# TailscaleMCP Critical Assessment for Windsurf IDE
**Date:** 2025-08-09
**Status:** 🚨 CRITICAL - COMPLETE REWRITE REQUIRED
**Effort:** 10-12 days for working implementation
## 🎯 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY FOR WINDSURF
This repository contains **85% documentation, 15% functional code**. The codebase is primarily composed of:
- Hardcoded mock data pretending to be real API responses
- Outdated FastMCP patterns (not 2.10 compliant)
- Empty stub functions with no implementation
- Zero actual Tailscale API integration
**CRITICAL:** This is NOT a working MCP server. It's a well-documented collection of stubs.
## 🔥 IMMEDIATE CRITICAL FIXES NEEDED
### 1. REPLACE ALL MOCK DATA WITH REAL TAILSCALE API CALLS
**File:** `src/tailscalemcp/mcp_server.py`
**Current BROKEN Implementation (lines 140-160):**
```python
# THIS IS FAKE DATA - DELETE ALL OF THIS
devices = [
{
"id": "device1",
"name": "my-laptop",
"ip": "100.64.0.1",
"online": True,
"last_seen": "2023-08-02T12:00:00Z",
"tags": ["tag:laptop", "tag:engineering"],
},
# ... MORE HARDCODED NONSENSE
]
```
**Required Real Implementation:**
```python
import httpx
from typing import List, Dict, Any
class TailscaleAPIClient:
def __init__(self, api_key: str, tailnet: str):
self.api_key = api_key
self.tailnet = tailnet
self.base_url = "https://api.tailscale.com/api/v2"
async def list_devices(self) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
async with httpx.AsyncClient() as client:
response = await client.get(
f"{self.base_url}/tailnet/{self.tailnet}/devices",
headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {self.api_key}"}
)
response.raise_for_status()
return response.json()["devices"]
async def get_device(self, device_id: str) -> Dict[str, Any]:
async with httpx.AsyncClient() as client:
response = await client.get(
f"{self.base_url}/device/{device_id}",
headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {self.api_key}"}
)
response.raise_for_status()
return response.json()
```
### 2. FIX FASTMCP 2.10 COMPLIANCE
**Current BROKEN Pattern:**
```python
from fastmcp import MCPServer # WRONG - This doesn't exist
self.mcp = MCPServer(...) # WRONG - Old pattern
```
**Required FastMCP 2.10 Pattern:**
```python
from fastmcp import FastMCP
# Create the MCP server instance
mcp = FastMCP(name="tailscale-mcp")
@mcp.tool
async def list_devices(
online_only: bool = False,
filter_tags: List[str] = None,
ctx: Context = None
) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
"""List all devices in the Tailscale network."""
if ctx:
await ctx.info(f"Listing devices, online_only={online_only}")
# ACTUAL API CALL HERE - NOT MOCK DATA
api_client = TailscaleAPIClient(api_key, tailnet)
devices = await api_client.list_devices()
# Apply filters
if online_only:
devices = [d for d in devices if d.get("online", False)]
if filter_tags:
devices = [d for d in devices if any(tag in d.get("tags", []) for tag in filter_tags)]
return devices
```
### 3. IMPLEMENT PROPER STDIO TRANSPORT
**File:** `src/tailscalemcp/__main__.py`
**Current BROKEN Main:**
```python
# DELETE EVERYTHING - IT'S WRONG
async def run_server():
server = TailscaleMCPServer(...) # WRONG CLASS
await server.start() # WRONG METHOD
```
**Required FastMCP 2.10 Main:**
```python
def main():
"""Main entry point for STDIO transport."""
# FastMCP 2.10 handles STDIO automatically
mcp.run() # This starts STDIO by default
if __name__ == "__main__":
main()
```
### 4. ADD STRUCTURED LOGGING WITH MCP CONTEXT
**Current BROKEN Logging:**
```python
import logging
logging.basicConfig(...) # INADEQUATE
logger.info("message") # NO MCP CONTEXT
```
**Required Context-Aware Logging:**
```python
@mcp.tool
async def get_device(device_id: str, ctx: Context = None) -> Dict[str, Any]:
"""Get device details with proper logging."""
if ctx:
await ctx.info(f"Fetching device details for {device_id}")
await ctx.debug(f"Using API key: {api_key[:8]}...")
try:
api_client = TailscaleAPIClient(api_key, tailnet)
device = await api_client.get_device(device_id)
if ctx:
await ctx.info(f"Successfully retrieved device {device.get('name', 'unknown')}")
return device
except Exception as e:
if ctx:
await ctx.error(f"Failed to get device {device_id}: {str(e)}")
raise TailscaleMCPError(f"Device {device_id} not found: {str(e)}")
```
### 5. FIX BROKEN DXT PACKAGING
**File:** `dxt_manifest.json`
**Current BROKEN Manifest:**
```json
{
"name": "tailscale-mcp",
"prompts": [
{
"template": "List all {online_only?online :''}devices" // WRONG SYNTAX
}
]
}
```
**Required DXT 2.x Format:**
```json
{
"name": "tailscale-mcp",
"version": "1.0.0",
"description": "FastMCP 2.10 compliant Tailscale network controller",
"author": "Sandra Schi <sandra@example.com>",
"license": "MIT",
"mcp_version": "2025-01-15",
"tools": [
{
"name": "list_devices",
"description": "List all devices in the Tailscale network",
"input_schema": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"online_only": {
"type": "boolean",
"description": "Only return online devices"
}
}
}
}
],
"prompts": {
"list_devices": "Show me {{#if online_only}}online {{/if}}devices{{#if filter_tags}} with tags: {{join filter_tags ', '}}{{/if}}"
}
}
```
## 🛠️ SPECIFIC FILES TO FIX
### HIGH PRIORITY (Days 1-2)
1. **`src/tailscalemcp/mcp_server.py`**
- ❌ REPLACE: All mock data with real API calls
- ❌ REPLACE: MCPServer with FastMCP pattern
- ❌ ADD: Actual TailscaleAPIClient class
- ❌ ADD: Context-aware logging
2. **`src/tailscalemcp/__main__.py`**
- ❌ REPLACE: Entire file with FastMCP 2.10 patterns
- ❌ REMOVE: Signal handling (FastMCP handles this)
- ❌ SIMPLIFY: To just `mcp.run()`
3. **`pyproject.toml`**
- ❌ ADD: httpx dependency
- ❌ UPDATE: FastMCP to >=2.10.0
- ❌ FIX: Entry points for proper CLI
### MEDIUM PRIORITY (Days 3-5)
4. **`src/tailscalemcp/tools/`** (Currently EMPTY)
- ❌ CREATE: Modular tool files
- ❌ IMPLEMENT: device_management.py
- ❌ IMPLEMENT: network_management.py
- ❌ IMPLEMENT: acl_management.py
5. **`tests/test_mcp_server.py`**
- ❌ REPLACE: All mock-based tests
- ❌ ADD: Real integration tests
- ❌ ADD: FastMCP compliance tests
6. **`dxt_manifest.json`**
- ❌ UPDATE: To DXT 2.x format
- ❌ FIX: Prompt template syntax
- ❌ ADD: Proper tool schemas
### LOW PRIORITY (Days 6-8)
7. **Configuration Management**
- ❌ CREATE: .env.example
- ❌ ADD: Config validation
- ❌ IMPLEMENT: Settings class
8. **Advanced Features**
- ❌ IMPLEMENT: ACL management
- ❌ IMPLEMENT: Exit node management
- ❌ IMPLEMENT: Subnet routing
## 🧪 TESTING REQUIREMENTS
### CRITICAL: Replace All Fake Tests
**Current BROKEN Test Pattern:**
```python
# THIS IS TESTING NOTHING
mock_response.json.return_value = {"devices": [FAKE_DATA]}
assert devices[0]["id"] == "d123456" # TESTING HARDCODED MOCK
```
**Required Real Test Pattern:**
```python
@pytest.mark.integration
async def test_list_devices_real_api():
"""Test against real Tailscale API."""
api_key = os.getenv("TAILSCALE_API_KEY_TEST")
tailnet = os.getenv("TAILSCALE_TAILNET_TEST")
if not api_key or not tailnet:
pytest.skip("No test API credentials")
server = TailscaleMCPServer(api_key=api_key, tailnet=tailnet)
devices = await server.list_devices()
assert isinstance(devices, list)
if devices: # Only test if devices exist
assert "id" in devices[0]
assert "name" in devices[0]
```
## 📦 DEPLOYMENT FIXES
### Current Issues:
- ❌ No proper STDIO setup for Claude Desktop
- ❌ No production deployment guide
- ❌ Wrong packaging format
### Required Fixes:
1. **Add proper STDIO configuration for Claude Desktop:**
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"tailscale": {
"command": "python",
"args": ["-m", "tailscalemcp"],
"env": {
"TAILSCALE_API_KEY": "your_key_here",
"TAILSCALE_TAILNET": "your_tailnet"
}
}
}
}
```
2. **Add production deployment with DXT:**
```bash
# Build DXT package
dxt build
dxt publish
```
## 🚨 WINDSURF ACTION PLAN
### IMMEDIATE (TODAY):
1. Fix FastMCP import and initialization
2. Replace first mock function (list_devices) with real API
3. Add httpx dependency
4. Test STDIO transport
### THIS WEEK:
1. Implement all core device management tools
2. Add proper error handling and logging
3. Fix DXT packaging
4. Add real integration tests
### NEXT WEEK:
1. Implement advanced Tailscale features
2. Add comprehensive documentation
3. Performance optimization
4. Production deployment testing
## 💀 MOST CRITICAL ISSUES TO FIX FIRST
1. **IMMEDIATE:** `src/tailscalemcp/mcp_server.py` - Replace MCPServer with FastMCP
2. **IMMEDIATE:** Add TailscaleAPIClient class with real httpx calls
3. **IMMEDIATE:** Fix STDIO transport in __main__.py
4. **TODAY:** Replace at least one mock function with real API call
5. **TODAY:** Add Context parameter to tools for proper logging
**BOTTOM LINE:** This needs a complete rewrite, not patches. Start fresh with FastMCP 2.10 patterns and real API integration.
