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:
https://github.com/openai/codex/blob/8b95d3e082376f4cb23e92641705a22afb28a9da/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
# Preserve PATH precedence & fix Windows MCP env propagation
## Problem & intent
Preserve user PATH precedence and reduce Windows setup friction for MCP
servers by avoiding PATH reordering and ensuring Windows child processes
receive essential env vars.
- Addresses: #4180#5225#2945#3245#3385#2892#3310#3457#4370
- Supersedes: #4182, #3866, #3828 (overlapping/inferior once this
merges)
- Notes: #2626 / #2646 are the original PATH-mutation sources being
corrected.
---
## Before / After
**Before**
- PATH was **prepended** with an `apply_patch` helper dir (Rust + Node
wrapper), reordering tools and breaking virtualenvs/shims on
macOS/Linux.
- On Windows, MCP servers missed core env vars and often failed to start
without explicit per-server env blocks.
**After**
- Helper dir is **appended** to PATH (preserves user/tool precedence).
- Windows MCP child env now includes common core variables and mirrors
`PATH` → `Path`, so typical CLIs/plugins work **without** per-server env
blocks.
---
## Scope of change
### `codex-rs/arg0/src/lib.rs`
- Append temp/helper dir to `PATH` instead of prepending.
### `codex-cli/bin/codex.js`
- Mirror the same append behavior for the Node wrapper.
### `codex-rs/rmcp-client/src/utils.rs`
- Expand Windows `DEFAULT_ENV_VARS` (e.g., `COMSPEC`, `SYSTEMROOT`,
`PROGRAMFILES*`, `APPDATA`, etc.).
- Mirror `PATH` → `Path` for Windows child processes.
- Small unit test; conditional `mut` + `clippy` cleanup.
---
## Security effects
No broadened privileges. Only environment propagation for well-known
Windows keys on stdio MCP child processes. No sandbox policy changes and
no network additions.
---
## Testing evidence
**Static**
- `cargo fmt`
- `cargo clippy -p codex-arg0 -D warnings` → **clean**
- `cargo clippy -p codex-rmcp-client -D warnings` → **clean**
- `cargo test -p codex-rmcp-client` → **13 passed**
**Manual**
- Local verification on Windows PowerShell 5/7 and WSL (no `unused_mut`
warnings on non-Windows targets).
---
## Checklist
- [x] Append (not prepend) helper dir to PATH in Rust and Node wrappers
- [x] Windows MCP child inherits core env vars; `PATH` mirrored to
`Path`
- [x] `cargo fmt` / `clippy` clean across touched crates
- [x] Unit tests updated/passing where applicable
- [x] Cross-platform behavior preserved (macOS/Linux PATH precedence
intact)
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
The [official Rust
SDK](https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/rust-sdk/tree/57fc428c578a1a3fe851ee0838bf068bda120eb3)
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>
Michael Bolin ·
Curt ·
Gabriel Peal ·