v1.7.0 refreshRoots() clears allowedLocalDirs when host advertises roots capability but returns empty list — wipes CLI-arg directories
Nobody has claimed this yet.
Assessment
- Difficulty
- 2/5
- Estimated time
- 1-3 hours
- Newbie friendliness
- 72/100
- Issue type
- Bug
- Clarity
- Clearly specified
- Activity status
- Quiet
- Tech stack
- typescript
- Domain
- backend-api-design, cli
Research direction
Start in dist/server.js at refreshRoots() and trace how allowedLocalDirs is populated from roots and CLI arguments in dist/index.js around lines 34372 and 34376. Run the Windows reproduction with a positional directory, then call list_pdfs and display_pdf; done means the CLI directory remains in allowedDirectories after initialization and local files can be opened.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Description
Version: 1.7.0 (pdf-server-mcp via Claude Desktop extension manager)
OS: Windows 11 / Claude Desktop 1.4758.0
Severity: Functional regression — local PDFs cannot be opened via display_pdf
What happens
list_pdfs returns:
{"localFiles": [], "allowedDirectories": [], "truncated": false}
Even when:
Directories are passed as positional args via the manifest's mcp_config.args
(which parseArgs() should register at line ~34372 in dist/index.js)
A cowork directory mount has been approved by the user
display_pdf against any local file path is rejected with "Local file not in allowed list".
Root cause
In dist/server.js refreshRoots():
async function refreshRoots(server) {
if (!server.getClientCapabilities()?.roots)
return;
try {
const { roots } = await server.listRoots();
allowedLocalDirs.clear(); // <-- this line
for (const root of roots) { ... }
}
}
When --stdio mode runs, useClientRoots: true is hardcoded, so
refreshRoots() always fires on init via oninitialized. Claude Desktop
1.4758.0 advertises the roots capability but server.listRoots() returns
an empty array (cowork mounts not propagating as MCP roots). The
unconditional clear() then wipes any directories registered via CLI args
in main() lines 34372/34376.
Reproduction
Install pdf-server-mcp 1.7.0 in Claude Desktop on Windows.
In manifest.json (or via a launch wrapper) add positional directory
paths to mcp_config.args after --stdio, e.g.
["${__dirname}/dist/index.js", "--stdio", "C:\\some\\dir"].
Restart Claude Desktop.
Call list_pdfs. Expected: allowedDirectories includes C:\some\dir.
Actual: allowedDirectories: [].
Suggested fix
In refreshRoots(), either (a) only clear when the new roots list is
non-empty, or (b) drop the clear entirely and rely on Set.add()'s dedup
behavior. Option (b) is safer because cowork-side root removals would
still need a separate mechanism (e.g., a roots/list_changed notification
that explicitly signals removal, not the current implicit
clear-and-replace).
Workaround applied locally
Commented out the allowedLocalDirs.clear() line. CLI-arg directories
now survive the refresh and display_pdf works on local paths again.
This loses the ability for the host to revoke a previously-granted root
via the empty-list path, but in practice cowork mounts are additive in
our usage pattern.
- Dominant language
- TypeScript
- Stars
- 2.9k
- Forks
- 387
- Avg merge
- 2h 54m
- Merged PRs (30d)
- 7
Contributor guide
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
More from modelcontextprotocol/ext-apps
-
Difficulty 2/5 1-3 hours Newbie friendliness 70/100
modelcontextprotocol/ext-apps#786 ·
-
bug
Difficulty 2/5 1-3 hours Newbie friendliness 84/100
modelcontextprotocol/ext-apps#767 ·
-
bug
Difficulty 2/5 1-3 hours Newbie friendliness 68/100
modelcontextprotocol/ext-apps#742 · 1 comment ·
-
Difficulty 1/5 Under an hour Newbie friendliness 72/100
modelcontextprotocol/ext-apps#711 ·
-
Difficulty 2/5 1-3 hours Newbie friendliness 65/100
modelcontextprotocol/ext-apps#706 ·
All issues in modelcontextprotocol/ext-apps
Similar issues
-
VerificationGate: ATTRIBUTION quote guard never matches a normal quotation (\b around the quote) Open
Difficulty 2/5 1-3 hours Newbie friendliness 75/100
danielmiessler/LifeOS#2234 ·
-
T: Bug
Difficulty 2/5 1-3 hours Newbie friendliness 75/100
-
Difficulty 2/5 1-3 hours Newbie friendliness 65/100
-
Difficulty 1/5 Under an hour Newbie friendliness 85/100
-
Mend: dependency security vulnerability untriaged
Difficulty 2/5 1-3 hours Newbie friendliness 70/100