aki-mcp-sv 1.9: standalone launcher, no Node install
aki-mcp-sv 1.9 ships a standalone launcher: download and run, no Node install, pick one of three public edges, plus a new filter/sort panel.
aki-mcp-sv 1.9.3 (2026-08-16) packages the self-hosted MCP server into a standalone launcher: download the file, run it, done — no more installing Node.js first. This closes a run of six releases in two days (1.8.0 → 1.9.3), each removing one specific friction point on the road from "run via npm start" to "download and run".
Can aki-mcp-sv run without installing Node?
Yes, as of 1.8.0 (2026-08-15). The standalone launcher bundles its own Node runtime, so nothing needs to be installed or version-managed separately — download the launcher for your OS, run it, the server starts.
The three ways to expose the server to the internet are unchanged from 1.7.0: Tailscale Funnel (default), a self-run Cloudflare tunnel via --tunnel, or your own HTTPS origin via PUBLIC_ORIGIN. See the full breakdown in the 1.7.0 release article.
1.8.0 also added a 3-tab ingress picker directly in the setup panel — pick Tailscale, Funnel, or a hosted domain by clicking, no need to memorize command-line flags — plus .env file support for persisting that configuration.
An easier panel: filter, sort, live folder scope
1.9.0 (2026-08-16) added a filter bar and alphabetic sort to the control panel, useful once the list of granted folders grows over time.
Folder scope can now be changed while the server is running, no restart required — previously every folder add/remove needed a full server restart.
Filesystem MCP calls also switched to direct node invocation instead of going over the local network, making file reads/writes faster and independent of network connectivity.
Is it safe to download and run the launcher on an unfamiliar machine?
Both macOS and Windows automatically warn about files downloaded from the internet before letting them run — this is normal OS behavior, not a sign the launcher is broken. On macOS, Gatekeeper asks for confirmation before opening an unsigned file; on Windows, SmartScreen shows a similar warning; on Linux, the file needs chmod +x before it can execute. 1.9.3 documents all three steps directly in the README so first-time users don't get stuck.
- ◆1.9.1: fixed standalone launchers shipping without the
public/directory, which made the panel render blank and unstyled on first open. - ◆1.9.2: renamed release assets from
-app.zipto-payload.zipso nobody mistakes it for the end-user download — release notes now say plainly "pick your OS file". - ◆1.9.3: rewrote the README, moving Install ahead of roughly 120 lines of background theory; fixed three newbie-facing snags: GitHub's "Download ZIP" button redirecting the wrong way, a hard-to-find passphrase location, and launchers not being reusable across runs.
The 1.8.0–1.9.3 run is CI smoke-tested before every release, and packaging now generates both the launcher and the payload through GitHub Actions — no more manual builds. See the project introduction for the full picture, or the whitelist architecture analysis to understand why this server is safe to expose to the internet.