# Usability Improvements - Implementation Summary
## Overview
This document summarizes the usability improvements made to the MCP Code-Editor tool.
## Changes Implemented
### 1. Simplified Tool Descriptions ✓
All 8 MCP tool docstrings have been simplified for better LLM consumption:
- **Before**: Verbose multi-line descriptions with "Common mistakes" sections
- **After**: Concise 1-line summary + Args section
**Tools updated:**
- `set_root_path` - Add a directory to the allowed whitelist
- `get_file_info` - Get metadata for a file or directory
- `list_allowed_roots` - Return the current whitelist of allowed directories
- `read_file` - Read file content with optional line range
- `dir_ops` - Directory operations: create, list, or delete
- `file_ops` - File operations: write, append, copy, move, or delete
- `edit_block` - Search and replace text in a file
- `convert_file_encoding` - Convert files between encodings
### 2. Standardized Response Format with Line Locations ✓
**Files Modified:**
- `tools/edit.py` - Added TypedDict definitions and location tracking
- `tools/filesystem.py` - Updated `stream_replace` return format
- `server.py` - Updated `edit_block` return type
**New TypedDict Definitions:**
```python
class EditLocation(TypedDict):
start_line: int
end_line: int
start_col: int
end_col: int
class EditResult(TypedDict):
status: str # "success" | "error"
message: str
file_path: str
replacements: int
locations: list # List[EditLocation]
```
**Response Format:**
```python
{
"status": "success",
"message": "Applied 2 edit(s) to file.py (lines 10-12, 20-25)",
"file_path": "/path/to/file.py",
"replacements": 2,
"locations": [
{"start_line": 10, "end_line": 12, "start_col": 1, "end_col": 15},
{"start_line": 20, "end_line": 25, "start_col": 5, "end_col": 20}
]
}
```
**Key Features:**
- Line and column numbers for each edit location
- Human-readable message with location summary
- Consistent format across `edit_block` and `stream_replace`
### 3. Batch Operation Support ✓
#### 3a. `read_files` Tool
**Location:** `server.py` (after `read_file`)
**Purpose:** Read multiple files in a single call
**Parameters:**
- `file_paths`: List of absolute file paths
- `encoding`: File encoding (auto-detected if omitted)
**Returns:** List of results, each with path/content/mimeType/isImage or path/error
#### 3b. `edit_blocks` Tool
**Location:** `server.py` (after `edit_block`)
**Purpose:** Apply multiple search/replace edits in a single call
**Parameters:**
- `edits`: List of edit specs, each with:
- `file_path`: Absolute path
- `old_string`: Text to find
- `new_string`: Replacement text
- `expected_replacements`: Match count (default 1)
- `ignore_whitespace`: Flexible whitespace (default False)
- `normalize_escapes`: Unescape \n, \t (default False)
- `error_policy`: "fail-fast" | "continue" | "rollback"
- `encoding`: File encoding for all edits
**Key Features:**
- Automatically detects same-file edits and applies sequentially
- Supports edits to different files in one call
- Three error policies:
- `fail-fast`: Stop on first error, return partial results
- `continue`: Process all edits, collect errors
- `rollback`: Restore all files on any error
- Returns aggregated results with per-edit status and locations
**Return Format:**
```python
{
"status": "success" | "partial" | "error",
"message": "Completed 5/5 edits",
"total_edits": 5,
"successful_edits": 5,
"failed_edits": 0,
"results": [
{
"status": "success",
"file_path": "/path/to/file.py",
"replacements": 1,
"locations": [...],
"message": "Applied 1 edit(s) (lines 10-12)"
},
...
]
}
```
#### 3c. Helper Function: `perform_single_edit_in_memory`
**Location:** `tools/edit.py`
**Purpose:** Perform edits on in-memory content (used by `edit_blocks`)
**Returns:**
```python
{
"new_content": str,
"message": str,
"replacements": int,
"locations": List[EditLocation]
}
```
## Files Modified
| File | Lines Changed | Description |
|------|---------------|-------------|
| `tools/edit.py` | ~200 lines | Added TypedDict definitions, helpers, modified `perform_search_replace`, added `perform_single_edit_in_memory` |
| `tools/filesystem.py` | ~10 lines | Updated `stream_replace` return format |
| `server.py` | ~250 lines | Simplified docstrings, updated return types, added `read_files` and `edit_blocks` tools |
## Breaking Changes
**Return Type Changes:**
- `edit_block`: Changed from `str` to `dict`
- `stream_replace`: Changed from `int` to `dict`
**Migration:** The new dict format includes a `message` field that contains the same information as the old string/int return, plus additional structured data.
## Testing Recommendations
1. **Test `edit_block` with single edits:**
- Verify location tracking for single-line edits
- Verify location tracking for multi-line edits
- Test whitespace-insensitive matching
2. **Test `read_files` with multiple files:**
- Verify successful reads
- Verify error handling for missing files
3. **Test `edit_blocks` with same-file edits:**
- Multiple edits to the same file
- Verify sequential application
- Test all error policies
4. **Test `edit_blocks` with different-file edits:**
- Edits to multiple files
- Verify independent processing
- Test error policies
## Benefits
1. **Improved LLM Understanding:** Concise docstrings reduce token usage and improve comprehension
2. **Better User Feedback:** Line locations help users verify changes quickly
3. **Increased Efficiency:** Batch operations reduce round-trips for multi-file operations
4. **Flexible Error Handling:** Multiple error policies support different use cases
5. **Consistent API:** Structured responses across all edit operations
