Specialize streamable HTTP headers by request type

src/mcp/client/streamable_http.py

@@ -131,7 +131,12 @@ def __init__(self, url: str) -> None:
         # `_consume_modern_cancellation`. Keys are verbatim-typed ("1" is not 1).
         self._in_flight_posts: dict[RequestId, _InFlightPost] = {}
 
-    def _prepare_headers(self) -> dict[str, str]:
+    def _prepare_headers(
+        self,
+        *,
+        accept: str = "application/json, text/event-stream",
+        content_type: str | None = "application/json",
+    ) -> dict[str, str]:
         """Build MCP-specific request headers for any outbound HTTP request.
 
         These are merged with the ``httpx2.AsyncClient`` defaults (these take
@@ -141,10 +146,9 @@ def _prepare_headers(self) -> dict[str, str]:
         GET/DELETE — still carry the negotiated version. Per-message headers
         are layered on top by the caller.
         """
-        headers: dict[str, str] = {
-            "accept": "application/json, text/event-stream",
-            "content-type": "application/json",
-        }
+        headers: dict[str, str] = {"accept": accept}
+        if content_type is not None:
+            headers["content-type"] = content_type
         if self.session_id:
             headers[MCP_SESSION_ID] = self.session_id
         if self._protocol_version_header:
@@ -227,7 +231,7 @@ async def handle_get_stream(self, client: httpx2.AsyncClient, read_stream_writer
                 if not self.session_id:
                     return
 
-                headers = self._prepare_headers()
+                headers = self._prepare_headers(accept="text/event-stream", content_type=None)
                 if last_event_id:
                     headers[LAST_EVENT_ID] = last_event_id
 
@@ -267,7 +271,7 @@ async def handle_get_stream(self, client: httpx2.AsyncClient, read_stream_writer
 
     async def _handle_resumption_request(self, ctx: RequestContext) -> None:
         """Handle a resumption request using GET with SSE."""
-        headers = self._prepare_headers()
+        headers = self._prepare_headers(accept="text/event-stream", content_type=None)
         if ctx.metadata and ctx.metadata.resumption_token:
             headers[LAST_EVENT_ID] = ctx.metadata.resumption_token
         else:
@@ -538,7 +542,7 @@ async def _handle_reconnection(
         delay_ms = retry_interval_ms if retry_interval_ms is not None else DEFAULT_RECONNECTION_DELAY_MS
         await anyio.sleep(delay_ms / 1000.0)
 
-        headers = self._prepare_headers()
+        headers = self._prepare_headers(accept="text/event-stream", content_type=None)
         headers[LAST_EVENT_ID] = last_event_id
 
         try:
@@ -666,7 +670,7 @@ async def terminate_session(self, client: httpx2.AsyncClient) -> None:
             return  # pragma: no cover
 
         try:
-            headers = self._prepare_headers()
+            headers = self._prepare_headers(content_type=None)
             response = await request_within_origin(client, "DELETE", self.url, headers=headers)
 
             if response.status_code == 405:

tests/client/test_streamable_http.py

@@ -87,6 +87,32 @@ def test_mcp_name_header_values_are_base64_wrapped_when_unsafe_for_an_http_field
         assert encoded == raw
 
 
+def test_transport_headers_match_the_outbound_request_kind() -> None:
+    """POST, SSE GET, and bodyless DELETE advertise only what they send."""
+    transport = StreamableHTTPTransport("http://test/mcp")
+    transport.session_id = "session-1"
+    transport._protocol_version_header = LATEST_MODERN_VERSION  # pyright: ignore[reportPrivateUsage]
+
+    post = transport._prepare_headers()  # pyright: ignore[reportPrivateUsage]
+    sse_get = transport._prepare_headers(  # pyright: ignore[reportPrivateUsage]
+        accept="text/event-stream", content_type=None
+    )
+    delete = transport._prepare_headers(content_type=None)  # pyright: ignore[reportPrivateUsage]
+
+    assert post["accept"] == "application/json, text/event-stream"
+    assert post["content-type"] == "application/json"
+    assert sse_get == {
+        "accept": "text/event-stream",
+        "mcp-session-id": "session-1",
+        "mcp-protocol-version": LATEST_MODERN_VERSION,
+    }
+    assert delete == {
+        "accept": "application/json, text/event-stream",
+        "mcp-session-id": "session-1",
+        "mcp-protocol-version": LATEST_MODERN_VERSION,
+    }
+
+
 @pytest.mark.anyio
 async def test_post_request_merges_per_message_metadata_headers() -> None:
     """`ClientMessageMetadata.headers` on a `SessionMessage` are merged into the outgoing POST headers