## Problem
MCP servers configured in `.mcp.json` with stdio transport are
discovered successfully (tools appear) but die immediately after
connection, making all tool calls fail.
## Root Cause
In `connectServer`, the subprocess is spawned with `connectCtx` — a
30-second timeout context whose `cancel()` is deferred:
```go
connectCtx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(ctx, connectTimeout)
defer cancel()
if err := c.Start(connectCtx); err != nil { ... }
```
The mcp-go stdio transport calls `exec.CommandContext(connectCtx, ...)`.
When `connectServer` returns, `cancel()` fires, and
`exec.CommandContext` sends SIGKILL to the subprocess. The process
immediately becomes a zombie.
Confirmed by checking `/proc/<pid>/status` after context cancellation:
```
State: Z (zombie)
```
## Fix
Pass the parent `ctx` (which is `a.gracefulCtx` — the agent's long-lived
context) to `c.Start()`. `connectCtx` continues to bound only the
`Initialize()` handshake. The subprocess is cleaned up when the Manager
is closed or the parent context is canceled.
## Regression Test
Added `TestConnectServer_StdioProcessSurvivesConnect` which:
- Spawns a real subprocess (re-execs the test binary as a fake MCP
server)
- Calls `connectServer` and lets it return (internal `connectCtx` gets
canceled)
- Verifies the subprocess is still alive by calling `ListTools`
The test **fails** on the old code with `transport error: context
deadline exceeded` and **passes** with the fix.
> Generated with [Coder Agents](https://coder.com/agents)
This PR introduces screen recording of the computer use agent using the
virtual desktop.
- Screen recording is triggered by a `wait_agent` tool call. Recording
is stopped by a successful `wait_agent` tool call or when there hasn't
been any desktop activity for 10 minutes.
- Recordings are handled by the `portabledesktop` cli via the `record`
command. The videos are sped up in periods of inactivity.
- Recordings are saved to the database to the `chat_files` table.
There's a hard limit of 100MB per recording. Larger recordings are
dropped.
- A successful `wait_agent` on a computer use subagent tool call returns
a `recording_file_id`, later allowing the frontend to display the
corresponding video.
Replace hardcoded paths for instruction files, skills, and MCP config
with
values read from `CODER_AGENT_EXP_*` environment variables. Template
authors
configure paths via the existing `coder_agent` `env` block. The agent
resolves `~`, relative, and absolute paths locally, then serves the
resolved config over `GET /api/v0/context-config`. `chatd` fetches this
once per workspace attach and falls back to today's defaults for older
agents.
All path env vars are comma-separated, allowing multiple directories:
| Env Var | Default | Controls |
|---|---|---|
| `CODER_AGENT_EXP_INSTRUCTIONS_DIRS` | `~/.coder` | Dirs containing the
instruction file |
| `CODER_AGENT_EXP_INSTRUCTIONS_FILE` | `AGENTS.md` | Instruction file
name |
| `CODER_AGENT_EXP_SKILLS_DIRS` | `.agents/skills` | Skills directories
|
| `CODER_AGENT_EXP_SKILL_META_FILE` | `SKILL.md` | Skill metadata file
name |
| `CODER_AGENT_EXP_MCP_CONFIG_FILES` | `.mcp.json` | MCP config files |
### Example
```hcl
resource "coder_agent" "main" {
os = "linux"
arch = "amd64"
env = {
CODER_AGENT_EXP_INSTRUCTIONS_DIRS = "/opt/company/agent-config,~/.coder"
CODER_AGENT_EXP_INSTRUCTIONS_FILE = "CLAUDE.md"
CODER_AGENT_EXP_SKILLS_DIRS = "/opt/company/ai-skills,.agents/skills"
CODER_AGENT_EXP_MCP_CONFIG_FILES = "/opt/company/mcp.json,.mcp.json"
}
}
```
<details>
<summary>Implementation Details</summary>
### Architecture
Follows the same pattern as MCP tool discovery:
agent resolves locally → exposes via HTTP → chatd consumes.
**Agent-side** (`agent/agentcontextconfig/`):
- `ResolvePath` / `ResolvePaths` handle `~`, relative, and absolute path
forms; returns `""` for relative paths when baseDir is empty
- `Config` reads env vars, falls back to defaults, resolves all paths
- `GET /api/v0/context-config` serves the resolved config as JSON
**chatd-side** (`coderd/x/chatd/`):
- Calls `conn.ContextConfig()` once on first workspace attach
- Falls back to hardcoded defaults on 404 (older agents)
- Iterates instruction dirs, skills dirs using resolved absolute paths
- `LSRelativityRoot` everywhere — no more home/root juggling
### Key design decisions
- **`EXP_` prefix**: env vars use `CODER_AGENT_EXP_*` to indicate
experimental status
- **Plural names**: comma-separated vars use plural names (`DIRS`,
`FILES`); single-value vars use singular (`FILE`)
- **Defaults in `workspacesdk`**: default constants live in
`codersdk/workspacesdk/` so both agent and server reference them without
cross-layer imports
- **`skillMetaFile` persistence**: stored on context-file parts via
`ContextFileSkillMetaFile` and restored on subsequent chat turns so
custom values survive across turns
- **Working dir dedup**: `slices.Contains` guard prevents reading the
same instruction file from both `InstructionsDirs` and the working
directory
- **MCP server dedup**: first-occurrence-wins dedup prevents leaking
duplicate connections from overlapping config files
- **ResolvePath safety**: returns `""` for relative paths when `baseDir`
is empty, so `ResolvePaths` filters them out
### Files changed
| File | Change |
|---|---|
| `agent/agentcontextconfig/` | New package — path resolution + HTTP
endpoint |
| `codersdk/workspacesdk/agentconn.go` | `ContextConfigResponse` type,
default constants, client method |
| `agent/agent.go` + `agent/api.go` | Wire up endpoint, pass config to
MCP |
| `agent/x/agentmcp/manager.go` | Accept `[]string` MCP config paths,
dedup by name |
| `coderd/x/chatd/chatd.go` | Fetch config, thread through, named
returns |
| `coderd/x/chatd/instruction.go` | Accept configurable dir + file name,
`skillMetaFileFromParts` |
| `coderd/x/chatd/chattool/skill.go` | Accept configurable dirs + meta
file |
| `codersdk/chats.go` | `ContextFileSkillMetaFile` field for persistence
|
### Test coverage
- `TestConfig` (4 cases): defaults, custom env vars, whitespace
trimming, comma-separated dirs
- `TestResolvePath` / `TestResolvePaths`: including empty baseDir edge
case
- `TestPersistInstructionFilesFallbackOnOlderAgent`: backward-compat
path when `ContextConfig` returns 404
- `TestChatMessagePartVariantTags`: updated exclusion list for new
internal field
### Backward compatibility
Older agents return 404 for the new endpoint. `chatd` catches this and
falls back to today's defaults via `readHomeInstructionFile` (using
`LSRelativityHome`). Existing workspaces work with no changes.
</details>
Coder's chat (chatd) can now discover and use MCP servers configured in
a workspace's `.mcp.json` file. This brings project-specific tooling
(GitHub, databases, docs servers, etc.) into the chat without any manual
configuration.
## How it works
The workspace agent reads `.mcp.json` from the workspace directory (same
format Claude Code uses), connects to the declared MCP servers —
spawning child processes for stdio servers and connecting over the
network for HTTP/SSE — and caches their tool lists. Two new agent HTTP
endpoints expose this:
- `GET /api/v0/mcp/tools` returns the cached tool list (supports
`?refresh=true`)
- `POST /api/v0/mcp/call-tool` proxies calls to the correct server
On each chat turn, chatd calls `ListMCPTools` through the existing
`AgentConn` tailnet connection, wraps each tool as a
`fantasy.AgentTool`, and adds them to the LLM's tool set alongside
built-in and admin-configured MCP tools. Tool names are prefixed with
the server name (`github__create_issue`) to avoid collisions.
Failed server connections are logged and skipped — they never block the
agent or break the chat. Child stdio processes are terminated on agent
shutdown.
- Move `agent/agentdesktop/` to `agent/x/agentdesktop/` to signal
experimental/unstable status
- Update import paths in `agent/agent.go` and `api_test.go`
> 🤖 This mechanical refactor was performed by an agent. I made sure it
didn't change anything it wasn't supposed to.
Kyle Carberry