HTTP HEAD Request

Instructions

Implementation Reference

• src/index.ts:664-677 (registration)

  Registration of the 'http-head' tool on the MCP server. This calls server.registerTool() with the name 'http-head', providing its title, description, input schema (url and optional headers), and the handler function.

  server.registerTool(
    "http-head",
    {
      title: "HTTP HEAD Request",
      description: "Make an HTTP HEAD request to a specified URL with optional headers (returns only headers, no body). Supports secret substitution using {secrets.key} syntax in URL and headers where 'key' corresponds to HAL_SECRET_KEY environment variables.",
      inputSchema: {
        url: z.string().url(),
        headers: z.record(z.string()).optional()
      }
    },
    async ({ url, headers = {} }: { url: string; headers?: Record<string, string> }) => {
      return makeHttpRequest('HEAD', url, { headers });
    }
  );

• src/index.ts:674-676 (handler)

  Handler function for the 'http-head' tool. It extracts the url and optional headers from params, then calls makeHttpRequest('HEAD', url, { headers }) to execute the HTTP HEAD request.

  async ({ url, headers = {} }: { url: string; headers?: Record<string, string> }) => {
    return makeHttpRequest('HEAD', url, { headers });
  }

• src/index.ts:669-672 (schema)

  Input schema for the 'http-head' tool, defining url (z.string().url()) as required and headers (z.record(z.string())) as optional.

  inputSchema: {
    url: z.string().url(),
    headers: z.record(z.string()).optional()
  }

• src/index.ts:399-401 (helper)

  Within the makeHttpRequest helper function, special handling for HEAD requests: when method is 'HEAD', the response body is set to '(No body - HEAD request)' since HEAD requests don't return a body.

  // HEAD requests don't have a body by design
  if (method.toUpperCase() === 'HEAD') {
    content = '(No body - HEAD request)';

• src/index.ts:343-447 (helper)

  The makeHttpRequest helper function used by all HTTP tools including http-head. It handles secret substitution, URL validation, making the fetch call, and processing the response.

  async function makeHttpRequest(
    method: string,
    url: string,
    options: {
      headers?: Record<string, string>;
      body?: string;
      queryParams?: Record<string, any>;
    } = {}
  ) {
    try {
      const { headers = {}, body, queryParams = {} } = options;
      
      // First, substitute secrets in URL to get the final URL for validation
      // We need to do this in two passes to handle URL restrictions properly
      const processedUrl = substituteSecrets(url, url);
      
      // Now substitute secrets in headers, body, and query parameters using the processed URL
      const processedHeaders = substituteSecretsInObject(headers, processedUrl);
      const processedBody = body ? substituteSecrets(body, processedUrl) : body;
      const processedQueryParams = substituteSecretsInObject(queryParams, processedUrl);
      
      // Build URL with query parameters
      const urlObj = new URL(processedUrl);
      Object.entries(processedQueryParams).forEach(([key, value]) => {
        if (value !== undefined && value !== null) {
          urlObj.searchParams.set(key, String(value));
        }
      });
      
      const finalUrl = urlObj.toString();
      
      // Check global URL whitelist/blacklist
      const urlCheck = isUrlAllowedGlobal(finalUrl);
      if (!urlCheck.allowed) {
        throw new Error(urlCheck.reason || 'URL is not allowed');
      }
      
      const defaultHeaders = {
        'User-Agent': 'HAL-MCP/1.0.0',
        ...processedHeaders
      };
      
           // Add Content-Type for methods that typically send data
       if (['POST', 'PUT', 'PATCH'].includes(method.toUpperCase()) && processedBody && !('Content-Type' in processedHeaders)) {
         (defaultHeaders as any)['Content-Type'] = 'application/json';
       }
      
      const response = await fetch(finalUrl, {
        method: method.toUpperCase(),
        headers: defaultHeaders,
        body: processedBody
      });
  
      const contentType = response.headers.get('content-type') || 'text/plain';
      let content: string;
      
      // HEAD requests don't have a body by design
      if (method.toUpperCase() === 'HEAD') {
        content = '(No body - HEAD request)';
      } else {
        try {
          if (contentType.includes('application/json')) {
            const text = await response.text();
            if (text.trim()) {
              content = JSON.stringify(JSON.parse(text), null, 2);
            } else {
              content = '(Empty response)';
            }
          } else {
            content = await response.text();
          }
        } catch (parseError) {
          // If JSON parsing fails, try to get text
          try {
            content = await response.text();
          } catch (textError) {
            content = '(Unable to parse response)';
          }
        }
      }
  
      // Redact secrets from response headers and content before returning
      const redactedHeaders = Array.from(response.headers.entries())
        .map(([key, value]) => `${key}: ${redactSecretsFromText(value)}`)
        .join('\n');
      const redactedContent = redactSecretsFromText(content);
  
           return {
         content: [{
           type: "text" as const,
           text: `Status: ${response.status} ${response.statusText}\n\nHeaders:\n${redactedHeaders}\n\nBody:\n${redactedContent}`
         }]
       };
    } catch (error) {
      const errorMessage = error instanceof Error ? error.message : 'Unknown error';
      const redactedErrorMessage = redactSecretsFromText(errorMessage);
           return {
         content: [{
           type: "text" as const,
           text: `Error making ${method.toUpperCase()} request: ${redactedErrorMessage}`
         }],
         isError: true
       };
    }
  }