Dep Guard MCP - Dependency Vulnerability Scanner

🔐 A fast, zero-config Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that scans Python, Node.js, Java/Spring, and PHP dependency manifests for known vulnerabilities.

Status: ⚡ Week 2 Complete

• ✅ All tests passing

• ✅ MCP server fully functional

• ✅ Ready for Claude Desktop integration

• ✅ Production-ready code

• ✅ Free GitHub Advisory integration

• ✅ CLI support for local and CI usage

Related MCP server: Dependency Checker MCP Server

Features

• 📦 Multi-Language Support:

  • Python (requirements.txt, pyproject.toml)

  • Node.js (package.json)

  • Java/Spring (pom.xml, build.gradle, build.gradle.kts)

  • PHP (composer.json)

• 🎯 Zero Config: Automatic dependency discovery and scanning

• ⚡ Multi-source Advisories:

  • OSV API (free)

  • GitHub Advisory API (free public endpoint, optional GITHUB_TOKEN for higher rate limits)

• 🔧 3 Core Tools:

  • scan_dependencies(target_path) - Scan a project for vulnerabilities

  • health_check() - Verify server status

  • get_supported_files() - List scannable formats

• 🎨 Clean Output: JSON-formatted vulnerability reports with severity levels

CLI Usage (Week 2)

# health check
dep-guard-scan health

# list supported files
dep-guard-scan supported-files

# scan and print JSON
dep-guard-scan scan /path/to/project

# scan and write report file
dep-guard-scan scan /path/to/project --output report.json

# fail CI if severity threshold is met
dep-guard-scan scan /path/to/project --fail-on-severity high

# disable GitHub advisories source
dep-guard-scan scan /path/to/project --no-github-advisories

Week 3 Launch Prep

GitHub Workflows

This repo now includes:

• CI workflow: .github/workflows/ci.yml

• Scheduled/manual security scan workflow: .github/workflows/security-scan.yml

Reusable GitHub Action

You can use the local action in this repository:

- uses: ./
  with:
    target-path: "."
    format: "json"
    output: "dep-guard-report.json"
    fail-on-severity: "high"

You can also consume it from another repository using the major tag:

- uses: mdjahidanwar/dep-guard-mcp@v1
  with:
    target-path: "."
    format: "json"
    fail-on-severity: "high"

VS Code Wrapper (Alpha)

An extension scaffold is available at vscode-extension/ with commands:

• Dep Guard: Scan Workspace

• Dep Guard: Health Check

Week 3 Completion Snapshot

• CI/CD pipeline in place for push/PR checks

• Scheduled security workflow in place

• Release check workflow in place

• Reusable GitHub Action available at repo root (action.yml)

• VS Code extension scaffold available under vscode-extension/

• Regression status: 7 passed

Week 4 Publishing Automation

This repo now includes release and publishing workflows:

• .github/workflows/release.yml for GitHub releases and artifacts

• .github/workflows/publish-pypi.yml for PyPI publish on tags (v*)

• .github/workflows/publish-vscode.yml for VS Code marketplace publish (manual)

Use MARKETPLACE_CHECKLIST.md as your launch checklist for Claude Registry, VS Code Marketplace, GitHub Action marketplace, and PyPI.

Beginner Publishing Guides

If you are starting from zero, follow these guides in order:

1. docs/marketplace/PUBLISH_VSCODE.md

2. docs/marketplace/PUBLISH_CLAUDE_MCP.md

3. docs/marketplace/PUBLISH_GITHUB_ACTION.md

Requirements

• Python 3.12+ (pre-configured)

• Virtual Environment (included)

Quick Start

1. Install & Run

# Virtual environment already created in .venv/
.venv/Scripts/activate

# Already installed, just run:
python -m dep_guard_mcp.main

2. Use with Claude Desktop

Add to ~/.anthropic/models.json (Mac/Linux) or %APPDATA%\Claude\models.json (Windows):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "dep-guard": {
      "command": "d:/devops-issue-tracker/scanner/.venv/Scripts/python.exe",
      "args": ["-m", "dep_guard_mcp.main"]
    }
  }
}

Then in Claude Desktop, you'll have access to:

• scan_dependencies - Analyze any project for CVEs

• Example: "Scan /path/to/my/project for vulnerabilities"

3. Test Locally

# Run all tests
pytest tests/ -v

# Test scanner on a specific directory
python -c "from dep_guard_mcp.main import scan_dependencies; 
import json; 
result = scan_dependencies('./test-project'); 
print(json.dumps(result, indent=2))"

Usage Examples

Example 1: Health Check

from dep_guard_mcp.main import health_check
result = health_check()
# Output: {"status": "ok", "service": "dep-guard-mcp"}

Example 2: Scan Python Project

from dep_guard_mcp.main import scan_dependencies
result = scan_dependencies('/path/to/my-python-app')
# Returns:
# {
#   "ok": true,
#   "dependencies_scanned": 15,
#   "dependencies_with_vulns": 2,
#   "vulnerability_count": 5,
#   "findings": [...]
# }

Example 3: List Supported Files

from dep_guard_mcp.main import get_supported_files
result = get_supported_files()
# Output:
# {
#   "supported_files": ["requirements.txt", "package.json", ...],
#   "description": "These are the file formats that can be scanned..."
# }

Supported Dependency Files

Project Structure

scanner/
├── src/dep_guard_mcp/
│   ├── __init__.py
│   ├── main.py              # MCP entry point (3 tools)
│   ├── scanner.py           # Dependency discovery logic
│   ├── advisories.py        # Vulnerability lookup
│   └── server.py            # Original server helpers
├── tests/
│   └── test_scanner.py      # Unit tests (7/7 passing ✓)
├── .venv/                   # Python 3.12 virtual environment
├── pyproject.toml           # Project config & dependencies
├── README.md                # This file
└── .github/
    └── copilot-instructions.md  # VS Code customization

Testing

# Run all tests
pytest tests/ -v

# Run specific test
pytest tests/test_scanner.py::test_supported_files -v

Development

Add a New Tool

1. Open src/dep_guard_mcp/main.py

2. Add function with @mcp.tool() decorator:

@mcp.tool()
def my_new_tool(param: str) -> dict:
    """Tool description."""
    return {"result": "data"}

3. Run tests: pytest tests/

Next Steps for Enhancement

• Add NVD API integration (deeper CVE database)

• Improve Gradle parser for variable-based versions

• Improve Composer parser for complex version constraints

• Create VS Code extension wrapper

• Build GitHub Actions integration

• Add webhook support (Slack, Teams integration)

Troubleshooting

Scanner returns "No supported files found"

• Ensure your project has one of the supported dependency files

• Check file is in the scanned directory

Import error when running

• Activate virtual environment: .venv/Scripts/activate

• Reinstall package: pip install -e .

Performance

• Dependency discovery: < 100ms

• Vulnerability lookup: < 1-2 seconds (depends on file count)

• Supports projects with 100+ dependencies

Contributing

Contributions welcome! Areas to contribute:

• Additional vulnerability data sources

• Performance optimizations

• Additional file format support

• Documentation improvements

License

MIT - See LICENSE file for details

🚀 Ready to publish to Claude Registry and monetize? See the session notes for next steps!