MCP spec conformance: 5 requirement(s) violated (via @hasmcp/mcp-spec-test) — spec 2025-11-25

[hasmcp-dev]

When run over stdio with npx @apify/actors-mcp-server and no APIFY_TOKEN set, the server prints APIFY_TOKEN is required but not set... to stderr and exits immediately, before ever completing an MCP handshake. Testing specifically against the older 2025-11-25 spec revision (this server negotiates both 2026-07-28 and 2025-11-25), @hasmcp/mcp-spec-test finds 5 requirement violations — fewer than under 2026-07-28 because this revision's suite doesn't have a separate server/discover pre-handshake check, but the core issue is the same: no session is ever established because the process exits at startup. This is likely an environment/credentials artifact rather than an independent protocol bug for this revision, but is reported separately since the failing-case set differs from the 2026-07-28 run.

Conformance report

MCP 2025-11-25 conformance report
target npx -y @apify/actors-mcp-server
transport stdio
supported 2026-07-28, 2025-11-25

FAILED (5) — the server deviates from the spec here

Version negotiation
✗ a request with no version at all is served on the default
a version-less request must be served, got 0: {"_raw":"server exited"} 0 !== 200
✗ an unsupported version offered at the handshake is refused or downgraded, not echoed
expected either an error or a protocolVersion, got {"_raw":"server exited"}

Official SDK interop
✗ a stock official-SDK client completes the handshake
MCP error -32000: Connection closed
✗ the handshake settles on a revision inside the supported window
initialize must return a protocolVersion, got undefined
✗ a stock official-SDK client can list tools
MCP error -32000: Connection closed

NOT VERIFIED (13) — skipped; a skip is not a pass

Capability methods
– tools/list returns schema-conformant tools
– tools/call on an unknown tool is an error, not a crash
– tools/call returns a schema-conformant CallToolResult
– prompts/list returns schema-conformant prompts
– prompts/get returns messages with a role and content
– resources/list returns schema-conformant resources
– resources/templates/list returns schema-conformant templates
– resources/read returns contents for every sampled resource
– resources/read on an unknown uri is an error
– following nextCursor terminates and does not repeat a page
– an invalid pagination cursor is rejected (SHOULD)
cannot determine what the target supports — initialize returned no result (status 0)

Version negotiation
– initialize returns the schema-required fields
– the handshake settles on the revision under test
no session — initialize returned no result (status 0)

PASSED (2)

server/discover
✓ the suite is reading a schema that matches the features it selected

Official SDK interop
✓ the official SDK does not yet implement the newest revision

Summary
2 passed 5 failed 13 not verified
20 cases applied, in 24355ms

Verdict: not conformant — 5 requirements violated.

How to reproduce

With Docker:

docker pull hasmcp/mcp-spec-test:latest
docker run --rm hasmcp/mcp-spec-test -c "npx -y @apify/actors-mcp-server" --spec-version 2025-11-25

(or, if that image lacks a manifest for your platform: git clone https://github.com/hasmcp/mcp-spec-test && cd mcp-spec-test && docker build -t mcp-spec-test . && docker run --rm mcp-spec-test -c "npx -y @apify/actors-mcp-server" --spec-version 2025-11-25)

Without Docker (npx):

npx @hasmcp/mcp-spec-test@latest -c "npx -y @apify/actors-mcp-server" --spec-version 2025-11-25

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This issue was generated by an automated MCP conformance sweep across public MCP server repos. If this is expected behavior for an unauthenticated/no-token environment (rather than a genuine protocol bug), feel free to close it — it may simply reflect the test harness not providing an APIFY_TOKEN.