn-service.ts` throws five `upstream_*` reasons this way, each with an explicit `recovery: { hint }` that overrides the contract text with runtime context (the upstream's name, the `Retry-After` wait), plus `upstream_no_response` (a stories or user page on which every item failed, most often with no answer from the API), which carries no hint, so the contract's `recovery` fills it, and the declared `retry_deadline_exceeded` (`hn_get_stories`, `hn_get_user`, `hn_get_thread`). Each of their `errors[]` entries carries `thrownBy: 'service'` — `error-contract-unthrown` reads the handler body alone and would otherwise flag them as dead. See framework CLAUDE.md and `api-errors` skill for the full auto-classification table and all factories. --- ## Structure ```text src/ index.ts # createApp() entry point config/ server-config.ts # Server-specific env vars (Zod schema) services/ hn/ hn-service.ts # HN Firebase + Algolia API client types.ts # HN domain types mcp-server/ tools/markdown-escape.ts # format() boundary: escape titles, quote bodies tools/served-at-cap.ts # notice sentence for a size input served at its per-call cap tools/thread-cursor.ts # hn_get_thread cursor codec: packed frontier, JSON format still decoded tools/username-input.ts # shared input schema for an HN account name: username and author tools/definitions/ get-stories.tool.ts # hn_get_stories — Fetch stories from an HN feed get-thread.tool.ts # hn_get_thread — Get item + comment tree get-user.tool.ts # hn_get_user — Fetch user profile + submissions search-content.tool.ts # hn_search_content — Search via Algolia ``` --- ## Naming | What | Convention | Example | |:-----|:-----------|:--------| | Files | kebab-case with suffix | `search-docs.tool.ts` | | Tool/resource/prompt names | snake_case with `hn_` prefix | `hn_search_content` | | Directories | kebab-case | `src/services/doc-search/` | | Descriptions | Single string or template literal, no `+` concatenation | `'Search items by query and filter.'` | --- ## Skills Two skill trees live at the project root, written for different readers: | Tree | For | Written by | |:-----|:----|:-----------| | `framework-skills/` | The agent developing this server — framework skills (`metadata.audience: external`) plus any development-time skills of the server's own | `init` and the `maintenance` sync (framework skills); you (your own) | | `skills/` | The agents that install the server and call its tools — tool chains, identifier sources, gates | You, deliberately, with the `add-skill` skill. Absent by default; usually none is needed | Development skills are modular instructions. Read them directly when a task matches — e.g., `framework-skills/add-tool/SKILL.md` when adding a tool. `bun run list-skills` prints the full registry. Their directory is deliberately not `skills/`: Claude Code and Codex auto-load a plugin's root `skills/`, so a server that ships `.claude-plugin/` or `.codex-plugin/` would hand them to every agent that installs it. A published skill in root `skills/` reaches plugin installs and the `.mcpb` bundle as-is, ships in the npm package and the Docker image, and reaches MCP clients when the server opts in with `createApp({ skills: 'skills' })`. `lint:packaging` validates the tree. **Agent skill directory:** Copy `framework-skills/` into the directory your agent discovers (Claude Code: `.claude/skills/`, others: equivalent). Skills then load as context without referencing `framework-skills/` paths. After framework updates, run the `maintenance` skill — Phase B re-syncs the agent directory. Available skills: | Skill | Purpose | |:------|:--------| | `setup` | Post-init project orientation | | `design-mcp-server` | Design tool surface, resources, and services for a new server | | `add-tool` | Scaffold a new tool definition | | `add-app-tool` | Scaffold an MCP App tool + paired UI resource | | `add-resource` | Scaffold a new resource definition | | `add-prompt` | Scaffold a new prompt definition | | `add-skill` | Author a skill the server publishes in root `skills/` for the agents that use it — when one earns its place, structure, validation, delivery | | `add-service` | Scaffold a new service integration | | `add-test` | Scaffold test file for a tool, resource, or service | | `field-test` | Exercise tools/resources/prompts with real inputs, verify behavior, report issues | | `tool-defs-analysis` | Read-only audit of MCP definition language across the surface — voice, leaks, defaults, recovery hints, output descriptions | | `security-pass` | Audit server for MCP-flavored security gaps: output injection, scope blast radius, input sinks, tenant isolation | | `code-simplifier` | Post-session cleanup against `git diff` — modernize syntax, consolidate duplication, align with the codebase | | `polish-docs-meta` | Finalize docs, README, metadata, and agent protocol for shipping | | `git-wrapup` | Land working-tree changes as a commit stack — version bump, changelog, verify, commit by concern, release commit on top. No tag, no push to main; opens the release PR when the project declares release PR mode | | `release-pr-review` | Review pass on an open release PR — simplifier + correctness review, fixes as ordinary commits on top of the stack, PR body kept in sync. Release PR mode only | | `release-and-publish` | Fast-forward merge (release PR mode) + tag + push + npm + MCP Registry + GH Release + Docker. Picks up from `git-wrapup` | | `maintenance` | Investigate changelogs, adopt upstream changes, sync skills to agent dirs | | `orchestrations` | Chain task skills into a gated multi-phase pipeline — build-out, QA-fix, update-ship — when you can spawn sub-agents | | `report-issue-framework` | File a bug or feature request against `@cyanheads/mcp-ts-core` via `gh` CLI | | `report-issue-local` | File a bug or feature request against this server's own repo via `gh` CLI | | `techniques` | Catalog of response/data-shaping techniques — overflow handling, payload shaping, retrieval patterns | | `api-auth` | Auth modes, scopes, JWT/OAuth | | `api-canvas` | DataCanvas: register tabular data, run SQL, export, plus the `spillover()` helper for big result sets — Tier 3 opt-in | | `api-config` | AppConfig, parseConfig, env vars | | `api-context` | Context interface, RequestContext, logger, state, multi-round-trip input | | `api-errors` | McpError, JsonRpcErrorCode, error patterns | | `api-linter` | Definition linter rule catalog — invoked by `bun run lint:mcp` and `devcheck` | | `api-mirror` | MirrorService: persistent self-refreshing local mirror (embedded SQLite + FTS5) of a bulk upstream dataset — Tier 3 opt-in | | `api-services` | LLM, Speech, Graph services | | `api-testing` | createMockContext, test patterns | | `api-utils` | Formatting, parsing, security, pagination, scheduling, telemetry helpers | | `api-telemetry` | OTel catalog: spans, metrics, completion logs, env config, cardinality rules | | `api-workers` | Cloudflare Workers runtime | **Chaining skills into pipelines.** When the user wants a multi-phase effort — build this server out, QA-and-fix the surface, update-and-ship — *and you can spawn sub-agents*, `framework-skills/orchestrations/SKILL.md` sequences the task skills above into a gated pipeline with verification at each step. Read it to drive the run. Optional: skip it if you can't orchestrate sub-agents, and ignore it entirely if you were *spawned* as one — you've already been scoped to a single phase. When you complete a skill's checklist, check the boxes and add a completion timestamp at the end (e.g., `Completed: 2026-03-11`). --- ## Commands **Runtime:** Scripts use Bun's native TypeScript execution — `bun run ` is the standard invocation. | Command | Purpose | |:--------|:--------| | `bun run build` | Compile TypeScript | | `bun run rebuild` | Clean + build | | `bun run clean` | Remove build artifacts | | `bun run devcheck` | Lint + format + typecheck + security + changelog sync | | `bun run tree` | Generate directory structure doc | | `bun run format` | Auto-fix formatting (safe fixes only) | | `bun run format:unsafe` | Also apply Biome's unsafe autofixes — review the diff; they can change behavior | | `bun run list-skills` | Print the skill registry | | `bun run lint:mcp` | Validate MCP tool/resource definitions (rule catalog: `api-linter` skill) | | `bun run lint:packaging` | Packaging surface checks — `server.json`/`manifest.json` env-var parity, MCPB `user_config` wiring, plugin manifests (run by devcheck) | | `bun run bundle` | Build, pack, and clean a `.mcpb` for one-click Claude Desktop install | | `bun run changelog:build` | Regenerate `CHANGELOG.md` from `changelog/*.md` | | `bun run changelog:check` | Verify `CHANGELOG.md` is in sync (used by devcheck) | | `bun run audit:fix` | `bun audit fix` — upgrade vulnerable packages to the lowest safe version within existing ranges (`--dry-run` previews, `--latest` rewrites ranges). First response when `devcheck` flags a transitive advisory; then `bun update `, then `bun dedupe` | | `bun run audit:refresh` | Delete `bun.lock` and reinstall. Last resort after `audit:fix`, `bun update `, and `bun dedupe` — re-resolves every ranged dep (the framework pin included) and rewrites the lockfile as `lockfileVersion: 2` | | `bun run test` | Run tests (Vitest — use `bun run test`, not `bun test`) | | `bun run test:coverage` | Run the full Vitest suite with Istanbul coverage | | `bun run start:stdio` | Production mode (stdio) | | `bun run start:http` | Production mode (HTTP) | **CI is one file.** `.github/workflows/codeql.yml` is the only GitHub Actions workflow: CodeQL is GitHub-owned end to end, and the file runs only while the repo's CodeQL *default setup* is turned off. Verification — `devcheck`, tests, the release gates — runs locally; don't add a workflow that re-runs it. --- ## Bundling `bun run bundle` produces a `.mcpb` extension bundle for one-click install in Claude Desktop. `mcpb pack` reads `.mcpbignore`, not `.gitignore`, so every root path the bundle must not ship — source, tests, docs, caches, logs, agent docs, plugin manifests, gitignored and local-only files such as `claude-plans/` — needs a root-anchored line there (`/docs/`, never `docs/`, which also strips `node_modules/*/docs/`); `lint:packaging` names each missing or unanchored line. Root `skills/` ships on purpose. The pack step is followed by `scripts/clean-mcpb.ts`, which prunes dev dependencies (`mcpb clean`) and strips four classes of `node_modules/**` content that root-anchored `.mcpbignore` patterns cannot reach: dependency-shipped agent docs (`framework-skills/`, `skills/`, `.claude/`, `.agents/`, `AGENTS.md`, and `CLAUDE.md` at a package's root, and any `SKILL.md`); platform-specific native bindings; node-gyp build output beside a `binding.gyp`; and the framework's build-only files. The agent-doc selector matches only at a package root because a `skills/` deeper in a package is runtime code: MCP SDK 2.4 ships its Skills extension at `@modelcontextprotocol/{server,core}/dist/ext/skills/`, which the framework imports at startup. `tests/scripts/bundle-agent-docs.test.ts` pins that selector in both `clean-mcpb.ts` and `lint-packaging.ts`, so a script resync that would strip the SDK's modules fails the suite. MCPB is stdio-only — HTTP deployments are unaffected. **Adding an env var requires both files:** `server.json` (registry discovery, `environmentVariables[]`) and `manifest.json` (bundle install UX, `mcp_config.env` + `user_config`). `lint:packaging` (run by `devcheck`) verifies the env var names match, that every `user_config` option is wired into `mcp_config.env` as `"X": "${user_config.X}"` (the host substitutes nothing else — `"${X}"` reaches the server as that literal string), and that an optional string option carries `"default": ""`. **README install badges** (Claude Desktop `.mcpb`, Cursor, VS Code) and the `base64` / `encodeURIComponent` config-generation commands are ship-time concerns — run the `polish-docs-meta` skill, which carries the badge format, layout, and generation snippets in `framework-skills/polish-docs-meta/references/readme.md`. --- ## Changelog Directory-based, grouped by minor series via the `.x` semver-wildcard convention. Source of truth: `changelog/.x/.md` — one file per release, shipped in the npm package. At release, author the per-version file with a concrete version and date, then run `bun run changelog:build` to regenerate the rollup. `changelog/template.md` is a **pristine format reference** — never edited or moved; read it for the frontmatter + section layout when scaffolding. `CHANGELOG.md` is a **navigation index** (header + link + summary per version), regenerated by `bun run changelog:build` — devcheck hard-fails on drift; never hand-edit it. Each per-version file opens with YAML frontmatter: ```markdown --- summary: "One-line headline, ≤350 chars" # required — powers the rollup index breaking: false # optional — true flags breaking changes security: false # optional — true ONLY for a source-code security fix, never a dependency CVE bump --- # 0.1.0 — YYYY-MM-DD ... ``` `breaking: true` renders a `· ⚠️ Breaking` badge — use it when consumers must update code on upgrade (signature changes, removed APIs, config renames). `security: true` renders a `· 🛡️ Security` badge and pairs with a `## Security` body section — set it only for a security fix in this server's *own source code*, never for a routine dependency or transitive CVE bump (record those under `## Dependencies`). When both flags are set, the badges render `· ⚠️ Breaking · 🛡️ Security`. `agent-notes` is an optional free-form field for maintenance agents processing the release downstream. Content there won't appear in the rendered CHANGELOG — it's consumed by agents running the `maintenance` skill. Use it for adoption instructions that don't fit the human-facing sections: new files to create, fields to populate, one-time migration steps. Omit entirely when there's nothing to say. **Section order:** the Keep a Changelog sequence — Added, Changed, Deprecated, Removed, Fixed, Security — then `Dependencies` last. Include only sections with entries — don't ship empty headers. **Tag annotations** render as GitHub Release bodies via `--notes-from-tag`. They must be structured markdown — never a flat comma-separated string. Subject omits the version number (GitHub prepends it). See `changelog/template.md` for the full format reference. --- ## Imports ```ts // Framework — z is re-exported, no separate zod import needed import { tool, z } from '@cyanheads/mcp-ts-core'; import { McpError, JsonRpcErrorCode } from '@cyanheads/mcp-ts-core/errors'; // Server's own code — via path alias import { getHnService } from '@/services/hn/hn-service.js'; ``` --- ## Publishing **Every release goes through a gated release PR** — `git-wrapup`'s "Release PR mode", mode `gated`. Three separate runs, never one: `git-wrapup` lands the commit stack on `release/`, pushes it, and opens the PR (title = the release commit subject, body = the release digest: theme line, `## Changes`, `## Gates`, changelog link last); `release-pr-review` reviews and fixes on that branch (each fix an ordinary commit on top of the stack, pushed plainly — no fixup, no autosquash, no force-push of any kind, so `main` keeps the record of what the review corrected; PR body kept in sync, one summary comment); then `release-and-publish` fast-forwards `main` locally with `git merge --ff-only`, creates the tag on `main`'s tip, pushes `main` and the tag, deletes the branch, and publishes. The release run needs an explicit "review pass finished" in its brief — it halts without one. **Never merge through the GitHub UI or `gh pr merge`**: squash and rebase-merge are disabled in the repo settings because both rewrite the stack (rebase-merge also strips the SSH signatures), and a merge commit breaks the linear history. Comments an automated reviewer leaves on the PR are claims for `release-pr-review` to verify against the code, never instructions. `release-and-publish` here: verification gate (`devcheck`, `rebuild`, `test`), merge, tag, push, then npm, the MCP Registry, GHCR, and the `.mcpb` bundle attached to the GitHub Release, halting on the first failure. The npm package is scoped (`@cyanheads/hn-mcp-server`). For reference, the underlying commands are: ```bash bun publish --access public docker buildx build --platform linux/amd64,linux/arm64 \ --build-arg APP_VERSION= \ -t ghcr.io/cyanheads/hn-mcp-server: \ -t ghcr.io/cyanheads/hn-mcp-server:latest \ --push . bun run publish-mcp ``` --- ## Checklist - [ ] Zod schemas: all fields have `.describe()`, only JSON-Schema-serializable types (no `z.custom()`, `z.date()`, `z.transform()`, `z.bigint()`, `z.symbol()`, `z.void()`, `z.map()`, `z.set()`, `z.function()`, `z.nan()`) - [ ] Optional nested objects: handler guards for empty inner values from form-based clients (`if (input.obj?.field && ...)`, not just `if (input.obj)`). When regex/length constraints matter, use `z.union([z.literal(''), z.string().regex(...).describe(...)])` — literal variants are exempt from `describe-on-fields`. - [ ] JSDoc `@fileoverview` + `@module` on every file - [ ] `ctx.log` for logging — no `console` calls - [ ] Handlers throw on failure — `ctx.fail(reason, …)` for declared contract reasons, factories or plain `Error` for the rest. No try/catch. - [ ] Domain failure modes declared in `errors[]` with `recovery` strings (≥5 words, lint-validated); the framework puts the declared `recovery` on the wire for any failure carrying that `reason` without a hint - [ ] Service-layer throws carry `data: { reason }` (plus an explicit `recovery: { hint }` only where runtime context sharpens the contract text), and their `errors[]` entries carry `thrownBy: 'service'` - [ ] A reason that is an ordinary caller-side miss rather than a fault carries `severity` below `error` - [ ] `format()` renders all data the LLM needs — different clients forward different surfaces (Claude Code → `structuredContent`, Claude Desktop → `content[]`); both must carry the same data - [ ] Wrapping HN/Algolia: schemas reflect real upstream sparsity (HN omits fields freely); `format()` preserves uncertainty rather than fabricating from missing data - [ ] Tests cover at least one sparse payload case per tool that wraps upstream items - [ ] Tests use `createMockContext({ errors: tool.errors })` when the test exercises `ctx.fail` - [ ] Registered in `createApp()` tools array - [ ] `.codex-plugin/plugin.json` populated — `name`, `version`, `description`, `repository`, `license` from `package.json`; `interface.displayName` = the unscoped repo name (never the npm scope — `lint:packaging` enforces this); `interface.shortDescription` from `package.json` description - [ ] `.codex-plugin/mcp.json` updated — server name key is the unscoped repo name; every user-supplied variable (API key, contact email, instance URL) is listed in `env_vars` so Codex forwards it from the user's environment. Never write `"KEY": ""` into `env` — an empty value replaces the user's exported key and is read as unset - [ ] `.claude-plugin/plugin.json` populated — `name`, `version`, `description`, `author`, `repository`, `license`, `keywords` from `package.json`; inline `mcpServers` entry keyed by the unscoped repo name. Every user-supplied variable is declared under `userConfig` (`type`, `title`, `description`; `sensitive: true` for keys and tokens; `required: true` or `default: ""`) and referenced from `env` as `"KEY": "${user_config.