fix(collect): redact rejected URL diagnostics

what changed: Fix #378; mcp.mjs, collect-remote.mjs, MCP/CLI regression coverage, architecture map, changelog and test inventory.

why: Restore the existing collection input and credential-handling contract. This is a bug fix with one remedy; no alternative design was set aside.

what it touched: Shared remote collection seams; existing ADR-0033/0034 behavior. No new domain term or public interface.

what you verified: verified - dispatch/MCP red-first reproduction and passing combined regression run (83 tests); CLI integration regressions pass in the broader command run. The commit gate runs the required complete offline suite before accepting this commit.

what you got wrong and fixed: mistake - running six full suites concurrently exceeded the default 3900-second budget; where - local commit validation on this Windows host; impact - affected hooks refused commits before publication; cause - excess concurrent subprocess and filesystem work; fix - retry one commit at a time with the ADR-0142 timeout extension (RESEARCH_KIT_GATE_TIMEOUT=7920); verified - the required full-suite commit gate accepted the commit.

Author: StepenkoAnatoli

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -4,6 +4,10 @@ Each release of Research-Kit, newest first. The version is `KIT_VERSION` in
 `research-kit/lib/core.mjs`; a release is tagged `v<version>` (ADR-0116).
 
 ## Unreleased
+- Rejected collection URLs pass through the existing credential redactor before
+  MCP tool results or `collect-remote` stderr can echo them (#378). Regression
+  coverage includes caller credentials in URL userinfo and query parameters.
+
 - Fixed `AGENTS.md` corpus description to use evergreen relative references rather than stale hardcoded entry counts (#299).
 
 - The suite's "every CLI refuses a flag it does not know" table now covers `measure`,

docs/ARCHITECTURE.md

@@ -563,7 +563,7 @@ node research-kit/bin/selftest.mjs            # all of it
 node research-kit/bin/selftest.mjs gate hook  # just these files
 ```
 
-1789 tests, offline, no key and no network. The runner **awaits** every test, so `ok` means
+1791 tests, offline, no key and no network. The runner **awaits** every test, so `ok` means
 the assertions settled (ADR-0021), and each test is raced against a watchdog
 (`RESEARCH_KIT_TEST_TIMEOUT`, default 60s).
 

research-kit/README.md

@@ -155,7 +155,7 @@ checkFlagValues(flags, {
 // token would otherwise hide it, and a dispatched bad URL would be searched as text.
 const queriesValue = queriesInput({ queries: flagList(flags.query), urls: flagList(flags.url) });
 if (queriesValue.error) {
-  process.stderr.write(`${queriesValue.error}\n  fix: --url takes a page address starting with https://\n`);
+  process.stderr.write(`${redact(queriesValue.error)}\n  fix: --url takes a page address starting with https://\n`);
   process.exit(EXIT.CANNOT_START);
 }
 

research-kit/bin/collect-remote.mjs

@@ -311,7 +311,7 @@ async function callTool(message, deps) {
   try {
     if (name === 'collect') {
       const queries = queriesInput({ queries: args.queries ?? [], urls: args.urls ?? [] });
-      if (queries.error) return ok(message.id, { isError: true, content: [text(`${queries.error}. urls takes page addresses starting with https://`)] });
+      if (queries.error) return ok(message.id, { isError: true, content: [text(redact(`${queries.error}. urls takes page addresses starting with https://`))] });
       const started = await deps.dispatch({
         repository: args.repository,
         inputs: {

research-kit/lib/mcp.mjs

@@ -1581,3 +1581,13 @@ test('install-hooks --dry-run answers what the real run answers, deployed or not
   const gitconfig = fs.existsSync(path.join(home, 'gitconfig')) ? fs.readFileSync(path.join(home, 'gitconfig'), 'utf8') : '';
   assert.doesNotMatch(gitconfig, /hooksPath/, 'a dry run set core.hooksPath');
 });
+
+test('collect-remote redacts credentials in refused URLs', () => {
+  const credentials = [`ghp_${'z'.repeat(36)}`, `github_pat_${'B2'.repeat(20)}`];
+  const r = run('collect-remote.mjs', ['--repository', 'o/r', '--topic', 't',
+    '--url', `ftp://user:${credentials[0]}@a.example/`, '--url', `ftp://a.example/?token=${credentials[1]}`], { root: project() });
+  assert.equal(r.status, 3);
+  for (const credential of credentials) assert.ok(!r.all.includes(credential), 'a caller credential leaked');
+  assert.match(r.err, /redacted/);
+  assert.match(r.err, /not an http\(s\) URL/);
+});

research-kit/test/cli.test.mjs

@@ -725,3 +725,16 @@ test('the server installs the closed-stdout guard before it writes its first byt
   assert.ok(call !== -1, 'mcp-server.mjs no longer tolerates a closed stdout (2026-09-30)');
   assert.ok(call < firstWrite, `the guard is installed after the first write (write at ${firstWrite}, guard at ${call})`);
 });
+
+test('refused URLs never echo caller credentials in a tool result', async () => {
+  const credentials = [`ghp_${'z'.repeat(36)}`, `github_pat_${'B2'.repeat(20)}`];
+  const d = deps();
+  const r = await handle(call('collect', { repository: 'o/r', topic: 'x', urls: [
+    `ftp://user:${credentials[0]}@a.example/`, `ftp://a.example/?token=${credentials[1]}`,
+  ] }), d);
+  assert.equal(r.result.isError, true);
+  for (const credential of credentials) assert.ok(!JSON.stringify(r).includes(credential), 'a caller credential leaked');
+  assert.match(r.result.content[0].text, /redacted/);
+  assert.match(r.result.content[0].text, /not an http\(s\) URL/);
+  assert.equal(d.seen.dispatch, undefined, 'a refused URL must not start a run');
+});