quickstart-resources/mcp-client-python/client.py
Alex Akimov 470d1ba328
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Fix the tool-use loop in the Go, Rust, and Ruby clients and add a tool-loop smoke test (#200)
* Fix the tool-use loop in the Go, Rust, and Ruby clients and add a tool-loop smoke test

## Motivation and Context

Only the Python and TypeScript clients implemented a correct tool-use loop. The other three
had bugs that break ordinary multi-step requests:

- **Go, Rust, Ruby** did a single tool round and then called Claude once more *without*
  `tools`, so any request that needs a second tool call stalled. Go silently dropped
  `tool_use` blocks from that final response.
- **Ruby** called Claude once per `tool_use` block, each time with a single `tool_result`.
  Parallel tool calls produced a malformed message sequence and an API 400.
- **max_tokens** was 1000 in TypeScript and Ruby, 1024 in Go, and unset in Rust. Sonnet 5
  thinks adaptively, so 1000 tokens is regularly exhausted mid-thought. Python already used
  10000 with a comment explaining why.
- **Ruby** never forwarded MCP `isError` as `is_error`, so the model could not tell a failed
  tool call from a successful one. Rust cannot set the flag either (see below).
- **TypeScript** forwarded raw MCP content blocks to Anthropic. The two block shapes differ,
  so a non-text result would have failed.

The existing smoke test never noticed because it only checks that each client calls
`tools/list`. None of these bugs was reachable without an API key.

### What changed

All five clients now run the same loop: call tools until Claude answers without one, send
every `tool_result` of a turn in one user message, pass `tools` on every call, and stop
after `MAX_TOOL_TURNS = 10`. `max_tokens` is 10000 everywhere, with the same comment.
Python and TypeScript also keep the last response's text when the turn cap is hit; it used
to be dropped.

Rust keeps the `genai` crate. Its tool-response type has no `is_error` field, so an error
result is marked with an `Error:` prefix in the text and the limitation is commented.

### New smoke test

`tests/helpers/tool-loop-test.ts` starts a fake Anthropic Messages API on a loopback port,
points a client at it through `ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL`, pipes in one query, and checks every
request the client sends. It scripts two parallel tool calls, then a call to a tool the mock
server lacks (an `isError` result), then a final answer, and asserts that tools are passed
each time, `max_tokens` is 10000, all `tool_result`s arrive in one message with matching
ids, and the error is forwarded. `smoke-test.sh` runs it for Python, TypeScript, Go, and
Ruby.

The Rust client is excluded for now: `genai` reads no endpoint variable, and the client
negotiates protocol `2025-11-25`, under which the mock's array-rooted tool is refused at call
time. Both will be addressed in a follow-up that brings all examples to current SDK versions.

## How Has This Been Tested?

- `./tests/smoke-test.sh` passes for every example.
- The new tool-loop test passes all 19 checks for Python, TypeScript, Go, and Ruby.
- The Rust client was driven through the same scripted conversation with a temporary
  endpoint resolver (not committed) and passes.
- As a negative check, the Ruby client from `main` was run through the new test. It fails 10
  of 19 checks, on exactly the bugs listed above.
- Go and Ruby were built and run in `golang:1.25` and `ruby:3.4` containers.

## Breaking Changes

None. The clients' command lines, output format, and no-key behavior are unchanged.

## Types of changes

- [x] Bug fix (non-breaking change which fixes an issue)
- [ ] New feature (non-breaking change which adds functionality)
- [ ] Breaking change (fix or feature that would cause existing functionality to change)
- [x] Documentation update

## Checklist

- [x] I have read the [MCP Documentation](https://modelcontextprotocol.io)
- [x] My code follows the repository's style guidelines
- [x] New and existing tests pass locally
- [x] I have added appropriate error handling
- [x] I have added or updated documentation as needed

## Additional context

Two pre-existing issues surfaced while testing and are left for a follow-up:

- The Rust client (rmcp 3.1.2) negotiates `2025-11-25`. The TypeScript mock server and the
  Python weather server both reject its calls to array-rooted tools under that revision.
  Even current rmcp defaults to `2025-11-25`, so the client must request `2026-07-28`
  explicitly.
- The Go SDK's tool-result helper sends content as a list of text blocks rather than a
  string. The API accepts both, so it is unchanged.

AI assistance: the analysis, code changes, test helper, and this description were prepared
partially manually, partially with Claude Code and reviewed by me.

* Improvements

* Address comments
2026-09-19 18:25:02 -07:00

178 lines
6.4 KiB
Python

import asyncio
import os
from contextlib import AsyncExitStack
from pathlib import Path
from anthropic import Anthropic
from dotenv import load_dotenv
from mcp import Client, StdioServerParameters
from mcp_types import TextContent
load_dotenv() # load environment variables from .env
ANTHROPIC_MODEL = "claude-sonnet-5"
# Sonnet 5 thinks adaptively unless told otherwise, and max_tokens caps thinking
# plus the reply, so leave room for both.
MAX_TOKENS = 10000
MAX_TOOL_TURNS = 10
class MCPClient:
def __init__(self):
# Initialize session and client objects
self.client: Client | None = None
self.exit_stack = AsyncExitStack()
self._anthropic: Anthropic | None = None
@property
def anthropic(self) -> Anthropic:
"""Lazy-initialize Anthropic client when needed"""
if self._anthropic is None:
self._anthropic = Anthropic(api_key=os.getenv("ANTHROPIC_API_KEY"))
return self._anthropic
async def connect_to_server(self, server_script_path: str):
"""Connect to an MCP server
Args:
server_script_path: Path to the server script (.py or .js)
"""
is_python = server_script_path.endswith(".py")
is_js = server_script_path.endswith(".js")
if not (is_python or is_js):
raise ValueError("Server script must be a .py or .js file")
if is_python:
path = Path(server_script_path).resolve()
server_params = StdioServerParameters(
command="uv",
args=["--directory", str(path.parent), "run", path.name],
env=None,
)
else:
server_params = StdioServerParameters(command="node", args=[server_script_path], env=None)
# Client launches the command itself when given StdioServerParameters.
# "auto" probes server/discover, falling back to the 2025-11-25 handshake.
self.client = await self.exit_stack.enter_async_context(Client(server_params, mode="auto"))
# List available tools
response = await self.client.list_tools()
tools = response.tools
print(f"\nConnected over protocol {self.client.protocol_version} with tools:", [tool.name for tool in tools])
async def process_query(self, query: str) -> str:
"""Process a query using Claude and available tools"""
messages = [{"role": "user", "content": query}]
tools_response = await self.client.list_tools()
available_tools = [
{"name": tool.name, "description": tool.description, "input_schema": tool.input_schema}
for tool in tools_response.tools
]
final_text = []
response = self.anthropic.messages.create(
model=ANTHROPIC_MODEL, max_tokens=MAX_TOKENS, messages=messages, tools=available_tools
)
for _ in range(MAX_TOOL_TURNS):
tool_uses = []
for content in response.content:
if content.type == "text":
final_text.append(content.text)
elif content.type == "tool_use":
tool_uses.append(content)
if not tool_uses:
return "\n".join(final_text)
tool_results = []
for tool_use in tool_uses:
# call_tool validates the result against the declared schema.
result = await self.client.call_tool(tool_use.name, tool_use.input)
final_text.append(f"[Calling tool {tool_use.name} with args {tool_use.input}]")
# structured_content is data the application can use directly.
if isinstance(result.structured_content, list):
final_text.append(f"[{tool_use.name} returned {len(result.structured_content)} items]")
# content is a list of block types; forward only the text ones.
tool_results.append(
{
"type": "tool_result",
"tool_use_id": tool_use.id,
"content": "\n".join(block.text for block in result.content if isinstance(block, TextContent)),
"is_error": bool(result.is_error),
}
)
messages.append({"role": "assistant", "content": response.content})
messages.append({"role": "user", "content": tool_results})
response = self.anthropic.messages.create(
model=ANTHROPIC_MODEL,
max_tokens=MAX_TOKENS,
messages=messages,
tools=available_tools,
)
# The turn cap was hit. Keep the last response's text. If it asked for
# more tools, say they were not run.
final_text.extend(content.text for content in response.content if content.type == "text")
if any(content.type == "tool_use" for content in response.content):
final_text.append(f"[Stopped after {MAX_TOOL_TURNS} tool-use turns]")
return "\n".join(final_text)
async def chat_loop(self):
"""Run an interactive chat loop"""
print("\nMCP Client Started!")
print("Type your queries or 'quit' to exit.")
while True:
# input() blocks, so keep it off the event loop.
try:
query = (await asyncio.to_thread(input, "\nQuery: ")).strip()
except (EOFError, KeyboardInterrupt):
break
if query.lower() == "quit":
break
try:
response = await self.process_query(query)
print("\n" + response)
except Exception as e:
print(f"\nError: {str(e)}")
async def cleanup(self):
"""Clean up resources"""
await self.exit_stack.aclose()
async def main():
if len(sys.argv) < 2:
print("Usage: python client.py <path_to_server_script>")
sys.exit(1)
client = MCPClient()
try:
await client.connect_to_server(sys.argv[1])
# Check if we have a valid API key to continue
api_key = os.getenv("ANTHROPIC_API_KEY")
if not api_key:
print("\nNo ANTHROPIC_API_KEY found. To query these tools with Claude, set your API key:")
print(" export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your-api-key-here")
return
await client.chat_loop()
finally:
await client.cleanup()
if __name__ == "__main__":
import sys
asyncio.run(main())