modelcontextprotocol / modelcontextprotocol/java-sdk
ServerCapabilities.logging is added unconditionally, overriding the caller's explicit capabilities
Nobody has claimed this yet.
- Dominant language
- Java
- Stars
- 3.7k
- Forks
- 1.1k
- Avg merge
- 1d 15h
- Merged PRs (30d)
- 9
Description
What happens
McpAsyncServer adds the logging capability to every server it builds, overriding whatever the
caller passed to .capabilities(...). There is no flag and no branch, so a server cannot decline to
advertise it.
Both constructors — the McpServerTransportProvider one and the McpStreamableServerTransportProvider
one — run:
this.serverCapabilities = features.serverCapabilities().mutate().logging().build();
Reproduction
Build a server that asks for tools only:
McpServer.sync(transport)
.serverInfo("example", "1.0.0")
.capabilities(ServerCapabilities.builder().tools(true).build())
.tools(theTools)
.build();
initialize answers:
"capabilities": { "logging": {}, "tools": { "listChanged": true } }
Evidence
Verified in the bytecode of mcp-core-2.0.0.jar rather than from source, in case the mutation was
conditional at runtime. It is not — javap -c io/modelcontextprotocol/server/McpAsyncServer.class
shows the same three calls at identical offsets in both constructors:
101: invokevirtual // McpServerFeatures$Async.serverCapabilities:()...ServerCapabilities;
104: invokevirtual // ServerCapabilities.mutate:()...ServerCapabilities$Builder;
107: invokevirtual // ServerCapabilities$Builder.logging:()...ServerCapabilities$Builder;
113: putfield // serverCapabilities
Why this is worth changing
MCP's in-protocol logging utility is deprecated as of protocol revision 2026-07-28
(SEP-2577); new
implementations SHOULD NOT adopt it. The current behaviour means every server built with this SDK
advertises the deprecated capability, whether or not it sends notifications/message — which is
close to the opposite of what the deprecation is trying to achieve, and it makes the advertisement
useless to clients as a signal, since it is true of everyone.
It also leaves implementors with only two honest options, neither of them "follow the spec's advice":
- implement a deprecated feature they did not want, purely so the advertisement is not empty; or
- advertise a capability that does nothing, and hope no client acts on it.
Worth noting the gap is narrower than it first appears, which is why this is a small fix rather than
a design change: the SDK does implement logging/setLevel and filters on
McpServerSession.minLoggingLevel (default INFO) inside loggingNotification. So a server that
never calls loggingNotification is offering an always-empty stream rather than a broken method.
The problem is only that it cannot say so.
Suggested fix
Honour what the caller passed:
this.serverCapabilities = features.serverCapabilities();
If the unconditional .logging() is load-bearing for existing users, an opt-out on the builder would
also do — anything that lets a server say "I do not implement this". Happy to open a PR if you have a
preference between the two.
Related but not the same ask: #872 (constructors package-private, so behaviour cannot be customised
by subclassing).
Version
io.modelcontextprotocol.sdk:mcp:2.0.0, Java 21.
Contributor guide
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Start in McpAsyncServer's constructors for McpServerTransportProvider and McpStreamableServerTransportProvider, where serverCapabilities is built from features. Reproduce the tools-only server from the issue and inspect its initialize response; done means the response reflects the caller's capabilities without unrequested logging.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- java
- Domain
- api, backend
- Issue type
- Bug
- Difficulty
- 2/5
- Estimated time
- 1-3 hours
- Activity status
- Quiet
- Clarity
- Clearly specified
- Newbie friendliness
- 68/100