Browse catalog dialog (issue #10 phase 2)

Adds the user-facing half of the server catalog: a searchable, signed
catalog browser wired to the existing paste/import path.

bcc_core.py (pure, GUI-free, per the design comment on #10):
- CATALOG_CATEGORY_GROUPS / catalog_category_group(): collapses the
  raw taxonomy to the 7 UI chips (unknown categories fall back to
  Other, never drop an entry).
- catalog_entry_matches_query() / filter_catalog_entries() /
  catalog_entries_in_group(): search-as-you-type + category chip
  filtering over catalog entries.
- format_freshness_hint(): last_release ISO date -> "Last updated N
  months/years ago", '' when missing/unparseable/future.
- first_unfilled_focus_target(): finds the first <PLACEHOLDER> arg or
  blank env_required key so the GUI can focus it after Add.
- load_bundled_catalog_entries(): reads+verifies+validates the
  bundled catalog.json/.sig pair, returns servers or an EMPTY list on
  ANY failure -- the load-bearing guarantee behind the dialog's empty
  state.
- Bug fix: catalog_entry_to_paste_json() only copied config.env,
  ignoring env_required -- the field where 9 of the 19 seed entries
  (postgres, github, notion, obsidian, brave-search, tavily,
  home-assistant, n8n, grafana) actually declare their secret var
  names. Add would have silently added these servers with no env
  field for the user to fill in. Now env_required keys are seeded as
  empty-string placeholders unless config.env already sets them.

bcc.py:
- BrowseCatalogDialog: search box, category chips, list, detail pane
  (description/notes/homepage/freshness hint/verbatim command
  preview), per-tier action (Add for basic, Open setup docs for
  link-only). Every catalog-derived string goes through plain_label()
  (Qt.PlainText + html.escape, matching catalog_console.py's
  approach) or an inherently-plain QPlainTextEdit for the command
  preview -- catalog.json takes community PRs, so every field is
  attacker-influenceable.
- "Browse catalog…" button next to Paste JSON.
- ServerEditor.focus_target(): selects the first unfilled arg line or
  opens the env-table cell editor for the first blank env row.
- Save-time placeholder guard: warns (Yes/No, defaults No) when any
  server still has an unfilled <PLACEHOLDER>; never blocks a
  deliberate save, never saves one unnoticed.

bcc.spec: bundle data/catalog.json.sig alongside catalog.json -- the
signature file was missing from datas, so a frozen build would have
had a catalog.json with no matching .sig for resolve_catalog() to
verify against.

tests/test_core.py: +82 tests covering category-group mapping,
catalog search/filter, freshness-hint formatting (including the
month/year rounding boundary), first_unfilled_focus_target, the
catalog_entry_to_paste_json env_required fix (incl. a regression
against the real shipped postgres entry), and
load_bundled_catalog_entries under valid/tampered/wrong-key/missing-
file/invalid-but-signed conditions plus an end-to-end check against
the real data/catalog.json + .sig (19 entries).

GUI code (BrowseCatalogDialog, ServerEditor.focus_target,
MainWindow.browse_catalog) is unavoidably untested here -- PySide6
cannot import in this sandbox (missing libEGL/system GL libs) -- but
all the logic it depends on is pushed into bcc_core.py and covered
above.

bcc.py

@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ Run:  python mcp_manager.py
 
 from __future__ import annotations
 
+import html
 import sys
 import time
 from pathlib import Path
@@ -26,10 +27,12 @@ from PySide6.QtGui import (
     QKeySequence,
     QPainter,
     QPixmap,
+    QTextCursor,
 )
 from PySide6.QtWidgets import (
     QAbstractItemView,
     QApplication,
+    QButtonGroup,
     QCheckBox,
     QComboBox,
     QDialog,
@@ -65,6 +68,26 @@ import bcc_core as core
 # thread during drag-and-drop import, so skip anything larger than this.
 MAX_DROP_IMPORT_BYTES = 5 * 1024 * 1024  # 5 MB
 
+
+def plain_label(text: object) -> QLabel:
+    """A QLabel guaranteed to render `text` as plain text, never HTML.
+
+    Qt's QLabel auto-interprets HTML by default (Qt.AutoText). Every catalog
+    entry field (description, notes, display name, urls -- and especially
+    args) is attacker-influenceable: catalog.json accepts community PRs, and
+    only a valid Ed25519 signature stands between a PR and what a user sees
+    here. A `<b>` or `<img onerror=...>` in a description must render as
+    visible text, not markup -- exactly the same reasoning catalog_console.py
+    documents for its own plain_label(). Every catalog-derived string shown
+    by the Browse dialog MUST go through this helper (or an inherently
+    plain-text widget like QPlainTextEdit) rather than a bare QLabel(...).
+    """
+    label = QLabel(html.escape(str(text)))
+    label.setTextFormat(Qt.TextFormat.PlainText)
+    label.setWordWrap(True)
+    return label
+
+
 # --- One-line rebrand: change this to recolor the whole app --------------- #
 ACCENT = "#f97316"  # warm orange
 ACCENT_DIM = "#c2570b"
@@ -676,6 +699,39 @@ class ServerEditor(QFrame):
     def current_name(self) -> str:
         return self.name.text().strip()
 
+    def focus_target(self, target: tuple[str, int | str] | None):
+        """
+        Focus the field a catalog Add left unfilled -- `target` is whatever
+        core.first_unfilled_focus_target() returned: ("args", line_index),
+        ("env", var_name), or None (nothing to fill, so do nothing).
+
+        Only meaningful on the stdio page, which is the only page a catalog
+        entry ever populates (link-only entries never reach dump_data()).
+        """
+        if not target or self.type.currentIndex() != 0:
+            return
+        kind, value = target
+        if kind == "args":
+            self.args.setFocus()
+            cursor = self.args.textCursor()
+            cursor.movePosition(QTextCursor.MoveOperation.Start)
+            cursor.movePosition(
+                QTextCursor.MoveOperation.Down, QTextCursor.MoveMode.MoveAnchor, int(value)
+            )
+            cursor.movePosition(
+                QTextCursor.MoveOperation.EndOfLine, QTextCursor.MoveMode.KeepAnchor
+            )
+            self.args.setTextCursor(cursor)
+        elif kind == "env":
+            for r in range(self.env.table.rowCount()):
+                key_item = self.env.table.item(r, 0)
+                if key_item and key_item.text() == value:
+                    self.env.table.setCurrentCell(r, 1)
+                    val_item = self.env.table.item(r, 1)
+                    if val_item:
+                        self.env.table.editItem(val_item)
+                    break
+
     def _type_switched(self):
         self.stack.setCurrentIndex(self.type.currentIndex())
         self._emit()
@@ -1204,6 +1260,262 @@ class PasteDialog(QDialog):
             self.err.setText(str(e))
 
 
+# --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
+# Browse catalog dialog (issue #10 phase 2): search/filter the signed,
+# bundled server catalog and add a "basic" entry through the existing
+# paste/import path, or send a "link-only" entry to its setup docs.
+#
+# Every widget here that shows catalog-derived text uses plain_label() or an
+# inherently-plain widget (QPlainTextEdit) -- see plain_label()'s docstring.
+# The dialog itself does no signature/schema work: MainWindow hands it an
+# already-verified `entries` list (bcc_core.load_bundled_catalog_entries()),
+# and an empty list here means "show the empty state", never "fall back to
+# something less trusted".
+# --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
+class BrowseCatalogDialog(QDialog):
+    def __init__(self, parent, entries: list[dict]):
+        super().__init__(parent)
+        self.setWindowTitle("Browse catalog")
+        self.resize(880, 560)
+        self.entries = entries or []
+        self.result_entry: dict | None = None
+        self._current_entry: dict | None = None
+        self._current_homepage: str | None = None
+        self._current_docs_url: str | None = None
+        self._current_group = "All"
+
+        outer = QVBoxLayout(self)
+
+        if not self.entries:
+            # Signature verification failed, or nothing was bundled -- never
+            # show a half-trusted list, and never explain WHY beyond this;
+            # a stale/tampered catalog isn't the user's problem to diagnose.
+            msg = plain_label("Catalog unavailable.")
+            msg.setObjectName("placeholder")
+            msg.setAlignment(Qt.AlignmentFlag.AlignCenter)
+            outer.addWidget(msg, 1)
+            btns = QDialogButtonBox(QDialogButtonBox.StandardButton.Close)
+            btns.rejected.connect(self.reject)
+            outer.addWidget(btns)
+            return
+
+        search_row = QHBoxLayout()
+        self.search_box = QLineEdit()
+        self.search_box.setPlaceholderText("Search by name, description, or category…")
+        self.search_box.setClearButtonEnabled(True)
+        self.search_box.textChanged.connect(self._refresh_list)
+        search_row.addWidget(self.search_box, 1)
+        outer.addLayout(search_row)
+
+        chip_row = QHBoxLayout()
+        self._chip_group = QButtonGroup(self)
+        self._chip_group.setExclusive(True)
+        for label in core.CATALOG_CATEGORY_CHIPS:
+            btn = QPushButton(label)
+            btn.setCheckable(True)
+            btn.setChecked(label == "All")
+            btn.clicked.connect(lambda _checked=False, g=label: self._set_group(g))
+            self._chip_group.addButton(btn)
+            chip_row.addWidget(btn)
+        chip_row.addStretch()
+        outer.addLayout(chip_row)
+
+        splitter = QSplitter(Qt.Orientation.Horizontal)
+
+        left = QWidget()
+        lv = QVBoxLayout(left)
+        lv.setContentsMargins(0, 0, 0, 0)
+        self.list = QListWidget()
+        self.list.currentItemChanged.connect(self._on_selected)
+        lv.addWidget(self.list, 1)
+        splitter.addWidget(left)
+
+        right = QFrame()
+        right.setObjectName("card")
+        rv = QVBoxLayout(right)
+        self.detail_title = plain_label("")
+        self.detail_title.setObjectName("h1")
+        rv.addWidget(self.detail_title)
+        self.detail_meta = plain_label("")
+        self.detail_meta.setObjectName("muted")
+        rv.addWidget(self.detail_meta)
+        self.detail_freshness = plain_label("")
+        self.detail_freshness.setObjectName("muted")
+        rv.addWidget(self.detail_freshness)
+        self.detail_desc = plain_label("")
+        rv.addWidget(self.detail_desc)
+        self.detail_notes = plain_label("")
+        self.detail_notes.setObjectName("muted")
+        rv.addWidget(self.detail_notes)
+        self.detail_homepage_btn = QPushButton("Open homepage")
+        self.detail_homepage_btn.clicked.connect(self._open_homepage)
+        rv.addWidget(self.detail_homepage_btn)
+        rv.addWidget(plain_label("Exact command this will add:"))
+        self.detail_command_preview = QPlainTextEdit()
+        self.detail_command_preview.setObjectName("diag")
+        self.detail_command_preview.setReadOnly(True)
+        # Read-only QPlainTextEdit never interprets HTML, regardless of what
+        # a compromised/careless catalog entry's command/args contain -- this
+        # is the field that renders "the exact bytes that will be written".
+        rv.addWidget(self.detail_command_preview, 1)
+        self.detail_action_btn = QPushButton("")
+        self.detail_action_btn.setObjectName("primary")
+        self.detail_action_btn.clicked.connect(self._on_action)
+        rv.addWidget(self.detail_action_btn)
+        splitter.addWidget(right)
+
+        splitter.setSizes([360, 480])
+        outer.addWidget(splitter, 1)
+
+        btns = QDialogButtonBox(QDialogButtonBox.StandardButton.Close)
+        btns.rejected.connect(self.reject)
+        outer.addWidget(btns)
+
+        self._refresh_list()
+
+    # --- list / filtering -------------------------------------------------- #
+    def _set_group(self, group: str):
+        self._current_group = group
+        self._refresh_list()
+
+    def _visible_entries(self) -> list[dict]:
+        filtered = core.filter_catalog_entries(self.entries, self.search_box.text())
+        return core.catalog_entries_in_group(filtered, self._current_group)
+
+    def _format_row(self, entry: dict) -> str:
+        display = str(entry.get("display") or entry.get("id") or "")
+        official = "✓ " if entry.get("official") else ""
+        stars = entry.get("stars")
+        star_txt = f"   ★ {stars:,}" if isinstance(stars, int) else ""
+        group = core.catalog_category_group(entry.get("category", ""))
+        desc = str(entry.get("description") or "")
+        if len(desc) > 88:
+            desc = desc[:87] + "…"
+        # QListWidgetItem text is always rendered literally by Qt (no HTML
+        # interpretation), so no escaping is needed here -- unlike QLabel.
+        return f"{official}{display}{star_txt}\n{desc}   ·   {group}"
+
+    def _refresh_list(self):
+        self.list.blockSignals(True)
+        self.list.clear()
+        for entry in self._visible_entries():
+            item = QListWidgetItem(self._format_row(entry))
+            item.setData(Qt.ItemDataRole.UserRole, entry)
+            # Tooltips DO auto-detect rich text in Qt, so escape defensively
+            # even though descriptions are already shown, unescaped-but-safe,
+            # in the QListWidgetItem text above.
+            item.setToolTip(html.escape(str(entry.get("description", ""))))
+            self.list.addItem(item)
+        self.list.blockSignals(False)
+        if self.list.count():
+            self.list.setCurrentRow(0)
+        else:
+            self._on_selected(None, None)
+
+    # --- detail pane -------------------------------------------------------- #
+    def _on_selected(self, current, _previous=None):
+        if current is None:
+            self._current_entry = None
+            self._current_homepage = None
+            self._current_docs_url = None
+            self.detail_title.setText("")
+            self.detail_meta.setText("")
+            self.detail_freshness.setText("")
+            self.detail_desc.setText("No matching servers." if self.entries else "")
+            self.detail_notes.setText("")
+            self.detail_homepage_btn.setVisible(False)
+            self.detail_command_preview.setPlainText("")
+            self.detail_action_btn.setEnabled(False)
+            self.detail_action_btn.setText("Add")
+            return
+
+        entry = current.data(Qt.ItemDataRole.UserRole)
+        self._current_entry = entry
+        self.detail_title.setText(str(entry.get("display") or entry.get("id") or ""))
+
+        official = "✓ Official" if entry.get("official") else ""
+        stars = entry.get("stars")
+        star_txt = f"★ {stars:,}" if isinstance(stars, int) else ""
+        group = core.catalog_category_group(entry.get("category", ""))
+        meta_bits = [b for b in (official, star_txt, group) if b]
+        self.detail_meta.setText("  ·  ".join(meta_bits))
+
+        freshness = core.format_freshness_hint(entry.get("last_release"))
+        self.detail_freshness.setText(freshness)
+        self.detail_freshness.setVisible(bool(freshness))
+
+        self.detail_desc.setText(str(entry.get("description") or ""))
+
+        notes = entry.get("notes") or ""
+        self.detail_notes.setText(notes)
+        self.detail_notes.setVisible(bool(notes))
+
+        homepage = entry.get("homepage")
+        self._current_homepage = homepage if isinstance(homepage, str) else None
+        self.detail_homepage_btn.setVisible(bool(self._current_homepage))
+
+        self._current_docs_url = (
+            entry.get("docs_url") if isinstance(entry.get("docs_url"), str) else None
+        )
+
+        self.detail_command_preview.setPlainText(self._render_command_preview(entry))
+
+        if entry.get("setup") == "basic":
+            self.detail_action_btn.setText("Add")
+            self.detail_action_btn.setEnabled(True)
+        else:
+            self.detail_action_btn.setText("Open setup docs")
+            self.detail_action_btn.setEnabled(bool(self._current_docs_url))
+
+    def _render_command_preview(self, entry: dict) -> str:
+        """
+        The exact command that will be written, rendered verbatim. Every
+        value here comes straight from the (signature-verified) catalog
+        entry with no interpretation beyond str() -- this must never be the
+        place a markup-laced description sneaks back in as "helpful"
+        formatting.
+        """
+        if entry.get("setup") != "basic":
+            docs = entry.get("docs_url") or "(none provided)"
+            return (
+                "This is a hosted/managed integration -- there is no local "
+                "command to add.\n\nSetup docs:\n  " + str(docs)
+            )
+
+        config = entry.get("config") or {}
+        lines = [f"command: {config.get('command', '')}"]
+        args = config.get("args") or []
+        if args:
+            lines.append("args:")
+            lines.extend(f"  {a}" for a in args)
+        env = config.get("env") or {}
+        env_required = entry.get("env_required") or {}
+        env_keys = list(env.keys()) + [k for k in env_required if k not in env]
+        if env_keys:
+            lines.append("env (names only -- you provide the values):")
+            lines.extend(f"  {k}" for k in env_keys)
+        return "\n".join(lines)
+
+    def _open_homepage(self):
+        url = self._current_homepage
+        if url and url.startswith("https://"):
+            QDesktopServices.openUrl(QUrl(url))
+
+    def _on_action(self):
+        entry = self._current_entry
+        if not entry:
+            return
+        if entry.get("setup") == "basic":
+            self.result_entry = entry
+            self.accept()
+        else:
+            url = self._current_docs_url
+            if url and url.startswith("https://"):
+                QDesktopServices.openUrl(QUrl(url))
+            # link-only never auto-adds and never closes the dialog -- the
+            # user can keep browsing after opening the docs in their browser.
+
+
 # --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
 # Log viewer dialog (issue #6): a read-only, auto-tailing view of a single
 # server's MCP log file. Polls on a QTimer instead of watching the filesystem
@@ -1780,6 +2092,10 @@ class MainWindow(QMainWindow):
         self.del_btn = QPushButton("Delete")
         self.del_btn.setObjectName("danger")
         self.paste_btn = QPushButton("Paste JSON...")
+        self.browse_catalog_btn = QPushButton("Browse catalog…")
+        self.browse_catalog_btn.setToolTip(
+            "Add a popular MCP server from the curated, signed catalog"
+        )
         self.copy_btn = QPushButton("Copy to ▸")
         self.undo_btn = QPushButton("Undo")
         self.undo_btn.setEnabled(False)
@@ -1792,6 +2108,7 @@ class MainWindow(QMainWindow):
         self.dup_btn.clicked.connect(self.duplicate_server)
         self.del_btn.clicked.connect(self.delete_server)
         self.paste_btn.clicked.connect(self.paste_json)
+        self.browse_catalog_btn.clicked.connect(self.browse_catalog)
         self.copy_btn.clicked.connect(self.copy_to_menu)
         self.undo_btn.clicked.connect(self._undo)
         self.test_all_btn.clicked.connect(self._test_all_servers)
@@ -1800,6 +2117,7 @@ class MainWindow(QMainWindow):
             self.dup_btn,
             self.del_btn,
             self.paste_btn,
+            self.browse_catalog_btn,
             self.copy_btn,
             self.undo_btn,
             self.test_all_btn,
@@ -2378,6 +2696,41 @@ class MainWindow(QMainWindow):
         self._mark_dirty()
         self.status.setText(f"Imported {added} added, {replaced} replaced. Review and Save.")
 
+    def browse_catalog(self):
+        """
+        Open the Browse-catalog dialog (issue #10 phase 2). The catalog is
+        loaded and signature-verified fresh every time the dialog opens --
+        never cached across app runs at this phase (remote fetch/cache is
+        #61, not yet built) -- so a bundled-catalog swap only takes effect
+        on next dialog open, never mid-session in a stale way.
+        """
+        entries = core.load_bundled_catalog_entries(
+            _asset_dir() / "data" / "catalog.json", _asset_dir() / "data" / "catalog.json.sig"
+        )
+        dlg = BrowseCatalogDialog(self, entries)
+        if dlg.exec() != QDialog.DialogCode.Accepted or not dlg.result_entry:
+            return
+        entry = dlg.result_entry
+        paste = core.catalog_entry_to_paste_json(entry)
+        name, data = next(iter(paste.items()))
+
+        existing_before = {s.name: i for i, s in enumerate(self.servers)}
+        self._push_undo()
+        _added, replaced = self._import_server(name, data)
+        idx = (
+            existing_before.get(name, len(self.servers) - 1) if replaced else len(self.servers) - 1
+        )
+        self._refresh_tables(select_index=idx)
+        self._mark_dirty()
+
+        target = core.first_unfilled_focus_target(data)
+        self.editor.focus_target(target)
+
+        verb = "Replaced" if replaced else "Added"
+        self.status.setText(
+            f"{verb} “{name}” from the catalog. Fill in the highlighted field and Save."
+        )
+
     def copy_to_menu(self):
         idx = self._current_index()
         if not (0 <= idx < len(self.servers)):
@@ -2456,6 +2809,29 @@ class MainWindow(QMainWindow):
             QMessageBox.warning(self, "Can't save yet", "Fix the highlighted problem first.")
             return
 
+        # Placeholder guard (issue #10): a catalog Add can leave a
+        # <PLACEHOLDER>-style token in args/env until the user fills it in.
+        # This warns, it does not block -- the user may be deliberately
+        # saving a stub to finish later -- but it must never save silently,
+        # since a server launched with a literal "<PLACEHOLDER>" argument
+        # just fails in a confusing way at spawn time.
+        placeholder_names = [
+            s.name for s in self.servers if core.config_has_unfilled_placeholders(s.data)
+        ]
+        if placeholder_names:
+            names = ", ".join(f"“{n}”" for n in placeholder_names)
+            ans = QMessageBox.warning(
+                self,
+                "Unfilled placeholder",
+                f"{names} still has a <PLACEHOLDER> value that hasn't been "
+                "replaced with a real value. Claude won't be able to use "
+                "it as-is.\n\nSave anyway?",
+                QMessageBox.StandardButton.Yes | QMessageBox.StandardButton.No,
+                QMessageBox.StandardButton.No,
+            )
+            if ans != QMessageBox.StandardButton.Yes:
+                return
+
         # Stale-file check: if the file changed on disk since we loaded it, prompt.
         # Compare mtime AND size (not mtime alone) so a concurrent external write
         # that lands within the mtime resolution window, or that restores the

bcc.spec

@@ -31,7 +31,11 @@ a = Analysis(
     ["bcc.py"],
     pathex=[],
     binaries=[],
-    datas=[("icons", "icons"), ("data/catalog.json", "data")],
+    datas=[
+        ("icons", "icons"),
+        ("data/catalog.json", "data"),
+        ("data/catalog.json.sig", "data"),
+    ],
     hiddenimports=[],
     hookspath=[],
     hooksconfig={},

bcc_core.py

@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ import tempfile
 import threading
 import time
 from dataclasses import dataclass
+from datetime import date
 from pathlib import Path
 from typing import NamedTuple
 from urllib.parse import urlparse
@@ -2509,8 +2510,17 @@ def catalog_entry_to_paste_json(entry: dict) -> dict:
     """
     Convert a basic-tier catalog entry into the {name: {command, args, env}}
     shape parse_pasted_json()/_import_server() already understand, so the
-    (future) catalog picker dialog can feed a selection straight into the
+    Browse-catalog dialog can feed a selection straight into the existing
-    existing paste-import path instead of growing a parallel one.
+    paste-import path instead of growing a parallel one.
+
+    `env` is seeded from two sources: config.env (rare -- e.g. grafana's
+    non-secret GRAFANA_URL) and, for every key in `env_required` not already
+    present, an empty-string placeholder. env_required is where the seed
+    data actually keeps its secret VAR NAMES (validate_catalog requires its
+    values to be "" -- never a real secret); config.env alone, without this,
+    would silently drop those names on Add for the 9 of 19 seed entries that
+    need a secret and only declare it via env_required -- the user would
+    see a server added with no field prompting them for the key it needs.
     """
     config = entry.get("config") or {}
     name = entry.get("id") or entry.get("display") or "server"
@@ -2518,9 +2528,11 @@ def catalog_entry_to_paste_json(entry: dict) -> dict:
         "command": config.get("command", ""),
         "args": list(config.get("args") or []),
     }
-    env = config.get("env")
+    env = dict(config.get("env") or {})
+    for key in entry.get("env_required") or {}:
+        env.setdefault(key, "")
     if env:
-        data["env"] = dict(env)
+        data["env"] = env
     return {str(name): data}
 
 
@@ -2540,3 +2552,190 @@ def config_has_unfilled_placeholders(cfg: dict) -> bool:
     if isinstance(env, dict):
         values.extend(v for v in env.values() if isinstance(v, str))
     return any(_PLACEHOLDER_RE.search(v) for v in values)
+
+
+# --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
+# Catalog: Browse-dialog helpers (issue #10 phase 2)
+#
+# Everything below is pure and GUI-free on purpose (per the design comment on
+# #10): the dialog itself should be a thin shell that calls into this module,
+# the same relationship bcc.py already has with the rest of bcc_core.py.
+# --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
+
+# Collapses the 20-value category taxonomy from the catalog research pass
+# down to the 7 chips shown in the Browse dialog. Any category not listed
+# here (including one a future catalog entry introduces that we don't yet
+# know about) falls back to "Other" rather than raising -- an unrecognized
+# category must never make an entry disappear from the dialog.
+CATALOG_CATEGORY_GROUPS: dict[str, str] = {
+    "files": "Files & Dev",
+    "dev": "Files & Dev",
+    "code-hosting": "Files & Dev",
+    "browser": "Files & Dev",
+    "database": "Data",
+    "data": "Data",
+    "search": "Search & AI",
+    "ai": "Search & AI",
+    "cloud": "Cloud & Infra",
+    "infra": "Cloud & Infra",
+    "observability": "Cloud & Infra",
+    "productivity": "Work",
+    "communication": "Work",
+    "crm": "Work",
+    "finance": "Work",
+    "design": "Work",
+    "media": "Home & Personal",
+    "smart-home": "Home & Personal",
+    "personal": "Home & Personal",
+}
+
+# Ordered for chip display: "All" first, the 6 named groups next in the order
+# given in the #10 design comment, "Other" last as the catch-all.
+CATALOG_CATEGORY_CHIPS: tuple[str, ...] = (
+    "All",
+    "Files & Dev",
+    "Data",
+    "Search & AI",
+    "Cloud & Infra",
+    "Work",
+    "Home & Personal",
+    "Other",
+)
+
+
+def catalog_category_group(category: str) -> str:
+    """Collapse a raw catalog `category` value to one of the 7 UI chips.
+
+    Unknown/missing categories map to "Other" -- never raises, never drops
+    an entry from the list just because its category tag doesn't match one
+    of the ones known at the time this mapping was written.
+    """
+    return CATALOG_CATEGORY_GROUPS.get(str(category or "").strip().lower(), "Other")
+
+
+def catalog_entry_matches_query(entry: dict, query: str) -> bool:
+    """
+    Case-insensitive substring match against a catalog entry's id, display
+    name, description, and category. An empty/whitespace-only query matches
+    everything, so the search box doubles as "no filter" when cleared --
+    the same convention server_matches_filter() uses for the main table.
+    """
+    q = (query or "").strip().lower()
+    if not q:
+        return True
+    haystacks = (
+        str(entry.get("id", "")),
+        str(entry.get("display", "")),
+        str(entry.get("description", "")),
+        str(entry.get("category", "")),
+    )
+    return any(q in h.lower() for h in haystacks)
+
+
+def filter_catalog_entries(entries: list[dict], query: str) -> list[dict]:
+    """Return only the catalog entries that match `query` (see
+    catalog_entry_matches_query)."""
+    return [e for e in entries if catalog_entry_matches_query(e, query)]
+
+
+def catalog_entries_in_group(entries: list[dict], group: str) -> list[dict]:
+    """
+    Return only the entries whose category collapses into `group` (one of
+    CATALOG_CATEGORY_CHIPS). "All" (or a falsy/unrecognized group) returns
+    every entry unfiltered -- that's the default chip state.
+    """
+    if not group or group == "All":
+        return list(entries)
+    return [e for e in entries if catalog_category_group(e.get("category", "")) == group]
+
+
+def format_freshness_hint(last_release: str | None, today: date | None = None) -> str:
+    """
+    Turn a catalog entry's `last_release` (an ISO "YYYY-MM-DD" date, or None
+    when the registry didn't expose one) into a short freshness hint for the
+    detail pane, e.g. "Last updated 14 months ago".
+
+    Returns "" (nothing to show) when `last_release` is missing or
+    unparseable, or when it's somehow in the future relative to `today` --
+    a bogus "-3 months ago" would undermine the one signal this hint exists
+    to give the user, so we'd rather show nothing than something wrong.
+
+    `today` is an injectable override so this is exactly reproducible in
+    tests without depending on the wall clock.
+    """
+    if not last_release or not isinstance(last_release, str):
+        return ""
+    try:
+        released = date.fromisoformat(last_release)
+    except ValueError:
+        return ""
+    now = today or date.today()
+    if released > now:
+        return ""
+
+    months = (now.year - released.year) * 12 + (now.month - released.month)
+    if now.day < released.day:
+        months -= 1
+    months = max(months, 0)
+
+    if months == 0:
+        return "Last updated this month"
+    if months == 1:
+        return "Last updated 1 month ago"
+    if months < 24:
+        return f"Last updated {months} months ago"
+    years = months // 12
+    return f"Last updated {years} year{'s' if years != 1 else ''} ago"
+
+
+def first_unfilled_focus_target(data: dict) -> tuple[str, int | str] | None:
+    """
+    Given a server config dict shaped like catalog_entry_to_paste_json()'s
+    output (command/args/env), find the first thing a user must fill in
+    after a catalog Add: a <PLACEHOLDER>-style arg (checked first, since a
+    missing path/target usually blocks the server from starting at all) or
+    else the first env var the catalog left blank.
+
+    Returns ("args", index) or ("env", key), or None when there's nothing
+    left to fill (e.g. a server with no placeholders and no required env).
+    The GUI uses this to focus+select the right field right after Add,
+    instead of leaving the user to hunt for what still needs a value.
+    """
+    args = data.get("args") or []
+    for i, a in enumerate(args):
+        if isinstance(a, str) and _PLACEHOLDER_RE.search(a):
+            return ("args", i)
+
+    env = data.get("env") or {}
+    if isinstance(env, dict):
+        for k, v in env.items():
+            if not isinstance(v, str) or not v.strip() or _PLACEHOLDER_RE.search(v):
+                return ("env", k)
+
+    return None
+
+
+def load_bundled_catalog_entries(catalog_path: Path, sig_path: Path) -> list[dict]:
+    """
+    Read+verify+validate the bundled catalog.json/.sig pair from disk and
+    return its `servers` list -- or an EMPTY list if anything at all is
+    wrong: files missing/unreadable, signature doesn't verify, JSON doesn't
+    parse, or validate_catalog() finds a problem.
+
+    🔴 SECURITY: this is the load-bearing guarantee for the Browse dialog.
+    There is deliberately no partial-success path here -- a signature
+    failure must never surface a half-trusted list, only an empty one, so
+    the GUI's only job is to render "Catalog unavailable" when this comes
+    back empty. All the real trust decisions (signature, schema, command
+    allowlist) already live in resolve_catalog()/validate_catalog(); this
+    is a thin disk-reading wrapper around them so the GUI never touches
+    catalog bytes directly.
+    """
+    try:
+        raw = catalog_path.read_bytes()
+        sig = sig_path.read_bytes()
+    except OSError:
+        return []
+    data = resolve_catalog(bundled=(raw, sig), cached=None, remote=None)
+    servers = data.get("servers") if isinstance(data, dict) else None
+    return servers if isinstance(servers, list) else []

tests/test_core.py

@@ -2049,6 +2049,43 @@ def test_catalog_entry_to_paste_json_includes_env_when_present():
     assert result["widget"]["env"] == {"GRAFANA_URL": "<GRAFANA_URL>"}
 
 
+def test_catalog_entry_to_paste_json_seeds_env_required_keys():
+    # Regression: env_required is where the seed data actually keeps its
+    # secret VAR NAMES (postgres/github/notion/etc. all declare their secret
+    # here with config.env left empty) -- catalog_entry_to_paste_json must
+    # surface those names as blank env rows, not silently drop them.
+    entry = _minimal_catalog()["servers"][0]
+    entry["env_required"] = {"DATABASE_URI": ""}
+    result = c.catalog_entry_to_paste_json(entry)
+    assert result["widget"]["env"] == {"DATABASE_URI": ""}
+
+
+def test_catalog_entry_to_paste_json_config_env_wins_over_env_required_default():
+    entry = _minimal_catalog()["servers"][0]
+    entry["config"]["env"] = {"GRAFANA_URL": "<GRAFANA_URL>"}
+    entry["env_required"] = {"GRAFANA_URL": "", "GRAFANA_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_TOKEN": ""}
+    result = c.catalog_entry_to_paste_json(entry)
+    assert result["widget"]["env"] == {
+        "GRAFANA_URL": "<GRAFANA_URL>",
+        "GRAFANA_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_TOKEN": "",
+    }
+
+
+def test_catalog_entry_to_paste_json_real_postgres_entry_seeds_database_uri():
+    """End-to-end regression against the actual shipped postgres entry,
+    which needs DATABASE_URI via env_required and has no config.env at
+    all -- this is exactly the shape that was silently dropping the env
+    field before catalog_entry_to_paste_json accounted for env_required."""
+    root = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent
+    raw = (root / "data" / "catalog.json").read_bytes()
+    data = c.load_catalog(raw)
+    entry = next(s for s in data["servers"] if s["id"] == "postgres")
+    result = c.catalog_entry_to_paste_json(entry)
+    assert result["postgres"]["env"] == {"DATABASE_URI": ""}
+    # And the focus-target helper now has something to point the user at.
+    assert c.first_unfilled_focus_target(result["postgres"]) == ("env", "DATABASE_URI")
+
+
 def test_config_has_unfilled_placeholders_true_for_token():
     cfg = {"command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "server", "<ALLOWED_DIR>"]}
     assert c.config_has_unfilled_placeholders(cfg) is True
@@ -2062,3 +2099,310 @@ def test_config_has_unfilled_placeholders_false_after_fill():
 def test_config_has_unfilled_placeholders_checks_env_too():
     cfg = {"command": "uvx", "args": ["mcp-grafana"], "env": {"GRAFANA_URL": "<GRAFANA_URL>"}}
     assert c.config_has_unfilled_placeholders(cfg) is True
+
+
+# --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
+# Browse-catalog dialog helpers (issue #10 phase 2)
+# --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
+
+
+# --- catalog_category_group / CATALOG_CATEGORY_GROUPS --------------------- #
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "category,expected_group",
+    [
+        ("files", "Files & Dev"),
+        ("dev", "Files & Dev"),
+        ("code-hosting", "Files & Dev"),
+        ("browser", "Files & Dev"),
+        ("database", "Data"),
+        ("data", "Data"),
+        ("search", "Search & AI"),
+        ("ai", "Search & AI"),
+        ("cloud", "Cloud & Infra"),
+        ("infra", "Cloud & Infra"),
+        ("observability", "Cloud & Infra"),
+        ("productivity", "Work"),
+        ("communication", "Work"),
+        ("crm", "Work"),
+        ("finance", "Work"),
+        ("design", "Work"),
+        ("media", "Home & Personal"),
+        ("smart-home", "Home & Personal"),
+        ("personal", "Home & Personal"),
+    ],
+)
+def test_catalog_category_group_maps_every_taxonomy_value(category, expected_group):
+    assert c.catalog_category_group(category) == expected_group
+
+
+def test_catalog_category_group_unknown_falls_back_to_other():
+    assert c.catalog_category_group("some-future-category-nobody-has-seen-yet") == "Other"
+    assert c.catalog_category_group("") == "Other"
+    assert c.catalog_category_group(None) == "Other"
+
+
+def test_catalog_category_group_is_case_insensitive():
+    assert c.catalog_category_group("Files") == "Files & Dev"
+    assert c.catalog_category_group("DATABASE") == "Data"
+
+
+def test_shipped_catalog_categories_all_have_a_known_group():
+    """Regression: every category actually used in data/catalog.json must
+    collapse to one of the 7 chips, never silently drop an entry."""
+    root = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent
+    raw = (root / "data" / "catalog.json").read_bytes()
+    data = c.load_catalog(raw)
+    for entry in data["servers"]:
+        group = c.catalog_category_group(entry["category"])
+        assert group in c.CATALOG_CATEGORY_CHIPS
+
+
+# --- catalog_entry_matches_query / filter_catalog_entries ------------------ #
+def _catalog_entries():
+    return [
+        {
+            "id": "filesystem",
+            "display": "Filesystem",
+            "description": "Read/write access to local directories you choose.",
+            "category": "files",
+        },
+        {
+            "id": "postgres",
+            "display": "Postgres MCP Pro",
+            "description": "Query and inspect a PostgreSQL database.",
+            "category": "database",
+        },
+        {
+            "id": "slack",
+            "display": "Slack",
+            "description": "Search messages and send messages from your assistant.",
+            "category": "communication",
+        },
+    ]
+
+
+def test_catalog_entry_matches_query_empty_matches_everything():
+    entries = _catalog_entries()
+    assert c.filter_catalog_entries(entries, "") == entries
+    assert c.filter_catalog_entries(entries, "   ") == entries
+
+
+def test_catalog_entry_matches_query_matches_id():
+    result = c.filter_catalog_entries(_catalog_entries(), "postgres")
+    assert [e["id"] for e in result] == ["postgres"]
+
+
+def test_catalog_entry_matches_query_matches_display_case_insensitive():
+    result = c.filter_catalog_entries(_catalog_entries(), "SLACK")
+    assert [e["id"] for e in result] == ["slack"]
+
+
+def test_catalog_entry_matches_query_matches_description():
+    result = c.filter_catalog_entries(_catalog_entries(), "PostgreSQL database")
+    assert [e["id"] for e in result] == ["postgres"]
+
+
+def test_catalog_entry_matches_query_matches_category():
+    result = c.filter_catalog_entries(_catalog_entries(), "database")
+    assert [e["id"] for e in result] == ["postgres"]
+
+
+def test_catalog_entry_matches_query_no_match_returns_empty():
+    assert c.filter_catalog_entries(_catalog_entries(), "kubernetes") == []
+
+
+def test_catalog_entries_in_group_all_returns_everything():
+    entries = _catalog_entries()
+    assert c.catalog_entries_in_group(entries, "All") == entries
+    assert c.catalog_entries_in_group(entries, "") == entries
+    assert c.catalog_entries_in_group(entries, None) == entries
+
+
+def test_catalog_entries_in_group_filters_by_collapsed_category():
+    result = c.catalog_entries_in_group(_catalog_entries(), "Data")
+    assert [e["id"] for e in result] == ["postgres"]
+
+    result = c.catalog_entries_in_group(_catalog_entries(), "Work")
+    assert [e["id"] for e in result] == ["slack"]
+
+
+# --- format_freshness_hint -------------------------------------------------- #
+def test_format_freshness_hint_none_returns_empty_string():
+    assert c.format_freshness_hint(None) == ""
+    assert c.format_freshness_hint("") == ""
+
+
+def test_format_freshness_hint_unparseable_returns_empty_string():
+    assert c.format_freshness_hint("not-a-date") == ""
+
+
+def test_format_freshness_hint_this_month():
+    assert (
+        c.format_freshness_hint("2026-07-01", today=c.date(2026, 7, 12))
+        == "Last updated this month"
+    )
+
+
+def test_format_freshness_hint_one_month_singular():
+    assert (
+        c.format_freshness_hint("2026-06-01", today=c.date(2026, 7, 12))
+        == "Last updated 1 month ago"
+    )
+
+
+def test_format_freshness_hint_months_ago():
+    # Exactly 14 full months elapsed, no day-of-month remainder to round off.
+    assert (
+        c.format_freshness_hint("2025-01-15", today=c.date(2026, 3, 15))
+        == "Last updated 14 months ago"
+    )
+
+
+def test_format_freshness_hint_rounds_down_partial_month():
+    # 2025-05-16 -> 2026-07-12 is 13 full months, not 14: the 14th month
+    # would only complete on 2026-07-16.
+    assert (
+        c.format_freshness_hint("2025-05-16", today=c.date(2026, 7, 12))
+        == "Last updated 13 months ago"
+    )
+
+
+def test_format_freshness_hint_years_ago():
+    assert (
+        c.format_freshness_hint("2024-01-01", today=c.date(2026, 7, 12))
+        == "Last updated 2 years ago"
+    )
+
+
+def test_format_freshness_hint_23_months_stays_in_months_not_years():
+    # The switch to "N years ago" happens at 24 full months, not 12 -- the
+    # whole point of this hint is the granular "14 months ago" phrasing the
+    # design comment on #10 asked for, so 13-23 months must stay in months.
+    assert (
+        c.format_freshness_hint("2024-08-12", today=c.date(2026, 7, 12))
+        == "Last updated 23 months ago"
+    )
+
+
+def test_format_freshness_hint_future_date_returns_empty_string():
+    # A last_release "in the future" relative to `today` is nonsensical --
+    # show nothing rather than a misleading negative offset.
+    assert c.format_freshness_hint("2027-01-01", today=c.date(2026, 7, 12)) == ""
+
+
+# --- first_unfilled_focus_target -------------------------------------------- #
+def test_first_unfilled_focus_target_prefers_placeholder_arg():
+    data = {
+        "command": "npx",
+        "args": ["-y", "server", "<ALLOWED_DIR>"],
+        "env": {"API_KEY": ""},
+    }
+    assert c.first_unfilled_focus_target(data) == ("args", 2)
+
+
+def test_first_unfilled_focus_target_falls_back_to_first_blank_env():
+    data = {"command": "uvx", "args": ["mcp-grafana"], "env": {"GRAFANA_URL": ""}}
+    assert c.first_unfilled_focus_target(data) == ("env", "GRAFANA_URL")
+
+
+def test_first_unfilled_focus_target_none_when_fully_filled():
+    data = {"command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "server"], "env": {"API_KEY": "sk-real-value"}}
+    assert c.first_unfilled_focus_target(data) is None
+
+
+def test_first_unfilled_focus_target_none_for_config_with_no_env_or_args():
+    assert c.first_unfilled_focus_target({"command": "npx", "args": []}) is None
+
+
+# --- load_bundled_catalog_entries ------------------------------------------- #
+def test_load_bundled_catalog_entries_valid_signature(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+    priv = Ed25519PrivateKey.generate()
+    pub = priv.public_key().public_bytes_raw()
+    monkeypatch.setattr(c, "CATALOG_PUBKEYS", [pub])
+
+    raw, sig = _signed(_minimal_catalog(version=1), priv)
+    catalog_path = tmp_path / "catalog.json"
+    sig_path = tmp_path / "catalog.json.sig"
+    catalog_path.write_bytes(raw)
+    sig_path.write_bytes(sig)
+
+    entries = c.load_bundled_catalog_entries(catalog_path, sig_path)
+    assert len(entries) == 1
+    assert entries[0]["id"] == "widget"
+
+
+def test_load_bundled_catalog_entries_tampered_payload_returns_empty_list(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+    priv = Ed25519PrivateKey.generate()
+    pub = priv.public_key().public_bytes_raw()
+    monkeypatch.setattr(c, "CATALOG_PUBKEYS", [pub])
+
+    raw, sig = _signed(_minimal_catalog(version=1), priv)
+    tampered = bytearray(raw)
+    tampered[-2] ^= 0xFF  # flip a byte inside the trailing bytes, still valid-ish JSON shape
+    catalog_path = tmp_path / "catalog.json"
+    sig_path = tmp_path / "catalog.json.sig"
+    catalog_path.write_bytes(bytes(tampered))
+    sig_path.write_bytes(sig)
+
+    assert c.load_bundled_catalog_entries(catalog_path, sig_path) == []
+
+
+def test_load_bundled_catalog_entries_wrong_key_returns_empty_list(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+    priv = Ed25519PrivateKey.generate()
+    other_priv = Ed25519PrivateKey.generate()
+    other_pub = other_priv.public_key().public_bytes_raw()
+    monkeypatch.setattr(c, "CATALOG_PUBKEYS", [other_pub])
+
+    raw, sig = _signed(_minimal_catalog(version=1), priv)  # signed by the WRONG key
+    catalog_path = tmp_path / "catalog.json"
+    sig_path = tmp_path / "catalog.json.sig"
+    catalog_path.write_bytes(raw)
+    sig_path.write_bytes(sig)
+
+    assert c.load_bundled_catalog_entries(catalog_path, sig_path) == []
+
+
+def test_load_bundled_catalog_entries_missing_files_returns_empty_list(tmp_path):
+    assert c.load_bundled_catalog_entries(tmp_path / "nope.json", tmp_path / "nope.json.sig") == []
+
+
+def test_load_bundled_catalog_entries_missing_sig_returns_empty_list(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+    priv = Ed25519PrivateKey.generate()
+    pub = priv.public_key().public_bytes_raw()
+    monkeypatch.setattr(c, "CATALOG_PUBKEYS", [pub])
+
+    raw, _sig = _signed(_minimal_catalog(version=1), priv)
+    catalog_path = tmp_path / "catalog.json"
+    catalog_path.write_bytes(raw)
+    missing_sig_path = tmp_path / "catalog.json.sig"  # never written
+
+    assert c.load_bundled_catalog_entries(catalog_path, missing_sig_path) == []
+
+
+def test_load_bundled_catalog_entries_invalid_but_signed_returns_empty_list(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+    """A payload that verifies but fails validate_catalog() (disallowed
+    command) must still come back empty -- signing is necessary, not
+    sufficient."""
+    priv = Ed25519PrivateKey.generate()
+    pub = priv.public_key().public_bytes_raw()
+    monkeypatch.setattr(c, "CATALOG_PUBKEYS", [pub])
+
+    raw, sig = _signed(_catalog_with({"config": {"command": "bash", "args": []}}), priv)
+    catalog_path = tmp_path / "catalog.json"
+    sig_path = tmp_path / "catalog.json.sig"
+    catalog_path.write_bytes(raw)
+    sig_path.write_bytes(sig)
+
+    assert c.load_bundled_catalog_entries(catalog_path, sig_path) == []
+
+
+def test_load_bundled_catalog_entries_real_shipped_catalog():
+    """End-to-end regression against the actual bundled data/catalog.json +
+    .sig, using the real CATALOG_PUBKEYS (no monkeypatch) -- this is what
+    the Browse dialog actually calls on startup."""
+    root = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent
+    entries = c.load_bundled_catalog_entries(
+        root / "data" / "catalog.json", root / "data" / "catalog.json.sig"
+    )
+    assert len(entries) == 19
+    assert {e["id"] for e in entries} >= {"filesystem", "github", "slack", "postgres"}