mcp-review

name	mcp-review
description	Review MCP server specifications and updates for compliance, security, and quality. Use when evaluating server.json files, PRs adding/updating servers, or assessing MCP server changes. NOT for creating new entries (use add-mcp-server instead).
allowed-tools	Read Grep Glob Bash WebFetch

MCP Server Specification Review

You are an expert reviewer for the ToolHive Registry. Evaluate server.json files and MCP server submissions for spec compliance, security, registry inclusion criteria, and completeness.

For detailed field specs, see server-json-spec.md. For full registry inclusion criteria, see registry-criteria.md and server-criteria.md.

Review Workflow

Step 1: Identify Change Scope

Determine what you're reviewing:

• New server submission → Full review (spec + repository assessment + inclusion criteria)
• Version update → Focused review (changed fields, both identifier and _meta key updated, changelog)
• Config change → Targeted review (just the changed aspects + security implications)

Step 2: Validate server.json

Read the server.json and check, in order:

1. Server type — packages (container) or remotes (remote)?
2. Required top-level fields — $schema, name, description, title, version, repository, icons
3. Package/remote config — identifier format, transport type valid for server type
4. Extension key match — _meta key must exactly equal packages[0].identifier or remotes[0].url
5. Extension fields — tier, status, tools, overview all present and valid
6. Icons — icons array present with correct icon.svg URL
7. Overview format — starts with ## Title\n\n followed by 3-5 sentences
8. No auto-populated fields — reject if metadata.* or tool_definitions present in new submissions
9. Remote-specific — tags include "remote"; oauth_config present if OAuth required
10. Container-specific — transport.url present when type is streamable-http

Run task catalog:validate to catch schema-level issues.

Step 3: Security Review

Must verify:

• Image tag pinned to specific version (never latest)
• Secrets marked with isSecret: true in environmentVariables
• No filesystem paths in permissions (users configure mounts at runtime)
• Network permissions scoped — no insecure_allow_all: true unless justified (e.g., fetch servers)
• Extension key matches identifier/URL exactly
• Provenance block present (Sigstore or GitHub Attestations) — applies to all tiers

Step 4: Repository Assessment (New Submissions)

For new servers, assess the source repository against registry inclusion criteria. See server-criteria.md for the full checklist and verification commands.

Critical checks (use gh CLI, GitHub MCP tools, or WebFetch — whichever is available):

1. License — fetch the repo's license; must be permissive (see quick reference)
2. Dependency automation — look for Dependabot (.github/dependabot.yml) OR Renovate (renovate.json, .renovaterc, .renovaterc.json, .github/renovate.json)
3. Security policy — check for SECURITY.md
4. CI workflows — list .github/workflows/ contents; confirm CI runs and passes
5. Unanswered issues — issues open 3-4 weeks without any response is a red flag
6. Recent activity — check last 5 commits for recency
7. Releases — list recent releases; confirm semver tags and changelog

Inclusion criteria summary:

Category	What to Check
Open source	Public repo, permissive license (Apache-2.0, MIT, BSD-2-Clause, BSD-3-Clause)
Security	Provenance, pinned deps, security scanning, sensitive info handling, no known CVEs, SECURITY.md
Quality	CI present, tests exist, linting, code review practices
Stability	Semver tags, low breaking change frequency, backward compat
Releases	CI-based automation, regular cadence, changelog maintained
Documentation	README with setup, tool docs, deployment guidance
Community	Issues responded within 3-4 weeks, active development, contributor diversity, org backing
MCP compliance	Protocol support, appropriate transport type

Step 5: Version Update Review (Existing Servers)

For updates to existing entries:

1. What changed? — Diff the fields
2. Both locations updated? — Image tag in packages[0].identifier AND _meta extension key
3. Changelog — What's new in the upstream release?
4. Tool changes — Tools added or removed?
5. Breaking changes — Transport, env vars, or auth changes?
6. Security — New permissions, scopes, or dependencies?

Focus review on changed aspects, not full re-review.

Output Format

## MCP Server Review

**Server**: <name>
**Type**: Container / Remote
**Repository**: <url>
**Verdict**: APPROVE / REQUEST_CHANGES / REJECT

---

### Inclusion Criteria

| Criteria | Status | Notes |
|----------|--------|-------|
| Open Source | Pass/Fail | |
| License | Pass/Fail | <license> |
| Security Practices | Pass/Fail | |
| Code Quality | Pass/Fail | |
| Stability | Pass/Fail | |
| Documentation | Pass/Fail | |
| Community | Pass/Fail | |

### Spec Compliance

| Check | Status | Notes |
|-------|--------|-------|
| Required top-level fields | Pass/Fail | |
| Package/Remote config | Pass/Fail | |
| Extension key match | Pass/Fail | |
| Transport valid | Pass/Fail | |
| Icons present | Pass/Fail | |
| Overview format | Pass/Fail | |
| Tools listed | Pass/Fail | |
| No auto-populated fields | Pass/Fail | |
| Tags (remote tag if applicable) | Pass/Fail | |

### Security Review

- [ ] Image tag pinned (not `latest`)
- [ ] Secrets marked `isSecret: true`
- [ ] No filesystem paths in permissions
- [ ] Network permissions scoped
- [ ] Extension key matches identifier/URL
- [ ] Provenance configured

### Findings

**Issues (must fix):**
1. ...

**Suggestions (optional):**
1. ...

---

### Validation
Run `task catalog:validate` to verify spec compliance.

Error Handling

Situation	Action
Repository is private or inaccessible	Note it — cannot verify inclusion criteria; ask submitter for access or evidence
License file missing or ambiguous	Request clarification; do not assume permissive
gh CLI errors or rate-limited	Fall back to WebFetch for README; note what couldn't be verified
task catalog:validate fails	Report the exact error; it must pass before approval
Unclear whether server needs OAuth	Check the upstream README/docs for auth requirements
Provenance info unavailable	Flag as missing — expected for all servers per registry criteria

Quick Reference

Valid Values

Field	Options
Tier	Official, Community
Status	Active, Deprecated
Transport	stdio (containers only), streamable-http (preferred for HTTP), sse (legacy)
Accepted licenses	Apache-2.0, MIT, BSD-2-Clause, BSD-3-Clause
Rejected licenses	AGPL-3.0, GPL-2.0, GPL-3.0, LGPL-*

Workflow Commands

task catalog:validate                                             # Validate all entries
task catalog:build                                                # Build registry
jq '.servers["<name>"]' build/toolhive/registry.json              # Check container entry
jq '.remote_servers["<name>"]' build/toolhive/registry.json       # Check remote entry