MCP server fails to start on Windows due to path comparison bug

Bug Description

The MCP server silently fails to start on Windows when running npx claude-flow mcp start. The server process spawns but exits immediately without doing anything.

Root Cause

In src/mcp/mcp-server.js at line 2637, the entry point check uses an incorrect file URL format:

if (import.meta.url === `file://${process.argv[1]}`) {
  startMCPServer().catch(console.error);
}

This fails on Windows because:

1. import.meta.url returns a proper file URL like: file:///C:/Users/username/path/to/mcp-server.js
2. But `file://${process.argv[1]}` creates: file://C:\Users\username\path\to\mcp-server.js

The differences:

• File URLs require 3 slashes (file:///) for absolute paths, not 2 (file://)
• Windows paths use backslashes (\) but URLs use forward slashes (/)
• Backslashes in template literals are interpreted as escape sequences (e.g., \t becomes a tab)

As a result, the comparison always fails on Windows, startMCPServer() is never called, and the server silently exits.

Environment

• OS: Windows 11
• Node.js: v22.18.0
• claude-flow version: 2.7.47

Fix

The fix is straightforward - use Node's pathToFileURL function for proper cross-platform path handling:

1. Update the import (line 10):

// Before:
import { fileURLToPath } from 'url';

// After:
import { fileURLToPath, pathToFileURL } from 'url';

2. Fix the entry point check (line 2637):

// Before:
if (import.meta.url === `file://${process.argv[1]}`) {
  startMCPServer().catch(console.error);
}

// After:
if (import.meta.url === pathToFileURL(process.argv[1]).href) {
  startMCPServer().catch(console.error);
}

Verification

After applying the fix, the server starts correctly:

[2025-12-21T20:20:02.428Z] INFO [claude-flow-mcp] Claude-Flow MCP server starting in stdio mode
{"arch":"x64","mode":"mcp-stdio","nodeVersion":"v22.18.0","pid":36928,"platform":"win32","protocol":"stdio","sessionId":"session-cf-1766348402427-4q1l","version":"2.7.47"}
{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"server.initialized","params":{"serverInfo":{"name":"claude-flow","version":"2.7.47",...}}}
[2025-12-21T20:20:02.437Z] INFO [claude-flow-mcp] Shared memory store initialized (same as npx)
[2025-12-21T20:20:02.437Z] INFO [claude-flow-mcp] Using SQLite storage

Additional Notes

This same pattern issue may exist in other files. A quick search for similar patterns would be advisable:

grep -r 'file://\${process.argv' src/

Start in src/mcp/mcp-server.js at the import near line 10 and the entry-point check near line 2637; review Node's pathToFileURL behavior and search for similar patterns with grep -r 'file://${process.argv' src/. Done means the MCP server starts under Windows and the existing entry-point behavior remains valid on other platforms.