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fix(mcp): Restore the operator log level after quiet packing - #1865

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sxh313:fix/mcp-quiet-log-level-leak
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yamadashy:mainfrom
sxh313:fix/mcp-quiet-log-level-leak

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@sxh313 sxh313 commented Sep 20, 2026 •

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Closes #1864

Summary

runCli() repoints the shared module-level logger singleton for quiet/stdout runs and never
restores it. That is fine for the CLI — the process exits — but the MCP server is long-lived, so a
single generate_skill or pack_remote_repository call leaves logger.error() dead on stderr for
the rest of the session (#1864).

packCodebaseTool had already documented the hazard and worked around it locally. This PR lifts
that workaround into src/mcp/tools/mcpToolRuntime.ts as runCliPreservingLogLevel() and routes
all three packing tools through it, so the invariant the repo already states is now enforced for the
two tools that were missing it, and for any quiet tool added later.

Changes

  • src/mcp/tools/mcpToolRuntime.ts — add runCliPreservingLogLevel(directories, cwd, options):
    save logger.getLogLevel() before the first in-flight pack, await runCli(...), and restore in
    finally only when the last one finishes. The refcount matters: the MCP SDK starts each tool
    handler without waiting for the previous one, so a per-call restore would have the second quiet
    pack save the SILENT level the first installed and hand that back (raised this in review on
    8fc4c21f by @coderabbitai).
  • src/mcp/tools/generateSkillTool.ts, src/mcp/tools/packRemoteRepositoryTool.ts — call the
    wrapper instead of runCli directly.
  • src/mcp/tools/packCodebaseTool.ts — call the wrapper; its inline save/restore (and the
    runCli/logger imports it needed) goes away, comment kept short and pointing at the helper.
  • tests/mcp/tools/mcpToolRuntime.test.ts — 4 unit tests: level restored after a quiet pack, level
    restored when the pack throws, CLI result passed through unchanged, arguments forwarded verbatim.

Evidence

The repro script from #1864, run against a built checkout (node repro.mjs <repo> <fixture>):

build control probe after one generate_skill after two overlapping generate_skill
main @ 9f01703a (1.18.0) logged swallowed swallowed
8fc4c21f (per-call restore) logged logged swallowed
e40c4ccb (this branch) logged logged logged

All rows are the same scripts, same fixture, same Node, rebuilt from each commit. The middle row is
what the review above is about; the third column drives two packs without awaiting the first.

Also verified locally:

  • vitest run (full suite, non-watch) — 1825 passed, 20 skipped, 1 file skipped, 0 failures.
  • The overlap test is sensitive: run against 8fc4c21f's wrapper it fails with
    expected 3 to be -1, so it does pin the race rather than pass by construction.
  • npm run lint — biome clean (the 431 files it touched were line-ending-only, git diff on them is
    empty), oxlint 0 warnings / 0 errors, tsc --noEmit clean, secretlint clean.
  • The existing packCodebaseTool / packRemoteRepositoryTool tests still assert on runCli
    directly and keep passing: their vi.mock('.../mcpToolRuntime.js') factories spread ...actual,
    so the real wrapper runs and still reaches the mocked CLI.

Scope

  • No change to runCli() itself, to CLI output, or to what the tools return to the agent. The pack
    stays quiet while it is running; only the level it leaves behind is restored, so nothing new is
    written to the stdio channel the agent reads.
  • No website docs change: this is not a user-visible option or behaviour of the CLI, and the MCP
    tool contract is unchanged.
  • The wrapper restores whatever level it found rather than forcing INFO back, so a --verbose MCP
    server keeps DEBUG across a pack.

Checklist

  • Run npm run test
  • Run npm run lint

Reproduced, measured and written by me with an AI coding agent (Qoder) assisting; happy to answer
follow-ups.

decision(mcp-runtime): guard the call sites in a shared helper instead of making
runCli restore the level itself - the CLI process exits right after that call, so
the mutation is only ever a problem for the long-lived MCP server, and cliRun.ts
keeps its current single-writer behaviour for the CLI and library callers.
constraint(logger): runCli repoints the module-level logger singleton for every
quiet/stdout pack and never puts it back, so one generate_skill call silenced
logger.error for the remainder of the session.
learned(mcp-runtime): packCodebaseTool had already worked around this locally and
documented why; the two sibling packing tools carried no such guard. Routing all
three through the wrapper makes the invariant hold for tools added later.
@sxh313
sxh313 requested a review from yamadashy as a code owner September 20, 2026 18:11
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📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

The MCP runtime adds a shared wrapper that preserves the logger level across successful, failed, and overlapping CLI executions. Skill generation and repository packing use the wrapper. Tests cover restoration, concurrency, error propagation, result passthrough, and argument forwarding.

Changes

MCP log-level preservation

Layer / File(s) Summary
Shared CLI runtime wrapper
src/mcp/tools/mcpToolRuntime.ts
Adds runCliPreservingLogLevel. The wrapper saves the initial logger level, tracks active packs, and restores the level after the final pack completes or fails.
MCP tool migration
src/mcp/tools/generateSkillTool.ts, src/mcp/tools/packCodebaseTool.ts, src/mcp/tools/packRemoteRepositoryTool.ts
Routes the three CLI-backed tools through the shared wrapper. packCodebaseTool removes its local save/restore logic.
Runtime wrapper tests
tests/mcp/tools/mcpToolRuntime.test.ts
Tests restoration, overlapping packs, error propagation, result passthrough, and CLI argument forwarding.

Priority: ➖ Normal

Estimated code review effort: 3 (Moderate) | ~20 minutes

Change: Bug fix · Severity of issue fixed: Medium

Sequence Diagram(s)

sequenceDiagram
  participant MCPTool
  participant runCliPreservingLogLevel
  participant runCli
  participant logger
  MCPTool->>runCliPreservingLogLevel: start CLI pack
  runCliPreservingLogLevel->>logger: save initial level
  runCliPreservingLogLevel->>runCli: execute pack
  runCli->>logger: set CLI log level
  runCli-->>runCliPreservingLogLevel: complete or fail
  runCliPreservingLogLevel->>logger: restore level after final active pack
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🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 5
✅ Passed checks (5 passed)
Check name Status Explanation
Title check ✅ Passed The title clearly and concisely describes the main change: restoring the operator log level after quiet MCP packing.
Description check ✅ Passed The description is complete and relevant. It explains the issue, implementation, concurrency handling, tests, evidence, scope, and completed checklist items.
Linked Issues check ✅ Passed The changes satisfy #1864. runCliPreservingLogLevel saves the shared logger level before the first in-flight pack, counts active packs, and restores the saved level after the last pack completes in …
Out of Scope Changes check ✅ Passed The changes stay within #1864. They centralize the existing MCP logger workaround, update the three packing tool call sites, and add focused regression tests. No unrelated behavior or MCP contract cha…
Docstring Coverage ✅ Passed Docstring coverage is 100.00% which is sufficient. The required threshold is 80.00%. Docstring coverage is scoped to functions touched by this diff. Analyzed 1 functions across 5 files.
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Actionable comments posted: 1


  • 🪄 Fix CodeRabbit comments on this PR
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Inline comments:
In `@src/mcp/tools/mcpToolRuntime.ts`:
- Line 182: Update runCliPreservingLogLevel around the shared logger override to
prevent overlapping MCP packing calls from reading, changing, or restoring stale
global log levels. Serialize the critical section across the logger-level
capture, runCli execution, and restoration, while preserving the existing
log-level behavior.

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  • src/mcp/tools/generateSkillTool.ts
  • src/mcp/tools/mcpToolRuntime.ts
  • src/mcp/tools/packCodebaseTool.ts
  • src/mcp/tools/packRemoteRepositoryTool.ts
  • tests/mcp/tools/mcpToolRuntime.test.ts

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Comment thread src/mcp/tools/mcpToolRuntime.ts Outdated
decision(mcp-runtime): refcount the in-flight packs instead of serializing them. The MCP
SDK starts each tool handler without waiting for the previous one, so a per-call
save/restore let a second quiet pack save the SILENT level the first one had just
installed and hand that back on exit, which re-blinds the session the previous commit
set out to fix. A counter closes the hole without taking away the parallelism packs
already have.
constraint(logger): the log level is process-global, so while any pack is running the
level has to stay as quiet as that pack asked for; the saved value is the one from
before the first pack in the current group.
learned(mcp-runtime): the interleaving is deterministic, not a heisenbug - runCli lowers
the level before its first await, so the second call always observes the value the first
one wrote. Reproduced over real stdio with two concurrent generate_skill calls, and the
new unit test fails against the per-call restore.
@sxh313

sxh313 commented Sep 20, 2026

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Update after the automated review (CHANGES_REQUESTED, 1 actionable comment on the wrapper):

The first commit saved and restored the level per call, which is not enough. The MCP SDK starts each tool handler without waiting for the previous one, and runCli lowers the level before its first await, so with two overlapping quiet packs the second one saves the SILENT level the first just installed and hands that back on the way out -- the session ends up blind again through the very wrapper meant to prevent it.

e40c4ccb counts in-flight packs instead: the level is saved before the first pack and restored by the last one, so a pack can never raise it while another still expects silence, without serializing concurrent packs.

Measured over real stdio (two generate_skill calls dispatched together, then the failing-grep probe from #1864):

head after one pack after two overlapping packs
9f01703a (main) swallowed swallowed
8fc4c21f logged swallowed
e40c4ccb logged logged

Regression test: tests/mcp/tools/mcpToolRuntime.test.ts drives two gated packs and asserts the level only comes back after the second one finishes; it fails against 8fc4c21f with expected 3 to be -1. Full suite 1825 passed / 20 skipped; biome, oxlint, tsc --noEmit clean.

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MCP: operator stderr logging is permanently silenced after the first generate_skill / pack_remote_repository call

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