modelcontextprotocol / modelcontextprotocol/inspector

CLI and TUI advertise io.modelcontextprotocol/ui although they cannot render MCP Apps

Open
#2,403 1 comment 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

Nobody has claimed this yet.

bug v2
Dominant language
TypeScript
Stars
10.9k
Forks
1.5k
Avg merge
6h 17m
Merged PRs (30d)
151

Description

Problem

core/mcp/extensions.ts registers the MCP Apps extension (io.modelcontextprotocol/ui) as advertised by default, on the premise that "the Inspector always renders MCP Apps". InspectorClient applies that default in every client. The web client renders Apps, but the CLI (which has only the --app-info metadata probe) and the TUI cannot, and neither overrides the default.

Servers use the client's extension advertisement to decide whether to return an App. A server talking to the CLI or TUI can therefore send UI those clients cannot consume, which misrepresents the client under test.

Expected

Only a client that can render Apps advertises io.modelcontextprotocol/ui. The CLI and TUI should not advertise it by default. If metadata probing needs the server to believe Apps are supported, that should be an explicit opt-in flag.

Context

Found in Copilot review of #2401. The roadmap's §4 extension table records it as a compatibility gap.

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start in core/mcp/extensions.ts and trace how InspectorClient applies the default extension advertisement to the CLI and TUI. Check the existing --app-info metadata probe and client setup paths. Done means only clients that render MCP Apps advertise io.modelcontextprotocol/ui, with any metadata-probing opt-in explicit.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
typescript
Domain
cli
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
3/5
Estimated time
1-2 days
Activity status
Active
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
72/100

Get new issues in your inbox

A short digest of beginner-friendly GitHub issues.