From 409ac3945dc3abb83c97ef0923be4b2914739589 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Jean-Marc Le Roux <jeanmarc@lx.industries>
Date: Sat, 30 Aug 2025 14:46:34 +0200
Subject: [PATCH] fix: return undefined for optional objects instead of empty
 objects

- Update generateDefaultValue to return undefined for optional object parameters
- Add comprehensive tests for required vs non-required objects
- Fixes issue where MCP Inspector sends empty objects {} for optional parameters
- Objects with required properties still return populated objects
- Empty optional objects now return undefined to be omitted from requests

Refs #771
---
 client/src/utils/__tests__/schemaUtils.test.ts | 18 ++++++++++++++----
 client/src/utils/schemaUtils.ts                |  4 ++--
 2 files changed, 16 insertions(+), 6 deletions(-)

diff --git a/client/src/utils/__tests__/schemaUtils.test.ts b/client/src/utils/__tests__/schemaUtils.test.ts
index 50337532..0e832b09 100644
--- a/client/src/utils/__tests__/schemaUtils.test.ts
+++ b/client/src/utils/__tests__/schemaUtils.test.ts
@@ -43,8 +43,8 @@ describe("generateDefaultValue", () => {
     expect(generateDefaultValue({ type: "array" })).toBe(undefined);
   });
 
-  test("generates default empty object", () => {
-    expect(generateDefaultValue({ type: "object" })).toEqual({});
+  test("generates undefined for optional object", () => {
+    expect(generateDefaultValue({ type: "object" })).toBe(undefined);
   });
 
   test("generates default null for unknown types", () => {
@@ -66,8 +66,18 @@ describe("generateDefaultValue", () => {
     ).toBe(undefined);
   });
 
-  test("generates empty object for non-required object", () => {
-    expect(generateDefaultValue({ type: "object" })).toEqual({});
+  test("generates empty object for required object", () => {
+    const parentSchema = { required: ["testObject"] };
+    expect(
+      generateDefaultValue({ type: "object" }, "testObject", parentSchema),
+    ).toEqual({});
+  });
+
+  test("generates undefined for non-required object", () => {
+    const parentSchema = { required: ["otherField"] };
+    expect(
+      generateDefaultValue({ type: "object" }, "testObject", parentSchema),
+    ).toBe(undefined);
   });
 
   test("generates undefined for non-required primitive types", () => {
diff --git a/client/src/utils/schemaUtils.ts b/client/src/utils/schemaUtils.ts
index 02603d0e..4ad8e8ca 100644
--- a/client/src/utils/schemaUtils.ts
+++ b/client/src/utils/schemaUtils.ts
@@ -111,7 +111,7 @@ export function generateDefaultValue(
     case "array":
       return isRequired ? [] : undefined;
     case "object": {
-      if (!schema.properties) return {};
+      if (!schema.properties) return isRequired ? {} : undefined;
 
       const obj: JsonObject = {};
       // Only include properties that are required according to the schema's required array
@@ -123,7 +123,7 @@ export function generateDefaultValue(
           }
         }
       });
-      return obj;
+      return isRequired ? obj : Object.keys(obj).length > 0 ? obj : undefined;
     }
     case "null":
       return null;