mcp-pacemaker 2.0.1

package/README.md

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+# mcp-pacemaker
+
+**Keep your MCP servers alive across editor restarts, reboots, and token expiry.** The long-running bridge is dependency-free; a small CLI (commander · clack · picocolors) handles setup.
+
+MCP hosts — editors (VS Code, Cursor, Claude Desktop) **and** CLIs (Claude Code, Copilot CLI,
+Codex, Gemini) — run stdio MCP servers as child processes. When the host restarts, crashes, or
+exits (every one-shot CLI run), **those servers die**. `mcp-pacemaker` runs your servers as
+children of a small, long-lived bridge and exposes each over the MCP HTTP+SSE / Streamable HTTP
+transport. Multiple hosts use one bridge, with an isolated child per session by default.
+Opt into pre-warming or reuse one initialized child for compatible stateless tools sessions
+with [shared mode](#shared-mode). Wire hosts to one bridge, or give each its own.
+A cross-platform supervisor + OS auto-start keep the bridge itself alive across reboots and
+sleep/wake, and a pluggable auth layer injects a fresh token per request for HTTP servers.
+
+After a restart, a returning client can reuse a recorded session ID to re-establish its handshake
+against a fresh server. This does not restore arbitrary tool state or preserve TCP connections.
+Clients that stop retrying after a dropped connection may still need a reload; socket handoff
+is separate planned work.
+
+## Quick start
+
+This README describes **2.0.x**. The current line is 2.x; the explicit maintenance line is
+1.3.x. See the [legacy documentation](https://github.com/girishkvs/mcp-pacemaker/blob/v1.3.1/README.md)
+for its immediate-save behavior and [support policy](SECURITY.md#supported-versions).
+
+Compatibility gates distinguish immutable **1.3.0 / 2.0.0** from the **1.3.1 / 2.0.1** candidates.
+A 2.x client handles legacy immediate saves. A 1.x client cannot write pooling settings to a
+2.x bridge: update the CLI and refresh old dashboard tabs. Before downgrading, settle pending
+or interrupted transactions with 2.x. See the [real-version gates](CONTRIBUTING.md#real-version-compatibility-gates)
+for exact pairs; other minor versions are not covered.
+
+```bash
+npm i -g github:girishkvs/mcp-pacemaker#v2.0.1
+mcp-pacemaker init
+```
+
+That one command does the whole setup:
+
+1. **detects** every MCP host you have installed — editors and CLIs,
+2. **imports** the servers already configured in them into `~/.mcp-pacemaker/servers.json`,
+3. **rewrites** each host's config to point at the bridge (backing every file up first),
+4. **registers** OS auto-start so the bridge returns after a reboot,
+5. **starts** the bridge and prints what it wired.
+
+Nothing is written before you see it: `mcp-pacemaker plan --client <host>` shows the exact
+changes, every config write leaves a `.bak`, and `mcp-pacemaker uninstall` restores them.
+
+After setup, bare `mcp-pacemaker` reports status:
+
+```bash
+mcp-pacemaker            # status: bridges, wired hosts, servers
+mcp-pacemaker top        # live terminal dashboard
+mcp-pacemaker doctor     # diagnose config, reachability, wiring
+```
+
+<details>
+<summary>Prefer to drive it yourself? The same steps, one at a time</summary>
+
+Every command takes any host id — `vscode`, `cursor`, `claude`, `claude-code`, `copilot-cli`,
+`codex`, `gemini` (see [Supported hosts](#supported-hosts)). `--from` / `--client` below are
+just examples; substitute whichever you use.
+
+```bash
+mcp-pacemaker import  --from <host>            # build servers.json from an existing host
+mcp-pacemaker plan    --client <host>          # dry run: show what install would change
+mcp-pacemaker install --client <host>          # wire one host (--port N gives it its own bridge)
+mcp-pacemaker start                            # start the bridge
+```
+
+```bash
+# e.g. import from Cursor, then wire three hosts to the same bridge
+mcp-pacemaker import  --from cursor
+mcp-pacemaker install --client cursor
+mcp-pacemaker install --client claude-code
+mcp-pacemaker install --client gemini
+```
+
+Run `install` once per host you want wired; repeat with `--port N` instead to give a host its
+own bridge. `emit` prints the config entries without writing anything, if you'd rather paste
+them in.
+
+</details>
+
+## Why not just use supergateway / mcp-proxy?
+
+Those are great, mature stdio↔SSE bridges. `mcp-pacemaker` targets a different problem —
+*durable local hosting on a dev workstation* — and adds things they don't:
+
+| | supergateway | mcp-proxy | **mcp-pacemaker** |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| stdio → SSE | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
+| Streamable HTTP | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
+| Dependencies | npm tree | PyPI tree | **bridge: zero** · tiny setup CLI |
+| Process supervision | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
+| OS auto-start (logon / unlock / boot) | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ (Windows / macOS / Linux) |
+| Dynamic per-request token (from a CLI, auto-refresh) | ❌ (static) | ❌ (static/OAuth2) | ✅ |
+| Sessions survive the bridge restarting | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
+| Scheduled recycle for interactively-authenticated servers | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
+| One-command import + client wiring | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
+| Web + terminal dashboard, HTTP API | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
+
+## Supported hosts
+
+Editors and CLIs are auto-detected and wired to the bridge. Most hosts get Streamable HTTP
+(`/<name>/mcp`); Cursor and Claude Desktop are wired over SSE (`/<name>/sse`) until Streamable
+HTTP is verified there. The bridge centralizes auth, so hosts talk to it unauthenticated over
+loopback.
+
+| Host | Type | Config | Wiring | Transport |
+|---|---|---|---|---|
+| VS Code | editor | `Code/User/mcp.json` | direct edit | Streamable HTTP |
+| Cursor | editor | `~/.cursor/mcp.json` | direct edit | SSE |
+| Claude Desktop | editor | `claude_desktop_config.json` | direct edit | SSE |
+| Claude Code | CLI | `~/.claude.json` | native `claude mcp add` | Streamable HTTP |
+| Copilot CLI | CLI | `~/.copilot/mcp-config.json` | direct edit | Streamable HTTP |
+| Codex CLI | CLI | `~/.codex/config.toml` | TOML (comment-preserving) | Streamable HTTP |
+| Gemini CLI | CLI | `~/.gemini/settings.json` | direct edit | Streamable HTTP |
+
+**Topologies:** wire every host to one shared bridge (default), or give each host its own bridge
+(`install --client X --port N`) — or any mix. `status`/`doctor` report all bridges + wired hosts.
+
+## Install
+
+Use a maintained **Node.js 22 or 24** release. Node 20 remains a compatibility target but is
+end-of-life, not a recommended secure runtime. The bridge has no npm runtime dependencies;
+the setup CLI and dashboard have their own dependencies.
+
+GitHub and npm publication are separate. Until the npm release is announced from
+[this repository](https://github.com/girishkvs/mcp-pacemaker/releases), use the pinned GitHub
+release. Do not assume that an npm package with a matching name is this project.
+
+```bash
+npm i -g github:girishkvs/mcp-pacemaker#v2.0.1
+# Deliberate legacy installation instead:
+npm i -g github:girishkvs/mcp-pacemaker#v1.3.1
+```
+
+After npm publication, `mcp-pacemaker@latest` selects the current 2.x line and
+`mcp-pacemaker@legacy` selects maintained 1.3.x. Verify the official listing's repository and
+maintainer before installing. For a repeatable installation, choose an exact released version:
+
+```bash
+npm i -g mcp-pacemaker@2.0.1
+# Or, deliberately:
+npm i -g mcp-pacemaker@1.3.1
+```
+
+`@1` and `@2` are version ranges, not the maintained channels. They can select a version
+withdrawn from a channel. `upgrade --self` resolves the installed major's channel and prints
+an exact-version command; it never installs or downgrades anything.
+
+Use a durable installation directory for a long-running service. Do not register autostart
+from an `npx` cache: that cache may be removed later. Bare CLI invocation can enter the setup
+wizard; use `--version` for a read-only installation check.
+
+Windows setup also needs PowerShell 7 (`pwsh`) and Windows Script Host for its launcher.
+Automatic configuration edits need .NET Framework 4.6.2 or newer. The bundled helper is
+unsigned; npm provenance is not Authenticode signing or an application-control allowlist.
+Windows ARM64 is not validated.
+
+### Command reference
+
+| Command | What it does |
+|---|---|
+| `init [--client a,b] [--yes]` | **The one you want.** Detect hosts, import, wire, auto-start, launch |
+| `status` | Bridges, wired hosts, servers, and any server currently failing |
+| `reload` | Re-read `servers.json` into the running bridge without restarting it |
+| `doctor` | Diagnose config, bridge reachability, host wiring |
+| `prewarm [--port N] [--json]` | One view of stdio candidates, pools, shared-child state and measured process starts |
+| `prewarm --enable <server> [--count N]` | Explicitly enable warm slots; `--disable <server>` turns them off |
+| `logs [--follow] [--since 2h] [--server name] [--grep text]` | Read and filter durable logs, including retained rotation |
+| `top` / `dashboard` | Live terminal UI / web dashboard |
+| `plan --client <host>` | Dry run — show exactly what `install` would change |
+| `import --from <host>` | Build `~/.mcp-pacemaker/servers.json` from an existing host |
+| `install --client <host> [--port N]` | Wire one host (its own `--port` gives it its own bridge) |
+| `emit --client <host>` | Print the config entries without writing anything |
+| `start` / `stop` | Start or stop bridges (`--port` for one, else all) |
+| `upgrade [--self]` | Re-wire hosts; `--self` only prints same-major, exact-version installation guidance |
+| `update-check [--json]` | Compare the installed version with its maintained npm channel |
+| `uninstall` | Stop the bridge, remove auto-start, restore configs from `.bak` |
+
+> Package installation does not upgrade a running backend. `upgrade` rewires host configuration;
+> it does not replace package files, restart an adopted backend, or update its autostart path.
+
+> On start, pacemaker **probes the port**: it *adopts* an existing pacemaker bridge and *refuses to collide* with a foreign service (the wizard offers another port).
+
+For a supervisor created by these patch releases, `stop --port N` verifies the matching
+installation/configuration identity, waits for shutdown, and holds managed autostart until an
+explicit `start --port N`. Normal OS shutdown does not create that hold. Use the matching
+installation's CLI. Older or directly launched bridges have no managed stop record and are
+refused rather than reported as stopped; disable their OS autostart and verify shutdown first.
+
+On Linux/macOS the control socket lives beside the configuration, independent of `TMPDIR`.
+Its complete path must fit within 103 UTF-8 bytes. `install` and `init` check this before
+changing configuration or autostart; use a shorter configuration location rather than
+relying on an implicit socket-location fallback.
+
+Isolated and pooled stdio servers support HTTP+SSE (`/<name>/sse`) and Streamable HTTP
+(`/<name>/mcp`). Shared mode requires Streamable HTTP.
+
+`install` writes a `.bak` of your client config before touching it, and `uninstall` restores it.
+
+### Replacing or rolling back a running installation
+
+Do not overwrite a package directory while its supervisor or bridge is running. Workers and
+native helpers can load later, and dashboard assets are read from disk: replacement can mix
+old and new code even when the original process still reports its old version.
+
+Identify the selected port, installation directory, configuration directory and OS autostart
+entry first. Settle or cancel 2.x batches, recover interrupted transactions with 2.x, and keep
+a protected configuration backup. Disable the selected autostart entry and stop its supervisor
+and bridge before replacing files; prove they cannot restart during replacement. Keep the
+known-good installation until the new backend's version and instance identity are confirmed.
+Re-register the intended autostart path, refresh dashboard tabs, and confirm host wiring.
+
+One global npm prefix holds one package version and its shared command names. Installing the
+other major there replaces it. Separate ports do not isolate credentials, nonces, logs or
+session files: manual side-by-side operation needs separate durable code roots and separate
+configuration directories, plus separate host/HOME state for CLI-managed setup.
+`init/import --config` selects a source host configuration, not an isolated runtime profile.
+There is no package `--profile` or `MCP_HOME` switch. Do not use an unscoped stop/uninstall
+operation when another instance must remain running.
+
+## Dashboards
+
+Two views of the same live state. Neither is required — the bridge runs headless — but both are
+useful for answering "is this server actually up, and who is using it?"
+
+### Web dashboard
+
+`mcp-pacemaker dashboard`, or open `http://127.0.0.1:<port>/ui`. It streams over SSE, so it
+updates on its own without polling or a refresh.
+
+![Web dashboard: one card per server, showing sessions, warm pool, pids and connected agents](docs/images/dashboard.png)
+
+Per server it shows the transport (`stdio` / `http`), the sharing policy (`pool` when pre-warming),
+live sessions against the cap, request count, the actual OS pids, the warm-pool count, how long
+ago it was last used, and **which clients are connected** — above, one server is shared by
+VS Code and Claude Code while others are held by Copilot, Cursor and Codex. `Recycle` restarts
+that server's processes; it is disabled for servers with no session to restart. The live log at
+the bottom is the bridge's own log, filterable.
+
+### Pre-warming controls
+
+The **Pre-Warming** tab puts every stdio candidate, current pool and shared server in one table.
+It shows cold-start p50/p95, observed peak sessions, process starts, warm/target counts,
+shared-child state and pending work, and an action.
+HTTP proxies are excluded because the bridge does not launch their processes.
+
+Choose **Enable pre-warming (N)** on a slow-server card or in the table. The button shows
+the exact warm count and the extra resident-process cost before you click. Nothing enables
+it automatically. **Disable pre-warming** removes idle warm children without killing active
+sessions after the change is applied.
+
+Changes are batched in a **complete pending copy** of `servers.json`. Every accepted change
+resets a five-second countdown. When editing stops, reload validates the pending copy, retains
+the original as `servers.previous.json`, flips the pending file into place, and activates the
+new settings. The dashboard shows **Pending** or **Applying** until that succeeds; active
+mode and warm counts are not changed early. **Reload now** flushes the same batch immediately.
+
+**Cancel batch** discards a pending batch without changing active settings. **Undo batch**
+stages the full previous configuration for another five-second batch, only if no intervening
+active-file edit has occurred. These actions affect the entire batch; the dashboard names all
+affected servers. An unrelated pending batch must be cancelled or applied before Undo.
+
+The same controls are available without a browser:
+
+```sh
+mcp-pacemaker prewarm --port 8791
+mcp-pacemaker prewarm --port 8791 --enable filesystem --count 2
+mcp-pacemaker prewarm --port 8791 --disable filesystem
+# Changes are queued; the printed command cancels a pending batch or undoes it after application.
+```
+
+Use `--config <path>` when the bridge's config and admin nonce are outside the default
+directory. `--json` returns the measured snapshot. The CLI and UI use the same server
+eligibility and recommendation data; a missing latency sample is not reported as a zero-cost
+startup. The CLI returns after staging, so consecutive commands can join the same batch.
+`prewarm` shows pending settings separately from active values. Config remains strict JSON,
+not JSONC; the pending copy preserves unrelated JSON and requires a matching active revision.
+Conflicts are reported rather than overwriting someone else's edit.
+
+On Windows, saves run with the normal bridge account and use **directory-inherited auditing**.
+The dashboard gives a non-blocking notice: custom per-file audit rules may not carry forward
+to the new active copy. The retained original keeps its original metadata. No audit-read
+privilege, UAC prompt, or permanently elevated bridge is required.
+
+This does not permit broader access to configuration data. Candidates must have appropriate
+access restrictions before any configuration bytes are written, and supported integrity
+protections must be retained. Actual source write denial or unsupported protection remains
+an error. Configuration operations run in a serialized worker so file inspection does not
+block MCP traffic.
+
+Windows security inspection uses the bundled, own-source .NET Framework helper rather than
+starting PowerShell or compiling code on each write. Automatic edits require .NET Framework
+4.6.2 or later; modern Windows includes it. The helper's source, build instructions and
+integrity metadata are [included in the package](tools/windows-security-helper/README.md).
+Windows ARM64 execution is not yet validated.
+
+Staging requests and file commits each have a bounded execution budget; the acknowledged
+five-second batching delay does not keep the original HTTP request open. A commit already in
+progress can finish after its deadline. The result distinguishes a pre-commit failure from
+a committed or unknown outcome; it never automatically retries or claims a timed-out write
+was rolled back.
+
+The two file moves are not an atomic exchange. Reload coordinates them with validated recovery
+state and non-replacing destination placement. Existing MCP traffic continues using the
+previous in-memory configuration during the flip; an external reader can briefly find the
+active path absent. Recovery must not overwrite a file created by an external editor.
+Reread the settings after an uncertain result.
+
+### Upgrading from 1.3.0
+
+Version 2.0.0 changes the configuration-save protocol; it does not require a new `servers.json`
+format. Update the bridge and CLI together, then reload any open dashboard pages. A 1.3.0
+client with a current nonce gets HTTP 409 before staging, with an instruction to update the
+client. An already-open tab retains the old nonce after a bridge restart and gets HTTP 401;
+refresh it to load the new dashboard and admin session.
+
+Custom API clients must send `x-mcp-pooling-batch: 1`. Treat HTTP 202 as acceptance, not
+completion, and follow the returned batch ID in `prewarm.batches` until it is applied,
+cancelled or failed. CLI scripts must likewise wait for application before relying on new
+settings. Undo now restores the complete batch and may affect several servers.
+Updated clients still understand the immediate HTTP 200 response from a 1.3.0 bridge.
+
+Before downgrading, cancel or apply pending changes with 2.0 and resolve any interrupted
+transaction using 2.0 recovery. Stop that bridge before starting 1.3.0 with the active config.
+Do not use a 1.3.0 binary to recover 2.0 transaction files or delete those files to bypass a
+recovery error. Keep a protected backup of the configuration before changing versions.
+If the writer worker exits, further automatic edits are refused until the bridge restarts;
+existing MCP sessions continue.
+
+### Health
+
+The `Health` tab runs the same checks as `mcp-pacemaker doctor`, so you can see them without a
+terminal.
+
+![Health tab: Node version, config validity, per-server status and the admin nonce path](docs/images/health.png)
+
+It checks the Node version, that the config parses, every server definition (including a stdio
+server whose relative path will not resolve from the directory it would run in — a failure that
+is otherwise silent until a client first calls it, and a server named after one of the bridge's
+own routes, which is unreachable), any server currently failing, and that the admin nonce file
+exists.
+
+### Terminal dashboard
+
+`mcp-pacemaker top` is the same data as an Ink TUI, for when a browser is inconvenient:
+
+```
+🫀 mcp-pacemaker top                                     ● :8850 · up 176s · v1.1.0
+SERVER            TYPE   HEALTH  SESS  WARM  REQ    PID       TOKEN   ERROR / CLIENTS
+filesystem        stdio  ok      2     1/1   8      186276,12 -       ⇄ Visual Studio Code,Claude Code
+github            stdio  ok      1     -     2      146436    -       ⇄ GitHub Copilot
+sqlite            stdio  ok      1     -     2      102108    -       ⇄ Cursor
+slow-tool         stdio  ok      1     -     2      103776    -       ⇄ Codex CLI
+search-api        http   FAIL×3  0     -     4      -         42m     upstream rejected the crede
+docs-api          http   ?       0     -     0      -         -
+↑↓ select · r recycle · q quit
+```
+
+`HEALTH` is `ok` when the last request to that server succeeded, `FAIL×n` after n consecutive
+failures, and `?` when nothing has called it yet — deliberately not `ok`, since no evidence is not
+the same as working. `WARM` shows `warm/minWarm` for pooled servers and `-` for the rest, `TOKEN`
+the time left on a cached credential, and the last column either the connected clients or the last
+error. `↑↓` selects a row and `r` recycles it.
+
+## Reading durable logs
+
+```sh
+mcp-pacemaker logs --since 2h --server filesystem
+mcp-pacemaker logs --follow --grep timeout
+mcp-pacemaker logs --config /path/to/servers.json --since 2026-09-07T12:00:00Z
+```
+
+`logs` reads `bridge.log.1` then `bridge.log` beside the selected config, including when
+the bridge is stopped. `--since` accepts durations in seconds/minutes/hours/days or an ISO
+timestamp with timezone. `--server` matches the exact log-header server name; `--grep` is
+a case-insensitive literal match, not a regular expression. Matching multiline records retain
+their header and context.
+
+`--follow` handles complete new lines, split UTF-8 writes, truncation and rollover until
+interrupted. It warns if rotation has already discarded an unread generation. Only retained
+history is available; it cannot recover logs the bridge has deleted. Individual lines over
+1 MiB fail explicitly rather than being silently truncated.
+
+## Editing servers.json while it runs
+
+Save the file and the bridge picks it up. Servers whose definition did not change are left
+completely alone — same processes, same live sessions — so adding one server does not cost you the
+fourteen that were already working:
+
+```bash
+$ mcp-pacemaker reload           # or just save the file; the bridge watches it
+✓ reloaded /Users/you/.mcp-pacemaker/servers.json on :8850
+·   added:   postgres
+·   changed: github
+·   2 session(s) restarted; untouched servers kept theirs
+```
+
+A file that does not parse, or a server with neither `command` nor `url`, is **rejected whole** —
+the bridge logs why and keeps serving the last good config, so a half-written save cannot take your
+servers down. Set `MCP_CONFIG_WATCH=0` to require an explicit `reload` instead of watching.
+
+## Server health
+
+Every server carries a health verdict in `/api/status`, `doctor`, `top` and the dashboard:
+
+| State | Meaning |
+|---|---|
+| `ok` | The last request to this server succeeded |
+| `failing` | Recent requests are failing, with a count of how many in a row |
+| `unknown` | Nothing has called it yet |
+
+This is passive and free — it is derived from traffic the bridge is already proxying. A JSON-RPC
+error *from* the server counts as healthy (it answered); a 401/403, a 5xx, a spawn failure or a
+non-zero exit counts as failing, and the state clears the moment a request succeeds again.
+
+A server nobody calls stays `unknown` forever, which is honest but not much help if its credential
+quietly expires overnight. `MCP_HEALTH_INTERVAL_MS` adds a periodic probe for HTTP servers so they
+get a verdict without waiting for a client:
+
+```bash
+MCP_HEALTH_INTERVAL_MS=300000 mcp-pacemaker start    # probe every 5 minutes
+```
+
+It is off by default because a probe is a real request to somebody else's service. Set
+`"healthIntervalMinutes": 0` on a server to exclude just that one, or a number to give it its own
+interval. stdio servers are not probed: a probe would mean spawning a process, which costs more
+than the request it is meant to pre-empt.
+
+## HTTP API
+
+Everything the dashboards show is plain HTTP on the same loopback port, so you can script it.
+Read endpoints need no auth; administrative writes require a nonce.
+
+| Endpoint | Method | Returns |
+|---|---|---|
+| `/status` | GET | Tiny liveness probe: `ok`, `service`, `version`, `port` and the server names. Used to tell a pacemaker bridge apart from a foreign service on the same port |
+| `/api/status` | GET | Full snapshot — every server with sessions, pids, warm count, request count, `health`, `lastError`, connected clients |
+| `/api/doctor` | GET | The health checks, as JSON |
+| `/api/events` | GET (SSE) | The same snapshot pushed every 2s — what the dashboard consumes |
+| `/api/logs` | GET (SSE) | Bridge log: replays the last 100 lines, then streams. For anything older, read `bridge.log` next to your config |
+| `/admin/recycle/<name>` | POST | Restart a server's processes. Omit `<name>` to recycle everything |
+| `/admin/reload` | POST | Flush a pending configuration batch, or re-read an externally edited `servers.json`. Only changed definitions are reconfigured |
+| `/admin/servers/<name>/pooling` | POST | Stage enable/disable or batch cancel/undo with admin nonce, bounded input and a matching config revision |
+| `/<name>/mcp` | POST/GET/DELETE | Streamable HTTP transport for that server |
+| `/<name>/sse` | GET | HTTP+SSE transport for that server |
+| `/.well-known/oauth-protected-resource/<name>` | GET | OAuth discovery relayed from the upstream, for HTTP servers where the client authenticates |
+
+Pooling mutations require `x-mcp-pooling-batch: 1`. A staged change returns **HTTP 202** with
+`pending: true`, a batch ID, a private cancel/undo receipt, and the public snapshot. Acceptance
+is not activation. `prewarm.batches` in the snapshot reports bounded pending, applying and
+completed outcomes; it does not expose receipt tokens or full configurations.
+Clients without the batch header are rejected before a change is queued, rather than letting
+an older client report a queued save as already enabled.
+Rich snapshots carry an instance-scoped `snapshotVersion` so a delayed HTTP response or older
+SSE frame cannot replace newer active settings or prematurely expire a batch receipt.
+
+```bash
+# is a server actually running, and who is using it?
+curl -s http://127.0.0.1:8850/api/status | jq '.servers[] | {name, sessions, pids, clients}'
+
+# watch the bridge log
+curl -N http://127.0.0.1:8850/api/logs
+
+# force a restart of one server (nonce is written next to servers.json)
+curl -X POST http://127.0.0.1:8850/admin/recycle/filesystem \
+  -H "x-mcp-nonce: $(cat ~/.mcp-pacemaker/admin.nonce)"
+```
+
+`/admin/*` is guarded twice: the request must arrive on loopback, **and** carry the nonce that the
+bridge writes to `admin.nonce` next to your config at startup. The nonce is new on every start, so
+only same-box tooling that can read that file — the CLI, and the dashboard the bridge itself
+served — can change anything.
+
+## servers.json
+
+Config lives at `~/.mcp-pacemaker/servers.json`. `import` fills it from your existing client
+config and **carries over `audience`/`auth`/`headers`**, so HTTP servers usually need no hand-editing.
+See [`examples/servers.example.json`](examples/servers.example.json).
+
+```jsonc
+{
+  "filesystem": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "."] },
+
+  "my-api": {
+    "type": "http",
+    "url": "https://my-service.example.com/mcp",
+    "auth": { "type": "command", "command": "my-cli print-token", "refreshMinutes": 50 }
+  }
+}
+```
+
+**Auth options** (per HTTP server):
+
+| `auth.type` | Behavior |
+|---|---|
+| `command` | Runs any command that prints a token on stdout; the result is cached and auto-refreshed (`refreshMinutes`). Provider-agnostic — see below. |
+| `env` | Uses `process.env[var]`. |
+| `static` | Fixed `header` + `value`. |
+| `none` | No header is added — the **client** authenticates, and the bridge relays OAuth discovery and challenges for it. |
+
+`auth.type: "command"` is deliberately just "run this and use what it prints", so it works with
+whatever issues tokens in your environment. Some examples — none of these are special-cased:
+
+```jsonc
+// Azure
+{ "type": "command", "command": "az account get-access-token --resource api://<id> --query accessToken -o tsv" }
+// Google Cloud
+{ "type": "command", "command": "gcloud auth print-access-token" }
+// AWS (e.g. a signed token from your own helper)
+{ "type": "command", "command": "aws-token-helper --profile prod" }
+// HashiCorp Vault
+{ "type": "command", "command": "vault read -field=token secret/my-api" }
+// 1Password / any secret manager
+{ "type": "command", "command": "op read op://vault/my-api/token" }
+// A plain script
+{ "type": "command", "command": "./scripts/get-token.sh" }
+```
+
+By default the token is sent as `Authorization: Bearer <token>`; set `header` to send it
+somewhere else (for example `{ "header": "X-Api-Key" }`).
+
+**How long a credential is cached.** If the command returns a JWT, its `exp` claim decides —
+`refreshMinutes` is only an upper bound and a fallback for opaque credentials. This matters
+because token CLIs serve from their own cache: `az account get-access-token` will hand back a
+token it minted earlier that may be nearly spent, and trusting a flat window would keep a dead
+token in play. If the upstream rejects a credential the bridge supplied, that 401 is reported on
+the server (`doctor`, `/api/status` → `lastError`) and the credential is discarded rather than
+reused — the client is never asked to log in for a server the bridge authenticates.
+
+> **Azure shorthand.** A bare `"audience": "<res>"` expands to
+> `az account get-access-token --resource <res> …`. That is a convenience for Azure users only —
+> every other provider uses `auth.command` above.
+
+## Security
+
+- The bridge binds **`127.0.0.1` only** (local loopback) — not reachable off-box.
+- Tokens are **minted from your own already-authenticated CLI** and cached in memory; **never written to disk**.
+- The **bridge** (the process that runs 24/7) has **zero third-party dependencies**; the setup CLI uses `commander` / `@clack/prompts` / `picocolors` / `smol-toml`, and the TUI adds `ink` / `react`.
+
+## Multi-agent & resource controls
+
+Multiple hosts/agents can share one bridge — each gets its own isolated session by default,
+and HTTP servers share the cached token across all of them. The dashboard, `top`, and
+`mcp-pacemaker status` show **which agents are connected** to each server.
+
+| Control | Env / config | Default | Effect |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| Idle reaper | `MCP_IDLE_TIMEOUT_MS` | `1800000` (30 min) | free Streamable HTTP children idle past the timeout. Safe by default because a returning client's session is transparently re-established. `0` disables |
+| Concurrency cap | `MCP_MAX_SESSIONS_PER_SERVER`, or per-server `maxSessions` | `0` (unlimited) | reject new sessions past the cap (HTTP 503) |
+| Queue at the cap | `MCP_QUEUE_TIMEOUT_MS` | `10000` (10s) | at the cap, wait this long for a slot before returning 503, so a burst is absorbed rather than failed. `0` rejects immediately |
+| Sharing policy | per-server `sharing` (+ `minWarm`) | `isolated` | `isolated` = one child per session; `pool` pre-starts exclusive children; `shared` reuses one initialized child for compatible stateless tools sessions. Both alternatives require explicit activation |
+| Cold-start gate | `MCP_MAX_CONCURRENT_SPAWNS`, `MCP_SPAWN_GATE_WAIT_MS` | `2`, `15000` | how many package-manager-backed servers may cold-start at once. `npx`, `uvx`, `dnx` and friends share one cache, and starting several together can corrupt it — this queues them. Detected from the command, or forced either way with per-server `sharedPackageCache`. Servers that use no package manager are never gated. If no slot frees within the wait, the spawn proceeds ungated rather than hold a client request. `0` disables |
+| Pooling advice | `MCP_POOL_ADVICE_MS`, `MCP_WARM_MAX` | 2s, 8 | recommend pooling once a server's measured cold start passes this, and cap the suggested (and auto-sized) pool here. Advice only — the bridge never enables pooling on its own |
+| Session resume | `MCP_RESUME`, `MCP_RESUME_TTL_MS` | on, 24h | re-establish a session id the bridge has not seen — after a restart, recycle or idle reap. `MCP_RESUME=0` disables |
+| Scheduled recycle | per-server `recycleMinutes`, or `MCP_RECYCLE_MINUTES` | off | restart a server periodically, for servers holding a credential they can only refresh interactively |
+| Request timeouts | `MCP_REQUEST_TIMEOUT_MS` / `MCP_INIT_TIMEOUT_MS` | 30s / 180s | `initialize` also pays for spawning the server, so it gets a longer budget than ordinary calls |
+| Credential refresh | `MCP_TOKEN_REFRESH_LEAD_MS` | `300000` (5 min) | renew a cached token before it expires instead of discovering the expiry on a request. A JWT's own `exp` still caps how long it is cached |
+| Durable log | `MCP_LOG_MAX_BYTES` | `5242880` (5 MB) | `bridge.log` next to your config, rolled to `bridge.log.1` at this size. `0` disables. The dashboard only keeps the last few hundred lines in memory, which a chatty client fills in minutes |
+| Config watching | `MCP_CONFIG_WATCH` | on | reload `servers.json` when it is saved. `0` requires an explicit `mcp-pacemaker reload`. Either way, only servers whose definition changed are restarted, and an unparseable file is rejected without disturbing anything |
+| Health probing | `MCP_HEALTH_INTERVAL_MS`, or per-server `healthIntervalMinutes` | off | periodically call an HTTP server so it has a health verdict before a client needs it. Passive health from real traffic is always on and costs nothing |
+
+### Measuring process churn
+
+For stdio servers, `/api/status` reports `spawn.total` (successful process launches),
+`spawn.attempts`, `spawn.failures`, `spawn.warmAdoptions`, `spawn.sessionStarts`, and
+`spawn.sessionResumes`. Launches include classic SSE, Streamable HTTP, warm-pool refill,
+and replacements after recycle or resume. Adopting an existing warm child does not count
+as another launch. The unit is one bridge-launched process, not all of its descendants.
+
+These cumulative counters do not share the 50-sample latency limit. They reset when the
+bridge process restarts; compare snapshots only within the same `instanceId`. `startedAt`
+identifies that interval. Save the final snapshot before a planned restart for a before/after
+comparison. HTTP-proxied servers have no local process counters (`spawn: null`).
+
+`spawn.samples` and p50/p95/max still describe the latest 50 directly observed, successful
+cold initializations, not all launches. Latencies are `null` until observed; a warm child's
+idle lifetime is not a cold-start sample. The existing `requests` count covers routed HTTP
+requests, not just `tools/call`; do not label it as a tool-call count.
+
+### Shared mode
+
+Set `"sharing": "shared"` on a stdio server only when its tools are stateless, operate on
+explicit inputs and use one common credential context. This is an operator assertion, not
+something latency or matching capabilities can prove. Leave workspace-, conversation- or
+client-account-dependent servers isolated.
+
+Compatible sessions have identical full initialization parameters, including `clientInfo`,
+and empty client capabilities. One child receives one real initialization; each virtual session
+gets its own IDs, progress, cancellation and tools-list cursors. Only the upstream's actual
+tools capability is exposed. Roots, sampling, elicitation, tasks, resource subscriptions and
+other stateful methods are not supported. Incompatible clients fail explicitly, without
+silently falling back to a different mode.
+
+Deleting one session leaves the others running. The initialized child is retained between
+compatible reconnects for up to `sharedLingerMs` (30 minutes by default). Recycle drains work,
+then replaces the generation on later use. A timeout or child exit never triggers automatic
+replay of a potentially executed tool call.
+
+The server keeps its existing credential provider and configured `recycleMinutes`. Shared
+mode does not promise silent credential renewal. The dashboard and `prewarm` CLI show the
+actual shared-child state, members, queued work and cumulative process launches.
+See [the shared-session contract](docs/shared-sessions.md) for limits and failure semantics.
+
+## Uninstall
+
+```bash
+npx mcp-pacemaker uninstall   # stop bridge, remove auto-start, restore client config from .bak
+```
+
+## Project
+
+- [CHANGELOG.md](CHANGELOG.md) — release notes
+- [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md) — development setup and how regression tests are expected to be proven
+- [SECURITY.md](SECURITY.md) — threat model and how to report a vulnerability
+
+## License
+
+MIT © Girish Konda