# AppCrane — Claude Code Notes

## Distribution & updating
AppCrane is **not** published to npm (`package.json` is `private`). It's a self-hosted
app distributed from its GitHub repo — see `repository` in `package.json`
(github.com/gitayg/appCrane). Fresh install: the `install.sh` / `git clone` steps in
README.md. An existing deployment **self-updates from its own git `origin`**: a platform
admin POSTs `/api/self-update`, which runs `git fetch origin` + `git reset --hard
origin/main`, `npm install`, rebuilds the admin SPA, and restarts. So the source of truth
for any deployed box is its `git remote -v` — you don't pull from a separate distribution
channel.

## Releasing: regenerate the MCP connector catalogue
When an `appcrane_*` MCP tool is **added, renamed or removed**, or its **input schema
changes** (a new or renamed argument), two things must be regenerated before the
release is published:

1. `npm run gen:mcp-snapshot` — in this repo, re-records `server/services/mcpCatalog.snapshot.json`.
2. `npm run gen:catalog && npm run build` — in the **separate `appcrane-mcp` checkout**,
   which reparses this repo's tool definitions into the connector it ships.

Step 1 records tool names and roles only, so an argument change shows no diff there;
step 2 still matters, because the connector ships each tool's full input schema with
`additionalProperties: false` and silently refuses an argument it does not list.

Step 2 is the one that gets skipped. The connector ships an **offline** copy of the tool
catalogue so `tools/list` answers with no configuration, and the two repos share no CI —
so nothing failed when it silently fell 22 tools behind the platform (35 advertised
against 57 real). `test/mcp-catalog-sync.test.js` now fails the moment step 1 is missed,
but only the discipline written here catches step 2.

## Releasing: update the website changelog
Every minor or major release (vX.Y.0) also updates the appcrane.dev changelog page
(`/changelog.html` in the separate `appcrane-website` repo) from `release-notes.json`:
run `npm run sync:changelog` there, build with `npm test`, and publish the site with
the release. Patch releases fold into their minor's entry. The page fell 95 minor
releases behind (v2.21 shown at v2.116) before this step was written down.

## Releasing: bump a plugin's version when its files change
The `plugins/` marketplace sets an explicit `version` in each `plugin.json`, and Claude
Code ships an update only when that version changes. After changing a plugin, bump its
version, then run `npm run gen:plugin-releases`. `test/plugin-releases.test.js` fails
until you do, and the generator refuses to record a change that kept the old version.

## Data Persistence
If settings or configuration appear wiped, always check `/data` first.
AppCrane stores all persistent state (database, env vars, app configs) under the `DATA_DIR` path (default: `./data`).
Settings that "disappear" are usually still on disk — the process may have restarted pointing at a different working directory or `DATA_DIR` env var.