V3 Configuration

V3 Configuration Guide

Complete configuration reference for DaemonsMCP Version 3.

---

Configuration Files

V3 uses daemonsmcp.json for configuration instead of the standard appsettings.json. This allows for environment-specific overrides and clearer separation from ASP.NET defaults. so both are include because ef core uses appsettings.json... live and learn.

File Locations

• API Project: server/DaemonsMCP.Api/daemonsmcp.json
• MCP Project: server/DaemonsMCP/daemonsmcp.json
• Environment Override: daemonsmcp.{Environment}.json

Configuration Priority (Highest to Lowest)

1. Command line arguments
2. Environment variables
3. daemonsmcp.{Environment}.json (e.g., daemonsmcp.Development.json)
4. daemonsmcp.json

---

Basic Configuration

Minimal daemonsmcp.json

{
  "ConnectionStrings": {
    "DefaultConnection": "Server=localhost;Database=DaemonsMCP;Integrated Security=True;TrustServerCertificate=True;"
  },
  "Logging": {
    "LogLevel": {
      "Default": "Information",
      "Microsoft.AspNetCore": "Warning"
    }
  },
  "AllowedHosts": "*"
}

---

Database Configuration

Connection Strings

The ConnectionStrings:DefaultConnection setting controls database connectivity.

Windows Authentication (Recommended)

{
  "ConnectionStrings": {
    "DefaultConnection": "Server=localhost;Database=DaemonsMCP;Integrated Security=True;TrustServerCertificate=True;"
  }
}

Alternate format:

"DefaultConnection": "Server=localhost;Database=DaemonsMCP;Trusted_Connection=true;TrustServerCertificate=true;"

SQL Server Authentication

{
  "ConnectionStrings": {
    "DefaultConnection": "Server=localhost;Database=DaemonsMCP;User Id=your_username;Password=your_password;TrustServerCertificate=True;"
  }
}

⚠️ Security Warning: Never commit passwords to version control. Use environment variables or user secrets for production.

LocalDB (Lightweight Development)

{
  "ConnectionStrings": {
    "DefaultConnection": "Server=(localdb)\\mssqllocaldb;Database=DaemonsMCP;Trusted_Connection=true;"
  }
}

Remote SQL Server

{
  "ConnectionStrings": {
    "DefaultConnection": "Server=192.168.1.100,1433;Database=DaemonsMCP;User Id=daemonsmcp_user;Password=SecurePassword123;TrustServerCertificate=True;"
  }
}

Connection String Components

Parameter	Description	Example
Server	SQL Server instance	localhost, .\SQLEXPRESS, 192.168.1.100
Database	Database name	DaemonsMCP
Integrated Security	Use Windows auth	True or SSPI
Trusted_Connection	Same as Integrated Security	true
User Id	SQL auth username	sa, daemonsmcp_user
Password	SQL auth password	YourPassword
TrustServerCertificate	Accept self-signed certs	True
Encrypt	Force encryption	True (optional)
MultipleActiveResultSets	Enable MARS	True (optional)

---

Logging Configuration

Log Levels

{
  "Logging": {
    "LogLevel": {
      "Default": "Information",
      "Microsoft.AspNetCore": "Warning",
      "Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore": "Warning",
      "DaemonsMCP": "Debug"
    }
  }
}

Available Log Levels (Most to Least Verbose)

• Trace - Very detailed, typically only for debugging
• Debug - Detailed diagnostic information
• Information - General informational messages
• Warning - Warnings about potential issues
• Error - Error messages
• Critical - Critical failures
• None - Disable logging

Namespace-Specific Logging

Control logging for specific namespaces:

{
  "Logging": {
    "LogLevel": {
      "Default": "Information",
      "DaemonsMCP.Application": "Debug",
      "DaemonsMCP.Infrastructure.Services.FileWatcherService": "Debug",
      "Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Database.Command": "Warning",
      "System.Net.Http.HttpClient": "Warning"
    }
  }
}

Log File Locations

Serilog is configured to write logs to:

Windows:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\DaemonsMCP\Logs\

Log Files:

• D3MCP-YYYYMMDD.log - All logs (Information and above)
• D3MCP-errors-YYYYMMDD.log - Errors and warnings only

Retention:

• General logs: 7 days
• Error logs: 30 days

---

CORS Configuration

CORS (Cross-Origin Resource Sharing) is required for the Angular web interface.

Default Configuration (Development)

Already configured in Program.cs:

builder.Services.AddCors(options =>
{
  options.AddPolicy("LocalDev", policy =>
  {
    policy.WithOrigins("http://localhost:4200")
          .AllowAnyHeader()
          .AllowAnyMethod();
  });
});

Production CORS

For production deployments, restrict CORS to specific domains:

builder.Services.AddCors(options =>
{
  options.AddPolicy("Production", policy =>
  {
    policy.WithOrigins(
            "https://yourdomain.com",
            "https://app.yourdomain.com"
          )
          .AllowAnyHeader()
          .AllowAnyMethod()
          .AllowCredentials();
  });
});

app.UseCors("Production");

Or configure via daemonsmcp.json:

{
  "Cors": {
    "AllowedOrigins": [
      "https://yourdomain.com",
      "https://app.yourdomain.com"
    ]
  }
}

---

Environment-Specific Configuration

Development Environment

Create daemonsmcp.Development.json:

{
  "ConnectionStrings": {
    "DefaultConnection": "Server=localhost;Database=DaemonsMCP_Dev;Integrated Security=True;TrustServerCertificate=True;"
  },
  "Logging": {
    "LogLevel": {
      "Default": "Debug",
      "DaemonsMCP": "Trace"
    }
  }
}

Production Environment

Create daemonsmcp.Production.json:

{
  "ConnectionStrings": {
    "DefaultConnection": "Server=prod-sql-server;Database=DaemonsMCP;User Id=daemonsmcp_app;Password=UseEnvironmentVariableInstead;TrustServerCertificate=True;"
  },
  "Logging": {
    "LogLevel": {
      "Default": "Warning",
      "DaemonsMCP": "Information"
    }
  },
  "AllowedHosts": "yourdomain.com"
}

Setting Environment

Visual Studio:

1. Right-click project → Properties
2. Debug → General → Open debug launch profiles UI
3. Set ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT to Development or Production

Command Line:

# Windows
set ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT=Production
dotnet run

# Linux/macOS
export ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT=Production
dotnet run

Claude Desktop Config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "daemons3mcp": {
      "command": "C:\\YourPath\\DaemonsMCP\\server\\DaemonsMCP\\bin\\Debug\\net9.0-windows7.0\\Daemons3MCP.exe",
      "args": []
    }
  }
}

---

Sensitive Configuration (User Secrets)

For development, use .NET User Secrets instead of committing sensitive data.

Enable User Secrets

cd server/DaemonsMCP.Api
dotnet user-secrets init

Set Secrets

dotnet user-secrets set "ConnectionStrings:DefaultConnection" "Server=localhost;Database=DaemonsMCP;User Id=sa;Password=MySecretPassword;"

List Secrets

dotnet user-secrets list

User secrets override daemonsmcp.json in Development environment only.

---

Project Configuration

Projects are configured in the database, not in JSON files.

Creating Projects

Via REST API (Recommended)

Using Swagger UI:

1. Navigate to https://localhost:44356/swagger
2. Expand POST /api/projects
3. Click "Try it out"
4. Enter project details:

   {
     "name": "MyProject",
     "description": "My C# project",
     "rootPath": "C:\\Code\\MyProject"
   }

5. Click "Execute"

Using curl:

curl -X POST https://localhost:44356/api/projects \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "MyProject",
    "description": "My C# project", 
    "rootPath": "C:\\Code\\MyProject"
  }'

Using Postman:

• Method: POST
• URL: https://localhost:44356/api/projects
• Headers: Content-Type: application/json
• Body (raw JSON):

  {
    "name": "MyProject",
    "description": "My C# project",
    "rootPath": "C:\\Code\\MyProject"
  }

Via Angular UI (Coming Soon)

The Angular config viewer will provide project management UI.

Via Database (Advanced)

Direct SQL insert:

INSERT INTO Projects (Name, Description, RootPath, CreatedAt)
VALUES ('MyProject', 'My C# project', 'C:\Code\MyProject', GETDATE());

Project Security

Projects enforce strict path security:

• All file operations are scoped within RootPath
• Path traversal attacks (../, ..\) are blocked
• Paths are normalized to forward slashes
• Only absolute paths within project root are allowed

---

Performance Tuning

Entity Framework Configuration

Configure EF Core performance in Infrastructure layer:

Connection Pooling (default: enabled):

services.AddDbContext<ApplicationDbContext>(options =>
    options.UseSqlServer(connectionString, sqlOptions =>
    {
        sqlOptions.EnableRetryOnFailure(
            maxRetryCount: 3,
            maxRetryDelay: TimeSpan.FromSeconds(5),
            errorNumbersToAdd: null
        );
        sqlOptions.CommandTimeout(30); // seconds
    })
);

File Watching Configuration

File watcher behavior is controlled in code, but you can adjust:

Debounce Settings (in FileWatcherService.cs):

• Debounce delay: 5 seconds (default)
• Batch processing interval: 5 seconds
• Process after queue is idle for 5 seconds

Indexing Performance

Batch Size: Controlled in ObjectHierarchyIndexingService

• Default: Process all queued files per batch
• Files are indexed using Roslyn asynchronously

For large codebases:

1. Increase SQL Server memory allocation
2. Consider indexing hours (off-peak)
3. Monitor IndexingQueue table size

---

Security Configuration

API Security (Future Enhancement)

V3 currently runs locally without authentication. For production:

Add Authentication in Program.cs:

builder.Services.AddAuthentication()
    .AddJwtBearer(options => { /* config */ });

app.UseAuthentication();
app.UseAuthorization();

Database Security

Create Dedicated User:

CREATE LOGIN daemonsmcp_app WITH PASSWORD = 'SecurePassword123';
CREATE USER daemonsmcp_app FOR LOGIN daemonsmcp_app;

USE DaemonsMCP;
GRANT SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE ON SCHEMA::dbo TO daemonsmcp_app;

Connection String:

{
  "ConnectionStrings": {
    "DefaultConnection": "Server=localhost;Database=DaemonsMCP;User Id=daemonsmcp_app;Password=SecurePassword123;TrustServerCertificate=True;"
  }
}

---

Troubleshooting Configuration

Configuration Not Loading

Symptom: Changes to daemonsmcp.json not reflected

Solutions:

1. Verify file is in correct directory (DaemonsMCP.Api or DaemonsMCP)
2. Check Build Action in Visual Studio: should be Content
3. Check Copy to Output Directory: should be Copy if newer
4. Restart application
5. Check for syntax errors (use JSON validator)

Connection String Issues

Symptom: "Cannot open database" or "Login failed"

Solutions:

1. Verify SQL Server is running
2. Test connection string with sqlcmd:

   sqlcmd -S localhost -U sa -P YourPassword -Q "SELECT @@VERSION"

3. Check SQL Server authentication mode (Windows + SQL)
4. Verify database exists: SELECT name FROM sys.databases
5. Check firewall if using remote server

Log Files Not Created

Symptom: No log files in %LOCALAPPDATA%\DaemonsMCP\Logs\

Solutions:

1. Check folder permissions
2. Verify Serilog configuration in Program.cs
3. Look for startup errors in console output
4. Check if CommonPath.LogsAppPath is correct

---

Best Practices

Development

• Use Integrated Security=True (Windows auth)
• Keep verbose logging (Debug level)
• Use LocalDB for isolated testing
• Enable detailed EF Core logging

Production

• Use dedicated SQL user with minimal permissions
• Store passwords in environment variables or Azure Key Vault
• Set logging to Warning or Error level
• Enable connection pooling
• Use SSL/TLS for database connections (Encrypt=True)
• Restrict CORS to specific domains
• Monitor log files and set up alerts

Source Control

• Commit daemonsmcp.json with safe defaults
• Never commit daemonsmcp.{Environment}.json with secrets
• Add to .gitignore:

  daemonsmcp.Development.json
  daemonsmcp.Production.json
  **/appsettings.*.json

• Use User Secrets for local development
• Document required configuration in README

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Next Steps

• Quick Start Tutorial - Learn basic operations
• Database Schema - Understand the data model
• MCP Tools Reference - Explore available tools

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Configuration Examples

Multi-Project Setup

{
  "ConnectionStrings": {
    "DefaultConnection": "Server=localhost;Database=DaemonsMCP;Integrated Security=True;TrustServerCertificate=True;"
  },
  "Logging": {
    "LogLevel": {
      "Default": "Information"
    }
  }
}

Then create projects via API:

• MyWebApp → C:\Code\MyWebApp
• SharedLibrary → C:\Code\SharedLibrary
• MobileApp → C:\Code\MobileApp

Team Development

Each developer maintains their own daemonsmcp.Development.json:

Developer 1 (LocalDB):

{
  "ConnectionStrings": {
    "DefaultConnection": "Server=(localdb)\\mssqllocaldb;Database=DaemonsMCP_Dev1;Trusted_Connection=true;"
  }
}

Developer 2 (Local SQL Express):

{
  "ConnectionStrings": {
    "DefaultConnection": "Server=localhost\\SQLEXPRESS;Database=DaemonsMCP_Dev2;Integrated Security=True;TrustServerCertificate=True;"
  }
}

Shared SQL Server:

{
  "ConnectionStrings": {
    "DefaultConnection": "Server=dev-sql-server;Database=DaemonsMCP_Shared;User Id=dev_user;Password=DevPassword123;TrustServerCertificate=True;"
  }
}