gabs-mcp

name	gabs-mcp
description	Use when working with the GABS MCP server to inspect configured games, start or reconnect game bridges, discover mirrored GABP tools through the stable core surface, call game-specific tools, or debug game-development loops through GABS.

GABS MCP

Use GABS as the stable control surface for a local game-development loop. GABS starts configured games, connects to GABP-compatible bridges, mirrors bridge tools into MCP, and keeps game-specific discovery/calls on the stable core path through games_tool_names and games_call_tool.

Default Workflow

1. Check configured games with games_list.
2. Inspect current state with games_status; pass gameId when you know it.
3. Start a stopped game with games_start, or attach to an already running game with games_connect.
4. Discover connected bridge tools with games_tool_names using brief: true.
5. Inspect one candidate with games_tool_detail.
6. Call the tool through games_call_tool unless a direct mirrored MCP tool is clearly available and already discovered.
7. After start, connect, stop, reconnect, or an error, call games_status or games_tool_names again instead of relying on cached tool lists.

Tool Rules

• Prefer strict-safe names such as games_status, games_tool_names, and games_call_tool.
• Dotted names such as games.status may work as aliases, but do not use them as the first choice.
• Use gameId values from games_list; do not guess from display names.
• Use games_show when a game fails to start or stop, especially for Steam/Epic stopProcessName validation.
• Use games_connect after a game is already open, after a GABS restart, or when games_start says the process is running but GABP was not ready.
• Use normal games_connect to continue from a different live session after the previous session goes idle; GABS runtime ownership is a short active-use lease, not a permanent session lock.
• Use games_connect with forceTakeover: true only when intentionally moving ownership away from another active GABS session before its lease expires.
• For games with slow bridge startup, pass a larger timeout to games_start or configure timeouts.startup.gabpConnectSeconds to increase the total background connection budget. games_start still returns after a bounded initial wait; use games_status or games_connect while GABS keeps trying.
• Do not inspect, edit, or base recovery on bridge.json; it is GABS' endpoint cache/debug artifact. Game-side bridge runtime configuration should come from GABP_SERVER_PORT, GABP_TOKEN, and GABS_GAME_ID.
• If games_start reports endpoint_cache_in_use, use games_connect to attach to the already-listening endpoint. Use games_start with resetEndpoint: true only after confirming the cached endpoint should be rotated for a new process.
• If games_status reports process-bridge-environment-missing, the running process is visible but lacks an attachable GABP environment. Do not keep retrying games_connect; inspect the config with games_show or gabs games doctor <gameId>. For Steam launcher URL configs, run gabs games repair <gameId> first. If managed Steam launch still loses the environment, use DirectPath or CustomCommand.

Discovery

• Use games_tool_names before attempting game-specific actions.
• Pass brief: true for compact summaries.
• Pass query or prefix when looking for a likely capability.
• Use games_tool_detail for the exact schema of one tool before supplying arguments.
• If games_tool_detail or games_call_tool says a tool is missing, inspect the structured candidates or call games_tool_names again.

Calling Game Tools

• Prefer games_call_tool with:
  • gameId when the tool name is local or ambiguous;
  • tool from games_tool_names or games_tool_detail;
  • arguments matching games_tool_detail.inputSchema;
  • timeout for long-running game actions.
• Fully qualified slash or dotted GABP names can be sent through games_call_tool before direct mirrored MCP tools appear.
• If a call is blocked by attention, use games_get_attention, decide what to do, then acknowledge with games_ack_attention when appropriate.
• While attention is open, diagnostic and lifecycle observation tools may still be callable through games_call_tool; use them to inspect bridge status, operations, logs, game-loaded state, or long-event idle state before acknowledging.
• If a call is blocked by blocked_by_active_runtime_owner, use games_status to inspect the owner lease and retry games_connect after the active session goes idle. Use forceTakeover only for deliberate immediate handoff.
• Bridge authors should mark such tools with generic tags like diagnostic, read-only, status, health, lifecycle, or attention-bypass; do not rely on bridge-specific tool names.

Recovery

• If no bridge tools are listed, call games_status first, then games_connect if the game is running.
• If GABP disconnected, call games_status to inspect the last disconnect note, then games_connect after the bridge is ready.
• If a client rejected tools/list, check whether stripOutputSchema is enabled in GABS config.
• If stop or kill fails for launcher games, use games_show and fix stopProcessName.