2.9.0

## What's Changed
* docs(pr-flow): make an exhaustive Copilot review loop the step after opening a PR by @cliffhall in https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector/pull/2466
* docs(pr-flow): assign the issue to yourself when work starts by @cliffhall in https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector/pull/2468
* fix(skills): require ttlMs and cacheScope on modern skills/get results by @cliffhall in https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector/pull/2469
* fix(skills): report a "dynamic" skill as unverifiable, not verified by @cliffhall in https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector/pull/2474
* fix(web): mask the tail of a form secret split by a raw & by @cliffhall in https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector/pull/2475
* fix(gate-lease): serve queued local:gate runs in arrival order by @cliffhall in https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector/pull/2476
* fix(core): advertise the MCP Apps UI extension only from a client that renders Apps by @cliffhall in https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector/pull/2471
* fix(remote): re-arm relay waits for string progress tokens by @cliffhall in https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector/pull/2478
* fix(cli): end the long-lived stream cleanly on EPIPE by @cliffhall in https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector/pull/2479
* docs(skills): get Copilot's testing → test-servers hand-off to 100% (#2459) by @cliffhall in https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector/pull/2477
* fix(tui): cap rendered request/response body lines by @cliffhall in https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector/pull/2480
* docs(pr-flow): make the In Progress / In Review card moves runnable, with a check by @cliffhall in https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector/pull/2472
* docs(pr-flow): read the issue and all its comments before starting work by @cliffhall in https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector/pull/2491
* fix(cli): redact URL query secrets in the error envelope by @cliffhall in https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector/pull/2488
* chore(smoke): run smoke:tui for real in GitHub CI by @cliffhall in https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector/pull/2489
* chore(deps): upgrade the MCP TypeScript SDK to 2.1.0 by @cliffhall in https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector/pull/2492
* fix(web): prompt a reconnect when custom headers change on a live connection by @cliffhall in https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector/pull/2493
* chore(scripts): fail fast when node_modules is older than its lockfile by @cliffhall in https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector/pull/2495
* fix(cli): bound the OAuth browser open and say when it fails by @cliffhall in https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector/pull/2499
* chore(tui): justify every exhaustive-deps suppression by @cliffhall in https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector/pull/2500
* test(launcher,cli): assert Windows backslash paths survive argv forwarding by @cliffhall in https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector/pull/2501
* fix(core): enforce one deadline per RequestInit in withOAuthRequestTimeout by @cliffhall in https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector/pull/2503
* fix(docker): derive the HEALTHCHECK probe address from HOST by @cliffhall in https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector/pull/2504
* chore(smoke): surface the app's connect error on a connect timeout by @cliffhall in https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector/pull/2505
* fix(scripts): fail the Dependabot sweep clearly on a bad alert listing by @cliffhall in https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector/pull/2502
* fix(auth): pin the AES-GCM auth tag length in FileSecretStore by @cliffhall in https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector/pull/2509
* ci: split the npm release job so install scripts never hold the OIDC token by @cliffhall in https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector/pull/2506
* fix(web): report the Inspector version as clientInfo.version by @cliffhall in https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector/pull/2511
* test: stop the useServers render loop and guard against its return by @cliffhall in https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector/pull/2513
* fix(docker): skip the web healthcheck probe under --cli/--tui by @cliffhall in https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector/pull/2510
* test(web): configure React's act environment and wrap the updates it exposes by @cliffhall in https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector/pull/2514
* SHA-pin the actions in credential-holding workflow jobs by @cliffhall in https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector/pull/2512
* feat(auth): store acquired OAuth tokens in the secret store; clobber-safe oauth.json writes by @BobDickinson in https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector/pull/2482
* docs: add MCP Inspector: Our AI Software Factory by @BobDickinson in https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector/pull/2498
* fix(deps): make @modelcontextprotocol/server-legacy a devDependency by @cliffhall in https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector/pull/2520
* chore(deps): upgrade the MCP TypeScript SDK to 2.2.0 by @cliffhall in https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector/pull/2526
* chore(deps): upgrade the MCP Apps extension SDK to 2.0.3 by @cliffhall in https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector/pull/2527
* chore(release): npm audit fixes and bump version to 2.9.0 by @cliffhall in https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector/pull/2529
* fix(cli): catch an opener that cannot be spawned instead of crashing by @cliffhall in https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector/pull/2534
* fix(core): redact a form secret's raw-& tail in recorded bodies by @cliffhall in https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector/pull/2535
* fix(cli): split trailing punctuation off redacted URLs in linear time by @cliffhall in https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector/pull/2541
* chore(release): merge v2/main into main for v2.9.0 by @cliffhall in https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector/pull/2536
* fix(ci): publish the tarball by a ./ path so npm reads it as a file by @cliffhall in https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector/pull/2552
* chore(release): merge v2/main into main for the v2.9.0 re-release (publish fix) by @cliffhall in https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector/pull/2553


**Full Changelog**: https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector/compare/2.8.0...2.9.0
**Smoke test ledger for milestone branch**: [v2/chore/milestone-merge-v2.9.0](https://claude.ai/artifact/3cWteCtohesQrCSgujccvn)

## Known issue

**OAuth profiles that share a server can overwrite each other's tokens** ([#2549](https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector/issues/2549)). If you use `MCP_INSPECTOR_OAUTH_STATE_PATH` to keep separate OAuth profiles against the same server, give each profile its own secret store too: set `MCP_INSPECTOR_SECRET_STORE=file` and a distinct `MCP_INSPECTOR_SECRET_FILE` per profile (or a per-profile `MCP_STORAGE_DIR`). The default single-profile setup is unaffected. A fix is planned for 2.10.0.

## Thanks for helping us improve

This release addresses issues reported by these community members. Thank you for taking the time to file them:

* @CloneOfAlex (#2407, #2408, #2410, #2412, #2413, #2414, #2415, #2416, #2418, #2422, #2423, #2424, #2425)
* @GeeksikhSecurity (#2483, #2484, #2485)
* @imran-siddique (#2405)
* @lowlyocean (#2458)
* @oiuv (#2445)
* @Peter-Cumming (#2460)