Summary

Replace copier with cookiecutter for project/plugin template scaffolding.

Current Copier Usage

Copier is used in three main areas:

1. Plugin Templating (/copier.yml)

• Bootstraps new plugins via mcpplugins bootstrap CLI command
• Supports two template types: native (in-process Python) and external (MCP-based)
• Templates located in /plugin_templates/{native,external}/

2. Python MCP Server Scaffolding

• Config: /mcp-servers/templates/python/copier.yaml
• Script: /mcp-servers/scaffold-python-server.sh
• Collects: project_name, package_name, version, author, license, python_min, include_container, include_http_bridge

3. Go MCP Server Scaffolding

• Config: /mcp-servers/templates/go/copier.yaml
• Script: /mcp-servers/scaffold-go-server.sh
• Collects: project_name, module_path, bin_name, version, license, go_version, include_container

Files Requiring Changes

Configuration Files

• /copier.yml → convert to cookiecutter.json
• /mcp-servers/templates/python/copier.yaml → cookiecutter.json
• /mcp-servers/templates/go/copier.yaml → cookiecutter.json

Template Directories

• /plugin_templates/native/ - update Jinja2 syntax if needed
• /plugin_templates/external/ - update Jinja2 syntax if needed
• /mcp-servers/templates/python/ - update templates
• /mcp-servers/templates/go/ - update templates

Scripts and CLI

• /mcp-servers/scaffold-python-server.sh - change copier copy to cookiecutter
• /mcp-servers/scaffold-go-server.sh - change copier copy to cookiecutter
• /mcpgateway/plugins/tools/cli.py - replace from copier import run_copy with cookiecutter API

Dependency

• /pyproject.toml - replace copier>=9.11.3 with cookiecutter in [project.optional-dependencies].templating

Documentation

• /mcp-servers/AGENTS.md
• /plugins/AGENTS.md
• /llms/plugins-llms.md

Migration Notes

Key Differences

Python API Migration

Current (copier):

from copier import run_copy

run_copy(
    src_path=template_url,
    dst_path=destination,
    answers_file=answers_file,
    defaults=defaults,
    vcs_ref=vcs_ref,
    data={"default_author_name": name, "default_author_email": email},
    pretend=dry_run,
)

New (cookiecutter):

from cookiecutter.main import cookiecutter

cookiecutter(
    template=template_url,
    output_dir=destination,
    no_input=defaults,
    checkout=vcs_ref,
    extra_context={"author_name": name, "author_email": email},
)

Template Syntax Migration Example

Copier:

# {{ package_name }}/server.py.jinja
log = logging.getLogger("{{ package_name }}")

Cookiecutter:

# {{ cookiecutter.package_name }}/server.py
log = logging.getLogger("{{ cookiecutter.package_name }}")

Considerations

1. Subdirectory routing: Copier's _subdirectory feature (used in plugin templates to select native vs external) doesn't have a direct equivalent in cookiecutter. May need separate template repos or a pre-hook.

2. File extension: Copier uses .jinja extension; cookiecutter processes all files in template directory (or uses _copy_without_render for exclusions).

Acceptance Criteria

• All three template systems (plugins, Python MCP, Go MCP) work with cookiecutter
• mcpplugins bootstrap command works unchanged from user perspective
• Scaffold scripts work unchanged from user perspective
• Tests pass
• Documentation updated