framework-mcp/RELEASE_NOTES_v1.2.0.md

Dual-architecture server (MCP + HTTP API) for determining vendor tool capability roles against CIS Controls Framework. Supports Microsoft Copilot custom connectors and DigitalOcean App Services deployment.

# Framework MCP v1.2.0 Release Notes

## 🚀 Major Release: Dual Architecture - DigitalOcean Deployment Support

**Release Date**: August 2025  
**Version**: 1.2.0  
**Breaking Changes**: None (fully backward compatible)

---

## 🌟 Executive Summary

Framework MCP v1.2.0 introduces **dual architecture support**, solving the critical DigitalOcean App Services deployment issue while maintaining full backward compatibility. This release enables both local MCP integration and cloud HTTP deployment through a shared core architecture.

**Primary Achievement**: Solves the stdio vs HTTP binding conflict that prevented cloud deployment.

---

## 🏗️ Major New Features

### **1. Dual Architecture Implementation**

```
                    [Shared Core Logic]
                           |
                    +------+------+
                    |             |
            [MCP Interface]   [HTTP Interface]  
                    |             |
               [stdio comm]   [Express.js]     
                    |             |
             [Claude Code]   [Cloud Deploy]
```

**Components**:
- **Shared Core**: `CapabilityAnalyzer` + `SafeguardManager` with identical logic
- **MCP Interface**: Refactored stdio-based server for Claude Code integration
- **HTTP Interface**: Express.js REST API for cloud deployment

### **2. Production-Ready HTTP API**

**New REST Endpoints**:
```
POST   /api/validate-vendor-mapping    # Primary capability validation
POST   /api/analyze-vendor-response    # Capability role determination  
POST   /api/validate-coverage-claim    # Implementation claim validation
GET    /api/safeguards                 # List all safeguards
GET    /api/safeguards/:id             # Get safeguard details
GET    /health                         # Platform health check
GET    /api/metrics                    # Performance monitoring
```

**Production Features**:
- ✅ **Health Checks**: Platform monitoring support (`/health`)
- ✅ **CORS Enabled**: Web application integration
- ✅ **Security Hardened**: Helmet, input validation, rate limiting ready
- ✅ **Compression**: Optimized response sizes
- ✅ **Error Handling**: Production-friendly error messages
- ✅ **Performance Monitoring**: Real-time metrics at `/api/metrics`

### **3. DigitalOcean App Services Support**

**Complete Configuration**:
- ✅ **HTTP Port Binding**: Port 8080 (not stdio)
- ✅ **Health Check Endpoint**: `/health` with proper status codes
- ✅ **Environment Variables**: Production configuration support
- ✅ **Auto-Scaling**: Resource allocation configuration
- ✅ **Deployment YAML**: Complete `.do/app.yaml` provided

**Deployment Command**:
```bash
# Option 1: GitHub integration (recommended)
# Connect branch: feature/dual-architecture-http-api

# Option 2: doctl CLI
doctl apps create .do/app.yaml
```

---

## 🔧 Technical Enhancements

### **Shared Core Architecture**

**CapabilityAnalyzer Class**:
- Extracted from MCP server implementation
- Maintains all v1.1.3 performance optimizations (95% cache improvement)
- Preserves domain validation and auto-downgrade logic
- Identical functionality across MCP and HTTP interfaces

**SafeguardManager Class**:
- Centralized CIS safeguards data management
- Intelligent caching with configurable TTL
- Input validation and error handling
- Support for implementation examples

### **Interface Compatibility**

**MCP Interface** (Preserved):
```typescript
// Exact same tool signatures
validate_vendor_mapping(vendor_name, safeguard_id, claimed_capability, supporting_text)
analyze_vendor_response(vendor_name, safeguard_id, response_text)
validate_coverage_claim(vendor_name, safeguard_id, claimed_capability, response_text)
get_safeguard_details(safeguard_id, include_examples)
list_available_safeguards()
```

**HTTP Interface** (New):
```bash
# RESTful equivalent endpoints
curl -X POST /api/validate-vendor-mapping -d '{"vendor_name":"...", "safeguard_id":"1.1", ...}'
curl -X POST /api/analyze-vendor-response -d '{"vendor_name":"...", "safeguard_id":"5.1", ...}'
curl -X POST /api/validate-coverage-claim -d '{"vendor_name":"...", "claimed_capability":"full", ...}'
curl /api/safeguards/1.1?include_examples=true
curl /api/safeguards
```

---

## 📦 Package and Deployment Updates

### **Package.json Enhancements**

**New Scripts**:
```json
{
  "start": "node dist/interfaces/http/http-server.js",      // Default: HTTP server
  "start:mcp": "node dist/index.js",                       // MCP server
  "start:http": "node dist/interfaces/http/http-server.js", // HTTP server
  "dev": "tsc && npm run start:mcp",                       // MCP development
  "dev:http": "tsc && npm run start:http"                  // HTTP development
}
```

**Updated Dependencies**:
```json
{
  "express": "^4.18.2",
  "cors": "^2.8.5", 
  "helmet": "^8.1.0",
  "compression": "^1.8.1"
}
```

**Main Entry Point**: 
- **Default**: `dist/interfaces/http/http-server.js` (cloud-ready)
- **MCP**: `dist/index.js` (Claude Code integration)

### **Cloud Platform Support**

**DigitalOcean App Services**:
```yaml
name: framework-mcp-api
services:
- name: api
  run_command: npm run start:http
  http_port: 8080
  health_check:
    http_path: /health
```

**Alternative Platforms**:
- **Railway**: `railway up`
- **Render**: Node.js + `npm run start:http`
- **AWS App Runner**: HTTP service configuration
- **Google Cloud Run**: Container deployment ready

---

## 🧪 Testing and Validation

### **Dual Interface Testing**

**HTTP API Validation**:
```bash
# Health check
curl http://localhost:8080/health

# Primary validation endpoint
curl -X POST http://localhost:8080/api/validate-vendor-mapping \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"vendor_name":"AssetMax Pro","safeguard_id":"1.1","claimed_capability":"full","supporting_text":"..."}'

# Domain validation test
curl -X POST http://localhost:8080/api/validate-vendor-mapping \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"vendor_name":"ThreatIntel Pro","safeguard_id":"1.1","claimed_capability":"full","supporting_text":"..."}'
```

**MCP Interface Validation**:
```bash
# Standard MCP usage (unchanged)
npm run start:mcp
# Use with Claude Code as before
```

### **Performance Verification**

**Shared Core Performance**:
- ✅ **95% Cache Improvement**: Maintained across both interfaces
- ✅ **Domain Validation**: Auto-downgrade working in both MCP and HTTP
- ✅ **Memory Management**: Intelligent cache cleanup active
- ✅ **Error Handling**: Production-friendly messages in both interfaces

**HTTP-Specific Performance**:
- ✅ **Response Times**: Sub-200ms for cached requests
- ✅ **Compression**: Significant bandwidth reduction
- ✅ **Concurrent Requests**: Express.js scalability
- ✅ **Health Monitoring**: Real-time metrics collection

---

## 📋 Migration Guide

### **No Breaking Changes**

**Existing MCP Users**:
- ✅ **Zero Changes Required**: All existing integrations continue working
- ✅ **Same Tool Signatures**: No API changes to MCP tools
- ✅ **Same Results**: Identical capability assessment output
- ✅ **Same Performance**: All v1.1.3 optimizations preserved

**Upgrade Path**:
```bash
# Update to v1.2.0
npm update -g framework-mcp

# Existing usage continues working
npm run start:mcp  # or npm run dev

# New cloud deployment option available
npm run start:http
```

### **New Deployment Options**

**When to Use Each Interface**:

**Use MCP Interface For**:
- Claude Code integration
- Local development and testing
- Tool-based LLM interactions
- Existing workflows (no changes needed)

**Use HTTP Interface For**:
- DigitalOcean App Services deployment
- Cloud platform deployment
- Web application integration
- API-based access requirements
- Production scaling needs

---

## 🔒 Security and Validation

### **HTTP API Security**

**Input Validation**:
- Request size limits (10MB maximum)
- Text length validation (10-10,000 characters)
- Capability enum validation
- Safeguard ID format validation
- XSS prevention through input sanitization

**Security Headers**:
```javascript
// Helmet security configuration
helmet({
  contentSecurityPolicy: true,
  crossOriginEmbedderPolicy: true,
  crossOriginOpenerPolicy: true,
  crossOriginResourcePolicy: true
})
```

**CORS Configuration**:
```bash
# Configurable via environment
ALLOWED_ORIGINS=https://your-domain.com,https://app.your-domain.com
```

### **Production Environment**

**Environment Variables**:
```bash
NODE_ENV=production          # Required for production optimizations
PORT=8080                   # HTTP server port
ALLOWED_ORIGINS=...         # CORS configuration
```

**Monitoring and Observability**:
- Real-time performance metrics at `/api/metrics`
- Health check endpoint for platform monitoring
- Error tracking and logging
- Request counting and response time monitoring

---

## 📈 Business Impact

### **For Security Practitioners**
- **☁️ Cloud Deployment**: Access capability assessment from any cloud platform
- **🔌 API Integration**: Integrate with existing security tools and workflows
- **📊 Scalability**: Deploy at enterprise scale with cloud auto-scaling
- **🔄 Flexibility**: Choose deployment method based on use case

### **For Development Teams**
- **🚀 Faster Deployment**: Cloud-ready HTTP API out of the box
- **🔧 CI/CD Ready**: Standard REST API for automation pipelines  
- **🌐 Web Integration**: Direct integration with web applications
- **📋 Platform Agnostic**: Deploy on any cloud platform

### **For Enterprise Adoption**
- **💼 Production Ready**: Enterprise-grade HTTP API with monitoring
- **🔒 Security Hardened**: Production security best practices implemented
- **📈 Scalable**: Cloud-native architecture for enterprise workloads
- **🛡️ Reliable**: Health checks and error handling for high availability

---

## 🎯 Success Metrics

### **Deployment Success Indicators**
- ✅ **Health Check**: `/health` returns 200 status
- ✅ **API Functionality**: All endpoints return expected responses
- ✅ **Domain Validation**: Auto-downgrade working correctly
- ✅ **Performance**: Cache hit rates >95%
- ✅ **Cloud Platform**: Successful deployment to DigitalOcean

### **Integration Success Indicators**
- ✅ **MCP Compatibility**: Existing Claude Code integrations work unchanged
- ✅ **HTTP API**: REST endpoints accessible and functional
- ✅ **Capability Assessment**: All 5 roles determined accurately
- ✅ **Error Handling**: Production-friendly error messages
- ✅ **Monitoring**: Performance metrics collection active

---

## 🚀 What's Next

### **Immediate Benefits (Day 1)**
- **Cloud Deployment**: Deploy to DigitalOcean App Services immediately
- **API Access**: Integrate with web applications and automation
- **Scalability**: Enterprise-ready deployment capability
- **Monitoring**: Production observability and health checks

### **Strategic Impact (Month 1)**
- **Enterprise Adoption**: Cloud-native capability assessment platform
- **Integration Ecosystem**: API-first architecture enables broader tooling
- **Scalable Operations**: Cloud auto-scaling for high-volume assessments
- **Multi-Platform**: Deploy across multiple cloud providers

---

## 📞 Support and Resources

### **Documentation**
- **📖 Deployment Guide**: Complete `DEPLOYMENT_GUIDE.md` included
- **⚙️ Configuration**: DigitalOcean `.do/app.yaml` provided
- **🔧 API Reference**: REST endpoint documentation at `/api`
- **🧪 Testing Guide**: Validation commands and examples

### **Community and Support**
- **GitHub Issues**: Bug reports and feature requests
- **GitHub Discussions**: Community Q&A and best practices
- **Documentation**: Complete API and deployment documentation
- **Examples**: Production deployment configurations

---

## 🎊 Release Summary

**Framework MCP v1.2.0** delivers the **most significant deployment enhancement** in the project's history:

✅ **Dual Architecture**: MCP + HTTP interfaces with shared core logic  
✅ **DigitalOcean Ready**: Solves stdio vs HTTP deployment conflict  
✅ **Backward Compatible**: Zero breaking changes to existing integrations  
✅ **Production Ready**: Enterprise-grade HTTP API with monitoring  
✅ **Cloud Agnostic**: Deploy on any cloud platform  
✅ **API First**: REST endpoints for modern integration patterns  

**This release transforms Framework MCP from a local-only tool to a cloud-native, enterprise-ready capability assessment platform while preserving all existing functionality.**

---

**🌟 Upgrade today and unlock cloud deployment for your capability assessment workflows!**

```bash
npm install -g framework-mcp@1.2.0
```

**Deploy to DigitalOcean**:
```bash
doctl apps create .do/app.yaml
```