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Show HN: ResiliReplay - Chaos testing for AI agents and MCP servers

ResiliReplay, a new open-source TypeScript toolkit for chaos testing AI agents and MCP servers, lets developers record versioned events, inject seed-controlled faults, and convert broken traces into regression tests. The model-agnostic, local-first tool requires no API key, paid model, Docker, external account, telemetry, or LLM judge, and runs on Node.js 20 or 22 with pnpm. The project, available on GitHub under aliengineering-byte/resilireplay, aims to help developers verify agent recovery from failures deterministically.

read5 min views1 publishedJul 31, 2026
Show HN: ResiliReplay - Chaos testing for AI agents and MCP servers
Image: source

ResiliReplay crash-tests AI agents and MCP servers, replays failures deterministically, and converts broken traces into regression tests.

It is a model-agnostic, local-first TypeScript toolkit: record versioned events, inject seed-controlled faults, score recovery from declared evidence, and compile the first causal failure into an editable scenario plus an executable Node test. The deterministic path needs no API key, paid model, Docker, external account, telemetry, or LLM judge.

ResiliReplay is defensive testing software. Audit only local or user-owned MCP targets. A report or badge is evidence for one declared suite and version, not a universal security certification.

Requirements: Node.js 20 or 22 and pnpm.

git clone https://github.com/aliengineering-byte/resilireplay.git
cd resilireplay
pnpm install --frozen-lockfile
pnpm build
pnpm demo

The demo runs a real deterministic local subprocess, injects three faults, scores a successful recovery and an unrecovered failure, writes every report format, compiles the failed trace, and executes the generated regression test.

Continue the local tour:

pnpm demo:mcp
pnpm exec resilireplay test scenarios

The MCP demo audits an intentionally vulnerable toy stdio server and a resilient one. The first has two expected safe-canary findings; the second has none. Open runs/demo/recovered-report/report.html

in a browser to inspect the standalone recovery report.

See the demo guide and verified transcript for expected output and asset reproduction.

Record the bundled deterministic agent and emit a passing baseline report:

pnpm exec resilireplay record --output runs/agent/trace.jsonl -- node examples/deterministic-agent/dist/index.js
pnpm exec resilireplay replay --trace runs/agent/trace.jsonl --report-dir runs/agent/report

Adapters for a real agent framework emit the same versioned TraceEvent

objects. See the adapter guide; the OpenAI-compatible example is a translation fixture and does not claim to call a live provider.

Audit the bundled resilient server over stdio:

pnpm exec resilireplay mcp audit --command "node examples/resilient-mcp-server/dist/index.js" --output runs/mcp-audit

mcp audit

captures tools/list

schemas and calls only a tool named reliability_probe

by default. Pass --call-tools

only after reviewing tool behavior, because MCP calls may have server-side effects. Non-loopback Streamable HTTP targets also require --allow-remote

.

The MCP chaos guide covers controlled faults, transports, authorization, and safe-canary behavior.

Apply a built-in fault or reviewable YAML scenario. The same trace plus scenario plus seed produces the same mutation:

pnpm exec resilireplay inject --trace runs/agent/trace.jsonl --scenario malformed-json --seed 42 --output runs/agent/failed.jsonl
pnpm exec resilireplay replay --trace runs/agent/failed.jsonl --report-dir runs/agent/failed-report
pnpm exec resilireplay faults

The replay command above intentionally exits 1: the minimal baseline has no recovery event after the injected malformed response. It still writes the failed report bundle for review. Use pnpm exec resilireplay test scenarios

when a CI command should verify both expected-pass and expected-failure scenarios with exit 0.

Provider and transport faults include bounded latency, timeout, 429/5xx, reset, truncation, malformed JSON, duplicates, and stale responses. Tool and workflow faults cover errors, permissions, disposable missing files, corrupt results, side-effect duplication, handoff loss, wrong recipients, stale state, conflicting instructions, and loops.

See custom fault scenarios for the YAML contract and safety rules.

pnpm demo

creates a failed trace. Convert it into a minimized fixture, scenario, manifest, and executable node:test

:

pnpm exec resilireplay generate-test --trace runs/demo/failed.jsonl --output runs/generated-regression

The generated test executes immediately by default. manifest.json

links the source trace, minimized fixture, scenario, and test with SHA-256 hashes.

flowchart LR
    A["Record JSONL trace"] --> B["Inject deterministic fault"]
    B --> C["Replay"]
    C --> D["Score recovery"]
    D --> E["Minimize causal failure"]
    E --> F["Generate regression"]
    F --> C

This excerpt is captured from the no-key demo:

ResiliReplay v0.1.0  PASS
Recovery score  100/100
Completion      yes
Recovery        safe
Retries         1/3
Safety          compliant

Each run can emit:

Format File Intended use
Terminal terminal.txt
Local and CI logs
JSON report.json
Automation and dashboards
HTML report.html
Standalone human review
JUnit junit.xml
Test runners and CI annotations
SARIF 2.1.0 report.sarif
Code-scanning ingestion
Manifest run-manifest.json
Artifact and metrics hashes
SVG badge.svg
Scope-limited run status

See the report schema.

The stable boundary is a strict, provider-neutral TraceEvent

, not a model SDK:

Package Responsibility
@resilireplay/core
Events, redaction, fault engine, deterministic scoring, path safety
@resilireplay/trace
Canonical JSONL and failed-trace-to-regression compiler
@resilireplay/reporters
Terminal, JSON, HTML, JUnit, SARIF, manifests, badges
@resilireplay/mcp-chaos
Authorized MCP discovery, calling, mutation, canaries, evidence
@resilireplay/proxy
Loopback provider/transport mutation proxy
resilireplay
Cross-platform CLI, recording, replay, scenarios, cleanup
@resilireplay/github-action
Repository-native CI integration

Read the architecture for invariants and package dependencies.

record

executes the exact command you supply; it is not an OS sandbox.- Audit only MCP servers you own or are authorized to test.

  • Review MCP schemas before --call-tools

; tools can have side effects. - Omit secrets at the adapter source even though credential-shaped values and sensitive keys are redacted before trace storage.

  • Treat reports as sensitive test evidence if source traces contain private application data.

Filesystem faults use owned temporary directories, output paths are containment-checked, spawned processes have deadlines and cleanup, and listeners bind to loopback unless a caller deliberately chooses another host.

Read SECURITY.md and THREAT_MODEL.md before running untrusted commands or remote MCP targets.

  • Streamable HTTP support has less integration coverage than stdio. record

is not an OS sandbox.- MCP tool calls may have server-side effects.

  • Causal minimization is strongest when adapters provide parentId

andcauseId

. - Streaming provider output is aggregated into response events in v0.1.0.

  • Report hashes prove linkage and integrity, not authenticity; manifests are unsigned.
  • Packages are not published to npm.

See known limitations and the roadmap.

Run the complete local gate:

pnpm quality

Use the composite action:

- uses: aliengineering-byte/resilireplay@v0.1.0
  with:
    scenarios: scenarios

ResiliReplay is Apache-2.0 licensed. Contributions should be deterministic, bounded, and covered by tests. See CONTRIBUTING.md, CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md, the launch reference, release evidence, and the v0.1.0 release.

Built and maintained by Ali.

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