Require the Mcp-Method header on the modern path

## Motivation and Context

The modern Streamable HTTP path validated the SEP-2243 mirror headers only when present:
an absent `Mcp-Method` or `Mcp-Name` was silently tolerated. The 2026-07-28 specification
requires `Mcp-Method` on every request and `Mcp-Name` on `tools/call`, `resources/read`,
and `prompts/get`, and lists a missing required standard header among the validation failures
a server MUST reject; the TypeScript SDK enforces presence with `-32020` the same way.
Tolerating absence also defeats the headers' purpose silently: they exist so intermediaries
can route and inspect requests without parsing bodies.

A modern POST without `Mcp-Method`, or a name-bearing modern POST whose body carries
a target name without `Mcp-Name`, now answers HTTP 400 with `-32020` naming the missing header,
exactly like a mismatch. `Mcp-Name` stays unrequired when the body carries no target name,
matching the TypeScript SDK. The bundled `MCP::Client::HTTP` already sends both headers on
every modern request, so SDK-to-SDK traffic is unaffected.

## How Has This Been Tested?

New tests in `test/mcp/server/transports/streamable_http_transport_test.rb` cover
the missing `Mcp-Method` and missing `Mcp-Name` rejections, asserting the `-32020` code
and the header name in the message. The `modern_rack_request` helper now mirrors
a conforming client by deriving `Mcp-Method` from the body (with `method_header: nil` to omit it),
so the existing modern-path tests exercise the requirement on every request.

## Breaking Changes

None for conforming clients, which must already send these headers.
Hand-rolled modern clients that omitted them are now rejected with `-32020` instead of being served;
add the headers, or use the legacy lifecycle, to proceed.

lib/mcp/server/transports/streamable_http_transport.rb

@@ -593,25 +593,45 @@ module MCP
             )
           end
 
+          # `Mcp-Method` is required on every modern POST and `Mcp-Name` on the name-bearing methods:
+          # the spec lists a missing required standard header among the validation failures that MUST be rejected,
+          # and the TypeScript SDK enforces presence the same way. Absence cannot be treated as "nothing to compare":
+          # the headers exist so intermediaries can route without parsing bodies, and a client that omits them
+          # defeats that contract silently.
           method_header = request.env["HTTP_MCP_METHOD"]
-          if method_header && method_header != body[:method]
+          if method_header.to_s.empty?
+            return header_mismatch_response(
+              "Mcp-Method header is required on the modern path",
+              body[:id],
+            )
+          end
+          if method_header != body[:method]
             return header_mismatch_response(
               "Mcp-Method header value '#{method_header}' does not match body value '#{body[:method]}'",
               body[:id],
             )
           end
 
-          name_header = request.env["HTTP_MCP_NAME"]
+          if NAME_BEARING_METHODS.include?(body[:method])
-          if name_header && NAME_BEARING_METHODS.include?(body[:method])
             body_name = params.is_a?(Hash) ? params[:name] || params[:uri] : nil
+            name_header = request.env["HTTP_MCP_NAME"]
+            if body_name
+              if name_header.to_s.empty?
+                return header_mismatch_response(
+                  "Mcp-Name header is required for `#{body[:method]}`",
+                  body[:id],
+                )
+              end
+
               decoded_name = decode_header_value(name_header)
-            if body_name && decoded_name != body_name
+              if decoded_name != body_name
                 return header_mismatch_response(
                   "Mcp-Name header value '#{decoded_name}' does not match body value '#{body_name}'",
                   body[:id],
                 )
               end
             end
+          end
 
           nil
         end

test/mcp/server/transports/streamable_http_transport_test.rb

@@ -5340,6 +5340,31 @@ module MCP
           assert_equal(-32020, JSON.parse(response[2][0]).dig("error", "code"))
         end
 
+        test "modern POST without the Mcp-Method header returns 400 with -32020" do
+          # The header is required on every modern POST; a missing required standard header is
+          # a validation failure, matching the TypeScript SDK's enforcement.
+          response = @transport.handle_request(modern_rack_request(
+            modern_body("ping", {}),
+            method_header: nil,
+          ))
+
+          assert_equal 400, response[0]
+          body = JSON.parse(response[2][0])
+          assert_equal(-32020, body.dig("error", "code"))
+          assert_includes body.dig("error", "message"), "Mcp-Method"
+        end
+
+        test "modern POST without the Mcp-Name header on a name-bearing method returns 400 with -32020" do
+          response = @transport.handle_request(modern_rack_request(
+            modern_body("tools/call", { name: "some_tool", arguments: {} }),
+          ))
+
+          assert_equal 400, response[0]
+          body = JSON.parse(response[2][0])
+          assert_equal(-32020, body.dig("error", "code"))
+          assert_includes body.dig("error", "message"), "Mcp-Name"
+        end
+
         test "modern POST decodes the base64 Mcp-Name sentinel and enforces the match" do
           # `Mcp-Name` mirrors `params.uri` for `resources/read`; a non-ASCII value arrives
           # wrapped in the `=?base64?...?=` sentinel produced by `MCP::Client::HTTP`.
@@ -5410,6 +5435,7 @@ module MCP
 
           response = @transport.handle_request(modern_rack_request(
             modern_body("tools/call", { name: "guarded_tool", arguments: {} }),
+            headers: { "HTTP_MCP_NAME" => "guarded_tool" },
           ))
 
           assert_equal 400, response[0]
@@ -5600,13 +5626,24 @@ module MCP
         end
 
         # Builds a POST request routed to the modern path via the `MCP-Protocol-Version` header.
-        def modern_rack_request(body, version: "2026-07-28", headers: {})
+        # Mirrors what a conforming modern client sends: `Mcp-Method` is required on every modern POST,
-          create_rack_request(
+        # so it defaults to the body's method. Pass `method_header: nil` to omit it
-            "POST",
+        # (for tests of the requirement itself) or a String to send a specific value.
-            "/",
+        def modern_rack_request(body, version: "2026-07-28", headers: {}, method_header: :from_body)
-            { "CONTENT_TYPE" => "application/json", "HTTP_MCP_PROTOCOL_VERSION" => version }.merge(headers),
+          derived_method = if method_header == :from_body
-            body,
+            begin
-          )
+              parsed = JSON.parse(body)
+              parsed["method"] if parsed.is_a?(Hash)
+            rescue JSON::ParserError
+              nil
+            end
+          else
+            method_header
+          end
+
+          base_headers = { "CONTENT_TYPE" => "application/json", "HTTP_MCP_PROTOCOL_VERSION" => version }
+          base_headers["HTTP_MCP_METHOD"] = derived_method if derived_method
+          create_rack_request("POST", "/", base_headers.merge(headers), body)
         end
 
         # Builds a JSON-RPC body carrying the SEP-2575 modern `_meta` envelope.