Fixed MCP config not working on Windows due to quote stripping (https://github.com/nbclaudecodegui/NetbeansClaudeCodeGui/issues/13)

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+- Fixed MCP config not working on Windows due to quote stripping in CreateProcess (https://github.com/nbclaudecodegui/NetbeansClaudeCodeGui/issues/13)
 - Improved error panel on process start failure: shows Working Directory and CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR fields (before Command and Error) for easier diagnosis; all fields have a right-click Copy menu; fixed "Restart Advanced…" not dismissing the error panel
 - Added Advanced tab in Tools → Options → Claude Code with Debug mode, Hang timeout, and a new "Enable MCP integration" toggle (disabling it skips the --mcp-config flag while hooks remain active)
 - Fixed process start errors and hang timeouts now logged to the IDE log file at SEVERE level

pom.xml

@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 
     <groupId>io.github.nbclaudecodegui</groupId>
     <artifactId>netbeans-claude-code-gui</artifactId>
-    <version>0.21.38-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>0.21.39-SNAPSHOT</version>
     <packaging>nbm</packaging>
     <name>Netbeans Claude Code GUI</name>
     <description>NetBeans plugin that provides a GUI for Claude Code CLI — run claude code sessions directly inside the IDE.</description>

src/main/java/io/github/nbclaudecodegui/controller/ClaudeSessionController.java

@@ -974,6 +974,45 @@ public void setHangCallback(java.util.function.BiConsumer<String, String> callba
         this.hangCallback = callback;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Kills the PTY process and resets timers/state, but does NOT call
+     * {@link ClaudeProcess#stop()} — so settings.local.json and the temp MCP
+     * config file are preserved until the error panel is dismissed and
+     * {@link #stopProcess()} is called.
+     *
+     * <p>{@code claudeProcess} is intentionally kept non-null so that the
+     * subsequent {@code stopProcess()} on panel dismiss can still call
+     * {@code claudeProcess.stop()} and clean up files.
+     */
+    private void killProcessForErrorPanel() {
+        if (statusTimer != null) {
+            statusTimer.stop();
+            statusTimer = null;
+        }
+        promptFlushTimer.stop();
+        if (connector != null) {
+            connector.setLineListener(null);
+        }
+        if (claudeProcess != null) {
+            claudeProcess.killOnly();
+        }
+        connector = null;
+        // claudeProcess kept — file cleanup deferred to stopProcess() on panel dismiss
+        modelComboPopulated = false;
+        modelDiscoveryInProgress = false;
+        modelDiscoveryAttempts = 0;
+        customModelIds = List.of();
+        standardModelCount = 0;
+        synchronized (recentPtyLines) { recentPtyLines.clear(); }
+        processStartedAt = 0;
+        firstOutputReceived = false;
+
+        model.setModelList(List.of(), -1);
+        model.clearChoiceMenu();
+        model.clearEditModeRegistry();
+        model.setLifecycle(SessionLifecycle.STARTING);
+    }
+
     /**
      * Called from {@link #pollScreenState()} when the hang watchdog fires.
      * Stops the process and notifies the registered callback on the EDT.
@@ -983,7 +1022,7 @@ public void setHangCallback(java.util.function.BiConsumer<String, String> callba
     private void handleHang(int timeoutSec) {
         LOG.severe("Hang detected in " + workingDir + ": no PTY output received within " + timeoutSec + " s — killing process");
         String command = claudeProcess != null ? claudeProcess.getLastCommand() : "";
-        stopProcess();
+        killProcessForErrorPanel();  // kill PTY; file cleanup deferred to panel dismiss
         java.util.function.BiConsumer<String, String> cb = hangCallback;
         if (cb != null) {
             String msg = "No output received within " + timeoutSec

src/main/java/io/github/nbclaudecodegui/process/ClaudeProcess.java

@@ -69,6 +69,9 @@ public ClaudeProcess() {}
     /** Working directory of the current session; {@code null} when stopped. */
     private volatile String workingDir;
 
+    /** Temp file holding the --mcp-config JSON; {@code null} when not in use. */
+    private volatile Path mcpConfigTempFile;
+
     /**
      * Starts a Claude CLI PTY process in the given working directory using
      * the Default profile (no extra env vars injected).
@@ -166,9 +169,19 @@ public PtyProcess start(String workingDir, ClaudeProfile profile, String extraCl
             if (io.github.nbclaudecodegui.settings.ClaudeCodePreferences.isMcpEnabled()) {
                 // Pass MCP server config via --mcp-config (Claude 2.x no longer reads
                 // mcpServers from settings.local.json; --mcp-config works in TUI mode).
+                // On Windows, inline JSON gets quote-stripped by CreateProcess, so we
+                // write to a temp file and pass the file path instead.
                 cmd.add("--mcp-config");
-                cmd.add(buildMcpConfigJson(port));
-                LOG.info("Passing --mcp-config with netbeans SSE server on port " + port);
+                try {
+                    Path tmpCfg = writeMcpConfigTempFile(port);
+                    mcpConfigTempFile = tmpCfg;
+                    cmd.add(tmpCfg.toAbsolutePath().toString());
+                    LOG.info("Passing --mcp-config via temp file: " + tmpCfg);
+                } catch (IOException e) {
+                    LOG.warning("Could not write --mcp-config temp file, falling back to inline JSON: " + e.getMessage());
+                    cmd.add(buildMcpConfigJson(port));
+                    LOG.info("Passing --mcp-config with netbeans SSE server on port " + port);
+                }
             } else {
                 LOG.info("MCP integration disabled by user preference; skipping --mcp-config");
             }
@@ -264,7 +277,14 @@ void appendSessionFlags(List<String> cmd, String workingDir, Map<String, String>
      * {@value #OUR_HOOK_MATCHER}).  User-provided keys are left untouched.
      * If the file becomes empty after cleanup it is deleted.
      */
-    public void stop() {
+    /**
+     * Kills the PTY process only — does NOT delete settings.local.json or the
+     * temp MCP config file.  File cleanup is deferred to {@link #stop()}.
+     *
+     * <p>Use this when the error panel is about to be shown and files must stay
+     * alive until the user dismisses the panel.
+     */
+    public void killOnly() {
         PtyProcess p = ptyProcess;
         if (p != null && p.isAlive()) {
             p.destroy();
@@ -278,6 +298,20 @@ public void stop() {
             }
         }
         ptyProcess = null;
+        // workingDir and mcpConfigTempFile intentionally NOT cleared — deferred to stop()
+    }
+
+    public void stop() {
+        killOnly();
+
+        Path tmp = mcpConfigTempFile;
+        mcpConfigTempFile = null;
+        if (tmp != null) {
+            try {
+                Files.deleteIfExists(tmp);
+                LOG.fine("Deleted --mcp-config temp file: " + tmp);
+            } catch (IOException e) { /* ignore */ }
+        }
 
         String dir = workingDir;
         workingDir = null;
@@ -651,6 +685,17 @@ static String toShellCommand(List<String> cmd, boolean windows) {
         return sb.toString();
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Writes the MCP config JSON to a temp file and returns its path.
+     * The file is registered for deletion on JVM exit as a safety net.
+     */
+    static Path writeMcpConfigTempFile(int port) throws IOException {
+        Path tmp = Files.createTempFile("claude-mcp-config-", ".json");
+        tmp.toFile().deleteOnExit();
+        Files.writeString(tmp, buildMcpConfigJson(port), StandardCharsets.UTF_8);
+        return tmp;
+    }
+
     /**
      * Builds the JSON string to pass as {@code --mcp-config} to the Claude CLI.
      */

src/test/java/io/github/nbclaudecodegui/process/ClaudeProcessTest.java

@@ -217,6 +217,27 @@ void testToShellCommandQuotesJsonArgWindows() {
         assertTrue(inner.contains("\"\""), "Windows quoting must double double-quotes");
     }
 
+    // -------------------------------------------------------------------------
+    // writeMcpConfigTempFile
+    // -------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+    @Test
+    void testWriteMcpConfigTempFile() throws Exception {
+        Path tmp = ClaudeProcess.writeMcpConfigTempFile(28991);
+        try {
+            assertTrue(Files.exists(tmp), "temp file should be created");
+            String content = Files.readString(tmp, StandardCharsets.UTF_8);
+            assertTrue(content.contains("netbeans"), "temp file should contain netbeans key");
+            assertTrue(content.contains("28991"), "temp file should contain port");
+            assertTrue(content.startsWith("{"), "temp file should be valid JSON object");
+            // File path should contain no double-quotes (safe to pass as process arg)
+            assertFalse(tmp.toAbsolutePath().toString().contains("\""),
+                    "temp file path should contain no double-quotes");
+        } finally {
+            Files.deleteIfExists(tmp);
+        }
+    }
+
     // -------------------------------------------------------------------------
     // buildMcpConfigJson
     // -------------------------------------------------------------------------