Gateway Tech Stack

The DeployStack Gateway is built with a carefully selected set of Node.js packages that prioritize developer experience, security, and performance.

Core Framework

Commander.js

Our CLI framework of choice for building the gateway's command-line interface.

Why Commander?

• Battle-tested by major CLIs (Vue CLI, Create React App)
• Excellent TypeScript support
• Simple yet powerful API
• Extensive documentation and community

Fastify

High-performance HTTP server framework for the proxy server implementation.

Why Fastify?

• Excellent TypeScript support with built-in type definitions
• High performance with low overhead
• Rich plugin ecosystem for middleware
• Built-in JSON schema validation
• Comprehensive logging and error handling

UI and Feedback

Chalk

Terminal string styling for colorful and readable output.

Features:

• Semantic color methods for different message types
• Support for 256 colors and Truecolor
• Auto-detects color support
• Respects NO_COLOR environment variable

Ora

Elegant terminal spinners for long-running operations.

Use Cases:

• Authentication flows
• Configuration syncing
• Process spawning feedback
• Network operations

CLI-Progress

Customizable progress bars for detailed operation feedback.

Features:

• Single and multi-bar support
• Customizable formats and styles
• Ideal for file operations and bulk processing

Interactive Components

Inquirer.js

Interactive command line prompts for user input.

Prompt Types:

• Text input for credentials
• Password input with masking
• Selection lists for configuration options
• Confirmations for destructive operations

Development Tools

TypeScript

Full TypeScript support for type safety and better developer experience.

Benefits:

• Type safety catches errors at compile time
• Better IDE support with autocomplete
• Self-documenting code through types
• Easier refactoring

tsx

Run TypeScript files directly without compilation during development.

Build Tool - tsup

Fast TypeScript bundler powered by esbuild.

Why tsup?

• Lightning fast builds using esbuild
• Zero config with sensible defaults
• Built-in TypeScript support
• Generates CommonJS and ESM outputs

Configuration Example:

export default defineConfig({
  entry: ['src/index.ts'],
  format: ['cjs'],
  target: 'node16',
  clean: true,
  sourcemap: true,
});

Utility Libraries

File System Operations

fs-extra
Enhanced file system module with promise support and extra methods.

• Includes all standard fs methods
• Adds useful methods like copy, remove, ensureDir
• Promise-based API for cleaner async code
• Essential for team-aware tool caching system

glob
File pattern matching using shell-style wildcards.

• Find files matching patterns like *.ts or src/**/*.js
• Essential for batch operations

Process Management

execa
Better child process execution for spawning MCP servers.

• Improved error handling
• Promise-based interface
• Better Windows support
• Automatic escaping of arguments

ps-tree
Process tree management for proper cleanup.

• Find all child processes of a parent
• Ensure clean shutdown of spawned MCP servers

Configuration

cosmiconfig
Flexible configuration file loader.

• Searches for config in multiple formats (.json, .yml, .js)
• Supports .deploystackrc, deploystack.config.js, package.json
• Follows common patterns used by ESLint, Prettier, etc.

dotenv
Environment variable loading from .env files.

• Load configuration from .env files
• Support for different environments (.env.local, .env.production)

Security

keytar
Native OS keychain integration for secure credential storage.

• macOS: Keychain Access
• Windows: Credential Manager
• Linux: Secret Service API
• No plain text passwords on disk

crypto-js
Additional encryption for sensitive data.

• AES encryption for config files
• Secure hashing for verification

crypto (Node.js built-in)
Native cryptographic functionality for session management.

• Cryptographically secure random bytes generation
• Session ID generation with 256-bit entropy
• Base64url encoding for URL-safe session identifiers

Networking

axios
Feature-rich HTTP client for cloud API communication.

• Interceptors for auth token injection
• Automatic retry logic
• Request/response transformation

http-proxy
HTTP proxy for routing MCP requests to appropriate servers.

• Route requests based on MCP server name
• Inject authentication headers
• Handle stdio-to-HTTP translation

Testing Stack

vitest
Fast unit testing framework with native TypeScript support.

• Compatible with Jest API
• Built-in TypeScript support
• Extremely fast execution

supertest
HTTP assertion library for testing the proxy server.

• Test HTTP endpoints
• Assert response status, headers, and body
• Works seamlessly with vitest

msw (Mock Service Worker)
API mocking for integration tests.

• Mock cloud API responses
• Test error scenarios
• Intercept HTTP requests

Why This Stack?

1. Developer Experience

• Commander provides intuitive command structure
• Chalk + Ora + CLI-Progress create rich, informative output
• TypeScript ensures type safety and better IDE support

2. Security First

• Keytar integrates with OS keychains (macOS Keychain, Windows Credential Manager, Linux Secret Service)
• Crypto-js for additional encryption layers
• No plain text credential storage

3. Performance

• tsup/esbuild for fast builds
• Minimal dependencies for quick startup
• Lazy loading of heavy operations

4. Cross-Platform

• All packages support Windows, macOS, and Linux
• Platform-specific features handled gracefully

5. Enterprise Ready

• Comprehensive error handling
• Detailed logging capabilities
• Extensible architecture

Installation

All dependencies are managed through npm:

cd services/gateway
npm install

Development Workflow

# Development with hot reload
npm run dev

# Run TypeScript directly
npm run start:dev

# Build for production
npm run build

# Run tests
npm test

Package Selection Criteria

When adding new packages, we consider:

1. Security: Regular updates, no known vulnerabilities
2. Maintenance: Active development, responsive maintainers
3. Size: Minimal impact on CLI startup time
4. Compatibility: Works across all target platforms
5. TypeScript: First-class TypeScript support preferred

This tech stack provides a solid foundation for building a secure, performant, and user-friendly CLI that meets enterprise requirements while maintaining excellent developer experience.