fix: address Copilot review on the schema portability lint

- Scope `non-object-root` to `inputSchema`. The pinned SDK types
  `inputSchema` with `type: literal("object")` but `outputSchema` as a
  bare `looseObject`, so a `{"type":"string"}` output is conforming; the
  rule was claiming a requirement MCP does not make, at error severity.

- Decide `untyped-schema` from an allowlist of constraining keywords
  rather than a denylist of annotations. JSON Schema ignores keywords it
  does not recognize, so `{"vendorHint": true}` accepts every value and a
  denylist passed it as constrained. `$defs`-only schemas now flag too.

- Walk `dependentSchemas` and draft-07 `dependencies`, with a test
  pinning that the property-name-array form is not a schema position.

- Suggest `anyOf` branches for an array-form `type`, never "drop it from
  `required`" — accepting `null` and permitting absence are independent
  contracts, so the old suggestion silently changed the schema's meaning.

- Reject `--strict` alongside `--app-info`. That path returns NDJSON from
  `runMethod` and never reaches the lint, so the flag was a no-op gate
  that could never fail.

- Colour the web sidebar flag from the `--inspector-*` severity tokens,
  matching the detail panel and avoiding the default yellow that failed
  the a11y check.

- Add a live integration test for `rawToolSchemas`. It caught that an
  `outputSchema` override on a preset returning no structured content
  makes every call to that tool fail client-side validation — the
  showcase config did exactly that, so the flagged tool could not be
  run. Moved the bare `true` onto `get_temp`, documented the caveat, and
  pinned both halves.

- Drop the double cast from the lint test fixture.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01UL9retfvAXRgvi6EWk4SY4
Signed-off-by: cliffhall <cliff@futurescale.com>
This commit is contained in:
cliffhall 2026-08-25 01:41:12 -04:00
commit c389565783
9 changed files with 566 additions and 66 deletions

View file

@ -290,15 +290,22 @@ The **TUI** had the same gap and is worth checking against the same server (`--t
#### Unportable tool schemas
`unportable-schemas-http.json` serves three tools, two of whose advertised
`unportable-schemas-http.json` serves four tools, three of whose advertised
schemas carry constructs that are legal JSON Schema and are refused or
mishandled by real MCP clients: `echo` declares `outputSchema.properties.data`
as a bare `true` (what Go's `jsonschema` package emits for `interface{}` —
the case reported in [#1005](https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector/issues/1005)),
an array-form `"type": ["null","boolean"]`, and an `opts` property that
constrains nothing; `add` points a property at a remote `$ref`. `get_temp` is
left clean, so a flagged tool sits next to an unflagged one. Plain
streamable-HTTP — connect with the **default (legacy)** protocol era.
mishandled by real MCP clients:
| Tool | What it carries |
| --- | --- |
| `get_temp` | `outputSchema.properties.data` as a bare `true` — what Go's `jsonschema` package emits for `interface{}`, the case reported in [#1005](https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector/issues/1005) |
| `echo` | an array-form `"type": ["null","boolean"]`, and an `opts` property that constrains nothing |
| `add` | a property pointing at a remote `$ref` |
| `get_weather` | nothing — left clean, so a flagged tool sits beside an unflagged one |
Plain streamable-HTTP — connect with the **default (legacy)** protocol era.
Every tool here is still **runnable**: the override replaces only the
*advertised* schema, and the flagship bare-`true` rides `get_temp` (which
returns structured content) rather than `echo` — see the caveat under
[Try it](#unportable-tool-schemas) below.
The Inspector is where a server author looks first, so a construct that will
fail downstream is named here rather than passed through silently. All three
@ -313,8 +320,9 @@ mcp-inspector --cli http://127.0.0.1:6603/mcp --method tools/list --strict # e
- **CLI** — `--strict` prints the full report (path, issue, suggested fix) on
stderr and exits `6` on an error-severity finding; without it, one summary
line. See [Schema portability](./clients/cli/README.md#schema-portability---strict).
- **TUI** — the tools list marks `echo` with a red `!` and `add` with a yellow
`?`; the detail pane lists each finding under **Schema Portability**.
- **TUI** — the tools list marks `get_temp` with a red `!` and `echo`/`add`
with a yellow `?`; the detail pane lists each finding under **Schema
Portability**.
- **Web** — the Tools sidebar row carries the same flag as a hover-labelled
icon, and selecting the tool shows a **Schema portability** section above the
argument form.
@ -329,6 +337,13 @@ test server's `rawToolSchemas` override, because the Zod-built presets cannot
express any of them — which is the same reason a real server hits this only
when its schemas come from another generator.
⚠️ **If you add an `outputSchema` override of your own, put it on a tool that
returns structured content.** A conforming client validates a tool result
against the advertised output schema, so an override on a preset that returns
none makes every call to it fail with "declares an output schema but returned
no structured content" — a confusing thing to hit from a fixture. That is why
the bare `true` rides `get_temp` here and not `echo`.
#### RFC 6570 resource templates
`rfc6570-templates-http.json` serves two resource templates straight out of [#1919](https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector/issues/1919) — `events_by_topic` (`foobar://events/{topic}`) and `events_by_query` (`foobar://events{?topic}`) — each echoing the URI it was matched against, plus a plain `foobar://events` resource (see below). Plain streamable-HTTP; connect with the **default (legacy)** protocol era.

View file

@ -207,6 +207,9 @@ describe("emitResult — schema lint wiring (#1005)", () => {
});
it("does not lint an --app-info run", async () => {
// `runCli` rejects `--strict --app-info` outright (see below), so this is
// the defensive half: any other Node runner reusing `emitResult` gets the
// app-info early return rather than a report interleaved with its NDJSON.
await emitResult(
DIRTY_LIST,
{ hasApp: true, toolName: "info" },
@ -248,4 +251,23 @@ describe("--strict argument validation", () => {
]),
).rejects.toThrow("--strict requires --method tools/list.");
});
it("is rejected alongside --app-info rather than silently ignored", async () => {
// `tools/list --app-info` returns NDJSON straight from `runMethod` and
// never reaches `emitResult`, so accepting the pair would hand a CI caller
// a `--strict` gate that can never fail.
await expect(
runCli([
"node",
"cli",
"--cli",
"--method",
"tools/list",
"--strict",
"--app-info",
"--server-url",
"http://127.0.0.1:1/mcp",
]),
).rejects.toThrow("--strict cannot be combined with --app-info");
});
});

View file

@ -1013,6 +1013,17 @@ async function parseArgs(argv?: string[]): Promise<ParseResult> {
throw new Error("--strict requires --method tools/list.");
}
// `tools/list --app-info` takes a different path out of `runMethod` — it
// returns NDJSON that the caller writes directly, never reaching
// `emitResult` where the lint runs. Rejecting the pair is the honest
// outcome: silently accepting it would give a CI caller a `--strict` gate
// that can never fail.
if (options.strict && options.appInfo) {
throw new Error(
"--strict cannot be combined with --app-info; run tools/list twice, once for each.",
);
}
// --tool-args-json passes arguments verbatim with no key=value coercion (so
// `"012"` stays a string and nested objects work without shell escaping).
let toolArg = options.toolArg;

View file

@ -57,6 +57,11 @@ const ListItemButton = UnstyledButton.withProps({
// Schema-portability flag (#1005). Sits in the row rather than only in the
// detail panel so a problem tool is visible without clicking each one — the
// findings are rare enough that a marked row means something.
//
// Coloured from the same `--inspector-*` severity tokens the detail panel's
// findings list uses, rather than from Mantine's `color="yellow"`: those are
// the pairings this app already tunes against its own surfaces in both colour
// schemes, and the default yellow is what failed the a11y check there.
const SchemaFlagIcon = ThemeIcon.withProps({
size: "xs",
variant: "transparent",
@ -86,7 +91,11 @@ export function ToolListItem({ tool, selected, onClick }: ToolListItemProps) {
withArrow
>
<SchemaFlagIcon
color={hasError ? "red" : "yellow"}
c={
hasError
? "var(--inspector-danger-text)"
: "var(--inspector-warning-text)"
}
aria-label={
hasError
? "Schema portability errors"

View file

@ -107,8 +107,11 @@ describe("lintToolSchemas — clean schemas", () => {
});
it("reports nothing when a tool declares neither schema", () => {
const bare = { name: "t" } as unknown as Tool;
expect(lintToolSchemas(bare)).toEqual([]);
expect(
lintToolSchemas(
tool({ inputSchema: undefined, outputSchema: undefined }),
),
).toEqual([]);
});
});
@ -174,6 +177,16 @@ describe("lintToolSchemas — boolean-schema", () => {
{ type: "object", propertyNames: true, properties: {} },
"inputSchema.propertyNames",
],
[
"a dependentSchemas entry",
{ type: "object", dependentSchemas: { a: true }, properties: {} },
"inputSchema.dependentSchemas.a",
],
[
"a draft-07 schema-valued dependencies entry",
{ type: "object", dependencies: { a: true }, properties: {} },
"inputSchema.dependencies.a",
],
["the schema root", true, "inputSchema"],
])("flags a bare boolean under %s", (_label, inputSchema, path) => {
const findings = lintToolSchemas(tool({ inputSchema }));
@ -192,7 +205,7 @@ describe("lintToolSchemas — boolean-schema", () => {
});
describe("lintToolSchemas — type-union", () => {
it("flags the nullable array form and suggests the single type", () => {
it("flags the nullable array form and suggests anyOf branches", () => {
const findings = lintToolSchemas(
tool({
inputSchema: {
@ -203,10 +216,27 @@ describe("lintToolSchemas — type-union", () => {
);
expect(rules(findings)).toEqual(["type-union"]);
expect(findings[0]!.severity).toBe("warning");
expect(findings[0]!.suggestion).toContain('"type": "boolean"');
expect(findings[0]!.suggestion).toContain(
'{"anyOf": [{"type": "null"}, {"type": "boolean"}]}',
);
});
it("suggests anyOf when more than one non-null member survives", () => {
it("never suggests un-requiring the property as the equivalent fix", () => {
// Absent and `null` are different contracts, so "drop it from `required`"
// is not a portable spelling of the same schema — it is a change to it.
const findings = lintToolSchemas(
tool({
inputSchema: {
type: "object",
properties: { a: { type: ["null", "string"] } },
},
}),
);
expect(findings[0]!.suggestion).toContain("absent is not the same as");
expect(findings[0]!.suggestion).not.toMatch(/leave the property out/);
});
it("keeps every member in the suggestion when none is null", () => {
const findings = lintToolSchemas(
tool({
inputSchema: {
@ -215,10 +245,12 @@ describe("lintToolSchemas — type-union", () => {
},
}),
);
expect(findings[0]!.suggestion).toContain("anyOf");
expect(findings[0]!.suggestion).toContain(
'{"anyOf": [{"type": "string"}, {"type": "number"}]}',
);
});
it("ignores non-string members when picking the suggestion", () => {
it("drops non-string members from the suggested branches", () => {
const findings = lintToolSchemas(
tool({
inputSchema: {
@ -227,7 +259,19 @@ describe("lintToolSchemas — type-union", () => {
},
}),
);
expect(findings[0]!.suggestion).toContain('"type": "string"');
expect(findings[0]!.suggestion).toContain(
'{"anyOf": [{"type": "string"}]}',
);
});
it("falls back to a placeholder when no member is a string", () => {
const findings = lintToolSchemas(
tool({
inputSchema: { type: "object", properties: { a: { type: [3] } } },
}),
);
expect(rules(findings)).toEqual(["type-union"]);
expect(findings[0]!.suggestion).toContain("anyOf");
});
it("does not raise non-object-root for an array-typed root", () => {
@ -258,6 +302,51 @@ describe("lintToolSchemas — untyped-schema", () => {
expect(paths(findings)).toEqual(["inputSchema.properties.a"]);
});
it("flags a schema whose only keyword is unrecognized", () => {
// JSON Schema ignores keywords it does not know, so `{"vendorHint": true}`
// accepts every value. A denylist of known annotations would let it pass
// simply because the keyword is unfamiliar — hence the allowlist.
const findings = lintToolSchemas(
tool({
inputSchema: {
type: "object",
properties: { a: { vendorHint: true, "x-internal": 1 } },
},
}),
);
expect(rules(findings)).toEqual(["untyped-schema"]);
});
it("flags a definition-only schema", () => {
// `$defs` holds subschemas for *other* schemas to reference; it constrains
// the current instance not at all.
const findings = lintToolSchemas(
tool({
inputSchema: {
type: "object",
properties: { a: { $defs: { x: { type: "string" } } } },
},
}),
);
expect(rules(findings)).toEqual(["untyped-schema"]);
expect(paths(findings)).toEqual(["inputSchema.properties.a"]);
});
it.each([
["pattern", { pattern: "^a" }],
["format", { format: "email" }],
["required", { required: ["a"] }],
["minimum", { minimum: 0 }],
["contains", { contains: { type: "string" } }],
["propertyNames", { propertyNames: { pattern: "^a" } }],
["dependentRequired", { dependentRequired: { a: ["b"] } }],
])("does not flag a schema constrained only by %s", (_label, sub) => {
const findings = lintToolSchemas(
tool({ inputSchema: { type: "object", properties: { a: sub } } }),
);
expect(findings).toEqual([]);
});
it("flags an entirely empty root schema", () => {
const findings = lintToolSchemas(tool({ inputSchema: {} }));
expect(rules(findings)).toEqual(["untyped-schema"]);
@ -277,12 +366,14 @@ describe("lintToolSchemas — non-object-root", () => {
expect(findings[0]!.issue).toContain("inputSchema");
});
it("names outputSchema when that is the offending root", () => {
const findings = lintToolSchemas(
tool({ outputSchema: { type: "string" } }),
it("does NOT flag a non-object outputSchema root", () => {
// The SDK's `Tool` schema types `inputSchema` with `type: literal("object")`
// but `outputSchema` as a plain loose object with no `type` constraint, so
// a string-typed output is conforming. Flagging it would report an error
// MCP does not require and would fail `--strict` on a valid server.
expect(lintToolSchemas(tool({ outputSchema: { type: "string" } }))).toEqual(
[],
);
expect(rules(findings)).toEqual(["non-object-root"]);
expect(findings[0]!.issue).toContain("outputSchema");
});
it("does not flag a nested non-object schema", () => {
@ -332,6 +423,21 @@ describe("lintToolSchemas — walk robustness", () => {
expect(findings).toEqual([]);
});
it("skips the draft-07 property-name-array form of dependencies", () => {
// `dependencies: {a: ["b"]}` is a required-property list, not a schema
// position, so the walk must not descend into it.
const findings = lintToolSchemas(
tool({
inputSchema: {
type: "object",
properties: { a: { type: "string" }, b: { type: "string" } },
dependencies: { a: ["b"] },
},
}),
);
expect(findings).toEqual([]);
});
it("skips keyword values of the wrong shape", () => {
const findings = lintToolSchemas(
tool({

View file

@ -0,0 +1,244 @@
import { describe, it, expect, afterEach } from "vitest";
import { InspectorClient } from "@inspector/core/mcp/inspectorClient.js";
import { createTransportNode } from "@inspector/core/mcp/node/transport.js";
import { lintTools } from "@inspector/core/json/schemaLint.js";
import {
createTestServerHttp,
type TestServerHttp,
createTestServerInfo,
createEchoTool,
createGetWeatherTool,
createGetTempTool,
} from "@modelcontextprotocol/inspector-test-server";
import type { ServerConfig } from "@modelcontextprotocol/inspector-test-server";
/**
* Live coverage of `ServerConfig.rawToolSchemas` (#1005) — the only way this
* repo can advertise a tool schema containing a bare `true`, an array-form
* `type`, or a remote `$ref`, since every preset builds its schema from Zod
* and Zod cannot emit any of them.
*
* The lint itself is unit-tested against hand-built `Tool` objects, which
* bypasses this path entirely: handler installation, config resolution, and
* the interaction with pagination and duplication could all regress while
* those stayed green. This file drives the real server over a real transport
* and asserts on what actually reaches the wire.
*/
describe("rawToolSchemas override (#1005)", () => {
let client: InspectorClient | null = null;
let server: TestServerHttp | null = null;
afterEach(async () => {
if (client) {
try {
await client.disconnect();
} catch {
// ignore
}
client = null;
}
if (server) {
try {
await server.stop();
} catch {
// ignore
}
server = null;
}
});
async function start(config: Partial<ServerConfig>): Promise<TestServerHttp> {
const started = createTestServerHttp({
serverInfo: createTestServerInfo("raw-tool-schemas-test", "1.0.0"),
tools: [createEchoTool(), createGetWeatherTool()],
...config,
});
await started.start();
server = started;
return started;
}
async function connect(url: string): Promise<InspectorClient> {
const connected = new InspectorClient(
{ type: "streamable-http", url },
{ environment: { transport: createTransportNode } },
);
await connected.connect();
client = connected;
return connected;
}
it("advertises the raw document, and the lint finds it end to end", async () => {
const started = await start({
rawToolSchemas: {
echo: {
inputSchema: {
type: "object",
properties: {
message: { type: "string" },
show_ids: { type: ["null", "boolean"] },
},
},
outputSchema: {
type: "object",
properties: { data: true },
},
},
},
});
const connected = await connect(started.url);
const { tools } = await connected.listAllTools();
const echo = tools.find((t) => t.name === "echo");
// The bare `true` survives the wire — a Zod-built schema could not
// produce it, so its presence here proves the override is what is served.
expect(echo?.outputSchema).toEqual({
type: "object",
properties: { data: true },
});
expect(
(echo?.inputSchema as { properties?: Record<string, unknown> }).properties
?.show_ids,
).toEqual({ type: ["null", "boolean"] });
const results = lintTools(tools);
expect(results.map((r) => r.toolName)).toEqual(["echo"]);
expect(results[0]?.findings.map((f) => f.rule).sort()).toEqual([
"boolean-schema",
"type-union",
]);
});
it("leaves an unnamed tool's real schema alone", async () => {
const started = await start({
rawToolSchemas: { echo: { outputSchema: { type: "object" } } },
});
const connected = await connect(started.url);
const { tools } = await connected.listAllTools();
const weather = tools.find((t) => t.name === "get_weather");
// get_weather keeps the Zod-derived schema, which is portable.
expect(weather?.inputSchema).toMatchObject({ type: "object" });
expect(lintTools(tools)).toEqual([]);
});
it("replaces only the schema named, leaving the sibling untouched", async () => {
const started = await start({
rawToolSchemas: {
echo: { outputSchema: { type: "object", properties: { data: true } } },
},
});
const connected = await connect(started.url);
const { tools } = await connected.listAllTools();
const echo = tools.find((t) => t.name === "echo");
// Only `outputSchema` was overridden, so the Zod-built input survives.
expect(echo?.inputSchema).toMatchObject({ type: "object" });
expect(
(echo?.inputSchema as { properties?: Record<string, unknown> })
.properties,
).toHaveProperty("message");
});
it("ignores a name that is not registered", async () => {
const started = await start({
rawToolSchemas: { not_a_tool: { inputSchema: true } },
});
const connected = await connect(started.url);
const { tools } = await connected.listAllTools();
expect(tools.map((t) => t.name)).toEqual(["echo", "get_weather"]);
expect(lintTools(tools)).toEqual([]);
});
it("still calls the tool when only the input schema was overridden", async () => {
const started = await start({
rawToolSchemas: {
echo: {
inputSchema: {
type: "object",
properties: { message: { type: "string" }, opts: {} },
},
},
},
});
const connected = await connect(started.url);
// The handler and its real Zod validation are untouched by the override —
// the fixture would be misleading if the tool it flags could not be run.
const { tools } = await connected.listAllTools();
const echo = tools.find((t) => t.name === "echo")!;
const result = await connected.callTool(echo, { message: "hi" });
expect(JSON.stringify(result)).toContain("hi");
});
it("makes the call fail when an outputSchema is put on a tool with no structured content", async () => {
// Pinning the sharp edge documented on `ServerConfig.rawToolSchemas`: a
// conforming client validates results against the advertised output
// schema, so an override on a preset that returns none breaks every call.
// This is why the showcase config puts its bare-`true` outputSchema on
// `get_temp` (which does return structured content) rather than on `echo`.
const started = await start({
rawToolSchemas: {
echo: { outputSchema: { type: "object", properties: { data: true } } },
},
});
const connected = await connect(started.url);
const { tools } = await connected.listAllTools();
const echo = tools.find((t) => t.name === "echo")!;
await expect(connected.callTool(echo, { message: "hi" })).rejects.toThrow(
/returned no structured content/,
);
});
it("keeps a structured-content tool callable under an outputSchema override", async () => {
// The shape the showcase config actually ships: the bare `true` rides a
// tool that returns structured content, and the override stays permissive
// enough (no `required`) that the real payload still validates — so the
// flagged tool is still runnable from the Tools tab.
const started = await start({
tools: [createGetTempTool(), createEchoTool()],
rawToolSchemas: {
get_temp: {
outputSchema: {
type: "object",
properties: { data: true, city: { type: "string" } },
},
},
},
});
const connected = await connect(started.url);
const { tools } = await connected.listAllTools();
const getTemp = tools.find((t) => t.name === "get_temp")!;
expect(lintTools(tools).map((r) => r.toolName)).toEqual(["get_temp"]);
const result = await connected.callTool(getTemp, {
city: "Oslo",
units: "C",
});
expect(JSON.stringify(result)).toContain("Oslo");
});
it("applies before duplication, so both copies carry the raw schema", async () => {
const started = await start({
duplicateToolNames: ["echo"],
rawToolSchemas: {
echo: { outputSchema: { type: "object", properties: { data: true } } },
},
});
const connected = await connect(started.url);
const { tools } = await connected.listAllTools();
const echoes = tools.filter((t) => t.name === "echo");
expect(echoes).toHaveLength(2);
for (const e of echoes) {
expect(e.outputSchema).toEqual({
type: "object",
properties: { data: true },
});
}
});
});

View file

@ -103,37 +103,97 @@ const SUBSCHEMA_ARRAY_KEYWORDS = [
"prefixItems",
] as const;
/** Keywords whose value is a name → subschema map. */
/**
* Keywords whose value is a name → subschema map.
*
* `dependencies` is the pre-2019 form and may hold either a subschema or an
* array of property names; the array case is not a schema position, and the
* walk skips it because a non-object, non-boolean node is not a schema.
*/
const SUBSCHEMA_MAP_KEYWORDS = [
"properties",
"patternProperties",
"dependentSchemas",
"dependencies",
"$defs",
"definitions",
] as const;
/**
* Keywords that carry no validation meaning — metadata a schema may hold
* alongside its constraints. A schema built *only* from these accepts every
* value, which is what the `untyped-schema` rule reports.
* Keywords that actually constrain the instance being validated — the
* assertion and applicator vocabularies, plus reference keywords.
*
* Defining the rule this way, rather than as "has no `type`", is deliberate:
* `{"properties": {…}}` with no `type` does constrain its input, so calling it
* unconstrained would be false. That shape is left alone; the rule fires on
* `{}` and on annotation-only schemas — the object-literal spelling of the
* same "any" that a bare `true` expresses.
* This is an **allowlist**, and that direction is load-bearing. JSON Schema
* ignores keywords it does not recognize, so a schema is unconstrained unless
* something it carries is known to constrain: a denylist of known-annotation
* keywords would let `{"vendorHint": true}` — which accepts every value —
* pass as constrained simply because the keyword is unfamiliar.
*
* Two categories are deliberately absent. **Annotations** (`title`,
* `description`, `default`, `examples`, `deprecated`, `readOnly`,
* `writeOnly`, `$comment`) assert nothing. So do the **definition-only
* containers** `$defs` / `definitions` and the identifier keywords `$id`,
* `$schema`, `$anchor`, `$vocabulary`: they hold or name subschemas for
* *other* schemas to reference, and constrain the current instance not at all.
*
* `format` is included even though 2020-12's default vocabulary treats it as
* an annotation rather than an assertion. A schema declaring one is plainly an
* attempt to constrain, and reporting it as accepting anything would be noise
* rather than a finding an author can act on.
*
* Defining the rule this way, rather than as "has no `type`", is also
* deliberate: `{"properties": {…}}` with no `type` does constrain its input,
* so calling it unconstrained would be false. The rule fires on `{}`, on
* annotation-only schemas, and on `$defs`-only schemas — the object-literal
* spellings of the same "any" that a bare `true` expresses.
*/
const ANNOTATION_ONLY_KEYWORDS: ReadonlySet<string> = new Set([
"title",
"description",
"default",
"examples",
"deprecated",
"readOnly",
"writeOnly",
"$comment",
"$id",
"$schema",
"$anchor",
const CONSTRAINING_KEYWORDS: ReadonlySet<string> = new Set([
// Assertions
"type",
"enum",
"const",
"multipleOf",
"maximum",
"exclusiveMaximum",
"minimum",
"exclusiveMinimum",
"maxLength",
"minLength",
"pattern",
"format",
"maxItems",
"minItems",
"uniqueItems",
"maxContains",
"minContains",
"maxProperties",
"minProperties",
"required",
"dependentRequired",
// Applicators
"allOf",
"anyOf",
"oneOf",
"not",
"if",
"then",
"else",
"items",
"prefixItems",
"contains",
"additionalItems",
"unevaluatedItems",
"properties",
"patternProperties",
"additionalProperties",
"unevaluatedProperties",
"propertyNames",
"dependentSchemas",
"dependencies",
// References
"$ref",
"$dynamicRef",
"$recursiveRef",
]);
/**
@ -263,18 +323,26 @@ function lintNode(node: SchemaRecord, path: string, ctx: WalkContext): void {
const type = node.type;
if (Array.isArray(type)) {
const nonNull = type.filter(
(t): t is string => typeof t === "string" && t !== "null",
);
const members = type.filter((t): t is string => typeof t === "string");
// The suggestion is always `anyOf`, never "drop it from `required`".
// Accepting an explicit JSON `null` and permitting the property to be
// absent are independent: on a required `["null","boolean"]` field,
// un-requiring it would both stop accepting `null` and start accepting
// omission — a different contract, not the same one spelled portably.
// `anyOf` branches each carrying a single `type` are equivalent, and this
// lint treats them as portable.
const branches = members.length > 0 ? members : type.map(() => "…");
add(
ctx,
"type-union",
"warning",
path,
`\`type\` is an array (${JSON.stringify(type)}). The array form is legal JSON Schema, but several MCP clients read \`type\` as a single string and either reject the tool or drop the constraint.`,
nonNull.length === 1
? `Use \`"type": "${nonNull[0]}"\` and leave the property out of \`required\` to express "may be absent".`
: "Split the alternatives into `anyOf` branches, each with a single `type`.",
`Split it into \`anyOf\` branches, each with a single \`type\` — \`{"anyOf": [${branches
.map((t) => `{"type": "${t}"}`)
.join(
", ",
)}]}\`. (Making the property optional instead is a different contract: absent is not the same as \`null\`.)`,
);
}
@ -290,8 +358,8 @@ function lintNode(node: SchemaRecord, path: string, ctx: WalkContext): void {
);
}
const constrains = Object.keys(node).some(
(key) => !ANNOTATION_ONLY_KEYWORDS.has(key),
const constrains = Object.keys(node).some((key) =>
CONSTRAINING_KEYWORDS.has(key),
);
if (!constrains) {
add(
@ -306,9 +374,18 @@ function lintNode(node: SchemaRecord, path: string, ctx: WalkContext): void {
}
/**
* Lint one of a tool's schemas. The root gets one extra rule: MCP requires a
* tool schema to describe an object, and a root of any other type is refused
* by the SDK-side parsers rather than merely degraded.
* Lint one of a tool's schemas.
*
* `inputSchema` gets one extra rule at the root: MCP requires it to describe
* an object, and the SDK enforces that — its `Tool` schema types `inputSchema`
* with `type: literal("object")`, so a non-object root is refused by the
* parser rather than merely degraded.
*
* That rule is **scoped to `inputSchema` deliberately**. The same SDK types
* `outputSchema` as a plain loose object with no `type` constraint at all, so
* a tool whose output is `{"type": "string"}` is conforming; flagging it would
* report an error MCP does not require and would fail `--strict` on a valid
* server.
*/
function lintSchema(
schema: unknown,
@ -316,7 +393,7 @@ function lintSchema(
findings: SchemaFinding[],
): void {
const ctx: WalkContext = { schema: kind, findings };
if (isRecord(schema)) {
if (kind === "inputSchema" && isRecord(schema)) {
const type = schema.type;
if (typeof type === "string" && type !== "object") {
add(
@ -324,7 +401,7 @@ function lintSchema(
"non-object-root",
"error",
"",
`Root \`type\` is "${type}". MCP requires a tool's ${kind} to describe an object.`,
`Root \`type\` is "${type}". MCP requires a tool's inputSchema to describe an object.`,
'Wrap the value in an object schema — `{"type": "object", "properties": {…}}`.',
);
}

View file

@ -3,8 +3,22 @@
"name": "unportable-schemas-showcase",
"version": "1.0.0"
},
"tools": [{ "preset": "echo" }, { "preset": "add" }, { "preset": "get_temp" }],
"tools": [
{ "preset": "get_temp" },
{ "preset": "echo" },
{ "preset": "add" },
{ "preset": "get_weather" }
],
"rawToolSchemas": {
"get_temp": {
"outputSchema": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"data": true,
"city": { "type": "string" }
}
}
},
"echo": {
"inputSchema": {
"type": "object",
@ -13,13 +27,6 @@
"show_ids": { "type": ["null", "boolean"] },
"opts": {}
}
},
"outputSchema": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"data": true,
"topic": { "type": "string" }
}
}
},
"add": {

View file

@ -507,6 +507,15 @@ export interface ServerConfig {
* *advertised* schema is replaced; the tool's handler and its real Zod
* validation are untouched, so calling it still behaves as its preset does.
*
* ⚠️ **Overriding `outputSchema` changes what a client will accept.** A
* conforming client validates a tool result against the advertised output
* schema, so putting one on a preset whose handler returns no
* `structuredContent` makes every call to it fail — the Inspector rejects it
* with "declares an output schema but returned no structured content". Put an
* `outputSchema` override only on a tool that actually returns structured
* content (`get_temp`, `list_items`), and keep the override permissive enough
* that the real payload still validates.
*
* A name that isn't registered is ignored.
*/
rawToolSchemas?: Record<