## I have read the
[CONTRIBUTING.md](<https://github.com/supabase/supabase/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md>)
file.
YES
## What kind of change does this PR introduce?
Feature / refactor.
## What is the current behavior?
The dashboard assistant runs `@supabase/mcp-server-supabase` in-process
over an in-memory transport (`lib/ai/supabase-mcp.ts`).
## What is the new behavior?
The assistant connects to the **remote MCP server** over HTTP
(`@ai-sdk/mcp`), forwarding the dashboard session token as a bearer. URL
comes from `NEXT_PUBLIC_MCP_URL` with a local-dev fallback;
platform-only, and Nimbus works via the same env var.
* **Tool model unchanged:** UI-controlled `execute_sql` (with
`needsApproval`) and `deploy_edge_function` still come from Studio; the
allowlist (`TOOL_CATEGORY_MAP`) remains the gate keeping the remote's
write tools away from the assistant (`read_only` is defense-in-depth).
* **Attribution:** sends `x-source-name: supabase-studio` (+
`x-source-version`) → logged as `source_name`/`client_name`.
* **Connection lifecycle:** the HTTP client is closed via the request's
`AbortSignal` (tools execute later during streaming); `signal` is
required on `getTools`/`getMcpTools`.
* **Resilience:** a remote-MCP failure degrades to the remaining tools
instead of failing the assistant.
* **Drift protection:** relied-upon tools are typed against `keyof
typeof supabaseMcpToolSchemas`, so a package bump that renames/removes
one fails `pnpm typecheck`; a runtime check also warns if the deployed
server returns fewer tools.
* Adds unit tests for the above.
## Additional context
* Verified end-to-end against a local remote MCP server with a dashboard
token: `initialize` 200, tools listed, a tool executed, client closed
cleanly.
* The remote MCP (mgmt-api) already accepts dashboard session tokens
(GoTrue-JWT auth path) — no backend change needed. `NEXT_PUBLIC_MCP_URL`
must point at each env's `/mcp`.
* `@supabase/mcp-server-supabase` is kept — still used by the
self-hosted `/api/mcp` routes.
Closes
[AI-137](https://linear.app/supabase/issue/AI-137/switch-dashboard-assistant-to-remote-mcp)
## Rollout
* **Rollout:** merges with `USE_REMOTE_MCP` off (in-process); flip it to
`true` per environment (staging → prod → Nimbus) once each one's
prerequisites land.
* **Rollback:** unset `USE_REMOTE_MCP` and redeploy to fall back to the
in-process client — no revert needed.
## Summary by CodeRabbit
* **Bug Fixes**
* Improved AI request handling so tool loading and generation clean up
properly when a request is cancelled or the browser connection closes.
* Added safer fallback behavior when remote tool loading fails, so AI
features can continue with available tools instead of stopping entirely.
* Updated remote tool access to use the current project reference and
preserve the correct access headers.
<!-- This is an auto-generated comment: release notes by coderabbit.ai
-->
## Summary by CodeRabbit
* **New Features**
* AI tools now connect more reliably to remote services and stop cleanly
when requests end or are canceled.
* Tool loading is more resilient, continuing with available tools if
remote access is unavailable.
* **Bug Fixes**
* Improved cleanup to prevent lingering connections during SQL
generation and policy workflows.
* Added safer handling for remote tool changes and invalid responses.
* **Tests**
* Expanded automated coverage for remote tool setup, cancellation, and
fallback behavior.
<!-- end of auto-generated comment: release notes by coderabbit.ai -->
---------
Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
