modelcontextprotocol / modelcontextprotocol/python-sdk

ServerSession methods (create_message, elicit_form) don't expose progress_callback parameter

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enhancement needs decision P2
Dominant language
Python
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Description

Summary

The ServerSession high-level methods for sending requests to clients (create_message, elicit_form) don't expose the progress_callback parameter, even though the underlying BaseSession.send_request() fully supports it.

This means servers can't easily receive progress notifications from clients during sampling or elicitation requests.

Current Behavior

# ServerSession.elicit_form() - no progress_callback parameter
async def elicit_form(
    self,
    message: str,
    requestedSchema: types.ElicitRequestedSchema,
    related_request_id: types.RequestId | None = None,
) -> types.ElicitResult:
    return await self.send_request(...)  # progress_callback not passed through

# ServerSession.create_message() - same issue
async def create_message(
    self,
    messages: list[types.SamplingMessage],
    *,
    max_tokens: int,
    # ... other params ...
    related_request_id: types.RequestId | None = None,
) -> types.CreateMessageResult:
    return await self.send_request(...)  # progress_callback not passed through

Expected Behavior

# Should be able to pass progress_callback
result = await server_session.elicit_form(
    message="Please provide your details",
    requestedSchema=schema,
    progress_callback=lambda progress, total, msg: print(f"Progress: {progress}/{total} - {msg}")
)

result = await server_session.create_message(
    messages=messages,
    max_tokens=1000,
    progress_callback=lambda progress, total, msg: print(f"Sampling progress: {progress}/{total}")
)

Context

  • The MCP spec supports bidirectional progress notifications - clients CAN send notifications/progress back to servers during request handling
  • BaseSession.send_request() already supports progress_callback parameter
  • ClientSession.call_tool() exposes progress_callback for the client→server direction
  • The TypeScript SDK exposes this via RequestOptions.onprogress in both createMessage() and elicitInput()
  • Tests in tests/shared/test_progress_notifications.py demonstrate the bidirectional flow works

Suggested Fix

Add progress_callback: ProgressFnT | None = None parameter to:

  • ServerSession.create_message()
  • ServerSession.elicit_form()
  • Any other ServerSession methods that send requests to clients

And pass it through to send_request().

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  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 with the ServerSession.create_message() and elicit_form() entry points, then compare their calls with BaseSession.send_request() and the existing progress callback handling. Review tests/shared/test_progress_notifications.py, and consider the work done when both methods accept and forward progress_callback with coverage for the bidirectional flow.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
python
Domain
api
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
2/5
Estimated time
1-3 hours
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
72/100

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