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+# OAB MCP Facade (`search_capabilities` / `execute_capability`)
+
+The OAB MCP Facade is a loopback Streamable HTTP MCP server that exposes
+exactly **two agent-facing tools** — `search_capabilities` and
+`execute_capability` — backed by every MCP server configured in `mcp.json`.
+Any MCP-capable coding CLI on the host (Kiro CLI, Claude Code, Codex, …)
+connects to `http://127.0.0.1:<port>/mcp` and gets progressive discovery over
+the whole provider catalog instead of a flat list of every provider tool.
+
+Design: [OAB MCP Adapter ADR](adr/oab-mcp-adapter.md) (§6).
+
+## Architecture
+
+```mermaid
+flowchart LR
+    subgraph host["Host / Pod (trust boundary)"]
+        cli["Coding CLI<br/>(Kiro CLI / Claude Code / Codex / …)"]
+
+        subgraph facade["OAB MCP Facade — loopback :8848/mcp"]
+            tools["search_capabilities<br/>execute_capability"]
+        end
+
+        subgraph runtime["Shared MCP runtime (openab-mcp)"]
+            policy["tool_filter (least-privilege)<br/>JSON-Schema arg validation<br/>timeouts · circuit breaker<br/>secret redaction · audit log"]
+        end
+
+        adapter["gmail-native adapter<br/>loopback :8850/mcp"]
+    end
+
+    gmail["gmail.googleapis.com<br/>(GA REST)"]
+    obk["octobroker<br/>(fleet policy / org credentials)"]
+    hosted["hosted MCP servers<br/>(Notion, …, OAuth)"]
+
+    cli -- "MCP (Streamable HTTP)" --> tools
+    tools --> policy
+    policy -- "native tools/call" --> adapter
+    policy -- "native tools/call" --> obk
+    policy -- "native tools/call" --> hosted
+    adapter -- "bearer (auth.json,<br/>offline refresh)" --> gmail
+```
+
+The agent always sees exactly two tools; providers configured in `mcp.json`
+are discovered through `search_capabilities` and invoked through
+`execute_capability`. Because the runtime dispatches **native** `tools/call`
+requests downstream, per-tool policy at any downstream (for example
+octobroker's default-deny allowlists) sees real tool names — the meta-tool
+envelope never blinds it.
+
+## Two ways to run it
+
+**In-process in the OAB broker** — presence of `[mcp]` in `config.toml`
+starts the listener:
+
+```toml
+[mcp]
+listen = "127.0.0.1:8848"   # loopback only; non-loopback refused at startup
+```
+
+**Facade-only run mode** (no chat adapter anywhere — coding-CLI-only
+hosts, dev loops, CI runners): an adapter-less config with `[mcp]` present
+is a valid deployment; `openab run` serves just the facade listener:
+
+```sh
+cat > facade-only.toml <<'TOML'
+[mcp]
+listen = "127.0.0.1:8848"
+TOML
+openab run -c facade-only.toml
+```
+
+Both read the same layered provider config: `~/.openab/agent/mcp.json`
+(global) and `./.openab/agent/mcp.json` (project). No `[mcp]` section / no
+configured servers → no listener / an empty capability catalog. Provider
+connections stay in `mcp.json` — `[mcp]` carries listener settings only
+(single source of truth, ADR Alternative E).
+
+## The two tools
+
+1. `search_capabilities` (optional `query`) — discover authorized provider
+   tools: name, description, input schema, provider, availability. Filtered
+   by each server's `tool_filter` **before** anything reaches the agent.
+2. `execute_capability` (`name` + `arguments`) — execute an exact capability
+   returned by discovery. Arguments are validated against the capability's
+   JSON Schema before dispatch; timeouts, circuit breaking, and secret
+   redaction apply on the same path the native agent uses.
+
+An audit line is logged for every dispatch (tool name + args SHA-256 — never
+plaintext arguments):
+
+```
+mcp.audit: mcp call_tool entry server="gmail" tool="search_threads" args_sha256=…
+mcp.audit: mcp call_tool exit  server="gmail" tool="search_threads" … outcome="ok"
+```
+
+## Client registration examples
+
+Kiro CLI (`~/.kiro/settings/mcp.json`, or the agent file — see gotcha):
+
+```json
+{ "mcpServers": { "oab": { "url": "http://127.0.0.1:8848/mcp" } } }
+```
+
+> **Kiro CLI gotcha:** when kiro runs with `--agent <name>` (as OAB bot
+> deployments do), the MCP server list comes from
+> `~/.kiro/agents/<name>.json` (`mcpServers` + `allowedTools`), **not** the
+> global settings file. Register there and allowlist the server
+> (e.g. `"@oab"`).
+
+Claude Code:
+
+```sh
+claude mcp add --transport http oab http://127.0.0.1:8848/mcp
+```
+
+## Trust model
+
+Loopback-only, **no authentication layer** — the host/pod boundary is the
+trust boundary. Any process on the host can invoke every authorized
+capability while the facade runs. Do not enable it on hosts that colocate
+untrusted processes. Least-privilege is enforced per provider with
+`tool_filter` include/exclude lists in `mcp.json`; excluded tools are
+invisible to discovery and rejected at execution.
+
+## Positioning vs octobroker (OBK)
+
+The facade is **pod-level**: one agent's own capability access, personal
+OAuth credentials, host trust boundary. Fleet-level concerns — per-agent
+identity/keys, default-deny policy across many agents, centrally minted
+short-lived organization credentials, fail-closed audit — belong to
+[octobroker](https://github.com/openabdev/octobroker). The two compose: the
+facade can list an octobroker endpoint as one of its `mcp.json` downstreams,
+and because the facade dispatches native `tools/call` requests, octobroker's
+per-tool policy sees real tool names. See ADR §4.1.
+
+## Providers
+
+Any Streamable HTTP or stdio MCP server configured in `mcp.json` works,
+including OAuth-protected hosted servers (login via
+`openab-agent mcp login <server>`). For Gmail on consumer accounts, use the
+[native Gmail adapter](gmail-native.md).