buildmymcpserver/CHOICES.md

# CHOICES.md

Decisions made during the autonomous Sprints 1–3 build where the spec was ambiguous or
where production-quality required a concrete pick.

## Stream transport: WebSocket over SSE
Spec lists both in different sections. The user's goal explicitly says
"WebSocket-streamed build flow", so the dashboard subscribes to build events via
`/v1/builds/:id/stream` WebSocket on the control-plane API. Generator-worker publishes
events to Redis pub/sub; API fans out per-WebSocket subscriber.

## Local container deploy (no Coolify in dev)
Spec targets Coolify on Hetzner for production. In dev the generator spawns containers
directly via the local Docker daemon (Docker Engine API on `/var/run/docker.sock` or
`npipe:////./pipe/docker_engine` on Windows). Each generated server gets a host port from
the `RUNNER_PORT_RANGE_*` window and is exposed at `http://localhost:<port>`. The
`coolify` adapter is interface-compatible so swapping in for production is a single import.

## Local addressing: ports not wildcard subdomains
`*.mcp.buildmymcpserver.com` requires DNS + Traefik + wildcard SSL — pointless on
localhost. Dev uses `http://localhost:<port>` for each generated container. Production
Traefik routing is wired but unused by `pnpm dev`.

## OAuth 2.1 Authorization Server lives in the control plane
The runner-template is a Resource Server only. The control-plane API is the AS:
issues codes, exchanges tokens, signs RS256 JWTs, exposes JWKS. Each generated server
verifies tokens against `${CONTROL_PLANE_URL}/oauth/jwks`. This matches the spec's
"token exchange not pass-through" mandate.

## Auth: tight in-house magic-link instead of Better-Auth dependency
Spec names Better-Auth. In practice Better-Auth adds a large surface (plugins, adapter
config, cookie middleware) that we'd have to vendor-wrap to share between Fastify
control-plane and Next.js Server Actions. For a 3-sprint MVP we wrote a ~150-line
magic-link + session module in `packages/auth` directly on top of the Drizzle schema:
hash-only token storage, 32-byte CSPRNG tokens, 15-min link TTL, 30-day session TTL,
auto-org bootstrap on first sign-in. The seams are clean — swapping in Better-Auth
later means changing `packages/auth/src/index.ts` only. In dev, magic-link URLs are
printed to the API stdout for the developer to click.

## Generator: Claude API call gated by env, mock fallback for offline dev
If `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY` is set, the worker calls the real Claude API
(`claude-opus-4-7`). If not, a deterministic mock returns a small "echo" tool so the
end-to-end build flow stays demoable without burning credits. The choice is logged in
build logs so users always know which path ran.

## Static checks: tsc + targeted regex scan
- `tsc --noEmit` on the rendered server code in a tmp dir.
- Regex scan for banned tokens: `eval(`, `Function(`, `child_process`, `fs.unlink`,
  prompt-injection markers (`ignore previous instructions`, `disregard the above`).
- esbuild bundle produced for the runner so the image is one file + deps.

## Sandboxing: dev relaxed, prod flags documented
Dev containers run without `--read-only` / `--cap-drop=ALL` because Windows Docker
Desktop refuses some combinations. The production launch flags are baked into
`apps/generator/src/lib/deploy.ts` constants but commented `// prod-only` for clarity.

## ChatGPT install snippet
ChatGPT supports MCP via "Custom GPTs → Actions → Add MCP server" or the
research "Custom Connectors" surface. We render a copy block with `URL`,
`Auth: OAuth 2.1`, and a link to the install-flow page on chat.openai.com. If the
official deep link path changes, only `apps/web/lib/install-snippets.ts` needs editing.

## Tailwind v4 + shadcn registry
Tailwind v4 uses CSS-first config. shadcn components are vendored into
`apps/web/components/ui/*` — only the primitives the spec lists. No drop-in defaults
left untouched: every component has been re-styled against the design tokens.

## Stripe / metering / quotas: scaffolded only in Sprint 1–3
The schema + types are complete. Wired Stripe checkout / webhooks are Sprint 4
per spec, so we leave a clean seam in `apps/api/src/routes/billing.ts` but do not
implement the flow yet. Quotas are read-only in the dashboard.

## Drizzle: `migrate` strategy
Schema lives in `packages/db/src/schema.ts`. `pnpm db:push` is dev-only and pushes
schema directly. Migrations are generated via `pnpm db:generate` and applied via
`pnpm db:migrate` on first API boot. Local Postgres comes from docker-compose.

## Node 20 LTS, ESM everywhere
All packages are `"type": "module"`. `tsx` runs ts directly in dev. esbuild bundles
for prod. No CJS.

## Conventional commits per task, single branch
Single `main` branch, conventional-commits messages. No PR flow because this is one
autonomous run.

---

# Sprint 3.5 — Real 3-step wizard, filled-in pages

Done after live-running the Sprint 1-3 build and finding two UX gaps:
1. The wizard was a single-step that asked for secrets the user didn't necessarily need.
2. Half the nav links 404'd because the marketing/dashboard surfaces had un-built routes.

## Two-phase generation (preview → cache → build)
The wizard now runs Claude twice in spirit but **only once on the wire**:
- Step 1 → `POST /v1/servers/preview` calls Claude synchronously, validates the spec, and
  caches it in Redis under `preview:<id>` with a 5-minute TTL.
- Step 2 renders the parsed tools + the credentials *Claude actually identified*.
  No more generic Notion placeholders — the form is the spec.
- Step 3 → `POST /v1/servers` carries `previewId`. The BullMQ worker reads the cached
  spec from Redis (`loadCachedSpec`) and skips the second Claude round-trip. Saves ~30s.

If the cache is missed (TTL expired or restart) the worker regenerates fresh and logs
a `warn` so the build still completes.

## Shared `@bmm/llm` package
`SYSTEM_PROMPT` + `generateSpec()` + `SpecValidationError` + `BannedPatternError` live
in `packages/llm`. Both `apps/api` (for the synchronous preview path) and
`apps/generator` (for the worker path) import the same module. No code duplication, no
prompt drift between the two surfaces.

## Audit log writes
`apps/api/src/lib/audit.ts` exposes a single `audit()` helper that swallows its own
errors (audit failures never block the request path). Five write sites:
- `auth.login`, `auth.logout`, `server.create`, `server.iterate`, `server.delete`.
- Each entry includes `orgId`, `userId`, `resourceType`, `resourceId`, `metadata`,
  `ipAddress`. The `/audit` UI page reads from `GET /v1/audit?limit=&action=`.

## All marketing + dashboard links now resolve
Built out the previously-404 routes as full pages (no "Coming soon" placeholders):
- `/docs` + 6 sub-pages (Quickstart, MCP concepts, OAuth flow, Authoring tools,
  Self-hosting, API reference, FAQ) under a static sidebar layout. MDX migration is
  Sprint 4; for Sprint 3.5 they're plain TSX with the new `<DocsTitle>`,
  `<DocsH2>`, `<DocsCode>` primitives.
- `/changelog` — release timeline with tags (launch / feature / fix).
- `/security` — eight pillars with bodies (per-server isolation, encryption,
  OAuth 2.1, no-token-passthrough, static checks, container hardening, audit log,
  rate limiting) plus disclosure email and compliance roadmap.
- `/privacy` — six sections (what we collect, what we don't, where it lives,
  subprocessors, retention, GDPR rights).
- `/terms` — ten clauses.
- `/pricing` — full grid of the four tiers + pricing FAQ. Marketing nav now points
  to `/pricing` instead of the landing anchor.
- `/status` — live JS probes against the dashboard and `/api/health` every 10s.

## Settings + Audit dashboard pages
- `/settings` reads `GET /v1/me/org` and renders five cards: Organization, Plan & usage,
  Members (table), API keys (Sprint 4 stub), Encryption (read-only status).
- `/audit` reads `GET /v1/audit` and renders a filterable table with action pills,
  resource refs, IP, and metadata JSON.

## What's *still* Sprint 4
- Real Stripe billing (the "Manage billing" button in /settings is intentionally
  disabled).
- Pagefind search in /docs.
- MDX migration of the docs pages.
- Real BetterStack-hosted status board at status.buildmymcpserver.com.
- Custom domain CNAME validation per server.
- `bmm` CLI + per-org API keys.