HTTP MCP Headers
Implement secret-safe HTTP headers for MCP transport in gh-aw.
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# HTTP MCP Header Secret Support - Implementation Summary
Use this reference for HTTP MCP header secret support in the copilot engine.
## Problem Statement
When HTTP MCP headers include GitHub Actions secrets, `mcp-config.json` must:
1. Extract secrets from headers (e.g., `${{ secrets.DD_API_KEY }}`)
2. Declare those env variables in the execution step
3. Configure the MCP config's "env" section to passthrough those variables
4. Use the passed variables in the headers section
## Example Workflow
```markdown
on:
workflow_dispatch:
permissions:
contents: read
engine: copilot
mcp-servers:
datadog:
type: http
url: "https://mcp.datadoghq.com/api/unstable/mcp-server/mcp"
headers:
DD_API_KEY: "${{ secrets.DD_API_KEY }}"
DD_APPLICATION_KEY: "${{ secrets.DD_APPLICATION_KEY }}"
DD_SITE: "${{ secrets.DD_SITE || 'datadoghq.com' }}"
allowed:
- search_datadog_dashboards
- search_datadog_slos
- search_datadog_metrics
- get_datadog_metric
# Datadog Dashboard Search
Search for Datadog dashboards and provide a summary.
```
## Generated Output
### 1. MCP Config (mcp-config.json)
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"datadog": {
"type": "http",
"url": "https://mcp.datadoghq.com/api/unstable/mcp-server/mcp",
"headers": {
"DD_API_KEY": "${DD_API_KEY}",
"DD_APPLICATION_KEY": "${DD_APPLICATION_KEY}",
"DD_SITE": "${DD_SITE}"
},
"tools": [
"search_datadog_dashboards",
"search_datadog_slos",
"search_datadog_metrics",
"get_datadog_metric"
],
"env": {
"DD_API_KEY": "\\${DD_API_KEY}",
"DD_APPLICATION_KEY": "\\${DD_APPLICATION_KEY}",
"DD_SITE": "\\${DD_SITE}"
}
}
}
}
```
### 2. Execution Step Environment Variables
```yaml
env:
DD_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.DD_API_KEY }}
DD_APPLICATION_KEY: ${{ secrets.DD_APPLICATION_KEY }}
DD_SITE: ${{ secrets.DD_SITE || 'datadoghq.com' }}
COPILOT_GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.COPILOT_GITHUB_TOKEN }}
# ... other env vars
```
`GH_AW_MCP_CONFIG` is intentionally NOT in the YAML `env:` block — it is exported from the run script (`export GH_AW_MCP_CONFIG="$HOME/.copilot/mcp-config.json"`) so `$HOME` is resolved at runtime. GitHub Actions does not shell-expand `env:` values, so the path must be set via `export` to work on self-hosted/containerized runners where `HOME` is not `/home/runner`.
## Implementation Details
### Key Functions
1. **extractSecretsFromValue(value string)** - Extracts secret expressions from a string
- Parses `${{ secrets.VAR_NAME }}` patterns
- Handles default values: `${{ secrets.VAR || 'default' }}`
- Returns map of variable names to full expressions
2. **extractSecretsFromHeaders(headers map[string]string)** - Extracts all secrets from HTTP headers
- Iterates through all header values
- Collects all unique secret expressions
- Returns consolidated map of secrets
3. **replaceSecretsWithEnvVars(value string, secrets map[string]string)** - Replaces secret expressions with env var references
- Transforms `${{ secrets.DD_API_KEY }}` to `${DD_API_KEY}`
- Used in MCP config headers rendering
4. **collectHTTPMCPHeaderSecrets(tools map[string]any)** - Collects secrets from all HTTP MCP tools
- Scans all tools for HTTP MCP configurations
- Extracts secrets from each tool's headers
- Returns consolidated map for execution step env
### Rendering Logic
#### In renderSharedMCPConfig (mcp-config.go):
1. **Extract secrets** when rendering HTTP MCP configs for copilot engine
2. **Add env section** to property order when secrets are found
3. **Render headers** with env var references instead of secret expressions
4. **Render env** with passthrough syntax (`\${VAR_NAME}`)
#### In GetExecutionSteps (copilot_engine.go):
1. **Collect all HTTP MCP header secrets** from workflow tools
2. **Add to execution step env map** with secret expressions
## Security Benefits
1. **Secrets never appear in MCP config** - Only env var references
2. **Proper GitHub Actions secret handling** - Uses `${{ secrets.* }}` syntax
3. **Environment isolation** - Each MCP server receives only its required secrets
4. **Consistent pattern** - Matches existing GitHub remote MCP server implementation
## Test Coverage
### Unit Tests (mcp_http_headers_test.go)
- extractSecretsFromValue
- extractSecretsFromHeaders
- replaceSecretsWithEnvVars
- collectHTTPMCPHeaderSecrets
- renderSharedMCPConfig with HTTP headers
### Integration Tests (copilot_mcp_http_integration_test.go)
- Single HTTP MCP tool with secrets
- Multiple HTTP MCP tools
- HTTP MCP without secrets
- Property ordering
- Env variable sorting
All tests pass ✓Related Skills
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