modelcontextprotocol / modelcontextprotocol/python-sdk

Return 405 on GET when stateless_http=True

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bug P2
Dominant language
Python
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Description

Initial Checks
Description

When a Streamable HTTP server is configured with stateless_http=True, GET /mcp is still accepted and opens an SSE stream that has no session context and can never receive server-initiated messages — a dead-end.

The MCP Streamable HTTP spec explicitly permits returning 405 Method Not Allowed when the server does not offer an SSE stream at the endpoint
(spec):

The server MUST return HTTP 405 Method Not Allowed if an SSE stream is
not offered at the endpoint.

A stateless server cannot offer one — there is no session to push to — so GET should 405. The TypeScript SDK already behaves this way in its stateless example.

A prior PR (#2262) proposed essentially this change but was closed for lack of a corresponding issue per CONTRIBUTING.md.
Opening this issue to agree on scope so the fix can be re-submitted.

Example Code
from mcp.server.fastmcp import FastMCP

mcp = FastMCP("my-server", stateless_http=True, json_response=True)

@mcp.tool()
def ping() -> str:
    return "pong"

app = mcp.streamable_http_app()

A couple of clarifications for triage:

Current vs expected behavior

Today (v1.27.0):

$ curl -i -X GET http://localhost:8000/mcp
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
content-type: text/event-stream
... (stream idles until platform timeout)

Expected:

$ curl -i -X GET http://localhost:8000/mcp
HTTP/1.1 405 Method Not Allowed
Allow: POST
Concrete impact

The idle GET SSE stream holds a long-lived connection per client with no useful payload, exhausting concurrent connection limits on serverless platforms like Cloud Run. Background previously raised in #2232 / #1941.

Proposed resolution

PR #2262 already has a working implementation. Once this issue is labeled ready for work, reopening it (narrowed to GET per this issue's scope) should be sufficient — no new PR needed.

Python & MCP Python SDK
1.27.0

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 at FastMCP.streamable_http_app() and inspect how GET /mcp is handled for stateless_http=True; PR #2262 provides the prior implementation to review. Use the curl example to verify that GET returns 405 Method Not Allowed with Allow: POST, while the stated stateless POST behavior remains unaffected.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
python
Domain
api, backend
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
2/5
Estimated time
1-3 hours
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Clearly specified
Newbie friendliness
68/100

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