Fix MCP setup defaults to avoid startup timeout

Author: lostmygithubaccount

CLAUDE.md

@@ -171,7 +171,7 @@ The `mcp` subcommand starts an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server, exposing Asc
 ### usage with Claude Code
 
 ```bash
-claude mcp add --transport stdio ascend-tools -- uvx --refresh --from ./ascend-tools ascend-tools mcp
+claude mcp add --transport stdio ascend-tools -- uvx --from ./ascend-tools ascend-tools mcp
 ```
 
 Auth env vars (`ASCEND_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_ID`, `ASCEND_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_KEY`, `ASCEND_INSTANCE_API_URL`) are inherited from the shell.
@@ -182,13 +182,13 @@ claude mcp add --transport stdio \
   -e ASCEND_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_ID="$ASCEND_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_ID" \
   -e ASCEND_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_KEY="$ASCEND_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_KEY" \
   -e ASCEND_INSTANCE_API_URL="$ASCEND_INSTANCE_API_URL" \
-  ascend-tools -- uvx --refresh --from ./ascend-tools ascend-tools mcp
+  ascend-tools -- uvx --from ./ascend-tools ascend-tools mcp
 ```
 
 ### usage with Codex CLI
 
 ```bash
-codex mcp add ascend-tools -- uvx --refresh --from "$(pwd)" ascend-tools mcp
+codex mcp add ascend-tools -- uvx --from "$(pwd)" ascend-tools mcp
 ```
 
 If Codex is launched without your shell env, set them explicitly:
@@ -198,7 +198,7 @@ codex mcp add \
   --env "ASCEND_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_ID=$ASCEND_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_ID" \
   --env "ASCEND_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_KEY=$ASCEND_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_KEY" \
   --env "ASCEND_INSTANCE_API_URL=$ASCEND_INSTANCE_API_URL" \
-  ascend-tools -- uvx --refresh --from "$(pwd)" ascend-tools mcp
+  ascend-tools -- uvx --from "$(pwd)" ascend-tools mcp
 ```
 
 ```bash
@@ -214,6 +214,11 @@ codex mcp remove ascend-tools
 ```
 
 Auth env vars (`ASCEND_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_ID`, `ASCEND_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_KEY`, `ASCEND_INSTANCE_API_URL`) are inherited from the shell.
+If stale behavior appears after code updates, run one refresh manually:
+
+```bash
+uvx --refresh --from "$(pwd)" ascend-tools --version
+```
 
 ### architecture notes
 

README.md

@@ -121,7 +121,7 @@ ascend-tools mcp --http --bind 127.0.0.1:8000
 ### Claude Code setup
 
 ```bash
-claude mcp add --transport stdio ascend-tools -- uvx --refresh --from ./ascend-tools ascend-tools mcp
+claude mcp add --transport stdio ascend-tools -- uvx --from ./ascend-tools ascend-tools mcp
 ```
 
 The Ascend auth env vars are inherited from your shell. Verify with `/mcp` inside Claude Code.
@@ -132,13 +132,13 @@ claude mcp add --transport stdio \
   -e ASCEND_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_ID="$ASCEND_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_ID" \
   -e ASCEND_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_KEY="$ASCEND_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_KEY" \
   -e ASCEND_INSTANCE_API_URL="$ASCEND_INSTANCE_API_URL" \
-  ascend-tools -- uvx --refresh --from ./ascend-tools ascend-tools mcp
+  ascend-tools -- uvx --from ./ascend-tools ascend-tools mcp
 ```
 
 ### Codex CLI setup
 
 ```bash
-codex mcp add ascend-tools -- uvx --refresh --from "$(pwd)" ascend-tools mcp
+codex mcp add ascend-tools -- uvx --from "$(pwd)" ascend-tools mcp
 ```
 
 If Codex is launched without your shell env, add vars explicitly:
@@ -148,7 +148,7 @@ codex mcp add \
   --env "ASCEND_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_ID=$ASCEND_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_ID" \
   --env "ASCEND_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_KEY=$ASCEND_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_KEY" \
   --env "ASCEND_INSTANCE_API_URL=$ASCEND_INSTANCE_API_URL" \
-  ascend-tools -- uvx --refresh --from "$(pwd)" ascend-tools mcp
+  ascend-tools -- uvx --from "$(pwd)" ascend-tools mcp
 ```
 
 Inspect the MCP server config:
@@ -170,6 +170,11 @@ codex mcp remove ascend-tools
 ```
 
 The Ascend auth env vars are inherited from your shell when Codex launches the server.
+If you have stale MCP behavior after updating code, run this once to refresh the uvx cache:
+
+```bash
+uvx --refresh --from "$(pwd)" ascend-tools --version
+```
 
 ### Tools