modelcontextprotocol / modelcontextprotocol/python-sdk

ExceptionGroup wrapping obscures real errors from task groups

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bug P1 v2
Dominant language
Python
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Description

Summary

When SDK internal anyio task group tasks fail, the real error is wrapped in a BaseExceptionGroup alongside Cancelled exceptions from cancelled sibling tasks. This makes error classification extremely difficult for callers — they cannot reliably determine the root cause of a failure.

There are 16 create_task_group() usages across the SDK with no except* syntax or ExceptionGroup unwrapping anywhere.

Expected Behavior

  • Callers should receive the original exception, not an ExceptionGroup wrapping it alongside cancellation noise
  • When a task group has one real failure and N cancelled siblings, only the real failure should propagate

Current Behavior

  • A single connection failure produces a BaseExceptionGroup containing the real error plus multiple Cancelled exceptions
  • Callers must manually unwrap exception groups to find the root cause
  • This affects ~80+ call sites across the SDK where task groups are used

Affected Code

  • src/mcp/shared/session.py (session task groups)
  • src/mcp/client/streamable_http.py (transport task groups)
  • All other create_task_group() sites

Related

  • #1742 — broader typed error classes design
  • #1830 — CancelledError indistinguishable from external cancellation (closed but related)

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  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 reading the task-group handling in src/mcp/shared/session.py and src/mcp/client/streamable_http.py, then inspect the other create_task_group() sites mentioned in the issue. Reproduce a connection failure with cancelled sibling tasks and verify that the real exception propagates without cancellation noise across the affected call sites.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
python
Domain
backend
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
48/100

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