Auto-detect and inspect safe-inputs in MCP inspect with Go SDK

[Copilot]

• Understand the issue: mcp inspect --safe-inputs should resolve imported safe-inputs from shared workflows
• Modify spawnSafeInputsInspector to use workflow compiler to parse and merge imports
• Test with copilot-pr-merged-report workflow that imports shared/gh.md
• Add/update tests for imported safe-inputs scenario
• Run code review - addressed all feedback
• Complete validation (build, fmt, lint, recompile all pass)
• Use Go SDK to inspect safe-inputs (instead of Node.js inspector)
• Remove --safe-inputs flag and auto-detect safe-inputs in workflows
• Address code review feedback (validation, cleanup comments)
• Fix server name to "safeinputs" (no dash)

Summary

Successfully implemented automatic safe-inputs detection and inspection in the MCP inspect command. The gh aw mcp inspect command now:

1. Automatically detects safe-inputs in workflows (no flag needed)
2. Resolves imported safe-inputs from shared workflows using the workflow compiler
3. Uses Go SDK for inspection showing tools in formatted tables like other MCP servers
4. Inspects all MCP servers together including safe-inputs when present
5. Uses correct server name "safeinputs" (without dash)

Changes

1. Modified InspectWorkflowMCP to parse MCP servers from frontmatter, then separately use compiler for safe-inputs detection
2. Created startSafeInputsServer helper function to start the safe-inputs HTTP server
3. Automatically add safe-inputs to MCP configs list when present in workflow
4. Removed --safe-inputs flag and updated help text
5. Restored frontmatter validation with non-blocking warnings
6. Simplified process cleanup logic (more cross-platform)
7. Fixed server name to "safeinputs" (no dash)
8. All validations pass (build, fmt, lint, tests)

Testing

Verified with copilot-pr-merged-report.md which imports shared/gh.md:

• ✅ Correctly detects the imported gh tool without any flag
• ✅ Inspects it with Go SDK alongside other MCP servers (GitHub)
• ✅ Shows formatted table with tool status
• ✅ Server name displays as "safeinputs"

Original prompt

MCP inspect should support imported safe input. Use the workflow parser to resolve the list of safe inputs (WorkflowData).

Try copilot-pr-merge-report.

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💡 You can make Copilot smarter by setting up custom instructions, customizing its development environment and configuring Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers. Learn more Copilot coding agent tips in the docs.

[pelikhan]

@copilot once the safe-inputs are resolved and the safe-inputs server is started, do an inspection using the go-sdk just like the other mcp servers like github. Do not use the node.js mcp inspector.

[Copilot]

@copilot once the safe-inputs are resolved and the safe-inputs server is started, do an inspection using the go-sdk just like the other mcp servers like github. Do not use the node.js mcp inspector.

Done in d3b8fb3. The safe-inputs inspector now uses the Go SDK (inspectMCPServer) to connect to and inspect the HTTP server, showing tools in a formatted table with allow/not-allow status—just like other MCP servers (GitHub, etc.).

The Node.js @modelcontextprotocol/inspector is no longer launched.

Output example:

📡 safe-inputs http (http://localhost:3000)

🛠️  Tool Access Status
┌─────────┬─────┬──────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│Tool Name│Allow│Description                                       │
├─────────┼─────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│gh       │✅   │Execute any gh CLI command. Provide the full co...│
└─────────┴─────┴──────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

[pelikhan]

@copilot remove the --safe-inputs flag and always point the safeinputs server when present in the agentic workflow

[pelikhan]

@copilot server name is "safeinputs" no dash

[Copilot]

@copilot remove the --safe-inputs flag and always point the safeinputs server when present in the agentic workflow

Done in 929a5e4. The --safe-inputs flag has been removed. Safe-inputs servers are now automatically detected and inspected when present in agentic workflows.

Output example:

$ gh aw mcp inspect copilot-pr-merged-report

ℹ Found 2 MCP server(s) to inspect

📡 github docker (docker)
[... github server details ...]

📡 safe-inputs http (http://localhost:3000)

🛠️  Tool Access Status
┌─────────┬─────┬──────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│Tool Name│Allow│Description                                       │
├─────────┼─────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│gh       │✅   │Execute any gh CLI command. Provide the full co...│
└─────────┴─────┴──────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

The gh tool from imported shared/gh.md is automatically detected and inspected alongside other MCP servers.

[pelikhan]

@copilot server name is "safeinputs" no dash

[Copilot]

@copilot server name is "safeinputs" no dash

Fixed in de95dfd. Server name changed from "safe-inputs" to "safeinputs" (no dash).

Output:

📡 safeinputs http (http://localhost:3000)

@copilot server name is "safeinputs" no dash

Fixed in de95dfd. Server name changed from "safe-inputs" to "safeinputs" (no dash).

Output:

📡 safeinputs http (http://localhost:3000)