// Finalize documentation and project metadata for a ship-ready MCP server. Use after implementation is complete, tests pass, and devcheck is clean. Safe to run at any stage — each step checks current state and only acts on what still needs work.
Finalize documentation and project metadata for a ship-ready MCP server. Use after implementation is complete, tests pass, and devcheck is clean. Safe to run at any stage — each step checks current state and only acts on what still needs work.
Server implementation is functionally complete (tools, resources, prompts, services all working)
bun run devcheck passes, tests pass
You're preparing for first commit, first release, or making the repo public
User says "polish", "polish docs", "finalize", "make it ship-ready", "clean up docs", or similar
Re-running after adding/removing tools, resources, or other surface area changes
Prefer running after implementation is complete, but safe to re-run at any point — steps are idempotent.
Companion: pair with security-pass for a full pre-ship review — this skill polishes docs and metadata; security-pass audits handlers for MCP-specific security gaps.
Prerequisites
All tools/resources/prompts implemented and registered
bun run devcheck passes
Tests pass (bun run test)
If these aren't met, address them first.
Steps
1. Audit the Surface Area
Read all tool, resource, and prompt definitions. Build a mental model of what the server actually does — names, descriptions, input/output shapes, auth scopes. This inventory drives every document below.
Read:
src/index.ts (what's registered in createApp())
All files in src/mcp-server/tools/definitions/
All files in src/mcp-server/resources/definitions/
Read references/readme.md for structure and conventions. If README.md doesn't exist, create it from scratch. If it exists, diff the current content against the audit — update tool/resource/prompt tables, env var lists, and descriptions to match the actual surface area. Don't rewrite sections that are already accurate.
The bold header tagline (the <b> text inside the first <p>) must match the package.jsondescription. The surface count is a nested <div> inside the same <p>, separated by •.
3. Agent Protocol (CLAUDE.md / AGENTS.md)
Update the project's agent protocol file to reflect the actual server. Scope is the project-root CLAUDE.md / AGENTS.md only — do not edit skills/*/SKILL.md or their references/ files. Those are external skill files synced from @cyanheads/mcp-ts-core and get overwritten on the next maintenance refresh.
Read references/agent-protocol.md for the full update checklist, then review the current file and address what's stale or missing:
If a "First Session" onboarding block is still present and onboarding is complete, it can go
If example patterns still use generic/template names (e.g., searchItems, itemData), replace with real definitions from this server
If server-specific skills were added, update the skills table
Verify the structure diagram matches the actual directory layout
If custom scripts were added to package.json, update the commands table
4. .env.example
Compare .env.example against the server config Zod schema. Add any missing server-specific vars with a comment and default (if any). Remove vars for features that no longer exist. Group by category. Preserve existing framework vars that are still relevant.
5. package.json Metadata
Check for empty or placeholder metadata fields. Read references/package-meta.md for which fields matter and why. Fill in anything still missing — skip fields that are already correct.
name must communicate the server's domain at a glance. See references/package-meta.md for the naming convention — ambiguous abbreviations and acronym-only names fail the scannability test for humans and agents alike.
description is the canonical source. Every other surface (README header, server.json, Dockerfile OCI label, GitHub repo description) derives from it. Write it here first, then propagate.
6. server.json
Read references/server-json.md for the official MCP server manifest schema. If server.json doesn't exist, create it from the surface area audit. If it exists, diff against current state and update stale fields.
Key sync points:
$schema set to https://static.modelcontextprotocol.io/schemas/2025-12-11/server.schema.json
name matches mcpName from package.json (reverse-domain: io.github.{owner}/{repo})
version matches package.json version (in all three places: top-level + each package entry)
description matches package.json description
environmentVariables reflect the server config Zod schema — server-specific required vars in both entries, transport vars only in HTTP entry
Two package entries: one for stdio, one for HTTP (if both transports supported)
7. GitHub Repository Metadata
Sync the GitHub repo with package.json using the gh CLI. Skip if the repo isn't hosted on GitHub or gh isn't available.
Compare GitHub topics (gh repo view --json repositoryTopics) against package.jsonkeywords. They should be the union — add any that exist in one but not the other:
Missing from GitHub → gh repo edit --add-topic <topic>
Missing from package.json → add to keywords array
Common keywords shared across MCP servers (e.g., mcp, mcp-server, model-context-protocol, typescript) should appear in both. Domain-specific keywords should also be present in both.
8. bunfig.toml
Verify a bunfig.toml exists at the project root. If not, create one:
Two patterns are supported — pick one and stay consistent.
Pattern
Best for
Directory-based (template default)
Published libraries, or servers whose consumers run the maintenance skill against them — per-version files ship inside node_modules/<pkg>/changelog/<minor>.x/<version>.md for direct agent inspection.
Monolithic CHANGELOG.md
Runtime-only consumer servers where nobody imports types and nobody runs maintenance against the package — skips the build step and devcheck drift gate.
Both are acceptable. The template scaffolds the directory-based structure by default; collapse to monolithic only if the rollup tooling is pure ceremony for this project.
Directory-based — per-version files live at changelog/<major.minor>.x/<version>.md (e.g. changelog/0.1.x/0.1.0.md), and CHANGELOG.md is a rollup regenerated by bun run changelog:build. Devcheck's Changelog Sync step enforces drift protection. changelog/template.md is a pristine format reference — never edited, never moved, never renamed. Read it to remember the frontmatter + section layout when scaffolding a new per-version file.
If the structure doesn't exist yet:
Make the changelog/ directory
Create changelog/template.md once from the template (frontmatter stub + H1 # <version> — YYYY-MM-DD placeholder + empty Added/Changed/Fixed sections) — this file is a format reference only and stays as-is after creation
If the server already has a shipped version (e.g. 0.1.0), create the series directory and initial entry: changelog/0.1.x/0.1.0.md with H1 # 0.1.0 — YYYY-MM-DD, concrete version and date — do not rename or move template.md to create the version file; author the per-version file directly
Run bun run changelog:build to generate CHANGELOG.md
Per-version file format:
---
summary: One-line headline for the rollup index — ≤350 chars, no markdown
breaking: false
---# 0.1.0 — YYYY-MM-DD
Optional narrative intro (1-3 sentences).
## Added- [list tools, resources, prompts, key capabilities]
Frontmatter:summary is required (powers the CHANGELOG.md index), breaking is optional and defaults to false (set true for releases requiring consumer code changes).
Never hand-edit CHANGELOG.md when using this pattern — it's a build artifact. Never edit changelog/template.md — it's the format reference. Never use [Unreleased] as a version header in a released file.
Monolithic — maintain CHANGELOG.md directly in Keep a Changelog format. To collapse from the template default: delete the changelog/ directory, remove changelog:build and changelog:check from package.json scripts (and from devcheck.config.json if referenced), and drop "changelog/" from the files array. The release skill's directory-specific steps then don't apply — just edit CHANGELOG.md and bump version at release time.
10. Plugin Metadata (Codex / Claude Code)
If .codex-plugin/plugin.json exists, verify it's populated and in sync with package.json and server.json:
interface.category is set to a meaningful category
If .codex-plugin/mcp.json exists, verify the server name key matches package.jsonname and env vars include any required API keys from the server config schema.
If .claude-plugin/plugin.json exists, apply the same checks: name, version, description, repository, license from package.json. Verify the inline mcpServers entry key matches package.jsonname and env vars include any required API keys.
11. MCPB Bundling Artifacts
If the project ships as an .mcpb bundle for Claude Desktop (check for manifest.json at the project root), verify the full artifact set is present and consistent. If the project doesn't ship .mcpb bundles, skip this step.
Files that must exist:
manifest.json — MCPB manifest with mcp_config.env, user_config, and metadata
.mcpbignore — controls what's excluded from the bundle
package.json scripts:
bundle — builds the .mcpb (e.g., mcpb pack --output dist/)
lint:packaging — validates manifest.json ↔ server.json env var consistency (run by devcheck)
Cross-file consistency:
manifest.json version matches package.json version
Env var names in manifest.json (mcp_config.env + user_config) match server.jsonenvironmentVariables — lint:packaging enforces this, but verify the set is complete
manifest.jsonname matches package.json name without the npm scope prefix (e.g. bls-mcp-server, not @cyanheads/bls-mcp-server); description matches package.json
manifest.jsonuser_config entries must include title and type fields — mcpb pack validates these
For each user_config entry referenced as ${user_config.X} in mcp_config.env: if it's not required: true, set "default": "". MCPB hosts (Claude Desktop included) pass the literal placeholder string through to the process when an optional field is left blank without a default — strict consumer validators (z.email(), z.url(), .regex()) then crash at lazy config load, exiting silently after initialize. Server-side: pair every optional env-backed strict-validator field with a z.preprocess that strips ${...} placeholders to undefined.
server.json env var isRequired must match the upstream API's actual requirement — if the API works without the value (rate-limited, DEMO_KEY fallback, polite pool), mark isRequired: false and describe the tradeoff in the description
Server description aligned across all surfaces: package.json, manifest.json, server.json (condensed, hard 100-char limit), README header <p><b>, and GitHub repo description (gh repo edit --description)
package.jsonkeywords include baseline terms: mcp, mcp-server, model-context-protocol, typescript, bun, stdio, streamable-http, plus data-domain terms. GitHub repo topics (gh repo edit --add-topic) should match.
README install badges:
If manifest.json exists, the README should include the Claude Desktop install badge linking to releases/latest/download/<name>.mcpb
If the package is published to npm, include Cursor and VS Code install badges
See references/readme.md for badge format and config generation commands
12. LICENSE
Confirm a license file exists. If not, ask the user which license to use (default: Apache-2.0, matching the scaffolded package.json). Create the file.
13. Dockerfile
If a Dockerfile exists, verify the OCI labels and runtime config match the actual server:
org.opencontainers.image.title matches the package name
org.opencontainers.image.source points to the real repository URL (add if missing)
Log directory path in mkdir and LOGS_DIR uses the correct server name
If no Dockerfile exists and the server is deployed via HTTP transport, consider scaffolding one — the template is available via npx @cyanheads/mcp-ts-core init.
14. docs/tree.md
Regenerate the directory structure:
bun run tree
Review the output for anything unexpected (leftover files, missing directories).
15. Final Verification
Run the full check suite one last time:
bun run devcheck
bun run test
Both must pass clean.
Checklist
Surface area audited — tool/resource/prompt/service inventory built
README.md accurate — tool/resource tables, config, descriptions match actual code
Agent protocol file accurate — no stale template content, real examples, structure matches reality
Changelog current — either monolithic CHANGELOG.md (hand-edited, Keep a Changelog) or directory-based (changelog/<minor>.x/<version>.md + rollup regenerated and in sync)
.codex-plugin/plugin.json populated and in sync with package.json (if present)
.codex-plugin/mcp.json server name and env vars current (if present)
.claude-plugin/plugin.json populated and in sync with package.json (if present)
MCPB artifacts consistent (if manifest.json present) — version synced, env vars match server.json, bundle + lint:packaging scripts exist, README install badges present
LICENSE file present
Dockerfile OCI labels and runtime config accurate (if present)
