Add writeups
This commit is contained in:
@@ -0,0 +1,520 @@
|
||||
# WebFetch Tool Analysis
|
||||
|
||||
Analysis of webfetch/URL fetching implementations across three AI coding agents to inform the design of pullfrog's custom webfetch MCP tool.
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## 1. OpenCode Implementation
|
||||
|
||||
**Source**: `packages/opencode/src/tool/webfetch.ts`
|
||||
|
||||
### Architecture
|
||||
|
||||
OpenCode's webfetch is straightforward - a simple fetch wrapper with HTML-to-markdown conversion:
|
||||
|
||||
```typescript
|
||||
const response = await fetch(params.url, {
|
||||
signal: AbortSignal.any([controller.signal, ctx.abort]),
|
||||
headers: {
|
||||
"User-Agent": "Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64) AppleWebKit/537.36...",
|
||||
Accept: acceptHeader,
|
||||
"Accept-Language": "en-US,en;q=0.9",
|
||||
},
|
||||
})
|
||||
```
|
||||
|
||||
### Key Features
|
||||
|
||||
| Feature | Implementation |
|
||||
|---------|---------------|
|
||||
| **Output formats** | `text`, `markdown`, `html` (default: markdown) |
|
||||
| **HTML→Markdown** | Uses `turndown` library |
|
||||
| **Max response size** | 5MB hard limit |
|
||||
| **Timeout** | 30s default, 120s max |
|
||||
| **Permission system** | Application-level `ctx.ask()` prompt |
|
||||
| **Domain blocking** | None - relies on user approval |
|
||||
| **Caching** | None |
|
||||
| **Redirect handling** | Native fetch behavior |
|
||||
|
||||
### HTML Processing
|
||||
|
||||
Two methods depending on output format:
|
||||
|
||||
1. **`extractTextFromHTML()`** - Uses Bun's `HTMLRewriter` to strip scripts/styles and extract text
|
||||
2. **`convertHTMLToMarkdown()`** - Uses `turndown` with sensible defaults (ATX headings, fenced code blocks)
|
||||
|
||||
### Permission Model
|
||||
|
||||
```typescript
|
||||
await ctx.ask({
|
||||
permission: "webfetch",
|
||||
patterns: [params.url],
|
||||
always: ["*"], // User can allow all future requests
|
||||
metadata: { url, format, timeout },
|
||||
})
|
||||
```
|
||||
|
||||
**Verdict**: No enforcement - purely advisory. If user approves, the fetch proceeds with no restrictions.
|
||||
|
||||
### What I Like
|
||||
- Clean, minimal implementation
|
||||
- Good HTML processing with `turndown`
|
||||
- Sensible size limits (5MB)
|
||||
- Format flexibility
|
||||
|
||||
### What I Don't Like
|
||||
- No domain whitelisting/blocklisting
|
||||
- No caching (repeated requests to same URL are wasteful)
|
||||
- Permission system is advisory-only
|
||||
- No redirect safety checks
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## 2. Claude Code Implementation
|
||||
|
||||
**Source**: Extracted from bundled `claude` CLI binary
|
||||
|
||||
### Architecture
|
||||
|
||||
Claude Code uses a more sophisticated approach with server-side domain validation:
|
||||
|
||||
```javascript
|
||||
// Domain validation before fetch
|
||||
async function Ci5(domain) {
|
||||
const response = await fetch(
|
||||
`https://claude.ai/api/web/domain_info?domain=${encodeURIComponent(domain)}`
|
||||
);
|
||||
if (response.status === 200) {
|
||||
return response.data.can_fetch === true
|
||||
? { status: "allowed" }
|
||||
: { status: "blocked" };
|
||||
}
|
||||
return { status: "check_failed" };
|
||||
}
|
||||
```
|
||||
|
||||
### Key Features
|
||||
|
||||
| Feature | Implementation |
|
||||
|---------|---------------|
|
||||
| **Domain blocklist** | Server-side API at `claude.ai/api/web/domain_info` |
|
||||
| **Permission format** | `WebFetch(domain:example.com)` - domain-only, not URLs |
|
||||
| **Wildcard support** | `domain:*.google.com` patterns |
|
||||
| **HTTP→HTTPS upgrade** | Automatic protocol upgrade |
|
||||
| **Caching** | 15-minute self-cleaning cache |
|
||||
| **HTML→Markdown** | Uses `turndown` |
|
||||
| **Redirect handling** | Special handling - informs user of cross-host redirects |
|
||||
| **Enterprise override** | `skipWebFetchPreflight` setting |
|
||||
|
||||
### Domain Permission Model
|
||||
|
||||
Claude Code enforces domain-level permissions, not URL-level:
|
||||
|
||||
```javascript
|
||||
WebFetch: (A) => {
|
||||
if (A.includes("://") || A.startsWith("http"))
|
||||
return {
|
||||
valid: false,
|
||||
error: "WebFetch permissions use domain format, not URLs",
|
||||
suggestion: 'Use "domain:hostname" format',
|
||||
examples: ["WebFetch(domain:example.com)", "WebFetch(domain:github.com)"]
|
||||
};
|
||||
if (!A.startsWith("domain:"))
|
||||
return {
|
||||
valid: false,
|
||||
error: 'WebFetch permissions must use "domain:" prefix',
|
||||
examples: ["WebFetch(domain:example.com)", "WebFetch(domain:*.google.com)"]
|
||||
};
|
||||
return { valid: true };
|
||||
}
|
||||
```
|
||||
|
||||
### Blocklist Enforcement Flow
|
||||
|
||||
```
|
||||
User requests URL
|
||||
↓
|
||||
Extract hostname
|
||||
↓
|
||||
Check claude.ai/api/web/domain_info?domain=hostname
|
||||
↓
|
||||
┌──────────────────────────────────┐
|
||||
│ allowed → proceed with fetch │
|
||||
│ blocked → throw AC0 error │
|
||||
│ check_failed → throw QC0 error │
|
||||
└──────────────────────────────────┘
|
||||
```
|
||||
|
||||
### Redirect Handling
|
||||
|
||||
When a URL redirects to a different host:
|
||||
```javascript
|
||||
// Returns special response asking user to manually re-request
|
||||
return `To complete your request, I need to fetch content from the redirected URL.
|
||||
Please use WebFetch again with these parameters:
|
||||
- url: "${redirectUrl}"
|
||||
- prompt: "${originalPrompt}"`;
|
||||
```
|
||||
|
||||
This prevents open redirect attacks where a "safe" domain redirects to a malicious one.
|
||||
|
||||
### What I Like
|
||||
- **Server-side blocklist** - centralized, updateable without client changes
|
||||
- **Domain-level permissions** - prevents path-based bypasses
|
||||
- **Redirect safety** - cross-host redirects require explicit user action
|
||||
- **15-minute caching** - reduces redundant requests
|
||||
- **Enterprise override** - `skipWebFetchPreflight` for corporate environments
|
||||
|
||||
### What I Don't Like
|
||||
- **External dependency** - requires `claude.ai` API to be available
|
||||
- **No local blocklist** - can't work offline or with custom blocklists
|
||||
- **Opaque blocklist** - users can't see what's blocked or why
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## 3. Gemini CLI Implementation
|
||||
|
||||
**Source**: `@google/gemini-cli` npm package
|
||||
|
||||
### Architecture
|
||||
|
||||
Gemini CLI takes a fundamentally different approach - it doesn't have a dedicated webfetch tool. Instead it relies on:
|
||||
|
||||
1. **Google Search grounding** - built into the Gemini API
|
||||
2. **MCP servers** - external tools can provide fetch capabilities
|
||||
3. **No native URL fetching** - by design
|
||||
|
||||
### Key Observations
|
||||
|
||||
From searching the codebase:
|
||||
- No `webfetch`, `url_fetch`, or similar tool definitions
|
||||
- Has `github_fetch.ts` for fetching GitHub releases (internal use)
|
||||
- Relies on model's built-in capabilities or MCP extensions
|
||||
|
||||
### Why No WebFetch?
|
||||
|
||||
Gemini's design philosophy appears to be:
|
||||
1. Use the model's grounding capabilities for web information
|
||||
2. Delegate specialized fetching to MCP servers
|
||||
3. Avoid building network access into the CLI itself
|
||||
|
||||
### What I Like
|
||||
- **Clean separation** - network access is opt-in via MCP
|
||||
- **Security by default** - no built-in way to exfiltrate data
|
||||
|
||||
### What I Don't Like
|
||||
- **Missing functionality** - can't fetch arbitrary URLs
|
||||
- **Requires MCP setup** - more complex for users who need fetching
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## 4. Pullfrog Design Decisions
|
||||
|
||||
### Core Requirements
|
||||
|
||||
1. **Domain-level whitelisting** - enforced in-tool, not advisory
|
||||
2. **Simple implementation** - no external API dependencies
|
||||
3. **GitHub-focused** - optimized for common development URLs
|
||||
|
||||
### Proposed Architecture
|
||||
|
||||
```
|
||||
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
|
||||
│ WebFetch Tool │
|
||||
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
|
||||
│ 1. Parse URL → extract hostname │
|
||||
│ 2. Check against DOMAIN_ALLOWLIST │
|
||||
│ 3. If not allowed → return error (not throw) │
|
||||
│ 4. Fetch with timeout + size limits │
|
||||
│ 5. Convert HTML → Markdown if needed │
|
||||
│ 6. Return content │
|
||||
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
|
||||
```
|
||||
|
||||
### Domain Allowlist Strategy
|
||||
|
||||
**Included in initial allowlist**:
|
||||
```typescript
|
||||
const DOMAIN_ALLOWLIST = new Set([
|
||||
// Documentation sites
|
||||
"docs.github.com",
|
||||
"developer.mozilla.org",
|
||||
"nodejs.org",
|
||||
"docs.python.org",
|
||||
"go.dev",
|
||||
"doc.rust-lang.org",
|
||||
"docs.microsoft.com",
|
||||
"learn.microsoft.com",
|
||||
|
||||
// Package registries (documentation)
|
||||
"npmjs.com",
|
||||
"www.npmjs.com",
|
||||
"pypi.org",
|
||||
"crates.io",
|
||||
"pkg.go.dev",
|
||||
|
||||
// GitHub (raw content, gists)
|
||||
"raw.githubusercontent.com",
|
||||
"gist.githubusercontent.com",
|
||||
|
||||
// Common API documentation
|
||||
"api.github.com", // Already have GitHub tools, but for reference docs
|
||||
]);
|
||||
```
|
||||
|
||||
**Explicitly NOT included**:
|
||||
- `github.com` itself - we have dedicated GitHub MCP tools
|
||||
- Social media sites
|
||||
- General web pages
|
||||
- Arbitrary user-provided domains
|
||||
|
||||
### Features Borrowed from Each Agent
|
||||
|
||||
| Feature | Source | Included? | Rationale |
|
||||
|---------|--------|-----------|-----------|
|
||||
| HTML→Markdown via turndown | OpenCode | ✅ | Clean, proven library |
|
||||
| 5MB size limit | OpenCode | ✅ | Sensible default |
|
||||
| Domain-level permissions | Claude Code | ✅ | Core requirement |
|
||||
| Redirect safety checks | Claude Code | ✅ | Prevents open redirect attacks |
|
||||
| 15-minute caching | Claude Code | ❌ | Adds complexity, MCP is stateless |
|
||||
| Server-side blocklist | Claude Code | ❌ | External dependency |
|
||||
| Enterprise override | Claude Code | ❌ | Not needed for GitHub Actions |
|
||||
| No built-in fetching | Gemini | ❌ | We need this functionality |
|
||||
|
||||
### Features NOT Included (and why)
|
||||
|
||||
1. **Caching** - MCP tools are stateless by design. Caching would require shared state across requests. The agent can cache results itself.
|
||||
|
||||
2. **Server-side blocklist** - Would require standing up an API endpoint. The allowlist approach is simpler and more transparent.
|
||||
|
||||
3. **User permission prompts** - In GitHub Actions context, there's no interactive user. Allowlist is enforced automatically.
|
||||
|
||||
4. **Wildcard domain patterns** - Adds complexity. Start with explicit domains, add patterns if needed.
|
||||
|
||||
5. **Multiple output formats** - Start with markdown only. Can add `text` and `html` later if needed.
|
||||
|
||||
### Error Handling Strategy
|
||||
|
||||
Unlike OpenCode/Claude which throw errors, we return errors as content:
|
||||
|
||||
```typescript
|
||||
// Domain not allowed - return message, don't throw
|
||||
if (!isDomainAllowed(hostname)) {
|
||||
return {
|
||||
output: `Domain "${hostname}" is not in the allowlist. Allowed domains: ${Array.from(DOMAIN_ALLOWLIST).join(", ")}`,
|
||||
error: true,
|
||||
};
|
||||
}
|
||||
```
|
||||
|
||||
This lets the agent understand the limitation and potentially find alternative approaches.
|
||||
|
||||
### Redirect Handling
|
||||
|
||||
Adopt Claude Code's approach with modification:
|
||||
|
||||
```typescript
|
||||
// If redirect crosses domains, check the new domain
|
||||
if (response.redirected) {
|
||||
const redirectUrl = new URL(response.url);
|
||||
if (!isDomainAllowed(redirectUrl.hostname)) {
|
||||
return {
|
||||
output: `URL redirected to "${redirectUrl.hostname}" which is not in the allowlist.`,
|
||||
error: true,
|
||||
};
|
||||
}
|
||||
}
|
||||
```
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## 5. Implementation Plan
|
||||
|
||||
### Summary
|
||||
|
||||
Add a new `webfetch` MCP tool that fetches web content with domain-level whitelisting enforced server-side. The whitelist is configured via the payload (from GitHub App), and non-whitelisted domains return a helpful message guiding the LLM to alternative approaches.
|
||||
|
||||
### Key Design Decisions
|
||||
|
||||
| Aspect | OpenCode | Claude Code | Our Implementation |
|
||||
|--------|----------|-------------|-------------------|
|
||||
| **Whitelisting** | Permission prompt (advisory) | External API `domain_info` | Payload-configured whitelist |
|
||||
| **Enforcement** | None (user approval) | Server-side check | Server-side check |
|
||||
| **HTML Processing** | Turndown for markdown | Turndown for markdown | Turndown for markdown |
|
||||
| **Redirects** | Follows automatically | Detects cross-host redirects | Follow with host check |
|
||||
| **Timeout** | 30s default, 120s max | Configurable | 30s default, 120s max |
|
||||
|
||||
### Step 1: Add whitelist to payload type
|
||||
|
||||
Update `index.ts` to include `allowedWebFetchDomains`:
|
||||
|
||||
```typescript
|
||||
interface Payload {
|
||||
// ... existing fields
|
||||
allowedWebFetchDomains?: string[]; // e.g. ["github.com", "*.npmjs.com", "docs.python.org"]
|
||||
}
|
||||
```
|
||||
|
||||
### Step 2: Create `mcp/webfetch.ts`
|
||||
|
||||
```typescript
|
||||
// Core structure
|
||||
export const WebFetchParams = type({
|
||||
url: "string",
|
||||
"format?": "'markdown' | 'text' | 'html'",
|
||||
"timeout?": "number",
|
||||
});
|
||||
|
||||
export function WebFetchTool(ctx: ToolContext) {
|
||||
return tool({
|
||||
name: "webfetch",
|
||||
description: `Fetch content from whitelisted web URLs...`,
|
||||
parameters: WebFetchParams,
|
||||
execute: execute(async (params) => {
|
||||
// 1. Validate URL format
|
||||
// 2. Check domain against whitelist (from ctx.payload)
|
||||
// 3. Fetch with timeout and size limits
|
||||
// 4. Convert HTML to markdown if needed
|
||||
// 5. Return content or guidance message
|
||||
}),
|
||||
});
|
||||
}
|
||||
```
|
||||
|
||||
### Step 3: Domain Matching Logic
|
||||
|
||||
Support wildcards for subdomains:
|
||||
|
||||
- `github.com` - exact match
|
||||
- `*.github.com` - any subdomain (e.g., `docs.github.com`, `api.github.com`)
|
||||
- `*.npmjs.com` - matches `www.npmjs.com`, `registry.npmjs.com`, etc.
|
||||
|
||||
```typescript
|
||||
function isDomainAllowed(hostname: string, whitelist: string[]): boolean {
|
||||
for (const pattern of whitelist) {
|
||||
if (pattern.startsWith("*.")) {
|
||||
const suffix = pattern.slice(1); // ".github.com"
|
||||
if (hostname.endsWith(suffix) || hostname === pattern.slice(2)) {
|
||||
return true;
|
||||
}
|
||||
} else if (hostname === pattern) {
|
||||
return true;
|
||||
}
|
||||
}
|
||||
return false;
|
||||
}
|
||||
```
|
||||
|
||||
### Step 4: Response for Non-Whitelisted Domains
|
||||
|
||||
When domain is not whitelisted, return guidance (not an error):
|
||||
|
||||
```typescript
|
||||
return {
|
||||
allowed: false,
|
||||
message: `The domain "${hostname}" is not in the allowed list for direct fetching. ` +
|
||||
`Consider using web_search to find relevant information, or ask the user to ` +
|
||||
`provide the content directly. Allowed domains: ${whitelist.join(", ")}`,
|
||||
};
|
||||
```
|
||||
|
||||
### Step 5: HTML to Markdown Conversion
|
||||
|
||||
Use Turndown (same as OpenCode) for HTML-to-markdown conversion:
|
||||
|
||||
```typescript
|
||||
import TurndownService from "turndown";
|
||||
|
||||
function htmlToMarkdown(html: string): string {
|
||||
const turndown = new TurndownService({
|
||||
headingStyle: "atx",
|
||||
codeBlockStyle: "fenced",
|
||||
});
|
||||
turndown.remove(["script", "style", "meta", "link"]);
|
||||
return turndown.turndown(html);
|
||||
}
|
||||
```
|
||||
|
||||
### Step 6: Register the Tool
|
||||
|
||||
Add to `mcp/index.ts`:
|
||||
|
||||
```typescript
|
||||
import { WebFetchTool } from "./webfetch.ts";
|
||||
|
||||
// In the tools array
|
||||
WebFetchTool(ctx),
|
||||
```
|
||||
|
||||
### Data Flow
|
||||
|
||||
```mermaid
|
||||
sequenceDiagram
|
||||
participant LLM
|
||||
participant MCP as MCP Server
|
||||
participant WF as WebFetch Tool
|
||||
participant Web as External URL
|
||||
|
||||
LLM->>MCP: webfetch(url, format)
|
||||
MCP->>WF: execute(params)
|
||||
WF->>WF: Parse URL, extract hostname
|
||||
WF->>WF: Check whitelist from payload
|
||||
alt Domain allowed
|
||||
WF->>Web: fetch(url)
|
||||
Web-->>WF: Response
|
||||
WF->>WF: Convert to markdown
|
||||
WF-->>MCP: {content, contentType}
|
||||
MCP-->>LLM: Success result
|
||||
else Domain not allowed
|
||||
WF-->>MCP: {allowed: false, guidance}
|
||||
MCP-->>LLM: Guidance message
|
||||
end
|
||||
```
|
||||
|
||||
### Files to Create/Modify
|
||||
|
||||
| File | Action |
|
||||
|------|--------|
|
||||
| `mcp/webfetch.ts` | Create - main tool implementation |
|
||||
| `mcp/index.ts` | Modify - register the tool |
|
||||
| `index.ts` | Modify - add `allowedWebFetchDomains` to payload type |
|
||||
| `package.json` | Modify - add `turndown` dependency |
|
||||
|
||||
### Dependencies
|
||||
|
||||
Add to `package.json`:
|
||||
|
||||
- `turndown` - HTML to markdown conversion (same as OpenCode)
|
||||
- `@types/turndown` - TypeScript types
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## 6. Implementation Checklist
|
||||
|
||||
- [ ] Add `allowedWebFetchDomains` field to payload type in `index.ts`
|
||||
- [ ] Create `mcp/webfetch.ts` with domain whitelisting and HTML conversion
|
||||
- [ ] Register `WebFetchTool` in `mcp/index.ts`
|
||||
- [ ] Add `turndown` and `@types/turndown` dependencies to `package.json`
|
||||
- [ ] Test with allowed domains
|
||||
- [ ] Test with blocked domains
|
||||
- [ ] Test redirect behavior
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## 7. Open Questions
|
||||
|
||||
1. **Should we support query parameters in allowlist?**
|
||||
- e.g., allow `api.example.com/v1/*` but not `api.example.com/admin/*`
|
||||
- Initial decision: No, domain-level only
|
||||
|
||||
2. **Should we allow configurable allowlists?**
|
||||
- Via environment variable or config file?
|
||||
- Initial decision: No, hardcoded for simplicity
|
||||
|
||||
3. **Should we support authentication headers?**
|
||||
- For private documentation sites
|
||||
- Initial decision: No, security risk
|
||||
|
||||
4. **Rate limiting?**
|
||||
- Prevent agent from hammering a site
|
||||
- Initial decision: Rely on timeout, add if needed
|
||||
Reference in New Issue
Block a user