From 3517a29c828d596f0e3fb5f82fcfc86fd7a14dd0 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Max Isbey <224885523+maxisbey@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Fri, 27 Mar 2026 13:42:15 +0000
Subject: [PATCH] feat(server): restore `dependencies` parameter on MCPServer
 (#2358)

---
 src/mcp/server/mcpserver/server.py    | 6 ++++++
 tests/server/mcpserver/test_server.py | 9 +++++++++
 2 files changed, 15 insertions(+)

diff --git a/src/mcp/server/mcpserver/server.py b/src/mcp/server/mcpserver/server.py
index 2a7a5811..6f9bb0e2 100644
--- a/src/mcp/server/mcpserver/server.py
+++ b/src/mcp/server/mcpserver/server.py
@@ -105,6 +105,9 @@ class Settings(BaseSettings, Generic[LifespanResultT]):
     # prompt settings
     warn_on_duplicate_prompts: bool
 
+    dependencies: list[str]
+    """List of dependencies to install in the server environment. Used by the `mcp install` and `mcp dev` CLI."""
+
     lifespan: Callable[[MCPServer[LifespanResultT]], AbstractAsyncContextManager[LifespanResultT]] | None
     """An async context manager that will be called when the server is started."""
 
@@ -142,6 +145,7 @@ class MCPServer(Generic[LifespanResultT]):
         warn_on_duplicate_resources: bool = True,
         warn_on_duplicate_tools: bool = True,
         warn_on_duplicate_prompts: bool = True,
+        dependencies: list[str] | None = None,
         lifespan: Callable[[MCPServer[LifespanResultT]], AbstractAsyncContextManager[LifespanResultT]] | None = None,
         auth: AuthSettings | None = None,
     ):
@@ -151,9 +155,11 @@ class MCPServer(Generic[LifespanResultT]):
             warn_on_duplicate_resources=warn_on_duplicate_resources,
             warn_on_duplicate_tools=warn_on_duplicate_tools,
             warn_on_duplicate_prompts=warn_on_duplicate_prompts,
+            dependencies=dependencies or [],
             lifespan=lifespan,
             auth=auth,
         )
+        self.dependencies = self.settings.dependencies
 
         self._tool_manager = ToolManager(tools=tools, warn_on_duplicate_tools=self.settings.warn_on_duplicate_tools)
         self._resource_manager = ResourceManager(warn_on_duplicate_resources=self.settings.warn_on_duplicate_resources)
diff --git a/tests/server/mcpserver/test_server.py b/tests/server/mcpserver/test_server.py
index 3ef06d03..49b6deb4 100644
--- a/tests/server/mcpserver/test_server.py
+++ b/tests/server/mcpserver/test_server.py
@@ -65,6 +65,15 @@ class TestServer:
         assert len(mcp.icons) == 1
         assert mcp.icons[0].src == "https://example.com/icon.png"
 
+    def test_dependencies(self):
+        """Dependencies list is read by `mcp install` / `mcp dev` CLI commands."""
+        mcp = MCPServer("test", dependencies=["pandas", "numpy"])
+        assert mcp.dependencies == ["pandas", "numpy"]
+        assert mcp.settings.dependencies == ["pandas", "numpy"]
+
+        mcp_no_deps = MCPServer("test")
+        assert mcp_no_deps.dependencies == []
+
     async def test_sse_app_returns_starlette_app(self):
         """Test that sse_app returns a Starlette application with correct routes."""
         mcp = MCPServer("test")