Merge pull request #4 from akshay5995/expose-headers-cors

feat: add expose_headers configuration to CORS settings

Author: akshay5995

CLAUDE.md

@@ -550,6 +550,48 @@ cors:
 - **Development** (`debug=true`): Permissive origin validation for easy testing
 - **Production** (`debug=false`): Strict origin validation with localhost fallback for debugging
 
+### Browser Client Configuration
+
+For browser-based MCP clients, configure CORS to expose necessary headers:
+
+**Basic Browser Support:**
+```yaml
+cors:
+  allow_origins: ["https://your-web-app.com"]
+  allow_credentials: true
+  expose_headers: []  # Empty by default
+```
+
+**Advanced Browser Configuration:**
+```yaml
+cors:
+  allow_origins: ["https://your-web-app.com"]
+  allow_credentials: true
+  allow_methods: ["GET", "POST", "PUT", "DELETE", "OPTIONS"]
+  allow_headers: ["Authorization", "Content-Type", "MCP-Protocol-Version"]
+  expose_headers:  # Headers browser clients can access
+    - "MCP-Session-ID"         # For session persistence
+    - "X-Request-ID"           # For request tracking
+    - "X-Rate-Limit-Remaining" # For usage display
+    - "X-Custom-Header"        # Your custom headers
+```
+
+**What `expose_headers` Does:**
+- By default, browsers can only access basic headers (Content-Type, etc.)
+- `expose_headers` allows JavaScript to read custom response headers
+- Essential for MCP clients that need session IDs or request tracking
+
+**Browser Client Example:**
+```javascript
+// Without expose_headers, these return null:
+const sessionId = response.headers.get('MCP-Session-ID');     // null
+const requestId = response.headers.get('X-Request-ID');       // null
+
+// With expose_headers configured, these work:
+const sessionId = response.headers.get('MCP-Session-ID');     // "session-123"
+const requestId = response.headers.get('X-Request-ID');       // "req-456"
+```
+
 ### Adding New MCP Services
 
 1. **Configure the service** in `config.yaml`:

config.example.yaml

@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ cors:
     - "DELETE"
     - "OPTIONS"
   allow_headers: ["*"]         # Allowed headers (use specific headers in production)
+  expose_headers: []           # Headers exposed to browser clients (e.g., ["MCP-Session-ID", "X-Request-ID"])
 
 # Storage backend configuration
 storage:

docs/architecture.md

@@ -234,6 +234,48 @@ The gateway uses a component-based architecture. Key components:
 - **PKCE**: Required for all authorization flows
 - **Audience Binding**: Service-specific token scoping
 
+### 7. Browser Client Support
+
+**Decision**: CORS configuration with exposed headers for browser-based MCP clients.
+
+**Why Browser Support Matters**:
+- Web-based MCP clients need access to custom headers
+- Session management requires header visibility
+- OAuth flows work naturally in browsers
+
+**Configuration for Browser Clients**:
+```yaml
+cors:
+  allow_origins: ["https://your-web-app.com"]  # Your web app's domain
+  allow_credentials: true                       # Required for cookies/auth
+  expose_headers:                               # Headers browser can access
+    - "MCP-Session-ID"                         # Session tracking
+    - "X-Request-ID"                           # Request correlation
+    - "X-Rate-Limit-Remaining"                # Usage tracking
+```
+
+**What This Enables**:
+- **Session Persistence**: Browser can read and store `MCP-Session-ID`
+- **Request Tracking**: Correlate requests with `X-Request-ID`
+- **Rate Limit Awareness**: Display usage with rate limit headers
+
+**Example Browser Client**:
+```javascript
+// Browser can now access exposed headers
+const response = await fetch('https://gateway.example.com/service/mcp', {
+  headers: {
+    'Authorization': 'Bearer ' + accessToken,
+    'MCP-Protocol-Version': '2025-06-18'
+  }
+});
+
+// Access exposed headers
+const sessionId = response.headers.get('MCP-Session-ID');
+const requestId = response.headers.get('X-Request-ID');
+```
+
+**Security Note**: Only expose headers that browser clients need. Avoid exposing sensitive internal headers.
+
 ## Why These Decisions?
 
 **Focus**: Do one thing well - transparent OAuth for MCP HTTP services  

src/config/config.py

@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ class CorsConfig:
         default_factory=lambda: ["GET", "POST", "PUT", "DELETE", "OPTIONS"]
     )
     allow_headers: List[str] = field(default_factory=lambda: ["*"])
+    expose_headers: List[str] = field(default_factory=list)
 
 
 @dataclass
@@ -286,6 +287,7 @@ def load_config(self) -> GatewayConfig:
                 "allow_methods", ["GET", "POST", "PUT", "DELETE", "OPTIONS"]
             ),
             allow_headers=cors_data.get("allow_headers", ["*"]),
+            expose_headers=cors_data.get("expose_headers", []),
         )
 
         # Parse Storage configuration
@@ -381,6 +383,7 @@ def save_config(self) -> None:
                 "allow_credentials": self.config.cors.allow_credentials,
                 "allow_methods": self.config.cors.allow_methods,
                 "allow_headers": self.config.cors.allow_headers,
+                "expose_headers": self.config.cors.expose_headers,
             },
             "oauth_providers": {},
             "mcp_services": {},

src/gateway.py

@@ -263,6 +263,7 @@ def _setup_middleware(self):
             allow_credentials=self.config.cors.allow_credentials,
             allow_methods=self.config.cors.allow_methods,
             allow_headers=self.config.cors.allow_headers,
+            expose_headers=self.config.cors.expose_headers,
         )
 
     def _setup_routes(self):

tests/config/test_config.py

@@ -95,6 +95,7 @@ def test_load_config_from_yaml(self):
   allow_credentials: false
   allow_methods: ["GET", "POST"]
   allow_headers: ["Authorization", "Content-Type"]
+  expose_headers: ["MCP-Session-ID", "X-Request-ID"]
 
 oauth_providers:
   github:
@@ -134,6 +135,7 @@ def test_load_config_from_yaml(self):
             assert config.cors.allow_credentials is False
             assert config.cors.allow_methods == ["GET", "POST"]
             assert config.cors.allow_headers == ["Authorization", "Content-Type"]
+            assert config.cors.expose_headers == ["MCP-Session-ID", "X-Request-ID"]
 
             # Check OAuth provider
             assert "github" in config.oauth_providers
@@ -597,6 +599,7 @@ def test_cors_config_defaults(self):
         assert config.allow_credentials is True
         assert config.allow_methods == ["GET", "POST", "PUT", "DELETE", "OPTIONS"]
         assert config.allow_headers == ["*"]
+        assert config.expose_headers == []
 
     def test_gateway_config_defaults(self):
         """Test gateway config with defaults."""