# MCP Core Business Plan

Date: 2026-07-09

## Business correction

项目核心不是继续做 UIA selector/report，而是通过 MCP 暴露 iSphere 的联系人、群组、消息、文件能力。

后续研发主线切换为 MCP 核心通信能力：搜索联系人、搜索群组、收发消息、收发文件。现有 UIA/selector/report 只作为底层辅助和证据，不再作为主线继续扩展。

## Core business capabilities

The product roadmap is limited to six business capabilities:

1. Search contacts.
2. Search groups.
3. Receive/read messages.
4. Send messages.
5. Receive/download files.
6. Send files.

Everything else is infrastructure or fallback support. Selector catalog/report validation may support UI automation if needed, but it is not the main product deliverable.

## Capability source priority

Use this priority order when searching for real implementations:

1. Existing bridge / API / local service.
2. Local database / log / cache read-only access.
3. UI automation.
4. Network/API analysis.
5. Reverse engineering, only for explanation and validation, not as the default route.

Implications:

- Prefer an existing bridge/API/local service before reading local storage or using UIA.
- Prefer read-only database/log/cache access before UI automation when it can answer the business question.
- UIA selector work is a fallback access mechanic, not the primary roadmap.
- Do not continue investing in selector report hardening unless a concrete business tool is blocked by selector quality.
- Reverse engineering is last resort and should explain formats or validate assumptions; it should not become the default delivery path.

## Stage A: Freeze MCP core tools contract

Goal: lock the business-facing MCP tool surface before adding more helper or selector work.

Deliverables:

- `docs/mcp-core-tools-contract.md` exists and defines:
  - `isphere_search_contacts`
  - `isphere_search_groups`
  - `isphere_receive_messages`
  - `isphere_send_message`
  - `isphere_receive_files`
  - `isphere_send_file`
- Write-capable tools require `approval_id` for real execution.
- Write-capable tools support `dry_run=true` and default to dry-run until approved.
- Read-only tools do not mutate the iSphere client state.

Acceptance:

- Contract names, input parameters, output JSON, error codes, audit fields, read-only/write status, approval behavior, and implementation priority are explicit.
- No new selector/report node is introduced as the next primary step.

## Stage B: Find real capability sources

Goal: identify the best source for each read-only capability.

Tasks:

1. Inventory existing bridge/API/local service artifacts and current Go/C# boundaries.
2. Re-check whether existing bridge endpoints or local services can provide contacts, groups, messages, or files.
3. Re-check local database/log/cache artifacts only in read-only mode.
4. Use UIA only if higher-priority sources cannot satisfy the read-only tool.
5. Document source decisions per tool before implementation.

Acceptance:

- Each read-only tool has a selected primary source and a fallback source.
- The decision is evidence-backed and does not rely on stale prior notes without current verification.
- No automatic login, hook, injection, memory read, or endpoint-security bypass is introduced.

## Stage C: Read-only loop

Goal: deliver useful MCP read capability before any real write capability.

Implementation order:

1. `isphere_search_contacts`
2. `isphere_search_groups`
3. `isphere_receive_messages`
4. `isphere_receive_files`

Acceptance:

- Each tool can return normalized JSON through MCP.
- Each tool records audit metadata.
- File receiving/download writes only to an approved local output directory and never mutates source client state.
- Tests and verification do not send messages, upload files, click destructive controls, or alter production data.

## Stage D: Approval-after-read-only write capability

Goal: add write behavior only after the read-only loop is proven.

Implementation order:

1. `isphere_send_message` with `dry_run=true` preview first.
2. Approval store and audit validation.
3. `isphere_send_message` real send only with valid `approval_id`.
4. `isphere_send_file` with `dry_run=true` preview first.
5. `isphere_send_file` real send only with valid `approval_id`.

Acceptance:

- No valid `approval_id`, no real send.
- Every real send records target, content/file hash, approver, time, connector, and result.
- Idempotency prevents accidental duplicate sends.
- Operator can review dry-run output before approval.

## Stage E: Pre-production safety, audit, and deployment acceptance

Goal: make the MCP service safe and operable before broader use.

Checks:

- Tool allowlist and source allowlist are explicit.
- Audit records are durable and redacted where needed.
- Approval records are traceable.
- Deployment docs include exact commands, rollback, logs, and known limits.
- Security boundaries are still enforced: no automatic login, no bypass, no injection, no hook, no target-process memory read.

Acceptance:

- Full test suite passes.
- Operator runbook covers normal operation and failure modes.
- A business user can understand which of the six capabilities are supported and which remain staged.

## Immediate next action

Current next step is:

```text
MCP core tools contract freeze + read-only message source discovery + N12-pre evidence package organization.
```

Do not start N16/N17 selector/report hardening as the mainline. If UIA is needed later, use the existing N13/N14/N15 results as auxiliary evidence only.