🐛 mcp-chat: tools missing depending on plugin startup order

[patrickwyler]

Workspace

mcp-chat

📜 Description

The MCP Chat backend plugin fails to discover mcp actions registered by plugins after the plugin-mcp-chat-backend was initialized.

Possible solutions

• Lazy tool discovery: Discover tool list on the first user interaction
• Periodic rediscovery: Refresh the tool list periodically
• Manual rediscovery function: provide a mechanism to refresh the tool list

Plugin versions

• @backstage-community/plugin-mcp-chat: 0.6.0
• @backstage-community/plugin-mcp-chat-backend: 0.8.0

Could be related to: #8297

👍 Expected behavior

The MCP Chat plugin discovers all registered actions

👎 Actual Behavior with Screenshots

The plugin discovers the actions registered before the own plugin startup

👟 Reproduction steps

Add the plugin-mcp-chat-backend before a plugin which provides mcp actions

backend.add(import('@backstage/plugin-mcp-actions-backend'));  ← registers actions
backend.add(import('@backstage-community/plugin-mcp-chat-backend'));  ← discovers actions
...
backend.add(import('@internal/plugin-xyz-backend'));     ← registers actions LATER AND WILL BE MISSING

index.ts

📃 Provide the context for the Bug.

The mcp-chat-backend discovers tools at startup and never re-discovers them. Plugins which register their actions after the tool discovery has already completed will be missing in the mcp-chat.

👀 Have you spent some time to check if this bug has been raised before?

• I checked and didn't find similar issue

🏢 Have you read the Code of Conduct?

• I have read the Code of Conduct

Are you willing to submit PR?

None