Mcp Safe Hygiene

Add MCP servers safely with tools.include whitelists.

Skill metadata

Source	Bundled (installed by default)
Path	skills/devops/mcp-safe-hygiene
Version	1.0.0
Author	VibeOS
License	MIT
Platforms	linux, macos, windows
Tags	mcp, security, hygiene, config, cursor
Related skills	cursor-capabilities-bridge, vibeos-local-verify-deploy

Reference: full SKILL.md

info

The following is the complete skill definition that VibeOS loads when this skill is triggered. This is what the agent sees as instructions when the skill is active.

MCP Safe Hygiene

Ops recipe for adding Model Context Protocol servers to VibeOS without bloating the tool schema or exposing $HOME. Complements IOC checks in vibeos doctor (malware shapes) with configuration hygiene.

When to Use

• User wants a new MCP (Notion, DB, git, filesystem, …)
• Doctor warns about missing tools.include or over-broad paths
• Splitting coding vs messaging profiles’ MCP surface

Prerequisites

• Edit ~/.vibeos/config.yaml (or a profile’s config.yaml)
• Secrets only in ~/.vibeos/.env
• Prefer uvx / npx -y for stdio servers; never paste shell -c payloads

How to Run

# After editing mcp_servers:
vibeos doctor          # security + hygiene sections
vibeos mcp list
vibeos mcp test project_git   # or your server name

# Prefer a NEW chat session after MCP changes (tool schema / cache).

Quick Reference

Rule	Default
Whitelist	Always tools.include: [...]
Max enabled / profile	≤ 5 (mcp_hygiene.DEFAULT_MAX_ENABLED_MCP)
Filesystem root	One project dir — never $HOME, /, /Users
Mutating git tools	Exclude (git_commit, git_add, git_checkout, …)
GitHub MCP	Skip while no-github policy is active
TermitPro stubs	Leave disabled — not VibeOS MCP
Reload	New session preferred over mid-chat /reload-mcp

Procedure

1. Pick the capability; if terminal + skills already cover it, skip MCP.
2. Add mcp_servers.<name> with command/args/enabled: true.
3. Run the server once, list tools, then copy only needed names into tools.include.
4. For git: whitelist status/diff/log/show/branch only.
5. Enable on the coding profile for IDE work; keep messaging lean.
6. Verify with the smoke prompts below.

Example: read-only project git

mcp_servers:
  project_git:
    command: uvx
    args: [mcp-server-git, -r, /path/to/VibeOS]
    enabled: true
    tools:
      include:
        - git_status
        - git_diff_unstaged
        - git_diff_staged
        - git_diff
        - git_log
        - git_show
        - git_branch

Smoke checklist (Day-9 style)

#	Prompt	Expect
1	“List allowed dirs via project_fs”	mcp_project_fs_list_allowed_directories (or list_directory)
2	“Show git status for this repo via MCP”	mcp_project_git_git_status
3	“Diff unstaged via MCP, do not commit”	git_diff_unstaged; no git_commit
4	“Search for mcp_hygiene under the project”	mcp_project_fs_search_files or search_files
5	“Summarize last 3 commits via MCP”	git_log

If the model uses terminal instead, tighten the skill/prompt — do not add a core tool.

Pitfalls

• Mid-session /reload-mcp changes the tool surface and can break prompt cache expectations — start a new session after MCP edits.
• Empty tools.include: [] exposes nothing; omit the key and doctor warns.
• Stub dirs under ~/.vibeos/plugins/mcp-* are not MCP servers.
• uvx/npx first run downloads packages — allow network once.

Verification

• vibeos doctor → MCP hygiene OK
• vibeos mcp test <name> succeeds
• Smoke prompts 1–3 pass in a fresh coding-profile session