Fix bug where AXe isn't bundled for Smithery installs, also improve AXe detection logic (#164)

Also:
* Bundle AXe for CI runs to ensure StackBlitz deployments include AXe
* Modernise package

Author: cameroncooke

.github/workflows/ci.yml

@@ -26,12 +26,15 @@ jobs:
     - name: Install dependencies
       run: npm ci
 
-    - name: Build (tsup)
-      run: npm run build:tsup
+    - name: Bundle AXe artifacts
+      run: npm run bundle:axe
 
     - name: Build (Smithery)
       run: npm run build
 
+    - name: Verify Smithery bundle
+      run: npm run verify:smithery-bundle
+
     - name: Lint
       run: npm run lint
 

.github/workflows/release.yml

@@ -48,9 +48,6 @@ jobs:
       - name: Bundle AXe artifacts
         run: npm run bundle:axe
 
-      - name: Build TypeScript (tsup)
-        run: npm run build:tsup
-
       - name: Build Smithery bundle
         run: npm run build
 

.smithery/index.cjs

@@ -51,6 +51,16 @@ Leave this unset for the streamlined session-aware experience; enable it to forc
 
 If you do not wish to send error logs to Sentry, set `XCODEBUILDMCP_SENTRY_DISABLED=true`.
 
+## AXe binary override
+
+UI automation and simulator video capture require the AXe binary. By default, XcodeBuildMCP uses the bundled AXe when available, then falls back to `PATH`. To force a specific binary location, set `XCODEBUILDMCP_AXE_PATH` (preferred). `AXE_PATH` is also recognized for compatibility.
+
+Example:
+
+```
+XCODEBUILDMCP_AXE_PATH=/opt/axe/bin/axe
+```
+
 ## Related docs
 - Session defaults: [SESSION_DEFAULTS.md](SESSION_DEFAULTS.md)
 - Tools reference: [TOOLS.md](TOOLS.md)

docs/CONFIGURATION.md

@@ -25,6 +25,12 @@ It reports on:
 
 ## Common issues
 
+### UI automation reports missing AXe
+UI automation (describe/tap/swipe/type) and simulator video capture require the AXe binary. If you see a missing AXe error:
+- Ensure `bundled/` artifacts exist when installing from Smithery or npm.
+- Or set `XCODEBUILDMCP_AXE_PATH` to a known AXe binary path (preferred), or `AXE_PATH`.
+- Re-run the doctor tool to confirm AXe is detected.
+
 ### Tool timeouts
 Some clients have short tool timeouts. If you see timeouts, increase the client timeout (for example, `tool_timeout_sec = 600` in Codex).
 

docs/TROUBLESHOOTING.md

@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+# Investigation: UI automation tools unavailable with Smithery install (issue #163)
+
+## Summary
+Smithery installs ship only the compiled entrypoint, while the server hard-requires a bundled `bundled/axe` path derived from `process.argv[1]`. This makes UI automation (and simulator video capture) fail even when system `axe` exists on PATH, and Doctor can report contradictory statuses.
+
+## Symptoms
+- UI automation tools (`describe_ui`, `tap`, `swipe`, etc.) fail with "Bundled axe tool not found. UI automation features are not available."
+- `doctor` reports system axe present, but UI automation unavailable due to missing bundled binary.
+- Smithery cache lacks `bundled/axe` directory; only `index.cjs`, `manifest.json`, `.metadata.json` present.
+
+## Investigation Log
+
+### 2026-01-06 - Initial Assessment
+**Hypothesis:** Smithery packaging omits bundled binaries and server does not fallback to system axe.
+**Findings:** Issue report indicates bundled path is computed relative to `process.argv[1]` and Smithery cache lacks `bundled/`.
+**Evidence:** GitHub issue #163 body (Smithery cache contents; bundled path logic).
+**Conclusion:** Needs code and packaging investigation.
+
+### 2026-01-06 - AXe path resolution and bundled-only assumption
+**Hypothesis:** AXe resolution is bundled-only, so missing `bundled/axe` disables tools regardless of PATH.
+**Findings:** `getAxePath()` computes `bundledAxePath` from `process.argv[1]` and returns it only if it exists; otherwise `null`. No PATH or env override.
+**Evidence:** `src/utils/axe-helpers.ts:15-36`
+**Conclusion:** Confirmed. Smithery layout lacking `bundled/` will always return null.
+
+### 2026-01-06 - UI automation and video capture gating
+**Hypothesis:** UI tools and video capture preflight fail when `getAxePath()` returns null.
+**Findings:** UI tools call `getAxePath()` and throw `DependencyError` if absent; `record_sim_video` preflights `areAxeToolsAvailable()` and `isAxeAtLeastVersion()`; `startSimulatorVideoCapture` returns error if `getAxePath()` is null.
+**Evidence:** `src/mcp/tools/ui-testing/describe_ui.ts:150-164`, `src/mcp/tools/simulator/record_sim_video.ts:80-88`, `src/utils/video_capture.ts:92-99`
+**Conclusion:** Confirmed. Missing bundled binary blocks all UI automation and simulator video capture.
+
+### 2026-01-06 - Doctor output inconsistency
+**Hypothesis:** Doctor uses different checks for dependency presence vs feature availability.
+**Findings:** Doctor uses `areAxeToolsAvailable()` (bundled-only) for UI automation feature status, while dependency check can succeed via `which axe` when bundled is missing.
+**Evidence:** `src/mcp/tools/doctor/doctor.ts:49-68`, `src/mcp/tools/doctor/lib/doctor.deps.ts:100-132`
+**Conclusion:** Confirmed. Doctor can report `axe` dependency present but UI automation unsupported.
+
+### 2026-01-06 - Packaging/Smithery artifact mismatch
+**Hypothesis:** NPM releases include `bundled/`, Smithery builds do not.
+**Findings:** `bundle:axe` creates `bundled/` and npm packaging includes it, but Smithery config has no asset inclusion hints. Release workflow bundles AXe before publish.
+**Evidence:** `package.json:21-44`, `.github/workflows/release.yml:48-55`, `smithery.yaml:1-3`, `smithery.config.js:1-6`
+**Conclusion:** Confirmed. Smithery build output likely omits bundled artifacts unless explicitly configured.
+
+### 2026-01-06 - Smithery local server deployment flow
+**Hypothesis:** Smithery deploys local servers from GitHub pushes and expects build-time packaging to include assets.
+**Findings:** README install flow uses Smithery CLI; `smithery.yaml` targets `local`. `bundled/` is gitignored, so it must be produced during Smithery’s deployment build. Current `npm run build` does not run `bundle:axe`.
+**Evidence:** `README.md:11-74`, `smithery.yaml:1-3`, `.github/workflows/release.yml:48-62`, `.gitignore:66-68`
+**Conclusion:** Confirmed. Smithery deploy must run `bundle:axe` and explicitly include `bundled/` in the produced bundle.
+
+### 2026-01-06 - Smithery config constraints and bundling workaround
+**Hypothesis:** Adding esbuild plugins in `smithery.config.js` overrides Smithery’s bootstrap plugin.
+**Findings:** Smithery CLI merges config via spread and replaces `plugins`, causing `virtual:bootstrap` resolution to fail when custom plugins are supplied. Side-effect bundling in `smithery.config.js` avoids plugin override and can copy `bundled/` into `.smithery/`.
+**Evidence:** `node_modules/@smithery/cli/dist/index.js:~2716600-2717500`, `smithery.config.js:1-47`
+**Conclusion:** Confirmed. Bundling must run outside esbuild plugins; Linux builders must skip binary verification.
+
+## Root Cause
+Two coupled assumptions break Smithery installs:
+1) `getAxePath()` is bundled-only and derives the path from `process.argv[1]`, which points into Smithery’s cache (missing `bundled/axe`), so it always returns null.  
+2) Smithery packaging does not include the `bundled/` directory, so the bundled-only resolver can never succeed under Smithery even if AXe is installed system-wide.
+
+## Recommendations
+1. Add a robust AXe resolver: allow explicit env override and PATH fallback; keep bundled as preferred but not exclusive.
+2. Distinguish bundled vs system AXe in UI tools and video capture; only apply bundled-specific env when the bundled binary is used.
+3. Align Doctor output: show both bundled availability and PATH availability, and use that in the UI automation supported status.
+4. Update Smithery build to run `bundle:axe` and copy `bundled/` into the Smithery bundle output; skip binary verification on non-mac builders to avoid build failures.
+
+## Preventive Measures
+- Add tests for AXe resolution precedence (bundled, env override, PATH) and for Doctor output consistency.
+- Document Smithery-specific install requirements and verify `bundled/` presence in Smithery artifacts during CI.

docs/investigations/issue-163.md

@@ -4,15 +4,18 @@
   "mcpName": "com.xcodebuildmcp/XcodeBuildMCP",
   "iOSTemplateVersion": "v1.0.8",
   "macOSTemplateVersion": "v1.0.5",
-  "main": "build/index.js",
   "type": "module",
-  "module": "src/smithery.ts",
+  "exports": {
+    ".": "./build/index.js",
+    "./package.json": "./package.json"
+  },
   "bin": {
     "xcodebuildmcp": "build/index.js",
     "xcodebuildmcp-doctor": "build/doctor-cli.js"
   },
   "scripts": {
-    "build": "npm run generate:version && npm run generate:loaders && npx smithery build",
+    "build": "npm run build:tsup && npm run build:smithery",
+    "build:smithery": "npx smithery build src/smithery.ts",
     "dev": "npm run generate:version && npm run generate:loaders && npx smithery dev",
     "build:tsup": "npm run generate:version && npm run generate:loaders && tsup",
     "dev:tsup": "npm run build:tsup && tsup --watch",
@@ -24,6 +27,7 @@
     "format": "prettier --write 'src/**/*.{js,ts}'",
     "format:check": "prettier --check 'src/**/*.{js,ts}'",
     "typecheck": "npx tsc --noEmit",
+    "verify:smithery-bundle": "bash scripts/verify-smithery-bundle.sh",
     "inspect": "npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector node build/index.js",
     "doctor": "node build/doctor-cli.js",
     "tools": "npx tsx scripts/tools-cli.ts",

package.json

@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ else
     tar -xzf "axe-release.tar.gz"
 
     # Find the extracted directory (might be named differently)
-    EXTRACTED_DIR=$(find . -type d -name "*AXe*" -o -name "*axe*" | head -1)
+    EXTRACTED_DIR=$(find . -type d \( -name "*AXe*" -o -name "*axe*" \) | head -1)
     if [ -z "$EXTRACTED_DIR" ]; then
         # If no AXe directory found, assume files are in current directory
         EXTRACTED_DIR="."
@@ -144,17 +144,23 @@ echo "📦 Copied $FRAMEWORK_COUNT frameworks"
 echo "🔍 Bundled frameworks:"
 ls -la "$BUNDLED_DIR/Frameworks/"
 
-# Verify binary can run with bundled frameworks
-echo "🧪 Testing bundled AXe binary..."
-if DYLD_FRAMEWORK_PATH="$BUNDLED_DIR/Frameworks" "$BUNDLED_DIR/axe" --version > /dev/null 2>&1; then
-    echo "✅ Bundled AXe binary test passed"
+# Verify binary can run with bundled frameworks (macOS only)
+OS_NAME="$(uname -s)"
+if [ "$OS_NAME" = "Darwin" ]; then
+    echo "🧪 Testing bundled AXe binary..."
+    if DYLD_FRAMEWORK_PATH="$BUNDLED_DIR/Frameworks" "$BUNDLED_DIR/axe" --version > /dev/null 2>&1; then
+        echo "✅ Bundled AXe binary test passed"
+    else
+        echo "❌ Bundled AXe binary test failed"
+        exit 1
+    fi
+
+    # Get AXe version for logging
+    AXE_VERSION=$(DYLD_FRAMEWORK_PATH="$BUNDLED_DIR/Frameworks" "$BUNDLED_DIR/axe" --version 2>/dev/null || echo "unknown")
 else
-    echo "❌ Bundled AXe binary test failed"
-    exit 1
+    echo "⚠️  Skipping AXe binary verification on non-macOS (detected $OS_NAME)"
+    AXE_VERSION="unknown (verification skipped)"
 fi
-
-# Get AXe version for logging
-AXE_VERSION=$(DYLD_FRAMEWORK_PATH="$BUNDLED_DIR/Frameworks" "$BUNDLED_DIR/axe" --version 2>/dev/null || echo "unknown")
 echo "📋 AXe version: $AXE_VERSION"
 
 # Clean up temp directory if it was used

scripts/bundle-axe.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+PROJECT_ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/.." && pwd)"
+BUNDLE_DIR="$PROJECT_ROOT/.smithery/bundled"
+AXE_BIN="$BUNDLE_DIR/axe"
+FRAMEWORK_DIR="$BUNDLE_DIR/Frameworks"
+
+if [ ! -f "$AXE_BIN" ]; then
+  echo "❌ Missing AXe binary at $AXE_BIN"
+  if [ -d "$PROJECT_ROOT/.smithery" ]; then
+    echo "🔍 .smithery contents:"
+    ls -la "$PROJECT_ROOT/.smithery"
+  fi
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+if [ ! -d "$FRAMEWORK_DIR" ]; then
+  echo "❌ Missing Frameworks directory at $FRAMEWORK_DIR"
+  if [ -d "$BUNDLE_DIR" ]; then
+    echo "🔍 bundled contents:"
+    ls -la "$BUNDLE_DIR"
+  fi
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+FRAMEWORK_COUNT="$(find "$FRAMEWORK_DIR" -maxdepth 2 -type d -name "*.framework" | wc -l | tr -d ' ')"
+if [ "$FRAMEWORK_COUNT" -eq 0 ]; then
+  echo "❌ No frameworks found in $FRAMEWORK_DIR"
+  find "$FRAMEWORK_DIR" -maxdepth 2 -type d | head -n 50
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+echo "✅ Smithery bundle includes AXe binary and $FRAMEWORK_COUNT frameworks"

scripts/verify-smithery-bundle.sh

@@ -1,3 +1,36 @@
+import { execFileSync } from 'child_process';
+import { cpSync, existsSync, mkdirSync } from 'fs';
+import { dirname, join, resolve } from 'path';
+
+const projectRoot = process.cwd();
+const bundledDir = join(projectRoot, 'bundled');
+const bundledAxePath = join(bundledDir, 'axe');
+
+function resolveOutputDir() {
+  const args = process.argv;
+  const outIndex = args.findIndex((arg) => arg === '--out' || arg === '-o');
+  if (outIndex !== -1 && args[outIndex + 1]) {
+    return dirname(resolve(args[outIndex + 1]));
+  }
+  return join(projectRoot, '.smithery');
+}
+
+const outputDir = resolveOutputDir();
+const bundledTargetDir = join(outputDir, 'bundled');
+
+if (!existsSync(bundledAxePath)) {
+  execFileSync('bash', [join(projectRoot, 'scripts', 'bundle-axe.sh')], {
+    stdio: 'inherit',
+  });
+}
+
+if (existsSync(bundledAxePath)) {
+  mkdirSync(outputDir, { recursive: true });
+  cpSync(bundledDir, bundledTargetDir, { recursive: true });
+} else {
+  throw new Error(`AXe bundle missing at ${bundledAxePath}`);
+}
+
 export default {
   esbuild: {
     format: 'cjs',