Skip to content

DEVELOPMENT.md

Latest commit

 

History

History
143 lines (100 loc) · 3.67 KB

DEVELOPMENT.md

File metadata and controls

143 lines (100 loc) · 3.67 KB

Development Setup Guide

This guide explains how to set up your development environment for the Seq MCP Server.

Quick Start

Automated Setup (Recommended)

Use the provided setup scripts to automatically configure everything:

PowerShell (Windows):

.\scripts\setup-dev.ps1

Bash (Linux/Mac):

./scripts/setup-dev.sh

The setup script will:

  1. Start a Seq container on non-standard ports (15341 for API, 18081 for UI)
  2. Configure Seq with development credentials
  3. Automatically handle the initial password change requirement
  4. Create a development API key
  5. Set environment variables for your session
  6. Create a .env file that the application automatically loads
  7. Display the Seq UI URL and connection details

Running the MCP Server

After setup, you can run the MCP server from anywhere:

# From command line
dotnet run --project SeqMcpServer

# Or from Visual Studio - just hit F5

The application automatically loads the .env file created by the setup script.

Teardown

To stop and remove the development environment:

PowerShell (Windows):

.\scripts\teardown-dev.ps1

Bash (Linux/Mac):

./scripts/teardown-dev.sh

Manual Setup

If you prefer to set up manually:

  1. Start Seq container:
docker run -d \
    --name seq-mcp-dev \
    -p 15341:5341 \
    -p 18081:80 \
    -e ACCEPT_EULA=Y \
    datalust/seq:latest
  1. Create .env file in the project root:
SEQ_SERVER_URL=http://localhost:18081
SEQ_API_KEY=your-api-key-here
  1. Create an API key via Seq UI at http://localhost:18081

Environment Configuration

The application uses environment variables for configuration. These can be set via:

  1. .env file (recommended for development) - Automatically loaded by the application
  2. System environment variables - Set by the setup script for persistence
  3. Manual export/set - For temporary use

Required Variables

  • SEQ_SERVER_URL: URL of your Seq server (e.g., http://localhost:18081)
  • SEQ_API_KEY: API key for accessing Seq

Workspace-Specific Keys (Optional)

You can configure different API keys for different workspaces:

SEQ_API_KEY=default-key
SEQ_API_KEY_PRODUCTION=production-key
SEQ_API_KEY_STAGING=staging-key

Troubleshooting

"SEQ_API_KEY environment variable is not set" Error

This means the application can't find the API key. The setup script should handle this automatically, but if you see this error:

  1. Ensure you ran the setup script: .\scripts\setup-dev.ps1
  2. Check that .env file exists in the project root
  3. If running from Visual Studio, restart it to pick up new environment variables
  4. Verify the .env file contains valid SEQ_API_KEY and SEQ_SERVER_URL values

Port Conflicts

The setup scripts use non-standard ports to avoid conflicts:

  • API: 15341 (instead of 5341)
  • UI: 18081 (instead of 8081)

If these ports are in use, modify the scripts to use different ports.

Container Already Exists

If you see "container name already in use", run the teardown script first:

.\scripts\teardown-dev.ps1

Password Change Required

The setup script automatically handles the initial password change. If doing manual setup, you'll need to:

  1. Login with initial credentials
  2. Change the password when prompted
  3. Use the new password to create API keys

Security Notes

⚠️ Development Only: The automated setup uses hardcoded development credentials. Never use these in production!

For production:

  • Use strong, unique passwords
  • Store credentials securely (e.g., Azure Key Vault, environment variables)
  • Enable proper authentication and authorization
  • Use HTTPS for all connections