fix: send JSONRPCError instead of bare exceptions in streamable HTTP client (#2005)

src/mcp/client/streamable_http.py

@@ -13,11 +13,14 @@ import httpx
 from anyio.abc import TaskGroup
 from anyio.streams.memory import MemoryObjectReceiveStream, MemoryObjectSendStream
 from httpx_sse import EventSource, ServerSentEvent, aconnect_sse
+from pydantic import ValidationError
 
 from mcp.client._transport import TransportStreams
 from mcp.shared._httpx_utils import create_mcp_http_client
 from mcp.shared.message import ClientMessageMetadata, SessionMessage
 from mcp.types import (
+    INVALID_REQUEST,
+    PARSE_ERROR,
     ErrorData,
     InitializeResult,
     JSONRPCError,
@@ -163,6 +166,11 @@ class StreamableHTTPTransport:
 
             except Exception as exc:  # pragma: no cover
                 logger.exception("Error parsing SSE message")
+                if original_request_id is not None:
+                    error_data = ErrorData(code=PARSE_ERROR, message=f"Failed to parse SSE message: {exc}")
+                    error_msg = SessionMessage(JSONRPCError(jsonrpc="2.0", id=original_request_id, error=error_data))
+                    await read_stream_writer.send(error_msg)
+                    return True
                 await read_stream_writer.send(exc)
                 return False
         else:  # pragma: no cover
@@ -260,7 +268,9 @@ class StreamableHTTPTransport:
 
             if response.status_code == 404:  # pragma: no branch
                 if isinstance(message, JSONRPCRequest):  # pragma: no branch
-                    await self._send_session_terminated_error(ctx.read_stream_writer, message.id)
+                    error_data = ErrorData(code=INVALID_REQUEST, message="Session terminated")
+                    session_message = SessionMessage(JSONRPCError(jsonrpc="2.0", id=message.id, error=error_data))
+                    await ctx.read_stream_writer.send(session_message)
                 return
 
             response.raise_for_status()
@@ -272,20 +282,24 @@ class StreamableHTTPTransport:
             if isinstance(message, JSONRPCRequest):
                 content_type = response.headers.get("content-type", "").lower()
                 if content_type.startswith("application/json"):
-                    await self._handle_json_response(response, ctx.read_stream_writer, is_initialization)
+                    await self._handle_json_response(
+                        response, ctx.read_stream_writer, is_initialization, request_id=message.id
+                    )
                 elif content_type.startswith("text/event-stream"):
                     await self._handle_sse_response(response, ctx, is_initialization)
                 else:
-                    await self._handle_unexpected_content_type(  # pragma: no cover
+                    logger.error(f"Unexpected content type: {content_type}")
-                        content_type,  # pragma: no cover
+                    error_data = ErrorData(code=INVALID_REQUEST, message=f"Unexpected content type: {content_type}")
-                        ctx.read_stream_writer,  # pragma: no cover
+                    error_msg = SessionMessage(JSONRPCError(jsonrpc="2.0", id=message.id, error=error_data))
-                    )  # pragma: no cover
+                    await ctx.read_stream_writer.send(error_msg)
 
     async def _handle_json_response(
         self,
         response: httpx.Response,
         read_stream_writer: StreamWriter,
         is_initialization: bool = False,
+        *,
+        request_id: RequestId,
     ) -> None:
         """Handle JSON response from the server."""
         try:
@@ -298,9 +312,11 @@ class StreamableHTTPTransport:
 
             session_message = SessionMessage(message)
             await read_stream_writer.send(session_message)
-        except Exception as exc:  # pragma: no cover
+        except (httpx.StreamError, ValidationError) as exc:
             logger.exception("Error parsing JSON response")
-            await read_stream_writer.send(exc)
+            error_data = ErrorData(code=PARSE_ERROR, message=f"Failed to parse JSON response: {exc}")
+            error_msg = SessionMessage(JSONRPCError(jsonrpc="2.0", id=request_id, error=error_data))
+            await read_stream_writer.send(error_msg)
 
     async def _handle_sse_response(
         self,
@@ -312,6 +328,11 @@ class StreamableHTTPTransport:
         last_event_id: str | None = None
         retry_interval_ms: int | None = None
 
+        # The caller (_handle_post_request) only reaches here inside
+        # isinstance(message, JSONRPCRequest), so this is always a JSONRPCRequest.
+        assert isinstance(ctx.session_message.message, JSONRPCRequest)
+        original_request_id = ctx.session_message.message.id
+
         try:
             event_source = EventSource(response)
             async for sse in event_source.aiter_sse():  # pragma: no branch
@@ -326,6 +347,7 @@ class StreamableHTTPTransport:
                 is_complete = await self._handle_sse_event(
                     sse,
                     ctx.read_stream_writer,
+                    original_request_id=original_request_id,
                     resumption_callback=(ctx.metadata.on_resumption_token_update if ctx.metadata else None),
                     is_initialization=is_initialization,
                 )
@@ -334,8 +356,8 @@ class StreamableHTTPTransport:
                 if is_complete:
                     await response.aclose()
                     return  # Normal completion, no reconnect needed
-        except Exception as e:
+        except Exception:
-            logger.debug(f"SSE stream ended: {e}")  # pragma: no cover
+            logger.debug("SSE stream ended", exc_info=True)  # pragma: no cover
 
         # Stream ended without response - reconnect if we received an event with ID
         if last_event_id is not None:  # pragma: no branch
@@ -400,24 +422,6 @@ class StreamableHTTPTransport:
             # Try to reconnect again if we still have an event ID
             await self._handle_reconnection(ctx, last_event_id, retry_interval_ms, attempt + 1)
 
-    async def _handle_unexpected_content_type(
-        self, content_type: str, read_stream_writer: StreamWriter
-    ) -> None:  # pragma: no cover
-        """Handle unexpected content type in response."""
-        error_msg = f"Unexpected content type: {content_type}"  # pragma: no cover
-        logger.error(error_msg)  # pragma: no cover
-        await read_stream_writer.send(ValueError(error_msg))  # pragma: no cover
-
-    async def _send_session_terminated_error(self, read_stream_writer: StreamWriter, request_id: RequestId) -> None:
-        """Send a session terminated error response."""
-        jsonrpc_error = JSONRPCError(
-            jsonrpc="2.0",
-            id=request_id,
-            error=ErrorData(code=32600, message="Session terminated"),
-        )
-        session_message = SessionMessage(jsonrpc_error)
-        await read_stream_writer.send(session_message)
-
     async def post_writer(
         self,
         client: httpx.AsyncClient,
@@ -467,8 +471,8 @@ class StreamableHTTPTransport:
                     else:
                         await handle_request_async()
 
-        except Exception:
+        except Exception:  # pragma: lax no cover
-            logger.exception("Error in post_writer")  # pragma: no cover
+            logger.exception("Error in post_writer")
         finally:
             await read_stream_writer.aclose()
             await write_stream.aclose()

src/mcp/types/jsonrpc.py

@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ class JSONRPCError(BaseModel):
     """A response to a request that indicates an error occurred."""
 
     jsonrpc: Literal["2.0"]
-    id: str | int
+    id: RequestId
     error: ErrorData
 
 

tests/client/test_notification_response.py

@@ -5,129 +5,92 @@ that don't follow SDK conventions.
 """
 
 import json
-import multiprocessing
-import socket
-from collections.abc import Generator
 
+import httpx
 import pytest
-import uvicorn
 from starlette.applications import Starlette
 from starlette.requests import Request
 from starlette.responses import JSONResponse, Response
 from starlette.routing import Route
 
-from mcp import ClientSession, types
+from mcp import ClientSession, MCPError, types
 from mcp.client.streamable_http import streamable_http_client
 from mcp.shared.session import RequestResponder
 from mcp.types import RootsListChangedNotification
-from tests.test_helpers import wait_for_server
 
+pytestmark = pytest.mark.anyio
 
-def create_non_sdk_server_app() -> Starlette:  # pragma: no cover
+INIT_RESPONSE = {
-    """Create a minimal server that doesn't follow SDK conventions."""
-
-    async def handle_mcp_request(request: Request) -> Response:
-        """Handle MCP requests with non-standard responses."""
-        try:
-            body = await request.body()
-            data = json.loads(body)
-
-            # Handle initialize request normally
-            if data.get("method") == "initialize":
-                response_data = {
-                    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
-                    "id": data["id"],
-                    "result": {
     "serverInfo": {"name": "test-non-sdk-server", "version": "1.0.0"},
     "protocolVersion": "2024-11-05",
     "capabilities": {},
-                    },
 }
-                return JSONResponse(response_data)
+
+
+def _init_json_response(data: dict[str, object]) -> JSONResponse:
+    return JSONResponse({"jsonrpc": "2.0", "id": data["id"], "result": INIT_RESPONSE})
+
+
+def _create_non_sdk_server_app() -> Starlette:
+    """Create a minimal server that doesn't follow SDK conventions."""
+
+    async def handle_mcp_request(request: Request) -> Response:
+        body = await request.body()
+        data = json.loads(body)
+
+        if data.get("method") == "initialize":
+            return _init_json_response(data)
 
         # For notifications, return 204 No Content (non-SDK behavior)
         if "id" not in data:
             return Response(status_code=204, headers={"Content-Type": "application/json"})
 
-            # Default response for other requests
+        return JSONResponse(  # pragma: no cover
-            return JSONResponse(
             {"jsonrpc": "2.0", "id": data.get("id"), "error": {"code": -32601, "message": "Method not found"}}
         )
 
-        except Exception as e:
+    return Starlette(debug=True, routes=[Route("/mcp", handle_mcp_request, methods=["POST"])])
-            return JSONResponse({"error": f"Server error: {str(e)}"}, status_code=500)
-
-    app = Starlette(
-        debug=True,
-        routes=[
-            Route("/mcp", handle_mcp_request, methods=["POST"]),
-        ],
-    )
-    return app
 
 
-def run_non_sdk_server(port: int) -> None:  # pragma: no cover
+def _create_unexpected_content_type_app() -> Starlette:
-    """Run the non-SDK server in a separate process."""
+    """Create a server that returns an unexpected content type for requests."""
-    app = create_non_sdk_server_app()
+
-    config = uvicorn.Config(
+    async def handle_mcp_request(request: Request) -> Response:
-        app=app,
+        body = await request.body()
-        host="127.0.0.1",
+        data = json.loads(body)
-        port=port,
+
-        log_level="error",  # Reduce noise in tests
+        if data.get("method") == "initialize":
-    )
+            return _init_json_response(data)
-    server = uvicorn.Server(config=config)
+
-    server.run()
+        if "id" not in data:
+            return Response(status_code=202)
+
+        # Return text/plain for all other requests — an unexpected content type.
+        return Response(content="this is plain text, not json or sse", status_code=200, media_type="text/plain")
+
+    return Starlette(debug=True, routes=[Route("/mcp", handle_mcp_request, methods=["POST"])])
 
 
-@pytest.fixture
+async def test_non_compliant_notification_response() -> None:
-def non_sdk_server_port() -> int:
+    """Verify the client ignores unexpected responses to notifications.
-    """Get an available port for the test server."""
-    with socket.socket() as s:
-        s.bind(("127.0.0.1", 0))
-        return s.getsockname()[1]
 
-
+    The spec states notifications should get either 202 + no response body, or 4xx + optional error body
-@pytest.fixture
-def non_sdk_server(non_sdk_server_port: int) -> Generator[None, None, None]:
-    """Start a non-SDK server for testing."""
-    proc = multiprocessing.Process(target=run_non_sdk_server, kwargs={"port": non_sdk_server_port}, daemon=True)
-    proc.start()
-
-    # Wait for server to be ready
-    try:
-        wait_for_server(non_sdk_server_port, timeout=10.0)
-    except TimeoutError:  # pragma: no cover
-        proc.kill()
-        proc.join(timeout=2)
-        pytest.fail("Server failed to start within 10 seconds")
-
-    yield
-
-    proc.kill()
-    proc.join(timeout=2)
-
-
-@pytest.mark.anyio
-async def test_non_compliant_notification_response(non_sdk_server: None, non_sdk_server_port: int) -> None:
-    """This test verifies that the client ignores unexpected responses to notifications: the spec states they should
-    either be 202 + no response body, or 4xx + optional error body
     (https://modelcontextprotocol.io/specification/2025-06-18/basic/transports#sending-messages-to-the-server),
     but some servers wrongly return other 2xx codes (e.g. 204). For now we simply ignore unexpected responses
     (aligning behaviour w/ the TS SDK).
     """
-    server_url = f"http://127.0.0.1:{non_sdk_server_port}/mcp"
     returned_exception = None
 
     async def message_handler(  # pragma: no cover
         message: RequestResponder[types.ServerRequest, types.ClientResult] | types.ServerNotification | Exception,
-    ):
+    ) -> None:
         nonlocal returned_exception
         if isinstance(message, Exception):
             returned_exception = message
 
-    async with streamable_http_client(server_url) as (read_stream, write_stream):
+    async with httpx.AsyncClient(transport=httpx.ASGITransport(app=_create_non_sdk_server_app())) as client:
+        async with streamable_http_client("http://localhost/mcp", http_client=client) as (read_stream, write_stream):
             async with ClientSession(read_stream, write_stream, message_handler=message_handler) as session:
-            # Initialize should work normally
                 await session.initialize()
 
                 # The test server returns a 204 instead of the expected 202
@@ -135,3 +98,54 @@ async def test_non_compliant_notification_response(non_sdk_server: None, non_sdk
 
     if returned_exception:  # pragma: no cover
         pytest.fail(f"Server encountered an exception: {returned_exception}")
+
+
+async def test_unexpected_content_type_sends_jsonrpc_error() -> None:
+    """Verify unexpected content types unblock the pending request with an MCPError.
+
+    When a server returns a content type that is neither application/json nor text/event-stream,
+    the client should send a JSONRPCError so the pending request resolves immediately
+    instead of hanging until timeout.
+    """
+    async with httpx.AsyncClient(transport=httpx.ASGITransport(app=_create_unexpected_content_type_app())) as client:
+        async with streamable_http_client("http://localhost/mcp", http_client=client) as (read_stream, write_stream):
+            async with ClientSession(read_stream, write_stream) as session:  # pragma: no branch
+                await session.initialize()
+
+                with pytest.raises(MCPError, match="Unexpected content type: text/plain"):  # pragma: no branch
+                    await session.list_tools()
+
+
+def _create_invalid_json_response_app() -> Starlette:
+    """Create a server that returns invalid JSON for requests."""
+
+    async def handle_mcp_request(request: Request) -> Response:
+        body = await request.body()
+        data = json.loads(body)
+
+        if data.get("method") == "initialize":
+            return _init_json_response(data)
+
+        if "id" not in data:
+            return Response(status_code=202)
+
+        # Return application/json content type but with invalid JSON body.
+        return Response(content="not valid json{{{", status_code=200, media_type="application/json")
+
+    return Starlette(debug=True, routes=[Route("/mcp", handle_mcp_request, methods=["POST"])])
+
+
+async def test_invalid_json_response_sends_jsonrpc_error() -> None:
+    """Verify invalid JSON responses unblock the pending request with an MCPError.
+
+    When a server returns application/json with an unparseable body, the client
+    should send a JSONRPCError so the pending request resolves immediately
+    instead of hanging until timeout.
+    """
+    async with httpx.AsyncClient(transport=httpx.ASGITransport(app=_create_invalid_json_response_app())) as client:
+        async with streamable_http_client("http://localhost/mcp", http_client=client) as (read_stream, write_stream):
+            async with ClientSession(read_stream, write_stream) as session:  # pragma: no branch
+                await session.initialize()
+
+                with pytest.raises(MCPError, match="Failed to parse JSON response"):  # pragma: no branch
+                    await session.list_tools()