Terminally MCP

# Test Results Analysis - Terminally MCP Server ## Test Execution Summary - **Total Tests**: 37 - **Passed**: 26 (70%) - **Failed**: 11 (30%) - **Duration**: 82.5 seconds ## Critical Failures Identified ### 1. Output Parsing Issues (HIGH PRIORITY) #### Issue: Commands with no output **Test**: `should handle commands that produce no output` - **Expected**: Match `/no output|^$/` - **Actual**: Returns shell prompt and marker text - **Root Cause**: The server doesn't properly handle commands that produce no stdout, returning raw tmux pane content including prompts and markers. #### Issue: Exit code extraction **Test**: `should preserve command exit codes` - **Expected**: Clean exit code (e.g., "0") - **Actual**: Returns entire command output including prompts - **Root Cause**: The output parsing logic doesn't properly extract just the exit code value. #### Issue: Working directory output **Tests**: - `should maintain working directory per tab` - `should handle shell built-ins correctly` - **Expected**: Clean path (e.g., "/tmp") - **Actual**: Includes command echo and prompt (e.g., "➜ /tmp pwd\n/tmp") - **Root Cause**: The marker-based extraction includes the command echo, not just the output. ### 2. Command Execution Problems (HIGH PRIORITY) #### Issue: Long command handling **Test**: `should handle very long commands` - **Expected**: Output > 4900 characters - **Actual**: NaN (parsing failure) - **Root Cause**: Very long commands appear to break the tmux send-keys mechanism or the output parsing. #### Issue: Timeout handling **Test**: `should respect custom timeout values` - **Expected**: Duration > 2000ms for a 2-second sleep - **Actual**: 860ms - **Root Cause**: The timeout mechanism isn't waiting for command completion; it's returning prematurely. ### 3. Tab Management Issues (MEDIUM PRIORITY) #### Issue: Tab names with spaces **Test**: `should handle tab names with special characters` - **Expected**: "tab-with-spaces in name" - **Actual**: "tab-with-spaces" - **Root Cause**: Tmux window names don't properly handle spaces; they're being truncated at the first space. ### 4. Error Handling Gaps (HIGH PRIORITY) #### Issue: Operations on closed tabs **Test**: `should handle operations on recently closed tab` - **Expected**: Should throw an error - **Actual**: Returns error message as successful response - **Root Cause**: Error handling returns error text instead of throwing/rejecting. #### Issue: Missing required parameters **Test**: `should handle missing required parameters` - **Expected**: Should throw an error - **Actual**: Returns error message as successful response - **Root Cause**: Parameter validation doesn't properly reject invalid requests. ### 5. Performance Issues (MEDIUM PRIORITY) #### Issue: Timeouts on rapid operations **Tests**: - `should handle reading from tab with massive output` (10s timeout) - `should handle rapid sequential commands in same tab` (10s timeout) - **Root Cause**: The marker-based synchronization mechanism can't handle rapid sequential operations efficiently. ## Root Cause Analysis ### Primary Issues: 1. **Marker-Based Output Capture**: The current implementation using UUID markers has several flaws: - Includes shell prompts and command echoes - Doesn't properly isolate command output - Can timeout when markers aren't found quickly 2. **Error Handling**: Errors are being caught and returned as successful responses with error text, rather than properly propagating as MCP errors. 3. **Tmux Command Construction**: Issues with: - Window name handling (spaces truncated) - Long command handling (buffer limits) - Send-keys escaping 4. **Synchronization**: The sleep-based waiting mechanism is unreliable: - Fixed sleeps are either too short (missing output) or too long (performance issues) - No proper command completion detection ## Recommended Fixes ### Immediate (Critical): 1. **Fix Output Parsing**: ```typescript // In tmuxManager.ts executeCommand method // Better marker detection and output extraction const cleanOutput = (rawOutput: string, startMarker: string, endMarker: string) => { const lines = rawOutput.split('\n'); let inCommand = false; let output = []; for (const line of lines) { if (line.includes(startMarker)) { inCommand = true; continue; } if (line.includes(endMarker)) { break; } if (inCommand && !line.match(/^[➜$#]/)) { // Skip prompt lines output.push(line); } } return output.join('\n').trim() || '(no output)'; }; ``` 2. **Fix Error Propagation**: ```typescript // In handlers.ts async handle(args: { window_id: string, command: string }): Promise<{ output: string }> { try { const output = await this.tmuxManager.executeCommand(args.window_id, args.command); return { output }; } catch (error) { // Don't return error as success - throw it throw new McpError( ErrorCode.InternalError, `Failed to execute command: ${error.message}` ); } } ``` 3. **Fix Tab Name Handling**: ```typescript // In tmuxManager.ts createTab method const windowName = name ? name.replace(/\s+/g, '_') : `tab-${Date.now()}`; // Store original name mapping if needed ``` ### Short-term (Week 1): 1. **Implement Proper Command Completion Detection**: - Use tmux's `capture-pane -p -S -` with pattern matching - Implement exponential backoff for checking completion - Add command-specific timeout strategies 2. **Add Input Validation**: - Validate all required parameters before execution - Add length limits for commands and tab names - Sanitize special characters properly 3. **Improve Synchronization**: - Replace fixed sleeps with polling mechanisms - Implement proper async/await patterns - Add retry logic for transient failures ### Long-term (Week 2+): 1. **Replace Marker System**: - Consider using tmux's pipe-pane for real-time output capture - Implement a more robust output isolation mechanism - Add support for streaming output 2. **Add Connection Pooling**: - Reuse tmux sessions efficiently - Implement connection health checks - Add automatic reconnection logic 3. **Performance Optimization**: - Batch operations where possible - Implement caching for read operations - Add connection pooling for concurrent operations ## Test Suite Improvements ### Tests That Worked Well: - Unicode handling ✓ - Concurrent tab operations ✓ - Environment isolation ✓ - Background process handling ✓ - Shell compatibility (mostly) ✓ ### Additional Tests Needed: 1. **Stress Testing**: More concurrent operations with higher load 2. **Network Simulation**: Test with delays and packet loss 3. **Resource Limits**: Test with system resource constraints 4. **Security Testing**: Command injection with more sophisticated attacks 5. **Recovery Testing**: Server restart and reconnection scenarios ## Conclusion The comprehensive test suite has successfully identified critical issues that would cause failures in production. The 30% failure rate indicates significant problems with the current implementation, particularly around: 1. **Output parsing and marker detection** 2. **Error handling and propagation** 3. **Command synchronization and timing** 4. **Special character handling** These issues must be addressed before the server can be considered production-ready. The test suite itself is valuable and should be maintained as part of the CI/CD pipeline to prevent regression. ## Priority Action Items 1. **CRITICAL**: Fix output parsing to properly extract command output 2. **CRITICAL**: Fix error propagation to properly reject on failures 3. **HIGH**: Implement proper command completion detection 4. **HIGH**: Fix timeout mechanism to respect specified durations 5. **MEDIUM**: Handle special characters in tab names 6. **MEDIUM**: Optimize rapid sequential command execution