modelcontextprotocol / modelcontextprotocol/php-sdk

[Client] Print contents of stderr when command in StdioTransport fails to start

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#332 2 comments 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

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enhancement
Dominant language
PHP
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Forks
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Avg merge
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Merged PRs (30d)
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Description

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
Currently when command fails to start all I get is "Error Initialization failed: Request timed out", which is hard to debug.

Describe the solution you'd like
Print a more specific error message and the contents of stderr that was outputted when starting the MCP server

Describe alternatives you've considered
Add debugging code to library source or use xdebug

Contributor guide

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First steps

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  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start by locating the Client StdioTransport startup path and how command failures become the "Request timed out" error. Trace how stderr is captured during command startup, then verify that a failed MCP server start reports a specific error including the stderr contents.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
php
Domain
backend
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
3/5
Estimated time
1-2 days
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
58/100

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