CLAUDE.md

@@ -193,7 +193,7 @@ MCP servers are surfaced to users as **"Connectors"** (UI naming; `mcp`/schema s
 
 **Endpoints** (`src/frontend/api/mcp.rs`, mounted in `api/mod.rs`) — admin: `/mcp/catalog` (GET/POST/DELETE), `/mcp/global` (list/enable/delete + `/{id}/access` GET/PUT), `/mcp/providers` (GET/POST + DELETE `/{name}` — OAuth provider creds, secret never returned to the browser). User: `/mcp/available`, `/mcp/activate`, `/mcp/activated` (+ DELETE `/{id}` to deactivate), `/mcp/oauth/start` + `/mcp/oauth/complete` (the §15 OAuth login), `/mcp/login/status` + `/mcp/login/reset` (the §15 QR/device login — see below). `connectors.js` (`<connectors-page>`) is the **single** Connectors surface — a row list, one row per connector (there is no separate catalog page): the user view (activate/deactivate + granted globals) always, plus the admin affordances when `role_id === 'admin'` — the **Add connector** dropdown (from the Marketplace, or manually via the `#connectors/new` sub-page), per-row removal from the catalog, and the **Sign-in providers** modal. The Marketplace stays its own page (`marketplace.js`), reached from that dropdown and linking back to `#connectors`. `connector-detail.js` (`<connector-detail-page>`) is a connector's own page and hosts both the OAuth login panel and the QR login panel.
 
-**Dependency reconciler (`mcp::install::ensure_installed`).** Copying a local-script connector's files into a container never installed its deps. `ensure_installed` closes that: a **content-hash reconciler** keyed on the connector's *source* files (not a version string) that, when the hash changed, re-copies the files and installs deps inside the container — `npm ci --omit=dev` (node, from `package.json`) and/or `pip install --target .pydeps` (python, from `requirements.txt`, put on the server's `PYTHONPATH` by `user_row_spec`). Runs at activation **and** on every per-user startup path (`UserContext` build, remount) via `mcp::prepare_local_connector`, so a fresh container installs from scratch, an updated connector re-installs, and an unchanged one is a hash-match no-op. Deps are therefore **never vendored** — connectors ship `package.json`/`requirements.txt`, not `node_modules/`. Authoring contract for connectors lives in `scripts/CONNECTOR_MANIFEST_GUIDE.md`.
+**Dependency reconciler (`mcp::install::ensure_installed`).** Copying a local-script connector's files into a container never installed its deps. `ensure_installed` closes that: a **content-hash reconciler** keyed on the connector's *source* files (not a version string) that, when the hash changed, re-copies the files and installs deps inside the container — `npm ci --omit=dev` (node, from `package.json`) and/or `pip install --target .pydeps` (python, from `requirements.txt`, put on the server's `PYTHONPATH` by `user_row_spec`). Runs at activation **and** on every per-user startup path (`UserContext` build, remount) via `mcp::prepare_local_connector`, so a fresh container installs from scratch, an updated connector re-installs, and an unchanged one is a hash-match no-op. Deps are therefore **never vendored** — connectors ship `package.json`/`requirements.txt`, not `node_modules/`. Authoring contract for connectors lives in `CONNECTOR_MANIFEST_GUIDE.md` (repo root).
 
 **Connector versioning.** `mcp_catalog` carries `version` (INTEGER — the update-comparison key), `version_string` (semver, display) and `version_release_date` (ISO, display), snapshotted from the feed on install. The marketplace list computes `update_available` = feed `version` > installed `version` (strict) and surfaces it as an "Update" button (`marketplace.js`). The integer is the UI signal; the actual re-install trigger is the reconciler's content-hash.
 
@@ -367,11 +367,13 @@ Copy `default.config.yaml` → `config.yml`. Never commit `config.yml` (contains
 
 ## Python environment
 
-All Python scripts (MCP servers, setup scripts) use a local virtualenv at `.venv/` in the project root.
+Host-side Python runs from a local virtualenv at `.venv/` in the project root. `run.sh` creates it on first launch (using `uv` if available, otherwise `python3 -m venv`), installs `requirements.txt`, and prepends `.venv/bin` to `PATH` before starting the app, so every child process resolves `python3` to the venv. No manual activation needed.
 
-`run.sh` creates it automatically on first launch (using `uv` if available, otherwise `python3 -m venv`) and installs `requirements.txt`. It then prepends `.venv/bin` to `PATH` before starting the app, so every child process — MCP server launches, `execute_cmd` shell calls — resolves `python3` to the venv automatically. No manual activation needed. **Python is optional**: if neither `uv` nor `python3` is found, the app starts normally and only Python-based MCP servers will be unavailable.
+**`requirements.txt` is for the two TTS plugins, and nothing else.** `plugin-tts-kokoro` and `plugin-tts-orpheus-3b` write an embedded server script to disk and spawn a bare `python3` on it — they have no dependency reconciler of their own, so their imports must be satisfied in the venv. The GPU/ML half of Orpheus (torch, transformers, snac, bitsandbytes, huggingface_hub) is split into `requirements-optional.txt`, installed by hand.
 
-To add a Python dependency: add it to `requirements.txt`. It will be installed on the next `./run.sh` invocation if `.venv` does not yet exist — or run `uv pip install -r requirements.txt` manually.
+**A connector's deps never go in `requirements.txt`.** A connector ships its own `requirements.txt`/`package.json` and `mcp::install::ensure_installed` installs it into `.pydeps`/`node_modules` — inside the user's container for a per-user connector, beside the connector's files on the host for a global one (`ensure_installed_host`). Putting them in the root file would install them on every box for a connector nobody activated; this is what the file used to do for the since-deleted `scripts/` MCP servers.
+
+**Python is optional**: with neither `uv` nor `python3` present the app starts normally; the TTS plugins fail to start and a host-run global connector has no interpreter to install its deps with. Per-user connectors are unaffected — they run in the container, which ships its own Python.
 
 ## Frontend components (`web/components/`)
 

CONNECTOR_MANIFEST_GUIDE.md

@@ -0,0 +1,348 @@
+# Skald Connector Authoring Guide
+
+Instructions for generating a **correct connector** for the Skald marketplace
+(`https://connectors.skaldagent.net`). Give this file to the agent that produces
+new connectors.
+
+A connector is a folder served by the marketplace. Skald installs it, verifies
+every file against a SHA-256 pinned in the index, then either runs it on the host
+(global connector) or copies it into the user's container and runs it there
+(per-user connector, blueprint §6/§7).
+
+---
+
+## 1. The two documents
+
+### 1a. The root index — `connectors.json`
+
+One array of entries, each pointing at a connector folder. **The index is the
+signable root: it is the only place that lists a connector's files and their
+SHA-256 digests.** Skald refuses any file whose bytes do not match.
+
+```jsonc
+{
+  "version": 1,
+  "connectors": [
+    {
+      "id": "whatsapp",                 // unique slug = folder name
+      "name": "WhatsApp",
+      "version": 1,                     // INTEGER build number — the update key (§7)
+      "version_string": "2.0.1",        // semver, display only
+      "version_release_date": "2026-07-19", // ISO date, display only
+      "type": "mcp_local",              // mcp_local | mcp_remote  (see §3)
+      "scope": "user",                  // user | global           (see §3)
+      "icon_small": "whatsapp/icon_sm.svg",
+      "icon_large": "whatsapp/icon_lg.svg",
+      "user_description": "Send and read WhatsApp messages from your linked account.",
+      "requires": ["NODE"],             // human hint: NODE | PYTHON | OAUTH | API_KEY
+      "tags": ["messaging", "mcp", "local", "whatsapp", "qr"],
+      "auth": { "type": "qr" },         // may be repeated here and in the manifest
+      "folder": "whatsapp",             // defaults to id
+      "files": [
+        { "path": "index.js",        "sha256": "…", "size": 21258 },
+        { "path": "package.json",    "sha256": "…", "size": 302   },
+        { "path": "connector.json",  "sha256": "…", "size": 620   },
+        { "path": "icon_sm.svg",     "sha256": "…", "size": 306   },
+        { "path": "icon_lg.svg",     "sha256": "…", "size": 308   }
+      ]
+    }
+  ]
+}
+```
+
+**Rules**
+
+- `files[].path` is relative to the connector folder. List **every** file the
+  connector ships (server code, `package.json`/`requirements.txt`, icons, and the
+  `connector.json` itself). A missing or mismatched digest fails the install.
+- Compute `sha256` over the exact bytes served: `sha256sum <file>`.
+- Do **not** list `node_modules/` or any generated deps — those are installed on
+  the box, not shipped (see §5).
+- `size` is optional but recommended.
+
+### 1b. The per-connector manifest — `<folder>/connector.json`
+
+The richer document. Fetched per connector and mapped into Skald's catalog.
+
+```jsonc
+{
+  "id": "whatsapp",
+  "name": "WhatsApp",
+  "version": 1,                         // INTEGER build number — the update key (§7)
+  "version_string": "2.0.1",            // semver, display only
+  "version_release_date": "2026-07-19", // ISO date, display only
+  "type": "mcp_local",
+  "scope": "user",
+  "auth": { "type": "qr" },             // none | api_key | oauth2 | qr  (see §4)
+  "mcp_config": {
+    "command": "node",                  // interpreter (local) …
+    "args": ["index.js"],               // … args[0] MUST name the entry file
+    "transport": "stdio"                // stdio (local) | streamable-http (remote)
+  },
+  "docs": [{
+    "lang": "en",
+    "description": "Human blurb shown in the UI.",
+    "llm_short_description": "One line the model reads to decide whether to use this connector."
+  }],
+  "env": [],                            // form fields the user fills (see §4b)
+  "tools": [                            // OPTIONAL — friendly UI names per tool (§2a)
+    { "name": "send_message", "display_name": "Send Message" }
+  ],
+  "homepage": "https://…",
+  "icon_small": "icon_sm.svg",          // relative to the folder here
+  "icon_large": "icon_lg.svg",
+  "tags": ["messaging", "mcp", "local", "whatsapp", "qr"]
+}
+```
+
+**`mcp_config.args[0]` is load-bearing for a local connector:** it is how Skald
+learns which file to run. At activation Skald rewrites it to the file's path
+inside the user's container (`/root/.skald/mcp/<name>/<entry>`), so keep it a
+plain relative filename (`index.js`, `server.py`, `pkg/server.py`).
+
+---
+
+## 2. Server contract (MCP over stdio)
+
+A **local** connector is a program speaking JSON-RPC 2.0 over stdin/stdout. It
+MUST handle:
+
+- `initialize` → `{ protocolVersion, capabilities: { tools: {} }, serverInfo }`
+- `notifications/initialized` → no response
+- `tools/list` → `{ tools: [ { name, description, inputSchema } ] }`
+- `tools/call` → `{ content: [ { type: "text", text } ], isError? }`
+
+**stdout is reserved for JSON-RPC only.** Send all logs/diagnostics to **stderr**.
+Anything a library prints to stdout (a logger, a banner) corrupts the protocol —
+silence it (e.g. Baileys/pino → a silent logger; Python → `print(…, file=sys.stderr)`).
+
+A **remote** connector is an HTTP MCP endpoint (`mcp_config.url` +
+`transport: "streamable-http"`); no code runs on the box.
+
+### 2a. Friendly tool names (`tools[]`) — optional
+
+Raw MCP tool names are ugly in the chat UI (`search_files`, `send_message`). The
+optional top-level `tools[]` block gives each one a human title shown as the tool
+card's heading:
+
+```jsonc
+"tools": [
+  { "name": "send_message",   "display_name": "Send Message" },
+  { "name": "list_chats",     "display_name": "List Chats" },
+  { "name": "download_media", "display_name": "Download Media" }
+]
+```
+
+- `name` — the **raw** tool name exactly as your server returns it from `tools/list`.
+- `display_name` — the friendly card title (English only; not internationalized).
+
+**Resolution order** for a tool's card title is **`tools[].display_name` → the MCP
+`title` field → a prettified raw name**. So you have two ways to set a friendly
+name, and can skip `tools[]` entirely:
+
+1. **This block** — the authoritative override, curated in the manifest.
+2. **The MCP `title` field** — if your `tools/list` entries already carry a
+   `title` (MCP 2025-06-18+), Skald uses it automatically; no manifest change
+   needed. `tools[]` wins if both are present.
+3. If neither is set, Skald title-cases the raw name (`send_message` → "Send
+   Message").
+
+**Icons are per connector, not per tool.** Every tool of a connector shows that
+connector's own `icon_small`; there is no per-tool icon field. Only list a tool in
+`tools[]` when its prettified name isn't good enough — partial lists are fine
+(unlisted tools fall through to steps 2–3).
+
+---
+
+## 3. Placement & risk vocabulary (what the words mean)
+
+| Manifest | Meaning |
+| --- | --- |
+| `scope: "user"` | runs **once per user**, inside their container. Personal creds. |
+| `scope: "global"` | runs **once for the household**, on the host. Shared, stateless. Admin enables it with a key. |
+| `type: "mcp_local"` | ships code that will **execute on the box** — installing needs the admin `mcp.register_local_script` capability (RCE-bearing act, §14). |
+| `type: "mcp_remote"` | just an HTTP URL; no local code. |
+
+Pick the narrowest: a personal messaging/email/calendar connector is
+`scope: "user"`; a shared search API is `scope: "global"`.
+
+---
+
+## 4. Authentication (`auth.type`)
+
+| `auth.type` | Flow | Ships |
+| --- | --- | --- |
+| `none` | nothing to sign in | — |
+| `api_key` | user pastes a key/secret into a form | an `env[]` schema (§4b) |
+| `oauth2` | browser consent → paste code back | `auth.provider` + `auth.scopes` + `auth.deliver` (§4c) |
+| `qr` | server shows a QR, user scans with a phone | a `login_status` tool (§4d) |
+
+### 4b. `api_key` — the `env[]` schema
+
+Each entry drives one form field **and** is injected as an env var / URL token to
+the server:
+
+```jsonc
+"env": [{
+  "name": "tavilyApiKey",
+  "label": "Tavily API key",
+  "description": "Create one at https://app.tavily.com.",
+  "required": true,
+  "secret": true,                       // rendered masked, stored encrypted
+  "example": "tvly-xxxxxxxx"
+}]
+```
+
+The server reads each value from `process.env.<name>` (or `os.environ`). For a
+**remote** connector that wants the key in the URL, use a placeholder:
+`"url": "https://mcp.example.com/?key={SECRET:tavilyApiKey}"`.
+
+### 4c. `oauth2` — provider consent
+
+```jsonc
+"auth": {
+  "type": "oauth2",
+  "provider": "google",                 // slug into the admin's sign-in providers
+  "scopes": ["https://www.googleapis.com/auth/gmail.modify"],
+  "deliver": { "as": "env", "format": "google_authorized_user", "env": "GMAIL_CREDS_JSON" }
+}
+```
+
+The manifest names **only** the provider slug, scopes, and how the obtained token
+is delivered — never client secrets or endpoint URLs (those are admin-entered,
+kept off the public feed). Skald handles PKCE + code exchange and injects the
+credential as the named env var. `format`: `google_authorized_user` (Google) or
+`refresh_token`. Today only `as: "env"` is wired.
+
+### 4d. `qr` / interactive device login — the generic contract
+
+For a connector whose credential is produced by **scanning/pairing** (WhatsApp
+today), there is no code to paste. The rule:
+
+> **Expose one extra tool, `login_status`, returning a JSON object** (as the
+> `text` of a normal text result). Skald calls it directly (never the agent) and a
+> login panel polls it.
+
+```jsonc
+// login_status result text (a JSON string):
+{
+  "state": "connecting" | "need_scan" | "ready" | "logged_out",
+  "qr": "data:image/png;base64,…",   // present ONLY while state == need_scan
+  "message": "human-readable line"
+}
+```
+
+- `activate` on a `qr` connector inserts a **pending** row and **starts the
+  server** (so it can produce the QR), then hands off to the login panel.
+- The panel polls `POST /api/mcp/login/status`; when `state == "ready"` the
+  connector is marked ready and starts automatically on later logins.
+- Also expose a `logout` tool (clears the session, forces a fresh QR) — the panel
+  calls it via `POST /api/mcp/login/reset` to re-link a different phone.
+- The **credential is the on-disk session**, not a token. Persist it **inside the
+  connector's own directory** (e.g. `./auth/` next to the entry file). That folder
+  lives under the bind-mounted home, so it survives container recreates and
+  connector updates. Never store it under a shared/global path.
+
+Skald resolves `auth.type: "qr"` the same way whether it appears in the index
+entry or the manifest.
+
+---
+
+## 5. Dependencies (node & python) — how they get installed
+
+**Do not ship `node_modules/` or vendored wheels.** Declare deps as a standard
+manifest **file** and Skald installs them inside the container:
+
+- **node:** ship a `package.json` with a `dependencies` map. Skald runs
+  `npm ci --omit=dev` (falling back to `npm install --omit=dev`) in the connector
+  dir. `node_modules/` resolves automatically beside the entry file.
+- **python:** ship a `requirements.txt`. Skald installs it with
+  `pip install --target .pydeps` and puts `.pydeps` on the server's `PYTHONPATH`.
+
+This runs at activation **and** on every startup, guarded by a **content hash** of
+the connector's source files:
+
+- first activation / a brand-new container → full install,
+- a connector **update** (any shipped file changed) → re-copy + re-install,
+- unchanged → skipped in microseconds.
+
+So you never write install steps into the manifest — just ship the dep file, list
+it in the index with its SHA-256, and set `requires: ["NODE"]` / `["PYTHON"]` as a
+human hint. Pin versions in `package.json` / `requirements.txt` for reproducible
+installs. Keep the dep tree lean (containers are slim; avoid native-heavy
+packages where a pure alternative exists — e.g. Baileys instead of a browser).
+
+---
+
+## 6. Verify-before-save (optional but recommended)
+
+Ship a `verify.py` / verify snippet and reference it:
+
+```jsonc
+"verify": { "command": "python3 verify.py", "timeout_secs": 15 }
+```
+
+It runs with the collected env/secret injected and must print **one JSON object**
+on stdout: `{"ok": bool, "message": string, "details"?: object}`, exit 0 on
+success. Used for `api_key`/`none` connectors to test creds before activating.
+(A `qr` connector needs no verify — its `login_status` is the live check.)
+
+---
+
+## 7. Versioning & updates
+
+Three fields, in **both** the index entry and the `connector.json`, kept identical:
+
+| field | type | role |
+| --- | --- | --- |
+| `version` | **integer** | monotonic build number, **per connector** — the machine comparison key |
+| `version_string` | string (semver) | display only |
+| `version_release_date` | ISO date `YYYY-MM-DD` | display only |
+
+- `version` is a **number, not a string** (`1`, not `"1"` or `"2.0.1"`). Start at
+  `1` for the first release under this scheme; **`+1` on every change** to any
+  shipped file **or to any manifest metadata** (description, icons, `version_string`).
+  Never reuse or decrement.
+- Skald stores the installed `version` and compares it to the feed's: a strictly
+  greater feed `version` shows **"update available"** in the marketplace, and the
+  Install button becomes **Update**. Clicking it re-downloads the files and rewrites
+  the catalog row.
+- **The integer is the *only* "is there an update?" signal** — it is compared
+  strictly (`feed > installed`). `version_string` (semver), icons and
+  `llm_short_description` are **never** compared, so a change to any of them that
+  does not also bump the integer is **invisible**: no "update available" badge
+  appears. This is the common trap — a "content-only" edit (e.g. a better
+  `llm_short_description`) that forgets the integer.
+- **Two propagation paths, do not conflate them:**
+  - *Per-user code + deps* (the scripts, `package.json`/`requirements.txt`) reconcile
+    on a **content-hash** of the source files (§5), so new code lands at each user's
+    next login even without a reinstall.
+  - *Catalog metadata* (`llm_short_description` → the model's prompt, icons, friendly
+    name) is **not** in that hash — it lives in the catalog row and is rewritten only
+    by an explicit **reinstall/Update**. On reinstall Skald re-pulls the current feed
+    (never the browse cache) and pushes the new description live: enabled global
+    servers restart with it, and every logged-in user who activated the connector has
+    it restarted with the fresh `llm_short_description` — no re-login needed.
+- So: to ship a new `llm_short_description`, **bump the integer** (so the admin sees
+  "update available") and the admin clicks **Update**. Nothing auto-propagates a
+  description change.
+- `version_string` and `version_release_date` are display metadata only — never
+  compared. (Migration note: replace any legacy string `"version": "2.0.1"` with
+  the integer `version` + `version_string`.)
+
+---
+
+## 8. Checklist for a new connector
+
+1. Folder `myconn/` with: entry file, `connector.json`, deps file
+   (`package.json`/`requirements.txt`), `icon_sm.svg`, `icon_lg.svg`,
+   optional `verify.*`.
+2. Server speaks MCP over stdio (§2); **stdout = JSON-RPC only**.
+3. `mcp_config.args[0]` names the entry file.
+4. Correct `type` + `scope` (§3) and `auth.type` (§4).
+5. For `qr`: implement `login_status` (+ `logout`), persist the session under the
+   connector dir (§4d).
+6. Deps declared as a file, **not** vendored (§5).
+7. Add the entry to `connectors.json` with a correct `sha256` for **every** file.
+8. Bump `version`.
+```

SKALD.md

@@ -161,7 +161,7 @@ Automatic build on NiPoGi with Gitea Actions (native runner v2.1.0):
 
 ### Technical notes
 
-- `scripts/` in `.gitignore` — CI scripts moved to `ci/` (tracked by git)
+- `scripts/` removed — CI scripts live in `ci/` (tracked by git); the legacy MCP servers it held are superseded by marketplace connectors
 - Build without `whisper-local` on Linux (`--no-default-features`)
 - `aarch64-linux-gnu-strip` for ARM64 binaries
 - `actions/checkout@v4` works (native runner has Node.js)

agents/software-architect/AGENT.md

@@ -86,7 +86,6 @@ When working on **Skald itself** (the project you are in), follow these addition
   - Agent prompts: `agents/`
   - Extracted crates: `crates/`
   - Web app (Lit components): `web/`
-  - Python MCP scripts: `scripts/`
   - Config: `config.yml` (copy from `default.config.yaml`)
   - Docs: `docs/`
   - Database: `database.db` (unless overridden in `config.yml`)

agents/software-engineer/AGENT.md

@@ -116,7 +116,6 @@ When working on **Skald itself** (the project you are in), follow these addition
   - Agent prompts: `agents/`
   - Extracted crates: `crates/`
   - Web app (Lit components): `web/`
-  - Python MCP scripts: `scripts/`
   - Config: `config.yml`
   - Docs: `docs/`
   - Database: `database.db`

crates/skald-core/src/mcp/verify.rs

@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ impl VerifyReport {
 /// runs inside the user's container via `docker exec`.
 pub enum VerifyTarget<'a> {
     /// Run on the Skald host process. `workdir` is an absolute host path
-    /// (typically `<data_root>/scripts/<id>/`).
+    /// (typically `connectors/<folder>/`).
     Host { workdir: &'a Path },
     /// Run inside the user's sandbox container. `workdir` is an absolute path
     /// *inside* the container (e.g. `/root/.skald/mcp/<name>`).

install-nightly.sh

@@ -192,7 +192,7 @@ check_optional_deps() {
     if command -v python3 >/dev/null 2>&1; then
         info "✔ Python 3 found ($(python3 --version 2>&1 | head -1))"
     else
-        warn "Python 3 not found — Python MCP servers (Gmail, GCal, GMaps, ...) will not work."
+        warn "Python 3 not found — the TTS plugins and host-run connectors will not work."
         echo "  Install it from https://www.python.org/downloads/"
         echo ""
     fi
@@ -327,13 +327,13 @@ if [ ! -f "$VENV_DIR/bin/python3" ] || ! "$VENV_DIR/bin/python3" -m pip --versio
     if command -v uv >/dev/null 2>&1; then
         uv venv --seed "$VENV_DIR" && uv pip install -r "$REQUIREMENTS" \
             && info "✔ Python venv ready (uv)" \
-            || warn "Python venv setup failed — Python MCP servers will be unavailable."
+            || warn "Python venv setup failed — the TTS plugins and host-run connectors will be unavailable."
     elif command -v python3 >/dev/null 2>&1; then
         python3 -m venv "$VENV_DIR" && "$VENV_DIR/bin/pip" install -r "$REQUIREMENTS" \
             && info "✔ Python venv ready (pip)" \
-            || warn "Python venv setup failed — Python MCP servers will be unavailable."
+            || warn "Python venv setup failed — the TTS plugins and host-run connectors will be unavailable."
     else
-        warn "python3 not found — Python MCP servers will be unavailable."
+        warn "python3 not found — the TTS plugins and host-run connectors will be unavailable."
     fi
 else
     info "✔ Python venv already exists"

install.sh

@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@ check_optional_deps() {
     if command -v python3 >/dev/null 2>&1; then
         info "✔ Python 3 found ($(python3 --version 2>&1 | head -1))"
     else
-        warn "Python 3 not found — Python MCP servers (Gmail, GCal, GMaps, ...) will not work."
+        warn "Python 3 not found — the TTS plugins and host-run connectors will not work."
         echo "  Install it from https://www.python.org/downloads/"
         echo ""
     fi
@@ -332,13 +332,13 @@ if [ ! -f "$VENV_DIR/bin/python3" ] || ! "$VENV_DIR/bin/python3" -m pip --versio
     if command -v uv >/dev/null 2>&1; then
         uv venv --seed "$VENV_DIR" && uv pip install -r "$REQUIREMENTS" \
             && info "✔ Python venv ready (uv)" \
-            || warn "Python venv setup failed — Python MCP servers will be unavailable."
+            || warn "Python venv setup failed — the TTS plugins and host-run connectors will be unavailable."
     elif command -v python3 >/dev/null 2>&1; then
         python3 -m venv "$VENV_DIR" && "$VENV_DIR/bin/pip" install -r "$REQUIREMENTS" \
             && info "✔ Python venv ready (pip)" \
-            || warn "Python venv setup failed — Python MCP servers will be unavailable."
+            || warn "Python venv setup failed — the TTS plugins and host-run connectors will be unavailable."
     else
-        warn "python3 not found — Python MCP servers will be unavailable."
+        warn "python3 not found — the TTS plugins and host-run connectors will be unavailable."
     fi
 else
     info "✔ Python venv already exists"

requirements.txt

@@ -1,25 +1,26 @@
-google-auth
+# Host Python dependencies.
-google-auth-oauthlib
+#
-google-api-python-client
+# These exist for the two TTS plugins ONLY. Both spawn a bare `python3` (resolved
-googlemaps
+# from PATH, which run.sh points at .venv/bin) to run an embedded server script,
-requests
+# so their imports must be satisfied here — unlike MCP connectors, they have no
-httpx
+# dependency reconciler of their own.
-
+#
-# SSH MCP server (scripts/ssh_mcp_server.py)
+# MCP connectors do NOT belong in this file: one ships its own requirements.txt /
-paramiko>=3.4
+# package.json, and `mcp::install::ensure_installed` installs it into `.pydeps` /
-
+# `node_modules` inside the user's container (or beside the connector on the host
-# Google Trends MCP server (scripts/google_trends_mcp.py)
+# for a global one). Adding a connector's deps here would install them on every
-mcp
+# box for a connector nobody activated.
-trendspyg>=0.7.0
 
 # Kokoro ONNX TTS (plugin-tts-kokoro)
 kokoro-onnx
 soundfile
 
-# Orpheus TTS 3B (plugin-tts-orpheus-3b) — heavy deps moved to requirements-optional.txt
+# Orpheus TTS 3B (plugin-tts-orpheus-3b) — the light half; the GPU/ML deps
-# See requirements-optional.txt if you need the Orpheus TTS plugin.
+# (torch, transformers, snac, …) live in requirements-optional.txt
+scipy
+
+# Shared by both TTS servers
 fastapi
 uvicorn
-scipy
 numpy
 pydantic

run-docker.sh

@@ -20,12 +20,12 @@ if [ -f "$REQUIREMENTS" ] && { [ ! -f "$VENV_DIR/bin/python3" ] || ! "$VENV_DIR/
         echo "[run-docker.sh] Setting up Python venv with uv …"
         uv venv --seed "$VENV_DIR" && uv pip install -r "$REQUIREMENTS" \
             && echo "[run-docker.sh] Python venv ready." \
-            || echo "[run-docker.sh] Warning: Python venv setup failed — Python MCP servers will be unavailable."
+            || echo "[run-docker.sh] Warning: Python venv setup failed — the TTS plugins and host-run connectors will be unavailable."
     elif command -v python3 >/dev/null 2>&1; then
         echo "[run-docker.sh] Setting up Python venv …"
         python3 -m venv "$VENV_DIR" && "$VENV_DIR/bin/pip" install -r "$REQUIREMENTS" \
             && echo "[run-docker.sh] Python venv ready." \
-            || echo "[run-docker.sh] Warning: Python venv setup failed — Python MCP servers will be unavailable."
+            || echo "[run-docker.sh] Warning: Python venv setup failed — the TTS plugins and host-run connectors will be unavailable."
     fi
 fi
 

run.bat

@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ if not exist "%VENV_DIR%\Scripts\python3.exe" (
             call python3 -m venv "%VENV_DIR%" && call "%VENV_DIR%\Scripts\pip" install -r "%REQUIREMENTS%"
             if !ERRORLEVEL! equ 0 ( echo [run.bat] Python venv ready. ) else ( echo [run.bat] Warning: Python venv setup failed )
         ) else (
-            echo [run.bat] Warning: python3 not found -- Python MCP servers will be unavailable.
+            echo [run.bat] Warning: python3 not found -- the TTS plugins and host-run connectors will be unavailable.
         )
     )
 )

run.sh

@@ -46,8 +46,10 @@ fi
 
 # ── Python venv setup (optional) ─────────────────────────────────────────────
 # Creates .venv/ and installs requirements.txt if Python is available.
-# If Python is not installed, the app starts normally but Python-based MCP
+# If Python is not installed, the app starts normally but the TTS plugins (which
-# servers (e.g. Gmail, Google Calendar) will fail to connect.
+# spawn `python3` directly) will fail to start, and a host-run global connector
+# will have no interpreter to install its own deps with. Per-user connectors are
+# unaffected: they run inside the user's container, which ships its own Python.
 VENV_DIR=".venv"
 REQUIREMENTS="requirements.txt"
 
@@ -60,14 +62,14 @@ if [ ! -f "$VENV_DIR/bin/python3" ] || ! "$VENV_DIR/bin/python3" -m pip --versio
         echo "[run.sh] Setting up Python venv with uv …"
         uv venv --seed "$VENV_DIR" && uv pip install -r "$REQUIREMENTS" \
             && echo "[run.sh] Python venv ready." \
-            || echo "[run.sh] Warning: Python venv setup failed — Python MCP servers will be unavailable."
+            || echo "[run.sh] Warning: Python venv setup failed — the TTS plugins and host-run connectors will be unavailable."
     elif command -v python3 >/dev/null 2>&1; then
         echo "[run.sh] Setting up Python venv …"
         python3 -m venv "$VENV_DIR" && "$VENV_DIR/bin/pip" install -r "$REQUIREMENTS" \
             && echo "[run.sh] Python venv ready." \
-            || echo "[run.sh] Warning: Python venv setup failed — Python MCP servers will be unavailable."
+            || echo "[run.sh] Warning: Python venv setup failed — the TTS plugins and host-run connectors will be unavailable."
     else
-        echo "[run.sh] Warning: python3 not found — Python MCP servers will be unavailable."
+        echo "[run.sh] Warning: python3 not found — the TTS plugins and host-run connectors will be unavailable."
     fi
 fi
 

update.sh

@@ -269,13 +269,13 @@ main() {
     if command -v uv >/dev/null 2>&1; then
         uv venv --seed "$VENV_DIR" && uv pip install -r "$REQUIREMENTS" \
             && info "✔ Python venv ready (uv)" \
-            || warn "Python venv setup failed — Python MCP servers will be unavailable."
+            || warn "Python venv setup failed — the TTS plugins and host-run connectors will be unavailable."
     elif command -v python3 >/dev/null 2>&1; then
         python3 -m venv "$VENV_DIR" && "$VENV_DIR/bin/pip" install -r "$REQUIREMENTS" \
             && info "✔ Python venv ready (pip)" \
-            || warn "Python venv setup failed — Python MCP servers will be unavailable."
+            || warn "Python venv setup failed — the TTS plugins and host-run connectors will be unavailable."
     else
-        warn "python3 not found — Python MCP servers will be unavailable."
+        warn "python3 not found — the TTS plugins and host-run connectors will be unavailable."
     fi
 
     # ── Restart ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────