refactor: deduplicate URL generation and standardize on localhost

- Extract duplicated URL generation code into getClientUrl() helper function in start.js
- Replace all 127.0.0.1 references with localhost for consistency across codebase
- Update server to respect HOST environment variable for URL generation
- Remove 127.0.0.1 from default allowed origins in CORS configuration
- Update documentation to use localhost instead of 127.0.0.1

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.ai/code)

Co-Authored-By: Claude <[email protected]>

Author: felixweinberger

CONTRIBUTING.md

@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ Thanks for your interest in contributing! This guide explains how to get involve
 1. Fork the repository and clone it locally
 2. Install dependencies with `npm install`
 3. Run `npm run dev` to start both client and server in development mode
-4. Use the web UI at http://127.0.0.1:6274 to interact with the inspector
+4. Use the web UI at http://localhost:6274 to interact with the inspector
 
 ## Development Process & Pull Requests
 

README.md

@@ -168,7 +168,7 @@ DANGEROUSLY_OMIT_AUTH=true npm start
 
 #### Local-only Binding
 
-By default, both the MCP Inspector proxy server and client bind only to `127.0.0.1` (localhost) to prevent network access. This ensures they are not accessible from other devices on the network. If you need to bind to all interfaces for development purposes, you can override this with the `HOST` environment variable:
+By default, both the MCP Inspector proxy server and client bind only to `localhost` to prevent network access. This ensures they are not accessible from other devices on the network. If you need to bind to all interfaces for development purposes, you can override this with the `HOST` environment variable:
 
 ```bash
 HOST=0.0.0.0 npm start
@@ -181,7 +181,7 @@ HOST=0.0.0.0 npm start
 To prevent DNS rebinding attacks, the MCP Inspector validates the `Origin` header on incoming requests. By default, only requests from the client origin are allowed (respects `CLIENT_PORT` if set, defaulting to port 6274). You can configure additional allowed origins by setting the `ALLOWED_ORIGINS` environment variable (comma-separated list):
 
 ```bash
-ALLOWED_ORIGINS=http://localhost:6274,http://127.0.0.1:6274,http://localhost:8000 npm start
+ALLOWED_ORIGINS=http://localhost:6274,http://localhost:8000 npm start
 ```
 
 ### Configuration

client/bin/client.js

@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ const server = http.createServer((request, response) => {
 });
 
 const port = process.env.PORT || 6274;
-const host = process.env.HOST || "127.0.0.1";
+const host = process.env.HOST || "localhost";
 server.on("listening", () => {
   console.log(
     `🔍 MCP Inspector is up and running at http://${host}:${port} 🚀`,

client/bin/start.js

@@ -12,6 +12,14 @@ function delay(ms) {
   return new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, ms, true));
 }
 
+function getClientUrl(port, authDisabled, sessionToken) {
+  const host = process.env.HOST || "localhost";
+  const baseUrl = `http://${host}:${port}`;
+  return authDisabled
+    ? baseUrl
+    : `${baseUrl}/?MCP_PROXY_AUTH_TOKEN=${sessionToken}`;
+}
+
 async function startDevServer(serverOptions) {
   const { SERVER_PORT, CLIENT_PORT, sessionToken, envVars, abort } =
     serverOptions;
@@ -102,7 +110,7 @@ async function startDevClient(clientOptions) {
   const { CLIENT_PORT, authDisabled, sessionToken, abort, cancelled } =
     clientOptions;
   const clientCommand = "npx";
-  const host = process.env.HOST || "127.0.0.1";
+  const host = process.env.HOST || "localhost";
   const clientArgs = ["vite", "--port", CLIENT_PORT, "--host", host];
 
   const client = spawn(clientCommand, clientArgs, {
@@ -114,10 +122,7 @@ async function startDevClient(clientOptions) {
 
   // Auto-open browser after vite starts
   if (process.env.MCP_AUTO_OPEN_ENABLED !== "false") {
-    const clientHost = process.env.HOST || "127.0.0.1";
-    const url = authDisabled
-      ? `http://${clientHost}:${CLIENT_PORT}`
-      : `http://${clientHost}:${CLIENT_PORT}/?MCP_PROXY_AUTH_TOKEN=${sessionToken}`;
+    const url = getClientUrl(CLIENT_PORT, authDisabled, sessionToken);
 
     // Give vite time to start before opening browser
     setTimeout(() => {
@@ -153,10 +158,7 @@ async function startProdClient(clientOptions) {
 
   // Only auto-open browser if not cancelled
   if (process.env.MCP_AUTO_OPEN_ENABLED !== "false" && !cancelled) {
-    const clientHost = process.env.HOST || "127.0.0.1";
-    const url = authDisabled
-      ? `http://${clientHost}:${CLIENT_PORT}`
-      : `http://${clientHost}:${CLIENT_PORT}/?MCP_PROXY_AUTH_TOKEN=${sessionToken}`;
+    const url = getClientUrl(CLIENT_PORT, authDisabled, sessionToken);
     open(url);
   }
 

server/src/index.ts

@@ -104,10 +104,7 @@ const originValidationMiddleware = (
 
   // Default origins based on CLIENT_PORT or use environment variable
   const clientPort = process.env.CLIENT_PORT || "6274";
-  const defaultOrigins = [
-    `http://localhost:${clientPort}`,
-    `http://127.0.0.1:${clientPort}`,
-  ];
+  const defaultOrigins = [`http://localhost:${clientPort}`];
   const allowedOrigins =
     process.env.ALLOWED_ORIGINS?.split(",") || defaultOrigins;
 
@@ -531,7 +528,7 @@ app.get("/config", originValidationMiddleware, authMiddleware, (req, res) => {
 });
 
 const PORT = parseInt(process.env.PORT || "6277", 10);
-const HOST = process.env.HOST || "127.0.0.1";
+const HOST = process.env.HOST || "localhost";
 
 const server = app.listen(PORT, HOST);
 server.on("listening", () => {
@@ -544,7 +541,8 @@ server.on("listening", () => {
 
     // Display clickable URL with pre-filled token
     const clientPort = process.env.CLIENT_PORT || "6274";
-    const clientUrl = `http://localhost:${clientPort}/?MCP_PROXY_AUTH_TOKEN=${sessionToken}`;
+    const clientHost = process.env.HOST || "localhost";
+    const clientUrl = `http://${clientHost}:${clientPort}/?MCP_PROXY_AUTH_TOKEN=${sessionToken}`;
     console.log(
       `\n🔗 Open inspector with token pre-filled:\n   ${clientUrl}\n`,
     );