We started working with MCP in Codex before
https://crates.io/crates/rmcp was mature, so we had our own crate for
MCP types that was generated from the MCP schema:
8b95d3e082/codex-rs/mcp-types/README.md
Now that `rmcp` is more mature, it makes more sense to use their MCP
types in Rust, as they handle details (like the `_meta` field) that our
custom version ignored. Though one advantage that our custom types had
is that our generated types implemented `JsonSchema` and `ts_rs::TS`,
whereas the types in `rmcp` do not. As such, part of the work of this PR
is leveraging the adapters between `rmcp` types and the serializable
types that are API for us (app server and MCP) introduced in #10356.
Note this PR results in a number of changes to
`codex-rs/app-server-protocol/schema`, which merit special attention
during review. We must ensure that these changes are still
backwards-compatible, which is possible because we have:
```diff
- export type CallToolResult = { content: Array<ContentBlock>, isError?: boolean, structuredContent?: JsonValue, };
+ export type CallToolResult = { content: Array<JsonValue>, structuredContent?: JsonValue, isError?: boolean, _meta?: JsonValue, };
```
so `ContentBlock` has been replaced with the more general `JsonValue`.
Note that `ContentBlock` was defined as:
```typescript
export type ContentBlock = TextContent | ImageContent | AudioContent | ResourceLink | EmbeddedResource;
```
so the deletion of those individual variants should not be a cause of
great concern.
Similarly, we have the following change in
`codex-rs/app-server-protocol/schema/typescript/Tool.ts`:
```
- export type Tool = { annotations?: ToolAnnotations, description?: string, inputSchema: ToolInputSchema, name: string, outputSchema?: ToolOutputSchema, title?: string, };
+ export type Tool = { name: string, title?: string, description?: string, inputSchema: JsonValue, outputSchema?: JsonValue, annotations?: JsonValue, icons?: Array<JsonValue>, _meta?: JsonValue, };
```
so:
- `annotations?: ToolAnnotations` ➡️ `JsonValue`
- `inputSchema: ToolInputSchema` ➡️ `JsonValue`
- `outputSchema?: ToolOutputSchema` ➡️ `JsonValue`
and two new fields: `icons?: Array<JsonValue>, _meta?: JsonValue`
---
[//]: # (BEGIN SAPLING FOOTER)
Stack created with [Sapling](https://sapling-scm.com). Best reviewed
with [ReviewStack](https://reviewstack.dev/openai/codex/pull/10349).
* #10357
* __->__ #10349
* #10356
In order to make Codex work with connectors, we add a built-in gateway
MCP that acts as a transparent proxy between the client and the
connectors. The gateway MCP collects actions that are accessible to the
user and sends them down to the user, when a connector action is chosen
to be called, the client invokes the action through the gateway MCP as
well.
- [x] Add the system built-in gateway MCP to list and run connectors.
- [x] Add the app server methods and protocol
Historically, `accept_elicitation_for_prompt_rule()` was flaky because
we were using a notification to update the sandbox followed by a `shell`
tool request that we expected to be subject to the new sandbox config,
but because [rmcp](https://crates.io/crates/rmcp) MCP servers delegate
each incoming message to a new Tokio task, messages are not guaranteed
to be processed in order, so sometimes the `shell` tool call would run
before the notification was processed.
Prior to this PR, we relied on a generous `sleep()` between the
notification and the request to reduce the change of the test flaking
out.
This PR implements a proper fix, which is to use a _request_ instead of
a notification for the sandbox update so that we can wait for the
response to the sandbox request before sending the request to the
`shell` tool call. Previously, `rmcp` did not support custom requests,
but I fixed that in
https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/rust-sdk/pull/590, which made it
into the `0.12.0` release (see #8288).
This PR updates `shell-tool-mcp` to expect
`"codex/sandbox-state/update"` as a _request_ instead of a notification
and sends the appropriate ack. Note this behavior is tied to our custom
`codex/sandbox-state` capability, which Codex honors as an MCP client,
which is why `core/src/mcp_connection_manager.rs` had to be updated as
part of this PR, as well.
This PR also updates the docs at `shell-tool-mcp/README.md`.
This introduces a new feature to Codex when it operates as an MCP
_client_ where if an MCP _server_ replies that it has an entry named
`"codex/sandbox-state"` in its _server capabilities_, then Codex will
send it an MCP notification with the following structure:
```json
{
"method": "codex/sandbox-state/update",
"params": {
"sandboxPolicy": {
"type": "workspace-write",
"network-access": false,
"exclude-tmpdir-env-var": false
"exclude-slash-tmp": false
},
"codexLinuxSandboxExe": null,
"sandboxCwd": "/Users/mbolin/code/codex2"
}
}
```
or with whatever values are appropriate for the initial `sandboxPolicy`.
**NOTE:** Codex _should_ continue to send the MCP server notifications
of the same format if these things change over the lifetime of the
thread, but that isn't wired up yet.
The result is that `shell-tool-mcp` can consume these values so that
when it calls `codex_core::exec::process_exec_tool_call()` in
`codex-rs/exec-server/src/posix/escalate_server.rs`, it is now sure to
call it with the correct values (whereas previously we relied on
hardcoded values).
While I would argue this is a supported use case within the MCP
protocol, the `rmcp` crate that we are using today does not support
custom notifications. As such, I had to patch it and I submitted it for
review, so hopefully it will be accepted in some form:
https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/rust-sdk/pull/556
To test out this change from end-to-end:
- I ran `cargo build` in `~/code/codex2/codex-rs/exec-server`
- I built the fork of Bash in `~/code/bash/bash`
- I added the following to my `~/.codex/config.toml`:
```toml
# Use with `codex --disable shell_tool`.
[mcp_servers.execshell]
args = ["--bash", "/Users/mbolin/code/bash/bash"]
command = "/Users/mbolin/code/codex2/codex-rs/target/debug/codex-exec-mcp-server"
```
- From `~/code/codex2/codex-rs`, I ran `just codex --disable shell_tool`
- When the TUI started up, I verified that the sandbox mode is
`workspace-write`
- I ran `/mcp` to verify that the shell tool from the MCP is there:
<img width="1387" height="1400" alt="image"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/1a8addcc-5005-4e16-b59f-95cfd06fd4ab"
/>
- Then I asked it:
> what is the output of `gh issue list`
because this should be auto-approved with our existing dummy policy:
af63e6eccc/codex-rs/exec-server/src/posix.rs (L157-L164)
And it worked:
<img width="1387" height="1400" alt="image"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/7568d2f7-80da-4d68-86d0-c265a6f5e6c1"
/>
## What?
Fixes MCP server initialization failures on Windows when using
script-based tools like `npx`, `pnpm`, and `yarn` that rely on
`.cmd`/`.bat` files rather than `.exe` binaries.
Fixes#2945
## Why?
Windows users encounter "program not found" errors when configuring MCP
servers with commands like `npx` in their `~/.codex/config.toml`. This
happens because:
- Tools like `npx` are batch scripts (`npx.cmd`) on Windows, not
executable binaries
- Rust's `std::process::Command` bypasses the shell and cannot execute
these scripts directly
- The Windows shell normally handles this by checking `PATHEXT` for
executable extensions
Without this fix, Windows users must specify full paths or add `.cmd`
extensions manually, which breaks cross-platform compatibility.
## How?
Added platform-specific program resolution using the `which` crate to
find the correct executable path:
- **Windows**: Resolves programs through PATH/PATHEXT to find
`.cmd`/`.bat` scripts
- **Unix**: Returns the program unchanged (no-op, as Unix handles
scripts natively)
### Changes
- Added `which = "6"` dependency to `mcp-client/Cargo.toml`
- Implemented `program_resolver` module in `mcp_client.rs` with
platform-specific resolution
- Added comprehensive tests for both Windows and Unix behavior
### Testing
Added platform-specific tests to verify:
- Unix systems execute scripts without extensions
- Windows fails without proper extensions
- Windows succeeds with explicit extensions
- Cross-platform resolution enables successful execution
**Tested on:**
- Windows 11 (NT 10.0.26100.0 x64)
- PowerShell 5.1 & 7+, CMD, Git Bash
- MCP servers: playwright, context7, supabase
- WSL (verified no regression)
**Local checks passed:**
```bash
cargo test && cargo clippy --tests && cargo fmt -- --config imports_granularity=Item
```
### Results
**Before:**
```
🖐 MCP client for `playwright` failed to start: program not found
```
**After:**
```
🖐 MCP client for `playwright` failed to start: request timed out
```
Windows users can now use simple commands like `npx` in their config
without specifying full paths or extensions. The timeout issue is a
separate concern that will be addressed in a follow-up PR.
---------
Co-authored-by: Eric Traut <etraut@openai.com>
This makes stdio mcp servers more flexible by allowing users to specify
the cwd to run the server command from and adding additional environment
variables to be passed through to the server.
Example config using the test server in this repo:
```toml
[mcp_servers.test_stdio]
cwd = "/Users/<user>/code/codex/codex-rs"
command = "cargo"
args = ["run", "--bin", "test_stdio_server"]
env_vars = ["MCP_TEST_VALUE"]
```
@bolinfest I know you hate these env var tests but let's roll with this
for now. I may take a stab at the env guard + serial macro at some
point.
This adds two new config fields to streamable http mcp servers:
`http_headers`: a map of key to value
`env_http_headers` a map of key to env var which will be resolved at
request time
All headers will be passed to all MCP requests to that server just like
authorization headers.
There is a test ensuring that headers are not passed to other servers.
Fixes#5180
This lets users/companies explicitly choose whether to force/disallow
the keyring/fallback file storage for mcp credentials.
People who develop with Codex will want to use this until we sign
binaries or else each ad-hoc debug builds will require keychain access
on every build. I don't love this and am open to other ideas for how to
handle that.
```toml
mcp_oauth_credentials_store = "auto"
mcp_oauth_credentials_store = "file"
mcp_oauth_credentials_store = "keyrung"
```
Defaults to `auto`
`http_config.auth_header` automatically added `Bearer `. By adding it
ourselves, we were sending `Bearer Bearer <token>`.
I confirmed that the GitHub MCP initialization 400s before and works
now.
I also optimized the oauth flow to not check the keyring if you
explicitly pass in a bearer token.
This PR adds oauth login support to streamable http servers when
`experimental_use_rmcp_client` is enabled.
This PR is large but represents the minimal amount of work required for
this to work. To keep this PR smaller, login can only be done with
`codex mcp login` and `codex mcp logout` but it doesn't appear in `/mcp`
or `codex mcp list` yet. Fingers crossed that this is the last large MCP
PR and that subsequent PRs can be smaller.
Under the hood, credentials are stored using platform credential
managers using the [keyring crate](https://crates.io/crates/keyring).
When the keyring isn't available, it falls back to storing credentials
in `CODEX_HOME/.credentials.json` which is consistent with how other
coding agents handle authentication.
I tested this on macOS, Windows, WSL (ubuntu), and Linux. I wasn't able
to test the dbus store on linux but did verify that the fallback works.
One quirk is that if you have credentials, during development, every
build will have its own ad-hoc binary so the keyring won't recognize the
reader as being the same as the write so it may ask for the user's
password. I may add an override to disable this or allow
users/enterprises to opt-out of the keyring storage if it causes issues.
<img width="5064" height="686" alt="CleanShot 2025-09-30 at 19 31 40"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/9573f9b4-07f1-4160-83b8-2920db287e2d"
/>
<img width="745" height="486" alt="image"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/9562649b-ea5f-4f22-ace2-d0cb438b143e"
/>
This PR adds support for streamable HTTP MCP servers when the
`experimental_use_rmcp_client` is enabled.
To set one up, simply add a new mcp server config with the url:
```
[mcp_servers.figma]
url = "http://127.0.0.1:3845/mcp"
```
It also supports an optional `bearer_token` which will be provided in an
authorization header. The full oauth flow is not supported yet.
The config parsing will throw if it detects that the user mixed and
matched config fields (like command + bearer token or url + env).
The best way to review it is to review `core/src` and then
`rmcp-client/src/rmcp_client.rs` first. The rest is tests and
propagating the `Transport` struct around the codebase.
Example with the Figma MCP:
<img width="5084" height="1614" alt="CleanShot 2025-09-26 at 13 35 40"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/eaf2771e-df3e-4300-816b-184d7dec5a28"
/>
The [official Rust
SDK](57fc428c57)
has come a long way since we first started our mcp client implementation
5 months ago and, today, it is much more complete than our own
stdio-only implementation.
This PR introduces a new config flag `experimental_use_rmcp_client`
which will use a new mcp client powered by the sdk instead of our own.
To keep this PR simple, I've only implemented the same stdio MCP
functionality that we had but will expand on it with future PRs.
---------
Co-authored-by: pakrym-oai <pakrym@openai.com>
