Codex extension in vscode: MCP server (Context7) fails with “request timed out”

Almost all mcps servers encounter this problem in windows, I believe it's related to a winsocket error.

@ahSOLO This isn't the main issue. The core problem is that codex's MCP timeout defaults to 10 seconds. Even when we manually execute "npx -y @upstash/context7-mcp" in the terminal, it exceeds 10 seconds.

same here:

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🖐  MCP client for `SearXNG` failed to start: request timed out

🖐  MCP client for `vscode-mcp` failed to start: request timed out

🖐  MCP client for `context7` failed to start: request timed out

🖐  MCP client for `chrome-mcp` failed to start: request timed out

@ahSOLO This isn't the main issue. The core problem is that codex's MCP timeout defaults to 10 seconds. Even when we manually execute "npx -y @upstash/context7-mcp" in the terminal, it exceeds 10 seconds.

Yeah I understand the timeout is too low, but even if you find a way around that (local installation, proxy server), you'll still get that error on a native Windows environment due to the winsocket error. For me I had to use WSL to escape it.

Same problem here.

It was working ok in my 2 computers, but after a few days stopped working in both.

没用的，我设置超时为600秒，照样超时

@luodaoyi
Check out my solution! 😉
https://github.com/openai/codex/issues/3385

@luodaoyi Check out my solution! 😉 #3385

It work‘s ! Thanks ,

@luodaoyi Check out my solution! 😉 #3385

I tried your solution and it worked, thanks.

@luodaoyi Check out my solution! 😉 #3385

Thanks @sfz009900, TLDR; just add startup_timeout_ms = XXXXX for each mcp

# example
[mcp_servers.playwright]
command = "npx"
startup_timeout_ms = 20_000
args = ["@playwright/mcp@latest"]

because some MCP installations take longer than the codex default timeout.

> @luodaoyi Check out my solution! 😉 #3385 Thanks @sfz009900, TLDR; just add startup_timeout_ms = XXXXX for each mcp ``toml # example [mcp_servers.playwright] command = "npx" startup_timeout_ms = 20_000 args = ["@playwright/mcp@latest"] `` because some MCP installations take longer than the codex default timeout.

不是timeout的问题是环境变量的问题！环境变量设置后期才可以正常启动mcp，否则timeout不管改多少都会超时

I'm using mac and same things happen to me as well....

For Windows users, this works for me with Codex 0.38.0:

[mcp_servers.context7]
command = "cmd"
args = [
    "/c",
    "npx",
    "-y",
    "@upstash/context7-mcp",
    "--api-key",
    "your-key",
]
env = { SystemRoot="C:\\Windows" }
startup_timeout_ms = 20_000

@wbdb env = { SystemRoot="C:\\Windows" } ，This method is effective, very good

After testing, I found the following three feasible solutions:

1. Start context7-mcp directly (context7 must be installed in advance):

[mcp_servers.context7]
command = "C:\\Users\\{Your Windows Username}\\AppData\\Roaming\\npm\\context7-mcp.cmd"
args = []

1. Use the absolute path for npx (using npx instead of path will result in an error stating that the program not found):

[mcp_servers.context7]
command = "C:\\Users\\{Your Windows Username}\\AppData\\Roaming\\npm\\npx.cmd"
args = [
    "-y",
    "@upstash/context7-mcp"
]
env = { SystemRoot="C:\\Windows", APPDATA="C:\\Users\\{Your Windows Username}\\AppData\\Roaming" }

1. Use cmd:

[mcp_servers.context7]
command = "cmd"
args = [
    "/c",
    "npx",
    "-y",
    "@upstash/context7-mcp"
]
env = { SystemRoot="C:\\Windows", APPDATA="C:\\Users\\{Your Windows Username}\\AppData\\Roaming" }

Among them, the env configuration is required for the 2nd and 3rd plans. If you still receive a "request timed out" message, add the following line: startup_timeout_ms = 20_000 to resolve the issue.

The direct cause of this issue is the environment variable whitelist.

codex-rs/mcp-client/src/mcp_client.rs:435

https://github.com/openai/codex/issues/4180

I think this issue is now addressed by the changes to the environment variable whitelist. If you see any further problems related to this, please let us know.