MCP-SCH-003

x-mcp-header values are case-insensitively unique per inputSchema

“MUST be case-insensitively unique among all x-mcp-header values in the inputSchema.” — spec anchor

How to fix this

Make `x-mcp-header` values case-insensitively unique within a single `inputSchema`. Two parameters mapping to the same header name cannot both be recovered.

Example: failing and passing

Two properties map to "Region" and "region", which collide because header names are case-insensitive.

Violates MCP-SCH-003 · JSON

{
  "name": "execute_sql",
  "inputSchema": {
    "type": "object",
    "properties": {
      "region": { "type": "string", "x-mcp-header": "Region" },
      "zone": { "type": "string", "x-mcp-header": "region" }
    }
  }
}

Each property maps to a distinct header name.

Complies with MCP-SCH-003 · JSON

{
  "name": "execute_sql",
  "inputSchema": {
    "type": "object",
    "properties": {
      "region": { "type": "string", "x-mcp-header": "Region" },
      "zone": { "type": "string", "x-mcp-header": "Zone" }
    }
  }
}

How the validator checks this

Probe P2.1, against a streamable-http server on the modern protocol. What it reports:

pass: x-mcp-header values are unique within each inputSchema
fail: Duplicate x-mcp-header values

Quoted from the probe that runs this check, so it cannot drift from what the validator actually reports.

This rule is checked deterministically: a fail here is a certain violation, not an inference.

Checked in the same request as MCP-HDR-008, MCP-HDR-009, MCP-RES-003, MCP-RES-006, MCP-RES-007, MCP-ERR-003, MCP-ERR-004, MCP-ERR-005, MCP-ERR-008, MCP-CAC-001, MCP-CAC-002, MCP-CAC-003, MCP-CAC-004, MCP-CAC-005, MCP-SCH-001, MCP-SCH-002, MCP-SCH-004, MCP-SCH-005, MCP-SCH-006, MCP-SCH-007, MCP-SEC-004, MCP-SEC-005, MCP-SEC-006, MCP-DEP-005.

Check your own server against MCP-SCH-003

Probe P2.1 checks MCP-SCH-003 in the same request as 24 other rules, so one run shows your server's result for this rule next to the rest. Validate a server or read how the validator works.

Background on this topic: the Mcp-Method header and x-mcp-header explained.

Other Tool/prompt schema and x-mcp-header rules

MCP-SCH-001x-mcp-header is non-empty and matches RFC 9110 token syntax
MCP-SCH-002x-mcp-header contains no control characters, CR, or LF
MCP-SCH-004x-mcp-header only on string/integer/boolean — never number
MCP-SCH-005x-mcp-header property is statically reachable via properties only
MCP-SCH-006inputSchema/outputSchema validate against the declared or default 2020-12 dialect
MCP-SCH-007Tool, prompt, and resource names are header-safe ASCII