Implement consistent structuredContent handling per specification clarification

[dsp-ant]

Summary

Following the specification issue modelcontextprotocol/modelcontextprotocol#1411, the TypeScript SDK needs to ensure consistent handling of structuredContent vs content fields in tool responses.

Problem

Currently there's inconsistency across MCP implementations:

• Some clients use structuredContent when available (e.g., Cursor)
• Others ignore it entirely
• This leads to different behavior with the same servers

Current SDK Behavior

The TypeScript SDK has validation implemented:

typescript-sdk/src/client/index.ts

Lines 442 to 475 in 3dd074f

	// Check if the tool has an outputSchema
	const validator = this.getToolOutputValidator(params.name);
	if (validator) {
	// If tool has outputSchema, it MUST return structuredContent (unless it's an error)
	if (!result.structuredContent && !result.isError) {
	throw new McpError(
	ErrorCode.InvalidRequest,
	`Tool ${params.name} has an output schema but did not return structured content`
	);
	}
	// Only validate structured content if present (not when there's an error)
	if (result.structuredContent) {
	try {
	// Validate the structured content (which is already an object) against the schema
	const isValid = validator(result.structuredContent);
	if (!isValid) {
	throw new McpError(
	ErrorCode.InvalidParams,
	`Structured content does not match the tool's output schema: ${this._ajv.errorsText(validator.errors)}`
	);
	}
	} catch (error) {
	if (error instanceof McpError) {
	throw error;
	}
	throw new McpError(
	ErrorCode.InvalidParams,
	`Failed to validate structured content: ${error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error)}`
	);
	}
	}
	}

However, the handling needs to align with the specification clarification.

Required Changes

Once modelcontextprotocol/modelcontextprotocol#1411 is resolved, update the SDK to:

1. Implement the specified client behavior for structuredContent
2. Ensure proper fallback to content when needed
3. Validate that servers populate both fields consistently
4. Add tests to verify the correct behavior

References

• Specification issue: Clarify client handling of structuredContent vs content fields modelcontextprotocol#1411
• Discord discussion: https://discord.com/channels/1358869848138059966/1411057080902746293

cc: @dsp-ant