[BUG] [v0.0.7] cortex mcp add success message joins space-containing args into flat string — "Args: -m my server module arg with spaces" instead of quoting each argument

[Grizouforever]

Project

ide

Description

When adding a stdio MCP server whose arguments contain spaces, the success confirmation message joins all arguments with a single space, making it impossible to distinguish individual arguments from one another.

For example, after running cortex mcp add myserver -- python3 -m "my server module" "arg with spaces", the success output says:

Args: -m my server module arg with spaces

This displays 3 arguments as if they were 7 separate words. In contrast, cortex mcp get myserver correctly quotes space-containing arguments: Args: -m "my server module" "arg with spaces".

This is misleading because a user reading the add confirmation cannot verify whether their arguments were parsed correctly. The get command applies quoting logic to args containing spaces, but the add success path simply calls .join(" ") without any quoting.

Error Message

N/A

Debug Logs

N/A

System Information

• Cortex TUI v0.0.7
• OS: Linux x86_64

Screenshots

Steps to Reproduce

1. Run cortex mcp add myserver -- python3 -m "my server module" "arg with spaces"
2. Read the success confirmation output
3. Compare with cortex mcp get myserver

Expected Behavior

The add success message should quote arguments containing spaces, matching the format used by cortex mcp get. Expected output: Args: -m "my server module" "arg with spaces".

Actual Behavior

The add success message joins all arguments with a flat space: Args: -m my server module arg with spaces. This makes it look like 7 separate single-word arguments instead of the 3 that were actually stored.

[echobt]

Bug Validation

Verdict: VALID

Reason:
The issue reports that cortex mcp add success message joins space-containing arguments into a flat string without quoting them, making it difficult to distinguish individual arguments.

I verified this in the codebase. In src/cortex-cli/src/mcp_cmd/handlers.rs, the run_add function handles the success message for stdio transport:

            // Build success message but defer printing until config write succeeds
            let mut success_msg = format!("✓ Added stdio MCP server '{name}'\n");
            success_msg.push_str(&format!("  Command: {command_bin}\n"));
            if !command_args.is_empty() {
                success_msg.push_str(&format!("  Args: {}\n", command_args.join(" ")));
            }

As seen above, command_args.join(" ") is used directly without any quoting logic.

In contrast, the run_get function in the same file correctly quotes arguments containing spaces:

                if let Some(args) = transport.get("args").and_then(|v| v.as_array()) {
                    let args_str: Vec<_> = args
                        .iter()
                        .filter_map(|v| v.as_str())
                        .map(|arg| {
                            // Quote arguments containing spaces or special characters for copy-paste
                            if arg.contains(' ') || arg.contains('"') || arg.contains('\'') {
                                format!("\"{}\"", arg.replace('"', "\\\""))
                            } else {
                                arg.to_string()
                            }
                        })
                        .collect();
                    if !args_str.is_empty() {
                        println!("  Args: {}", args_str.join(" "));
                    }
                }

The code confirms the bug: the add command's success message simply joins the arguments with spaces, losing the distinction between arguments that contain spaces themselves. The screenshot is authentic and clearly shows the issue. No exact duplicates were found. Therefore, this is a valid bug.

Bug Process:

graph TD
    A[User runs cortex mcp add with space-containing args] --> B[Success message should quote args with spaces]
    A --> C[Success message joins all args with a single space]
    C --> D[Args appear as flat string instead of distinct arguments]
    style C fill:#ff6b6b
    style D fill:#ff6b6b

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