aki-mcp-sv (@akinet/akimcp)

Turn web AIs (Claude, ChatGPT, Grok, Notion, ClickUp, Buda), Postman and any web chat that can send HTTP requests into secure operators for your local machine. AkiMCP v4 exposes a governed suite of 38 tools for files, shell, search, Git, SQLite, browser automation, DevTools, background tasks, localhost services, clipboard, notifications, ports, Postman control, and AIObox windows through one OAuth-gated MCP endpoint. (Gemini support remains experimental.)

One command opens a much larger operating surface: build and edit projects from the browser, inspect databases and local APIs, drive browser workflows, manage long-running jobs, debug through DevTools, and control Postman without giving every client unrestricted shell access.

Contents: Why this exists · When to use & Core Use-Cases · Install & Run · Connecting from Claude web · Connecting from ChatGPT · Connecting from Grok and Gemini · Connecting from Notion AI · Connecting from ClickUp · Connecting from Buda · Connecting from Postman · Connecting from any HTTP chat · Connecting local IDEs · Autonomous Cloud Automation · Requirements · Architecture · Directory layout · Configuration · Exposing to the internet · Finding files · Security

Why this exists

Claude.ai's web/Pro quota is far cheaper than paying per token via the API for equivalent usage. But most real work is project work: reading, editing, and running commands against files on your machine, not open-ended chat.

The Claude Desktop app already does local file access, but ties usage to a device ID you don't control, and running multiple accounts means repeated login/logout. With this web-based approach, you get true multi-account flexibility instead: just switch browser profiles to pick up a different account (e.g. several Claude Pro subscriptions), all pointed at the same local machine, no device lock-in.

aki-mcp-sv routes around both problems: run an MCP server on your machine, expose it over HTTPS through Tailscale Funnel, and connect it to claude.ai as a custom connector.

The payoff:

• Local-first by default: local tools on the same computer need no tunnel: each one connects straight to 127.0.0.1:9999 or starts the tools itself over stdio (scripts/stdio.js), and its setup below says which. A public ingress is only needed for remote/web AI.

• Use your web quota for local file and shell access, straight from the browser.

• True multi-account flexibility: switch browser profiles to instantly pick up a different account, all pointed at the same machine.

• Safe by default: a strict command whitelist, not a leaky blocklist — see Security.

When to use & Core Use-Cases

• At your desk: a native Terminal/CLI (Claude Code, Antigravity CLI, Cursor) is still the fastest, most fluid option — use that.

• Away from your desk (mobile / web / a machine that isn't yours): use aki-mcp-sv via Claude Web, ChatGPT Mobile, or Grok to check on a running job, read logs, clean up temp files, or pull the latest code on your home/office machine.

• On a schedule, with nobody watching: pair Grok's scheduled prompts with aki-mcp-sv for cloud-triggered local execution — see Autonomous Cloud Automation.

Related MCP server: localmcpcoder

Install & Run

1-Line Global Install (Recommended)

npm install -g @akinet/akimcp
akimcp

Or run instantly without installing:

npx @akinet/akimcp

From Source (For Contributors)

git clone https://github.com/lacvietanh/aki-mcp-sv.git
cd aki-mcp-sv
npm install

# Run in isolated development mode (~/.aki/mcpsv-dev, ports 9997/9996)
npm run dev

# Or run in standard production mode (~/.aki/mcpsv, ports 9999/9998)
npm start

Run

cp .env.example .env   # optional: only if you need PUBLIC_ORIGIN or another non-default var
npm start

Nothing needs preparing beforehand; npm start handles it:

• OAuth and passphrase state in ~/.aki/mcpsv/: generated once and reused on later runs.

• Funnel: checks tailscale funnel status; if port 9999 isn't on yet, runs tailscale funnel --bg 9999 (idempotent: never toggles an already-enabled port).

• Prints the Remote MCP server URL and Passphrase used on the confirmation page when a client connects.

• Opens the control panel at http://127.0.0.1:9998/?t=<token>. A step header maps the flow (0 Ingress · 1 Connectors · 2 Install rules · 3 Instructions · 7 Security), then the sections follow it: 0 Ingress (optional; a 3-tab ingress picker: Tailscale + Funnel / Owned public origin / Hosted domain), 1 Connectors, 2 Install akidevrule, 3 Instructions prompt, 4 Tool providers (each provider's tools, whether its app is installed, an on/off switch, Detect again), 5 allowed Folders, 6 shell allowlist, 7 Security & connection limits (rate limit settings, blocked callers and Release, registered clients with Remove, callers active since start), 8 AIObox (what the desktop app adds to AkiMCP, with a link to aiobox.app; one line when it is already installed; section 1 ends with a short version of it), 9 Logs (call log settings and the security log).

The default allowed root is your home directory ($HOME, or %USERPROFILE% on Windows): the one folder guaranteed to exist on any machine and to hold the projects you actually want Claude to reach. In plain terms, that means the whole home folder (Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Photos, everything under it), not just the projects you meant to share. Add/remove folders from panel section 5: click "+ Add folder…" and type an absolute path (/Users/you/projects or C:\Users\you\projects). Saving takes effect immediately for file, search and Git tools and for the shell working directory; shell command arguments are not confined to those roots. With no non-empty saved folders list, set the fallback base using MCP_DATA_DIR=/other/path npm start (or set MCP_DATA_DIR=D:\work then npm start on Windows cmd). A non-empty saved list takes precedence over MCP_DATA_DIR.

In the default fallback, beyond $MCP_DATA_DIR (or home), the filesystem tools are also granted ~/.aki (where akidevrule deploys) and ~/.claude, so claude.ai can read your native CLAUDE.md and skill router the same way Claude Code does, with no copying or staging.

~/.claude is granted at the folder level (the filesystem tools can't scope to individual files), so .claude.json/auth-cache.json (session tokens) and history.jsonl (chat history) inside it are also reachable through the connector. This row is locked in panel section 5, with no delete button by design so it can't be revoked by accident; the panel itself cannot remove it. To remove access, edit ~/.aki/mcpsv/setting.json before connecting: use a non-empty folders list that excludes ~/.claude and every ancestor that contains it (including home). An empty list restores the defaults. This also removes access to your CLAUDE.md there.

npm start runs in the foreground: Ctrl+C to stop, restart manually when needed. After editing code, Ctrl+C and npm start again (Node doesn't hot-reload).

Connecting from Claude web

1. Go to claude.ai → Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector

2. Enter any Name, then paste the Remote MCP server URL printed by npm start

3. Click Connect and enter the Passphrase when AkiMCP opens its confirmation page

Claude discovers OAuth automatically. No Client ID or Client Secret is needed.

The connector belongs to your Claude account: claude.ai, the Claude app and the mobile app all reach it from Anthropic's cloud, so it needs a public ingress even on the computer running AkiMCP. On that computer, Claude Code and the Claude app can connect locally instead, with no ingress: see Connecting local IDEs.

Why not token-in-URL: docs/ref/claude-connector.md, docs/research/claude-ai-oauth-connector.md.

Tool names here use the default prefix aki__. A server with another Tool prefix serves the same tools under that prefix; panel section 1 shows yours.

claude.ai connects and calls the in-house aki__* tool suite (38 tools). Tools of an app that is not installed (agy, Kiro CLI, Postman, Chrome, AIObox) are not served, and panel section 4 turns any optional provider on or off (agy and Kiro CLI start off); the client sees the change on its next tool list, usually a new chat. Every tool declares MCP annotations, so ChatGPT stops asking to confirm read-only tools:

• Chromium Remote & Profiles: aki__chrome_profiles, aki__chrome_launch, aki__chrome_tabs, aki__chrome_interact, aki__chrome_stop (opens the shared profiles AIObox keeps in ~/.aki/cdp/profiles/ (copies, logins kept) on a stealth port-0 launch, or attaches when another process runs the profile; while AIObox runs and the aiobox provider is served it refuses and names aki__aiobox_write op=open_url; stop kills only a Chrome it launched; React/Vue synthetic typing, scroll-to-center click)

• DevTools & CDP: aki__devtools_targets, aki__devtools_eval, aki__devtools_screenshot

• OS Native Integration: aki__notify_user (desktop notification banner & chime sound), aki__clipboard_read, aki__clipboard_write (system clipboard read/write bridge)

• Localhost & Intranet Fetch: aki__local_fetch (SSRF-protected HTTP client for local backend APIs and LAN services)

• Background Tasks: aki__task_start, aki__task_manage (detached background execution, process-group teardown, direct log streaming & tailing)

• Filesystem: aki__read_text_file, aki__write_file, aki__edit_file, aki__create_directory, aki__move_file, aki__get_file_info, aki__list_allowed_directories

• Search & Execution: aki__find_path, aki__search_content, aki__run_cmd

• Dev Servers & Ports: aki__port_status, aki__kill_port

• Git (read-only): aki__git with op = status | diff | log | tags (local, or a remote's via ls-remote --tags); compact output, cheaper than run_cmd. Writes go through run_cmd

• SQLite Database: aki__sqlite_schema, aki__sqlite_query

• Agent & Context: aki__agy_run, aki__kiro_read, aki__akidevrule_context

• Postman Control: aki__postman_status, aki__postman_eval, aki__postman_rename_conversation, aki__postman_panel_fullwidth

• AIObox windows: aki__aiobox (read) and aki__aiobox_write (act); a window is named by its handle such as P7·W2, its chat id or its targetId, and op is a free string: the ops are whatever AIObox publishes, so call op=state first, it returns AIObox's guide and op table

Note on the connector icon: claude.ai doesn't read the icon from the MCP server. It queries Google's favicon service with the tailnet's apex domain, not your host: https://t2.gstatic.com/faviconV2?...&url=http://<tailnet>.ts.net&size=32. <tailnet>.ts.net has no public DNS record, so Google returns 404 and claude.ai falls back to a default letter icon. This server serves /favicon.ico publicly, but no file placed here can change that result: your subdomain never appears in the query Google receives.

Connecting from ChatGPT

Needs ChatGPT Plus/Pro (or Business/Enterprise/Edu) with Developer mode for custom connectors.

1. ChatGPT → Settings → Security and login → enable Developer mode

2. Create a custom connector / app → paste the same MCP URL (https://your-machine.your-tailnet.ts.net/mcp)

3. Enter the same passphrase on the confirmation page

ChatGPT self-registers via DCR (RFC 7591, PKCE, no secret) from /.well-known/openid-configuration. It uses the same folder allowlist and shell allowlist as Claude.

Connecting from Grok and Gemini

Both ride the same MCP URL and passphrase flow — no separate transport or auth. The connector panel (section 1) lists the steps for each.

Grok — verified, production-ready: self-registers via the /register DCR path like ChatGPT — paste only the MCP URL, no Client ID. Its real redirect_uri https://grok.com/connectors-oauth-exchange-code/ was observed live 2026-08-09 and is allowlisted via GROK_CALLBACK_PREFIX. Verified working end to end (authorize → token 200). If a future Grok change moves that callback, a rejected registration logs register REJECTED (redirect_uri not allowlisted): [...] so the new value can be re-allowlisted.

Gemini — experimental, connection works but tool use doesn't (yet) (paid tiers only — Pro / Business / Enterprise; the free tier may not expose custom apps): self-registers via the /register DCR path like Claude and ChatGPT — paste the MCP URL, click Next, enter the passphrase on the authorization page, click Approve. The pre-issued Client ID/Secret in oauth-client.json is an optional fallback for a client that wants a static pair. Gemini's redirect goes through Google's OAuth proxy on oauth-redirect*.googleusercontent.com, allowlisted by isAllowedRedirect in scripts/oauth.js. Caveat: the OAuth handshake succeeds and Gemini accepts the instruction, but in repeated testing 2026-08-09 it did not reliably discover or drive the MCP tools — connection healthy, tool use unreliable. Claude and Grok are the dependable clients today.

Connecting from Notion AI

Notion needs a public ingress and workspace permission to use custom MCP servers. The panel's Notion tab walks through the setup.

1. Enable custom MCP servers in your Notion workspace settings.

2. Open Notion connections and add an approved Custom MCP server with the MCP URL from the panel.

3. Enter the Passphrase when AkiMCP opens its confirmation page.

4. Add the connection inside an agent, then republish the agent so the published agent can use it.

Notion self-registers through OAuth, so there is no Client ID or Client secret to paste, and it refreshes on its own after Roll token. It uses the same tool suite and folder and shell allowlists as the other connectors. Protocol details and revocation: docs/feat/security.md § Remote auth.

Connecting from ClickUp

ClickUp needs a public ingress. The panel's ClickUp tab walks through the setup.

1. In ClickUp, open Settings → App Center → MCP Servers → Connect an MCP Server.

2. Set Name and URL from the panel, Authentication Method = OAuth, leave Advanced configuration closed, click Next.

3. Enter the Passphrase in the tab ClickUp opens and approve.

ClickUp self-registers through OAuth, so there is no Client ID, secret or token to paste. After Roll token, reconnect the ClickUp connector once if it stops answering. ClickUp Brain then calls the tools when a request needs them, without a mention.

Connecting from Buda

Buda needs a public ingress and connects with the shared access token in a header, not the passphrase. The panel's Buda tab holds every value ready to copy.

1. In Buda, open Agent Settings → your Agent → Integrations → Add MCP server.

2. Set Name from the panel, Connection type = Remote HTTP, HTTPS endpoint = the MCP URL.

3. Under Authentication headers, add the header Authorization with the value Bearer <access token> from the panel.

4. Click Save, then start a new chat to load the tools.

After Roll token, paste the new header value into Buda again.

Connecting from Postman

Postman's AI Agent (Flows / Connected Accounts) has no OAuth redirect for third-party MCP servers and no persistent system-prompt field.

1. In the panel's Postman tab, click the filled JSON to copy. It targets the local loopback endpoint (http://127.0.0.1:9999/mcp) and carries a real minted access token — not the passphrase. Postman runs on this machine, so it connects over loopback and needs no tunnel.

2. In Postman, add a new MCP server (Settings → Connected Accounts) and paste the JSON.

3. Send the instruction into each new chat, since Postman doesn't persist one across sessions: after Launch, the Aki MCP for Postman overlay's Prompt instruction box has Send now, or tick Auto-inject into each new chat (off by default). It is a separate, Postman-specific text (scripts/postman/prompts/postman.md), worded as a polite request because Postman's safety check flags directive-style instructions. When a chat grows long, Summarize to a new chat waits until the assistant has finished, asks it for a handoff summary, copies the reply, opens a new chat and pastes the summary there unsent, so you read it before you send it; with Auto-inject into each new chat on, the instruction is sent in the new chat first. Tick Auto-summarize to a new chat when the Context bar reaches [90] % (off by default; the percent is set beside it, 100% being the red mark) to have it run once for you when the chat you are working in crosses that mark. It waits as long as the assistant is working or a tool approval is waiting for you, and gives up only after 5 minutes with no sign the assistant is working (no Stop button, no tool approval waiting) and the next step still not done. It then leaves what it has: the prompt in the box, or the summary as the last reply in the old chat (also on the clipboard when the copy worked; a failed copy shows as an [⚡ AutoRun] line in the log).

The Postman tab also has a Launch button that attaches control to the Postman desktop app itself — auto-clicking Approve/Continue/Run/Try again and toggling Thinking/Auto-run inside the Postman window, on top of opening it if it isn't already running. Quit stops that control daemon; New window asks it to open another Postman window. None of this runs at npm start boot — it starts only when Launch is clicked. The in-app overlay it injects is the Aki MCP for Postman panel (opened from a status-bar button): it shows the running version and an akimcp.top link under the title, keeps the New Browser Tab control in the ANTI-BOT section, and opens every external link — akimcp.top, the AkiDevRule Repo button, and each team's View — in your OS default browser through Postman's own link handler.

Connecting from any HTTP chat

For a web chat with no custom MCP connector whose AI can still send HTTP requests: a sandbox with curl, a fetch tool, a Postman agent (WorkBuddy, CodeBuddy and similar). The AI becomes the MCP client itself, using a temporary token made for that one chat. It needs a public ingress.

1. In the panel, section 1 → Web · needs ingress → Any HTTP chat, click Mint temp token & copy kickoff.

2. Paste the copied block into the chat. It names the guide (akimcp.top/guide/mcp-http/v1.md), the MCP URL and the token, and asks the AI to connect.

3. Give the AI your task.

4. When the work is done, tell the AI so: it sends one DELETE to the MCP URL and the token stops working. Or click Revoke beside the token in the panel.

Each token in the panel list shows when it was last used and from which address and app. +30 min beside a live token extends it by 30 minutes, as often as needed; an expired or revoked token stays dead.

A temporary token lasts 4 hours unless extended, lives only in memory (restarting AkiMCP revokes every one) and never touches the shared access token, so your other connectors keep working. Roll & sign out all clients also revokes every temporary token.

Connecting local IDEs (Cursor, Claude Code, Claude app, AGY, Codex)

Local tools run on the same machine as AkiMCP, so they need no tunnel and no WAN round-trip: Cursor, Claude Code and Codex connect straight to the loopback engine at http://127.0.0.1:9999/mcp, and the Claude app and AGY start the tools themselves over stdio (scripts/stdio.js), with no token. The Gatekeeper binds 127.0.0.1:9999 from the moment you run akimcp, whether or not a public ingress is configured. Bearer-token auth is still enforced on loopback (see Security); grab the token from the panel at http://127.0.0.1:9998 (the Any MCP app tab shows the filled JSON, which Postman, Cursor and any other app that takes an mcpServers entry with url and headers accept as is; one access token serves every client, and panel section 1 can roll it if it leaks), or copy a config below and replace YOUR_LOCAL_ACCESS_TOKEN. (Ports are defaults; --dev mode uses 9997/9996 — the panel always shows the live values.) Older AkiMCP versions used the name aki-mcp; the Apply buttons remove that entry, and with a hand-pasted config you delete it yourself if it is still there.

Cursor — click Apply to Cursor in the panel's Cursor tab to write ~/.cursor/mcp.json with the current token (other servers untouched), or paste this by hand (Settings → MCP Servers). After Roll token, click Apply again:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "akimcp": {
      "url": "http://127.0.0.1:9999/mcp",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_LOCAL_ACCESS_TOKEN" }
    }
  }
}

Claude Code CLI — click Apply to Claude Code in the panel's Claude Code & app tab: it registers the server in user scope (works from every project) with the current token, replacing any old entry, including one an older setup left inside a single project. After Roll token, click Apply again. To do it by hand, run both lines — the remove first, because a bare claude mcp add refuses when the entry already exists and keeps the old token; if one project still gets 401, also run claude mcp remove aki-mcp -s local inside it:

claude mcp remove akimcp -s user
claude mcp add --transport http -s user akimcp http://127.0.0.1:9999/mcp --header "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_LOCAL_ACCESS_TOKEN"

Claude app (desktop) — set up separately from Claude Code; one does not connect the other. Open Settings → Developer → Edit Config in the app, merge this under mcpServers in the claude_desktop_config.json it opens, then quit the app completely and reopen it. The app spawns scripts/stdio.js (the same tools, over stdio) with no token, so Roll token changes nothing; the panel's Claude Code & app tab shows the entry with your path filled in. If the server fails to start, replace node with the full path from which node (Windows: where node).

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "akimcp": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/aki-mcp-sv/scripts/stdio.js"]
    }
  }
}

Antigravity (AGY) CLI and IDE — no token: they spawn scripts/stdio.js (the same tools, over stdio). Click Apply to AGY CLI in the panel's AGY tab, or merge this into ~/.gemini/config/mcp_config.json (the file both read) and restart:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "akimcp": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/aki-mcp-sv/scripts/stdio.js"]
    }
  }
}

The button also pre-allows the server for the CLI; the IDE asks for its own approval on the first tool call. Details: docs/ref/fact-agy-mcp-config.md.

Any other client that spawns MCP servers over stdio can run the package the same way, with no gateway, tunnel or token: npx -y @akinet/akimcp --stdio.

Codex CLI — click Apply to Codex in the panel's Codex tab: it writes the [mcp_servers.akimcp] table into ~/.codex/config.toml with the current token, replacing it in place (other tables untouched). After Roll token, click Apply again. To edit by hand, replace any existing [mcp_servers.akimcp] table — do not add a second one (duplicate tables are invalid TOML). Codex reaches the local engine over streamable HTTP, token inlined so there's no env var to export:

[mcp_servers.akimcp]
url = "http://127.0.0.1:9999/mcp"
http_headers = { "Authorization" = "Bearer YOUR_LOCAL_ACCESS_TOKEN" }

Postman Desktop uses the same loopback URL — see Connecting from Postman.

Use the literal 127.0.0.1, not localhost: on macOS localhost can resolve to IPv6 ::1 while the server listens on IPv4 only.

Autonomous Cloud Automation (Grok + Local MCP)

Grok's scheduled prompts turn your machine into a headless "personal remote AI node": no browser tab, no desktop app, just npm start running in the background.

• Cloud-triggered local execution: set up a scheduled prompt in Grok (Automation) that fires at a fixed time.

• Headless: Grok's cloud service sends the request to /mcp over your Tailscale Funnel URL, and aki-mcp-sv runs the task — health check, log sweep, git pull, cleanup — with nothing open on your end.

• Zero UI required: as long as the process is running, no browser or app needs to be open for the scheduled task to execute.

Requirements

• Node.js 22, on Windows, Linux, or macOS.

• Windows only: install Git for Windows with its default options, nothing else to set up. The shell/search tools start Unix binaries (ls cat grep head tail wc file stat ps df du whoami uname) that ship in Git's usr\bin; akimcp finds that folder from git and adds it to its own PATH at start. npm and npx run through Node directly, since their .cmd shims cannot be started without a shell. Same category of prerequisite as Tailscale below, not a code dependency.

• Tailscale (one-time setup):

  1. Install Tailscale and sign in (on macOS, the app or brew install tailscale both work as long as tailscale is on PATH)

  2. Enable Funnel for your tailnet: free on every plan, a one-time toggle via the login.tailscale.com/f/funnel link npm start prints if it isn't on yet

After that, npm start enables Funnel on port 9999 automatically every run.

Architecture

Claude web / ChatGPT
      │  HTTPS + OAuth 2.1 (Claude and ChatGPT: DCR self-register, URL + passphrase only)
      ▼
Tailscale Funnel        (https://your-machine.your-tailnet.ts.net)
      │
      ▼
gatekeeper.js  — loopback port 127.0.0.1:9999 (public ingress forwards here)
      │           /.well-known/oauth-* + openid-configuration  metadata (openid is an alias for ChatGPT discovery)
      │           /authorize, /token    minimal authorization server (scripts/oauth.js)
      │           /register         RFC 7591 dynamic client registration (ChatGPT self-registers here)
      │           /mcp                  requires a valid Bearer access token, else 401
      │                                 POST → real Streamable HTTP (scripts/streamable-bridge.js)
      ▼
tools-server.js — one shared McpServer, in-process (InMemoryTransport, no child, no SSE), tools mounted by provider-registry.js:
                                  search-mcp.js       (find_path/search_content, whole-tree in one call)
                                  shell-mcp.js        (allowlisted commands, inspection-first defaults)
                                  agy-mcp.js          (Antigravity CLI, plan mode by default)
                                  kiro-mcp.js         (kiro_read, read-only, needs kiro-cli on PATH)
                                  filesystem-mcp.js   (native read/write/edit inside the allowed folders)
                                  postman/postman-mcp.js (Postman daemon status/eval/rename/panel tools)
                                  rule-context-mcp.js (akidevrule_context handshake tool)
                                  chrome-mcp.js       (shared profile launch/attach, tabs, interact)
                                  chrome-profile.js   (Chrome/Brave/Edge discovery, shared-profile ownership)
                                  cdp-mcp.js          (devtools_targets/eval/screenshot over CDP)
                                  aiobox-mcp.js       (AIObox windows by handle: forwards the ops AIObox publishes)
                                  cdp-engine.js       (shared CDP target/eval engine)
                                  fetch-mcp.js        (SSRF-protected localhost/LAN HTTP fetch)
                                  task-mcp.js         (detached background task start/manage)
                                  port-mcp.js         (TCP port status/kill)
                                  git-mcp.js          (scope-checked git status/diff/log)
                                  system-mcp.js       (notify_user, clipboard read/write)
                                  sqlite-mcp.js       (read-only node:sqlite schema/query)

panel.js       — 127.0.0.1:9998, never exposed via Funnel
                 control UI: allowed folders, shell allowlist,
                 install akidevrule, generate the connector prompt

The ingress layer is swappable: Tailscale Funnel is the zero-config default, and the same /mcp endpoint can be served through your own Cloudflare named tunnel (recommended: steadier and faster) or any stable public HTTPS edge you already run — see Exposing to the internet. Everything below the ingress line (gatekeeper, OAuth) is unchanged whichever edge you pick.

OAuth (not token-in-URL) is used because claude.ai always attempts Dynamic Client Registration regardless of configuration (docs/research/claude-ai-oauth-connector.md). ChatGPT also expects OAuth; this server advertises /register (RFC 7591 DCR) so Claude, ChatGPT and Gemini self-register; the pre-issued Client ID/Secret is for a client that wants a static pair.

Directory layout

aki-mcp-sv/
├── package.json
├── LICENSE
├── bin/
│   └── akimcp.js                 # global CLI entry point (`npm i -g @akinet/akimcp`), imports scripts/start.js
├── scripts/
│   ├── start.js                 # orchestrates gatekeeper + panel, single process
│   ├── instance-lock.js          # single-instance lock: a second launch reuses (or replaces an older) running instance
│   ├── open-browser.js           # cross-platform "open default browser" — the one per-OS seam, no external dep
│   ├── gatekeeper.js             # OAuth-gated reverse proxy, loopback listener
│   ├── oauth.js                  # minimal authorization server (pre-issued client + RFC 7591 DCR)
│   ├── rate-limit.js             # failure-only limiter: blocks callers after repeated wrong credentials
│   ├── callers.js                # in-memory list of addresses that used the valid token since start
│   ├── security-log.js           # [security] events to console + security.log (rotated at 1 MB)
│   ├── streamable-bridge.js      # Streamable HTTP shim <-> the in-process tools server (InMemoryTransport)
│   ├── tools-server.js           # builds the one shared McpServer mounting every tool arm below
│   ├── tool-call-log.js          # each aki__ tool call over /mcp to tool-calls.jsonl, never its arguments; stdio calls are not logged (kept 40 days, a file rolls at 16 MB)
│   ├── version.js                # the running version, read once from package.json
│   ├── provider-registry.js      # the list of tool providers: detect once, register all, hide unavailable or switched-off ones
│   ├── find-on-path.js           # PATH lookup without spawning (PATHEXT on Windows), used by provider detect
│   ├── stdio.js                  # the same tools server over stdin/stdout (also `akimcp --stdio`), for local apps that start the tools themselves, no token
│   ├── http.js                   # shared HTTP helpers: readBody / json / serveStatic (+ MIME)
│   ├── shell-mcp.js              # allowlist-gated shell tool (inspection-first defaults)
│   ├── output-shape.js           # trims run_cmd output for the model, saves the full text under ~/.aki/mcpsv/out/
│   ├── agy-mcp.js                # register() module for the agy CLI (mounted by tools-server.js)
│   ├── kiro-mcp.js               # Kiro arm: kiro_read (read-only) tool, sonnet-4.5 locked, needs kiro-cli on PATH
│   ├── filesystem-mcp.js         # native read/write/edit tools, symlink-safe path containment
│   ├── rule-context-mcp.js       # akidevrule_context MCP tool (schema, registration, output mapping)
│   ├── rule-context.js           # pure rule-context assembler used by rule-context-mcp.js
│   ├── chrome-mcp.js             # chrome_profiles/launch/tabs/interact/stop tools
│   ├── chrome-profile.js         # opens or attaches to shared CDP profiles by Chrome's SingletonLock owner
│   ├── cdp-mcp.js                # devtools_targets/eval/screenshot tools over CDP
│   ├── aiobox-mcp.js             # aki__aiobox / aiobox_write: AIObox windows by handle, ops routed by the op map AIObox publishes (op=state)
│   ├── cdp-engine.js             # app-agnostic CDP target/eval engine shared by chrome-mcp/postman-mcp
│   ├── fetch-mcp.js              # aki__local_fetch: SSRF-protected localhost/LAN HTTP client
│   ├── task-mcp.js               # aki__task_start/task_manage: detached background task runner
│   ├── port-mcp.js               # aki__port_status/kill_port: TCP port inspection + kill
│   ├── git-mcp.js                # aki__git (op: status/diff/log/tags): read-only, compact
│   ├── system-mcp.js             # aki__notify_user, clipboard_read/write
│   ├── sqlite-mcp.js             # aki__sqlite_schema/query: read-only node:sqlite inspector
│   ├── postman/                  # everything Postman-only: postman-mcp.js tools + daemon launch, postman-daemon.cjs (CDP control), page/, debug/, prompts/, test/
│   ├── mcp-tool.js               # shared MCP tool-result envelope: ok / err / fail
│   ├── allowlist.js              # default command set + settings reader — shared by server and panel
│   ├── search-mcp.js             # find_path / search_content — whole tree in one call
│   ├── roots.js                  # path containment shared by every filesystem-touching tool
│   ├── tailscale.js              # reads Funnel status — shared by start.js and panel
│   ├── update-check.js           # checks for newer aki-mcp-sv/akidevrule versions, shown in the panel
│   ├── rule-version-core.cjs     # AkiDevRule version parsing and compare, shared by the panel and Postman
│   ├── log.js                    # shared timestamped logger
│   ├── panel.js                  # loopback-only control panel (:9998), token-gated
│   ├── config-page.js            # renders the panel page
│   ├── html.js                   # HTML escaper (esc) — shared by oauth confirm page and panel
│   └── userdata.js               # user data location (~/.aki/mcpsv) — single source of truth
├── test/                         # test suite (run via `npm test`)
└── public/                       # panel CSS/JS, favicon + images, served publicly by gatekeeper

Your data lives outside the repo, at ~/.aki/mcpsv/ (the same convention CLIs like ~/.aws or ~/.docker use):

~/.aki/mcpsv/
├── setting.json          # allowed folders + shell allowlist, edited from the panel
├── oauth-client.json     # pre-issued client ID + secret, for any client that wants a static client (0600)
├── oauth-dcr-clients.json # clients that self-registered via /register, one per ChatGPT connector (0600)
├── passphrase.txt        # passphrase for the /authorize consent screen (0600)
├── tokens.json           # access/refresh tokens (0600)
└── prompts/              # editable copy of the shared summarize-for-handoff prompt (Postman daemon), seeded from scripts/postman/prompts/

scripts/postman/prompts/ in the repo holds the bundled prompts. The Postman instruction (postman.md) is served read-only straight from there; the shared summarize prompt is copied into ~/.aki/mcpsv/prompts/ on first launch only so it can be edited, and nothing is ever written back into the repo.

A clone stays exactly as checked out: editing folders/allowlist from the panel never produces a diff in the repo.

Configuration

Copy .env.example to .env and uncomment what you need — start.js loads it automatically on boot (falls back silently to defaults when .env is absent, so the default Tailscale flow is unaffected). Supported vars: PUBLIC_ORIGIN, GATEKEEPER_PORT, PANEL_PORT, MCP_DATA_DIR, MCP_REQUEST_TIMEOUT_MS. For a one-off alternate profile, pass node --env-file=.env.user ./scripts/start.js instead. CLI options: --port <port> selects the gatekeeper port (default 9999; dev 9997), --panel-port <port> selects the panel port (default 9998; dev 9996), and --no-browser prevents automatically opening the panel.

Exposing to the internet

Tailscale Funnel is the zero-config path: it needs no domain and npm start sets it up by itself. A Cloudflare tunnel is the recommended ingress once you have a domain or a tunnel file: it holds a steadier connection, carries more bandwidth and answers from a far larger global network. See Recommended ingress below.

npm start enables Funnel automatically when needed (see above), no manual step. Funnel is state stored in tailscaled (survives reboots), independent of npm start's own lifecycle; disable it entirely with tailscale funnel 9999 off.

Know before enabling Funnel:

• Free on every Tailscale plan, but the tailnet needs a one-time opt-in first (the login.tailscale.com/f/funnel?node=... link tailscale funnel --bg prints if it's missing).

• Only 3 ports are fundeable: 443, 8443, 10000; you can't expose an arbitrary port.

• Bandwidth is limited; Tailscale doesn't publish an exact number.

• Don't toggle Funnel on/off repeatedly: re-issuing the certificate too often can hit Let's Encrypt's rate limit (~34h lockout). start.js avoids this by checking Web[].Handlers[].Proxy for port 9999 in tailscale funnel status --json before deciding Funnel is off (not the AllowFunnel key, which reflects the public port 443, not 9999).

Diagnosing "claude.ai can't connect" while tailscale funnel status says "on": the serve-config can save locally but fail to sync to Tailscale's control plane, so a real client on the open internet is blocked at the TLS layer while the host machine, routed through the internal mesh, sees everything as fine. Don't test with a bare curl https://<host> from the machine running npm start: that machine is in the tailnet and silently takes the mesh shortcut. Test the real path instead:

dig @8.8.8.8 <host> A +short   # real public IP
curl --resolve <host>:443:<IP-from-above> https://<host>/.well-known/oauth-authorization-server

If that returns SSL_ERROR_SYSCALL/timeout despite tailscale funnel status saying "on", re-run tailscale funnel --bg 9999 to force a config re-push (not a code bug). Full writeup: docs/research/claude-ai-oauth-connector.md, section "Debug round 5".

Recommended ingress: Cloudflare tunnel or your own edge

The Funnel edge can drop individual requests in some regions and desync from Tailscale's control plane (see the diagnosis above), and Tailscale caps Funnel's bandwidth. A Cloudflare tunnel avoids both and serves from Cloudflare's global network, so it is the owner's recommended ingress; the difference in drop rate has not been measured in this repo. Both options below replace the Tailscale edge entirely; the OAuth server and tool suite are unchanged. Precedence when more than one is set: --tunnel > PUBLIC_ORIGIN > saved panel config (section 0 → "Owned public origin") > Tailscale Funnel. Full rationale: docs/plan/done/cloudflare-tunnel-ingress.md.

Bring your own edge (PUBLIC_ORIGIN): point an env var at a stable public HTTPS origin you run and terminate yourself, and npm start skips Tailscale entirely, serving at that origin:

PUBLIC_ORIGIN=https://your-host npm start

Cloudflare named tunnel (--tunnel): the server launches a Cloudflare named tunnel for you, reading TunnelID from a cloudflared credentials JSON and running cloudflared tunnel run forwarding to 127.0.0.1:9999:

npm start -- --tunnel <cred.json> --origin https://your-host

--origin is required because a credentials JSON carries no hostname. This is JSON-credentials mode only — no yml config, no token. Before it works you need a Cloudflare account, a named tunnel already created (cloudflared tunnel create), its credentials JSON, and a DNS route pointing the hostname at that tunnel.

Someone gave you a tunnel JSON: if a host who owns the domain already created the tunnel and DNS route and sent you the credentials JSON, you need no Cloudflare account of your own — just install cloudflared, then run with the origin they assigned:

npm start -- --tunnel <the-json-they-sent> --origin https://the-subdomain-they-gave-you

To get a subdomain under a host's domain, arrange it with them directly; there is no self-serve signup.

From the panel (no CLI flags): open the control panel → section 0 → "Owned public origin" tab → upload your cloudflared credentials JSON and the hostname you routed it to → Save. Takes effect on the next npm start (restart required, not a live switch); a "Use Tailscale Funnel instead" button reverts it.

When a custom ingress is active, the panel's section 0 skips the Tailscale checks and instead shows the active ingress and the serving origin — so the absent Tailscale UI is expected, not a fault.

Finding files

Use aki__find_path to locate a file or directory — it scans the whole tree in one call (measured: ~0.2s across 164k files / 11.7k directories), returns both files and directories, and skips node_modules/.git/build output automatically. query is a case-insensitive substring, or a glob when it contains */?.

Security

Convenience first, guardrail second. AkiMCP is not a fortress and adds no permission layer to configure; its guardrail stops weak or overeager models from doing damage without per-call approval prompts. The whole picture (every surface and its gate, connection limits, what each secret unlocks and how to revoke it) is in docs/feat/security.md.

• Remote access goes through minimal OAuth 2.1: an allowlisted redirect, a 50-bit passphrase at /authorize, PKCE S256. Every web AI that signs in with OAuth self-registers (DCR); the pre-issued Client ID/Secret serves any client that wants a static pair; a client with only a header field (Buda) sends the access token as a Bearer. Whoever knows the passphrase can get a token, so treat it like the token.

• One shared access token (1 year) for every client, shown and rolled in panel section 1. Roll & sign out all clients is the answer to any leak.

• Temporary tokens (4 hours, +30 min per click in the panel, memory only) for any HTTP chat: each one is revoked by its own chat with DELETE /mcp, by Revoke in the panel, by expiry or by a restart, without touching the shared token. Roll & sign out all clients revokes them too.

• Loopback is not trusted: the server binds 127.0.0.1 only and still requires the token, so a web page in your browser cannot drive it. The panel binds 127.0.0.1 too and needs its own per-start token.

• Wrong credentials get blocked: default 5 in 60 seconds, then 15 minutes of 429. Valid tokens are never counted or blocked. Panel section 7 edits every number, lists blocked callers and releases them, and shows every registered client (Delete for one that never got a token; Revoke & roll or Remove only for the rest) and who used the token since the last restart, with a filter, sortable columns and Refresh on each table; section 9 shows the security log (security.log in the data dir, rotated at 1 MB).

• Folder scope and shell: file, search and Git tools and shell working directories are confined to listed folders (default home plus ~/.aki and ~/.claude). run_cmd executes allowlisted commands without a shell, but ordinary path arguments are not confined to those folders; credential-file arguments are refused (panel sections 5 and 6). Commands you add are your responsibility.

• Secrets (passphrase.txt, tokens.json, oauth-client.json, oauth-dcr-clients.json) live in ~/.aki/mcpsv/, mode 0600, never in the repo.

How this differs from Desktop Commander

Desktop Commander is the most widely used MCP terminal server. It runs locally for Claude Desktop and guards shell access with a blocklist (blockedCommands, an explicit list of forbidden commands). A blocklist is inherently leaky: you can't enumerate every dangerous command and variant, and the default is allow: anything not on the list gets through.

This project targets a different scenario: exposing local access to Claude on the web, across the open internet via Funnel. It makes the opposite default choice: a whitelist. Nothing runs unless it's explicitly allowed.

Why whitelist, not blocklist

• Fail-safe: an unfamiliar or new command is blocked automatically, no guessing required.

• Minimal attack surface: only the exact commands you've approved can run, nothing more.

• Granular down to the subcommand: git is scoped to status/log/diff/show, something a blocklist can't express cleanly.

• Guardrail, not an injection boundary: the allowlist limits accidental commands, but setting.json is writable by file tools under the default roots, so a determined or injected instruction can widen it. Protect the token and review access; see Security.

• Inspection-first by construction: the built-in set is reads plus a few dev/media helpers — flag-rich binaries that could escape it via their own flags (find, sort) are kept out (issue #2), and git's write forms are refused; adding a write command is a deliberate edit (panel section 6 or ~/.aki/mcpsv/setting.json), not the removal of a ban.

Screenshots