npm package discovery and stats viewer.

Discover Tips

  • General search

    [free text search, go nuts!]

  • Package details

    pkg:[package-name]

  • User packages

    @[username]

Sponsor

Optimize Toolset

I’ve always been into building performant and accessible sites, but lately I’ve been taking it extremely seriously. So much so that I’ve been building a tool to help me optimize and monitor the sites that I build to make sure that I’m making an attempt to offer the best experience to those who visit them. If you’re into performant, accessible and SEO friendly sites, you might like it too! You can check it out at Optimize Toolset.

About

Hi, 👋, I’m Ryan Hefner  and I built this site for me, and you! The goal of this site was to provide an easy way for me to check the stats on my npm packages, both for prioritizing issues and updates, and to give me a little kick in the pants to keep up on stuff.

As I was building it, I realized that I was actually using the tool to build the tool, and figured I might as well put this out there and hopefully others will find it to be a fast and useful way to search and browse npm packages as I have.

If you’re interested in other things I’m working on, follow me on Twitter or check out the open source projects I’ve been publishing on GitHub.

I am also working on a Twitter bot for this site to tweet the most popular, newest, random packages from npm. Please follow that account now and it will start sending out packages soon–ish.

Open Software & Tools

This site wouldn’t be possible without the immense generosity and tireless efforts from the people who make contributions to the world and share their work via open source initiatives. Thank you 🙏

© 2026 – Pkg Stats / Ryan Hefner

ebay-mcp-remote-edition

v4.7.0

Published

Remote + Local MCP server for eBay APIs - provides access to eBay developer functionality through MCP (Model Context Protocol)

Downloads

864

Readme

eBay MCP — Remote Edition

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server providing AI assistants with comprehensive access to eBay's Sell APIs. 325+ tools covering inventory management, order fulfillment, marketing campaigns, analytics, developer tools, and more.

API Coverage: 100% of eBay Sell APIs (270+ unique endpoints)

npm version Socket Badge License: MIT


Overview

This project extends Yosef Hayim's eBay MCP with hosted, multi-user deployment while preserving local STDIO mode. Key additions:

  • Hosted Streamable HTTP — deploy anywhere, serve multiple users from one instance
  • MCP OAuth 2.1 — browser-based eBay login with automatic token management; OAuth-aware clients (Cline) connect without manual token pasting
  • Environment-scoped routes/sandbox/mcp and /production/mcp hard-bind their eBay environment
  • Cloudflare KV / Upstash Redis — persistent multi-user token and session storage with TTL-aligned expiry
  • Admin session management — inspect, revoke, or delete sessions via authenticated endpoints
  • eBay Research session persistence — Playwright storage state to KV/Redis/filesystem via EBAY_RESEARCH_SESSION_STORE
  • QStash-triggered Telegram alerts — expiry callbacks notify operators before research auth degrades

⚠️ Disclaimer

This is an open-source project provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by eBay Inc. Test thoroughly in sandbox before production.


Table of Contents


Choose a runtime mode

| Mode | Command | Transport | Best for | Authorization model | |------|---------|-----------|----------|---------------------| | Local STDIO | pnpm start / pnpm run dev | stdin/stdout | Single-user local AI client (Claude Desktop, Cline, Cursor, etc.) | The local process reads eBay credentials and optional EBAY_USER_REFRESH_TOKEN from environment variables. | | Hosted HTTP | pnpm run start:http / pnpm run dev:http | Streamable HTTP | Multi-user server deployment; remote MCP clients | Users authorize through browser OAuth. Requests can use normal session Bearer auth or opt into server-request auth with X-Ebay-Server-Request: true. |

Both modes use the same eBay tool registry. Local STDIO is best when one trusted local client owns the eBay credentials. Hosted HTTP runs an Express server with OAuth 2.1 discovery, environment-scoped route trees, server-side token/session storage, and admin-only operational endpoints.


Prerequisites

All modes:

Getting credentials:

  1. Log in to eBay Developer Portal
  2. Create an application, copy App ID (Client ID) and Cert ID (Client Secret)
  3. Under User Tokens → Add RuName, register your public HTTPS OAuth callback URL and copy the generated RuName string

EBAY_RUNAME and the public Redirect URL are distinct. EBAY_RUNAME is the eBay-generated RuName string used as eBay's OAuth redirect_uri identifier (for example, YourApp-YourApp-SB-abcdefghi). The public Redirect URL is the real browser callback URL you register in eBay, such as https://your-server.com/oauth/callback or https://ebay-local.test:3000/oauth/callback; it is derived from PUBLIC_BASE_URL in this project. Do not use either value as a fallback for the other.

HTTPS callback URL (required by eBay)

eBay requires HTTPS for OAuth callbacks. For local dev, use mkcert:

brew install mkcert nss
mkcert -install
mkcert ebay-local.test
echo "127.0.0.1  ebay-local.test" | sudo tee -a /etc/hosts

Register https://ebay-local.test:3000/oauth/callback in the Developer Portal. Add to .env:

PUBLIC_BASE_URL=https://ebay-local.test:3000
EBAY_LOCAL_TLS_CERT_PATH=/path/to/ebay-local.test.pem
EBAY_LOCAL_TLS_KEY_PATH=/path/to/ebay-local.test-key.pem

Trust mkcert CA in Node.js

VS Code's extension host uses Node.js, which doesn't read macOS system keychain by default. Trust the cert:

# Current session (Dock/Spotlight-launched apps):
launchctl setenv NODE_EXTRA_CA_CERTS "$(mkcert -CAROOT)/rootCA.pem"

# Persist across reboots:
cat > ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.local.mkcert-node-trust.plist <<'EOF'
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
  <key>Label</key><string>com.local.mkcert-node-trust</string>
  <key>ProgramArguments</key>
  <array>
    <string>launchctl</string><string>setenv</string>
    <string>NODE_EXTRA_CA_CERTS</string>
    <string>/Users/YOUR_USERNAME/Library/Application Support/mkcert/rootCA.pem</string>
  </array>
  <key>RunAtLoad</key><true/>
</dict>
</plist>
EOF
launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.local.mkcert-node-trust.plist

# Terminal-launched apps — add to ~/.zshrc:
echo 'export NODE_EXTRA_CA_CERTS="$(mkcert -CAROOT)/rootCA.pem"' >> ~/.zshrc

Then fully quit and reopen VS Code.

For hosted deployments, register your server's public HTTPS URL instead.


Local mode setup

Install

# Option A — global install (no build step):
pnpm install -g ebay-mcp-remote-edition

# Option B — clone and build (contributors):
git clone https://github.com/mrnajiboy/ebay-mcp-remote-edition.git
cd ebay-mcp-remote-edition
pnpm install && pnpm run build

Configure credentials

Create .env (see .env.example):

EBAY_CLIENT_ID=your_client_id
EBAY_CLIENT_SECRET=your_client_secret
EBAY_RUNAME=your_runame_string       # eBay-generated RuName, not a URL
EBAY_REDIRECT_URI=                  # legacy env name; do not set to the public callback URL
EBAY_ENVIRONMENT=sandbox           # or production
EBAY_MARKETPLACE_ID=EBAY_US        # optional, defaults to EBAY_US
EBAY_CONTENT_LANGUAGE=en-US        # optional, defaults to en-US
EBAY_USER_REFRESH_TOKEN=           # populated by setup wizard

Authentication tiers:

| Method | Rate limit | How | |--------|-----------|-----| | Client credentials (default) | 1,000 req/day | Set EBAY_CLIENT_ID + EBAY_CLIENT_SECRET | | User tokens (recommended) | 10,000–50,000 req/day | Run pnpm run setup to complete OAuth |

Run the setup wizard

pnpm run setup          # interactive: env selection, credentials, OAuth, client config
pnpm run setup --quick  # skip optional steps
pnpm run setup --diagnose  # connectivity and token checks only

Local client configuration

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ebay": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "ebay-mcp-remote-edition"],
      "env": {
        "EBAY_CLIENT_ID": "YOUR_CLIENT_ID",
        "EBAY_CLIENT_SECRET": "YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET",
        "EBAY_ENVIRONMENT": "sandbox",
        "EBAY_RUNAME": "YOUR_RUNAME",
        "EBAY_REDIRECT_URI": "",
        "EBAY_USER_REFRESH_TOKEN": "YOUR_REFRESH_TOKEN"
      }
    }
  }
}

Config file locations:

| Client | Config file | |--------|-------------| | Cline | ~/Library/Application Support/Code/User/globalStorage/saoudrizwan.claude-dev/settings/cline_mcp_settings.json | | Claude Desktop (macOS) | ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json | | Claude Desktop (Windows) | %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json | | Cursor | ~/.cursor/mcp.json or .cursor/mcp.json |

Zed, Windsurf, Continue.dev, Roo Code, and Amazon Q follow the same mcpServers JSON shape.


Hosted mode setup

Environment variables

Hosted HTTP reads the same eBay credential variables as local STDIO plus the HTTP, storage, and security variables below. The start script is pnpm run start:http; development uses pnpm run dev:http.

# Required for hosted OAuth URLs and eBay callback registration
PUBLIC_BASE_URL=https://your-server.com

# Required eBay credentials unless EBAY_CONFIG_FILE provides them
EBAY_CLIENT_ID=
EBAY_CLIENT_SECRET=
EBAY_RUNAME=
EBAY_REDIRECT_URI=                  # legacy env name; not the public callback URL
# Recommended when serving both environments from one host
EBAY_PRODUCTION_CLIENT_ID=
EBAY_PRODUCTION_CLIENT_SECRET=
EBAY_PRODUCTION_RUNAME=
EBAY_PRODUCTION_REDIRECT_URI=
EBAY_SANDBOX_CLIENT_ID=
EBAY_SANDBOX_CLIENT_SECRET=
EBAY_SANDBOX_RUNAME=
EBAY_SANDBOX_REDIRECT_URI=

# Required for hosted multi-user token/session persistence
EBAY_TOKEN_STORE_BACKEND=upstash-redis  # cloudflare-kv | upstash-redis | memory
UPSTASH_REDIS_REST_URL=                 # required when backend is upstash-redis
UPSTASH_REDIS_REST_TOKEN=               # required when backend is upstash-redis
CLOUDFLARE_ACCOUNT_ID=                  # required when backend is cloudflare-kv
CLOUDFLARE_KV_NAMESPACE_ID=             # required when backend is cloudflare-kv
CLOUDFLARE_API_TOKEN=                   # required when backend is cloudflare-kv

# Required for admin/validation endpoints and privileged MCP bypass
ADMIN_API_KEY=

# Optional HTTP/server behavior
PORT=3000                               # defaults to 3000; many hosts inject this
MCP_HOST=0.0.0.0                        # defaults to 0.0.0.0
EBAY_ENVIRONMENT=production             # root/legacy default selector
EBAY_DEFAULT_ENVIRONMENT=production     # fallback when EBAY_ENVIRONMENT is unset
SESSION_TTL_SECONDS=2592000             # default: 30 days
OAUTH_START_KEY=                        # optional gate for /oauth/start
EBAY_CONFIG_FILE=/etc/secrets/ebay-config.json
EBAY_MARKETPLACE_ID=EBAY_US
EBAY_CONTENT_LANGUAGE=en-US
EBAY_LOG_LEVEL=info

# Optional validation runner identity
VALIDATION_RUNNER_USER_ID=
VALIDATION_RUNNER_USER_ID_SANDBOX=
VALIDATION_RUNNER_USER_ID_PRODUCTION=

# Optional validation/research providers and alerts
SOLD_ITEMS_API_URL=
SOLD_ITEMS_API_KEY=
PERPLEXITY_API_KEY=
TWITTER_BEARER_TOKEN=
YOUTUBE_API_KEY=
REDDIT_CLIENT_ID=
REDDIT_CLIENT_SECRET=
REDDIT_USER_AGENT=
TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN=
TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID=
QSTASH_URL=
QSTASH_TOKEN=
QSTASH_CURRENT_SIGNING_KEY=
QSTASH_NEXT_SIGNING_KEY=
EBAY_RESEARCH_SESSION_ALERTS_ENABLED=true
EBAY_RESEARCH_SESSION_ALERT_CALLBACK_URL=

# eBay Research/Terapeak first-party session source.
# Set this explicitly in hosted deployments. If unset, research sessions default
# to Cloudflare KV even when EBAY_TOKEN_STORE_BACKEND=upstash-redis.
EBAY_RESEARCH_SESSION_STORE=upstash-redis # cloudflare_kv | upstash-redis | filesystem | none
EBAY_RESEARCH_SESSION_ALLOW_FILESYSTEM_FALLBACK=false

EBAY_TOKEN_STORE_BACKEND defaults to Cloudflare KV when unset or unrecognized. Use memory only for tests or throwaway local development because hosted sessions and tokens are lost on restart. EBAY_RESEARCH_SESSION_STORE is separate from OAuth token storage. Set it to upstash-redis when Terapeak/eBay Research cookies are stored in Upstash.

Secret file

Mount a JSON file with credentials (e.g., Render Secret File at /etc/secrets/ebay-config.json):

{
  "production": {
    "clientId": "PROD_CLIENT_ID",
    "clientSecret": "PROD_CLIENT_SECRET",
    "redirectUri": "YOUR_PRODUCTION_RUNAME",
    "ruName": "YOUR_PRODUCTION_RUNAME"
  },
  "sandbox": {
    "clientId": "SANDBOX_CLIENT_ID",
    "clientSecret": "SANDBOX_CLIENT_SECRET",
    "redirectUri": "YOUR_SANDBOX_RUNAME",
    "ruName": "YOUR_SANDBOX_RUNAME"
  }
}

Deploy to Render / Railway / Coolify

  1. Connect your repo as a Web Service
  2. Build: pnpm install && pnpm run build
  3. Start: pnpm run start:http
  4. Add environment variables + secret file

For Nixpacks-based platforms (Railway, Coolify): nixpacks.toml handles pnpm, build, Chromium install, and start automatically.

OAuth flows

GET /sandbox/oauth/start      # sandbox browser login
GET /production/oauth/start   # production browser login

If OAUTH_START_KEY is set, start URLs require either ?key=YOUR_KEY or the X-OAuth-Start-Key: YOUR_KEY header. The server also includes this key as key in generated authorization_url values for unauthenticated MCP requests.

After login, the callback page shows three hosted auth options with copy buttons:

| Hosted auth mode | How to select it | Best for | |------------------|------------------|----------| | User/session mode | Send Authorization: Bearer <session-token> and omit X-Ebay-Server-Request | Normal OAuth-aware MCP clients and user-scoped desktop clients. | | Server request mode — identity headers | Send X-Ebay-Server-Request: true, X-Ebay-Client-Id, X-Ebay-User-Id, and optional X-Ebay-Environment | Server/client setups that need to handle both regular user requests and backend server requests without copying a session token. | | Server request mode — bearer-capable clients | Send X-Ebay-Server-Request: true plus Authorization: Bearer <mcp-server-issued-bearer-token> | MCP clients or automation platforms that can store an authorization header but should not use the admin key. |

Switching between modes is per request, not a server-wide environment toggle. The same hosted MCP server can handle user/session requests and server requests concurrently; the client chooses server mode by adding X-Ebay-Server-Request: true.

Session TTL schedule:

| Record | TTL | |--------|-----| | OAuth state | 15 minutes | | MCP auth code | 10 minutes | | Session | 30 days (configurable) | | User token | eBay refresh token expiry (fallback: 18 months) |

MCP endpoints

Environment-scoped (recommended):

POST/GET/DELETE /sandbox/mcp
POST/GET/DELETE /production/mcp

Each includes OAuth 2.1 discovery: GET /sandbox/.well-known/oauth-authorization-server

Legacy auto-detect:

POST/GET/DELETE /mcp   # resolves from ?env= or EBAY_ENVIRONMENT/EBAY_DEFAULT_ENVIRONMENT

Auth behavior:

  • GET /mcp without token → redirects to oauth/start
  • POST /mcp without token → 401 JSON with authorization_url, resource_metadata, and a WWW-Authenticate Bearer challenge
  • Normal user requests: Authorization: Bearer <session-token>
  • Server requests with identity headers: X-Ebay-Server-Request: true, X-Ebay-Client-Id: <client-id>, X-Ebay-User-Id: <user-id>, X-Ebay-Environment: sandbox|production
  • Server requests with bearer-capable clients: X-Ebay-Server-Request: true plus Authorization: Bearer <mcp-server-issued-bearer-token>
  • Privileged admin bypass: Authorization: Bearer <ADMIN_API_KEY> when ADMIN_API_KEY is configured

The X-Ebay-Server-Request header is intentionally client-side and per-request. Leave it off for normal user/session OAuth calls. Add it when the MCP client is making a server-style request and should resolve the stored Redis/KV user token record by headers or by the MCP server-issued bearer lookup token. This bearer lookup token is generated by this MCP server on the OAuth callback page; it is not an eBay user access token, eBay refresh token, eBay client-credentials/app token, legacy hosted session token, or ADMIN_API_KEY.

Admin key bypass

ADMIN_API_KEY is used in two distinct ways:

| Use | Exact implementation | Scope | |-----|----------------------|-------| | Admin/validation HTTP routes | X-Admin-API-Key: <ADMIN_API_KEY> header | Required for /admin/session/:sessionToken, /admin/session/:sessionToken/revoke, /admin/session/:sessionToken, /sandbox/validation/*, /production/validation/*, and legacy /validation/*. | | MCP authorization bypass | Authorization: Bearer <ADMIN_API_KEY> header | Lets privileged server-to-server/admin tooling call /sandbox/mcp, /production/mcp, or /mcp without a hosted user session lookup. The request runs with userId set to admin and the requested environment. |

The admin bypass does not use query parameters or request body fields. ADMIN_API_KEY must be configured on the server; if it is unset, admin HTTP routes return 500 and the MCP bypass is disabled.

Security caveats:

  • Treat ADMIN_API_KEY as a privileged root credential for this MCP server.
  • Generate a long, random value and store it only in your deployment secret manager.
  • Use it only for server-to-server automation, operational checks, or admin tooling. Do not ship it to browsers, desktop clients, or regular users.
  • OAuth browser authorization and hosted session tokens remain the normal path for user MCP access.

Utility endpoints:

GET  /health                               # health check (no auth)
GET  /whoami                               # session identity (Bearer token)
GET  /admin/session/:sessionToken          # view session (admin key)
POST /admin/session/:sessionToken/revoke   # revoke session
DELETE /admin/session/:sessionToken        # delete session

Admin endpoints

All /admin/* routes accept authentication via either:

  • Header: X-Admin-API-Key: <ADMIN_API_KEY>
  • Query param: ?key=<ADMIN_API_KEY> (useful for browser access)
GET  /admin/token-status              # OAuth + Playwright session health
POST /admin/oauth/start-for-validation # Start OAuth flow for validation runner
POST /admin/playwright-session        # Store Playwright storage state JSON
GET  /admin/playwright-capture        # Browser UI to capture eBay Research cookies

/admin/playwright-capture renders a self-service page for renewing the eBay Research Playwright session. Open it in a browser with the admin key as a query parameter:

https://your-server.com/admin/playwright-capture?key=YOUR_ADMIN_API_KEY

The page has two tabs:

  1. Auto-Capture — loads eBay Research in an iframe (may be blocked by eBay's security policies)
  2. Manual Export — provides step-by-step instructions to export cookies from Chrome DevTools, a bookmarklet for one-click cookie copying, and a text area to paste and submit the JSON

Submitted cookies are validated against the authenticated eBay Research ACTIVE endpoint before persistence, stored in the configured session backend (Upstash Redis / Cloudflare KV / filesystem), and written with a long KV TTL. Cookie expiry is tracked in metadata so the runtime can report missing/expired Terapeak auth separately from provider parsing failures.

Validation endpoints

POST /sandbox/validation/run          # run validation pipeline
POST /production/validation/run

GET  /sandbox/validation/health       # check runner status
GET  /production/validation/health

Both require X-Admin-API-Key: <ADMIN_API_KEY>. The server impersonates the configured validation runner user from VALIDATION_RUNNER_USER_ID env vars.

See Validation architecture below for provider details.

Remote client configuration

Cline (automatic OAuth):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ebay-sandbox": { "url": "https://your-server.com/sandbox/mcp" },
    "ebay-production": { "url": "https://your-server.com/production/mcp" }
  }
}

Cline auto-discovers OAuth, opens browser login, exchanges auth code, and stores session token.

Claude Desktop / Cursor (Bearer token):

  1. Open https://your-server.com/sandbox/oauth/start → complete eBay login → copy session token
  2. Configure client:
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ebay-sandbox": {
      "url": "https://your-server.com/sandbox/mcp",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_SESSION_TOKEN" }
    }
  }
}

Server request mode (custom headers):

  1. Open https://your-server.com/sandbox/oauth/start or https://your-server.com/production/oauth/start
  2. Complete eBay login
  3. Copy the server request headers shown on the callback page
  4. Configure the MCP client with those headers:
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ebay-production-server": {
      "url": "https://your-server.com/production/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "X-Ebay-Server-Request": "true",
        "X-Ebay-Client-Id": "YOUR_EBAY_CLIENT_ID",
        "X-Ebay-User-Id": "STORED_USER_ID_FROM_CALLBACK",
        "X-Ebay-Environment": "production"
      }
    }
  }
}

Server request mode (bearer-capable clients): Use this when the MCP client can set Authorization but cannot easily send several custom identity headers:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ebay-production-server": {
      "url": "https://your-server.com/production/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "X-Ebay-Server-Request": "true",
        "Authorization": "Bearer MCP_SERVER_ISSUED_BEARER_TOKEN_FROM_CALLBACK"
      }
    }
  }
}

Make / Zapier / other platforms:

  1. Complete OAuth via browser at /oauth/start
  2. If the platform supports multiple headers, use server request mode identity headers
  3. If the platform only supports one auth header, use server request mode with the MCP server-issued bearer lookup token from the callback page
  4. Set MCP URL to https://your-server.com/sandbox/mcp

Tool discovery for agents

AI agents discover tools through the MCP protocol's tools/list call. The eBay MCP server exposes 325+ tools with a predictable naming and description structure optimized for agent searchability.

Tool naming convention

All tools follow the pattern ebay_<action>_<resource>:

| Action | Meaning | Examples | |--------|---------|----------| | get | Read/fetch | ebay_get_inventory_item, ebay_get_offers | | create | Create new | ebay_create_offer, ebay_create_fulfillment_policy | | update | Modify existing | ebay_update_offer, ebay_update_inventory_item | | delete | Remove | ebay_delete_offer, ebay_delete_inventory_item | | publish | Activate | ebay_publish_offer | | withdraw | Deactivate | ebay_withdraw_offer | | revise | Modify listing | ebay_revise_listing | | bulk_ | Batch operations | ebay_bulk_create_offer, ebay_bulk_update_price_quantity |

Tool descriptions are self-documenting

Each tool description includes:

  • What it does — concise action description
  • OAuth scope required — the minimum scope needed
  • Minimum scope URL — for fine-grained permission setup

Example:

Get a specific inventory item by SKU.

Required OAuth Scope: sell.inventory.readonly or sell.inventory
Minimum Scope: https://api.ebay.com/oauth/api_scope/sell.inventory.readonly

Tools organized by category

Tools are grouped into 13 category files in src/tools/definitions/:

| Category file | Tool prefix | Key operations | |---------------|-------------|----------------| | inventory.ts | ebay_*inventory*, ebay_*offer* | CRUD inventory items, offers, locations, bulk ops | | fulfillment.ts | ebay_*fulfillment*, ebay_*shipment* | Shipments, fulfillment orders, shipping labels | | account.ts | ebay_*policy* | Payment, return, fulfillment policies | | marketing.ts | ebay_*promotion*, ebay_*markdown* | Promotions, markdown listings | | analytics.ts | ebay_*analytics*, ebay_*report* | Analytics, reporting | | communication.ts | ebay_*message*, ebay_*feedback* | Messages, feedback, notifications | | metadata.ts | ebay_*metadata*, ebay_*policies* | Category policies, listing metadata | | taxonomy.ts | ebay_*category* | Category tree, suggestions, item specifics | | browse.ts | ebay_*browse*, ebay_*product* | Browse/search products | | trading.ts | ebay_*listing*, ebay_*create_listing* | Trading API (XML/SOAP) operations | | developer.ts | ebay_*signing*, ebay_*vero* | Key management, VERO reports | | other.ts | Mixed | Misc/legacy endpoints | | token-management.ts | ebay_*oauth*, ebay_*token* | OAuth helpers, token management |

How agents find the right tool

  1. Search by name patternebay_get_* for reads, ebay_create_* for writes, ebay_*offer* for offers
  2. Search by description — descriptions contain action keywords and resource names
  3. Search by OAuth scopesell.inventory for inventory, sell.fulfillment for shipping
  4. Use tools/list — agents receive the full tool list with names and descriptions; filter programmatically

Tool annotations

Tools carry MCP annotations that help agents understand behavior:

| Annotation | Meaning | |-----------|---------| | readOnlyHint: true | Safe to call; no side effects | | destructiveHint: true | Irreversible; use caution | | idempotentHint: true | Safe to retry | | openWorldHint: true | May interact with external services |


Available tools

325+ tools across all eBay Sell API categories. Full source: src/tools/definitions/


Development

Commands

| Command | Description | |---------|-------------| | pnpm run build | Compile TypeScript | | pnpm start | Run local STDIO server | | pnpm run start:http | Run hosted HTTP server | | pnpm run dev | STDIO with hot reload | | pnpm run dev:http | HTTP with hot reload | | pnpm test | Run tests | | pnpm run setup | Interactive setup wizard | | pnpm run sync | Download eBay OpenAPI specs, regenerate types | | pnpm run diagnose | Check config and connectivity | | pnpm run typecheck | TypeScript type checking | | pnpm run check | Typecheck + lint + format | | pnpm run fix | Auto-fix lint and format |

pnpm run sync

Download latest eBay OpenAPI specs and regenerate types:

pnpm run sync && pnpm run typecheck && pnpm run build

Review the diff, commit changes you want to keep, and deploy.

Env management

pnpm run env:encrypt   # encrypt .env for safe sharing
pnpm run env:decrypt   # decrypt

Logging

EBAY_LOG_LEVEL=debug             # error | warn | info | debug
EBAY_ENABLE_FILE_LOGGING=true    # write logs to files

Validation architecture

The hosted backend includes a validation pipeline for item evaluation. Routes live in src/server-http.ts, logic in src/validation/.

Module layout:

| File | Purpose | |------|---------| | types.ts | Request/response contracts | | effective-context.ts | Source-aware normalization (item vs event runs) | | run-validation.ts | Orchestration entrypoint | | recommendation.ts | Buy/track decision logic | | providers/ebay.ts | Live browse-market snapshot | | providers/ebay-sold.ts | Sold-data enrichment (temporary external provider) | | providers/terapeak.ts | Terapeak / eBay Research metrics | | providers/ebay-research.ts | Authenticated eBay Research fetcher | | providers/social.ts | Twitter/X, YouTube, Reddit signals | | providers/chart.ts | Chart-signal stub | | providers/research.ts | Historical comeback research (Perplexity) |

Flow: Admin calls /validation/run → server resolves runner user → orchestrator queries all providers → merges signals → returns writes + decision + debug metadata.

Merge precedence: Terapeak > sold provider > browse provider for overlapping fields. Optional providers (social, research) only write when data resolves — never blank existing values.

Known limitations:

  • Sold-data provider is temporary (external API via SOLD_ITEMS_API_URL)
  • Social signals are supportive only — not authoritative buy triggers
  • Chart provider is a stub
  • eBay Research requires valid Playwright session

eBay Research session management:

  • Bootstrap: pnpm run research:bootstrap
  • Inspect: pnpm run research:inspect-session
  • Browser check: pnpm run research:check-browser
  • Session source precedence: KV → env vars → local files → fallback
  • QStash alerts: 24h before, 6h before, and at expiry → Telegram

Testing & validation

# Build and test
pnpm run build && pnpm run typecheck && pnpm test

# Connectivity check
pnpm run diagnose

# Hosted health
curl https://your-server.com/health

# Session check
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer <token>" https://your-server.com/whoami

# Validation runner health
curl https://your-server.com/sandbox/validation/health \
  -H "X-Admin-API-Key: YOUR_ADMIN_API_KEY"

# Privileged MCP admin-key bypass check
curl https://your-server.com/sandbox/mcp \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ADMIN_API_KEY" \
  -H "Accept: application/json, text/event-stream"

# MCP auth challenge test
curl -X POST https://your-server.com/sandbox/mcp \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/list"}'
# → 401 with authorization_url

Troubleshooting

Hosted MCP returns 406

Include Accept: application/json, text/event-stream header.

OAuth callback: "Invalid or expired OAuth state"

OAuth state expires in 15 minutes. Restart the browser flow.

Token verification fails on refresh token

Refresh tokens expire after ~18 months or can be revoked. Run pnpm run setup or start new browser OAuth at /oauth/start.

Session token no longer works

# Check status:
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer <token>" https://your-server.com/whoami

# Revoke if exposed:
curl -X POST https://your-server.com/admin/session/<token>/revoke \
  -H "X-Admin-API-Key: YOUR_ADMIN_API_KEY"

Validation health is degraded

curl https://your-server.com/sandbox/validation/health \
  -H "X-Admin-API-Key: YOUR_ADMIN_API_KEY"

Check: VALIDATION_RUNNER_USER_ID set, runner has stored tokens, tokens not expired, SOLD_ITEMS_API_URL configured.

eBay Research shows authState = missing

pnpm run playwright:install
pnpm run build
pnpm run research:check-browser
pnpm run research:bootstrap

Expected after bootstrap: authState = loaded, sessionStrategy = storage_state, sessionSource = kv, authValidationSucceeded = true.

Stale MCP sessions after deployment

After deploying new code, agents' MCP sessions may still point to old container code. Agents must restart their MCP session (/reset or reopen chat) to negotiate a fresh connection.


Security checklist

  • Do not commit .env or session tokens
  • Protect /oauth/start with OAUTH_START_KEY, /admin/* and /validation/* with ADMIN_API_KEY
  • Keep ADMIN_API_KEY long, random, server-side only, and separate from user session tokens; it also works as a privileged MCP Bearer-token bypass
  • Keep /oauth/callback publicly reachable (eBay redirects here)
  • Keep /health reachable for deployment health checks
  • Rotate exposed eBay credentials and update secret file
  • For production isolation, consider Cloudflare Access on /, /oauth/start, /admin/*

Resources


License

MIT — see LICENSE