fix(server): preserve plain JSON Schema in deprecated server.tool() overload

src/server/mcp.ts

@@ -146,6 +146,10 @@
                             title: tool.title,
                             description: tool.description,
                             inputSchema: (() => {
+                                if (isLikelyJsonSchema(tool.inputSchema)) {
+                                    return tool.inputSchema as Tool['inputSchema'];
+                                }
+
                                 const obj = normalizeObjectSchema(tool.inputSchema);
                                 return obj
                                     ? (toJsonSchemaCompat(obj, {
@@ -996,7 +1000,7 @@
         }
 
         let description: string | undefined;
-        let inputSchema: ZodRawShapeCompat | undefined;
+        let inputSchema: ZodRawShapeCompat | AnySchema | undefined;
         let outputSchema: ZodRawShapeCompat | undefined;
         let annotations: ToolAnnotations | undefined;
 
@@ -1013,20 +1017,25 @@
             // We have at least one more arg before the callback
             const firstArg = rest[0];
 
-            if (isZodRawShapeCompat(firstArg)) {
-                // We have a params schema as the first arg
+            if (isZodRawShapeCompat(firstArg) || isLikelyJsonSchema(firstArg)) {
+                // We have an input schema (Zod raw shape shorthand or plain JSON Schema) as the first arg
                 inputSchema = rest.shift() as ZodRawShapeCompat;
 
                 // Check if the next arg is potentially annotations
-                if (rest.length > 1 && typeof rest[0] === 'object' && rest[0] !== null && !isZodRawShapeCompat(rest[0])) {
+                if (rest.length > 1 && isToolAnnotations(rest[0])) {
                     // Case: tool(name, paramsSchema, annotations, cb)
                     // Or: tool(name, description, paramsSchema, annotations, cb)
                     annotations = rest.shift() as ToolAnnotations;
                 }
             } else if (typeof firstArg === 'object' && firstArg !== null) {
-                // Not a ZodRawShapeCompat, so must be annotations in this position
+                // Non-schema object in this position must be ToolAnnotations.
                 // Case: tool(name, annotations, cb)
                 // Or: tool(name, description, annotations, cb)
+                if (!isToolAnnotations(firstArg)) {
+                    throw new Error(
+                        `Invalid third argument for tool '${name}': expected input schema (Zod raw shape or JSON Schema) or ToolAnnotations`
+                    );
+                }
                 annotations = rest.shift() as ToolAnnotations;
             }
         }
@@ -1384,6 +1393,53 @@
     return Object.values(obj).some(isZodTypeLike);
 }
 
+function isToolAnnotations(obj: unknown): obj is ToolAnnotations {
+    if (typeof obj !== 'object' || obj === null) {
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    const allowedKeys = ['title', 'readOnlyHint', 'destructiveHint', 'idempotentHint', 'openWorldHint'];
+    const keys = Object.keys(obj);
+
+    // Empty object is valid for backwards compatibility in old tool() API.
+    if (keys.length === 0) {
+        return true;
+    }
+
+    // ToolAnnotations only supports these optional hint keys.
+    if (!keys.every(key => allowedKeys.includes(key))) {
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    const record = obj as Record<string, unknown>;
+
+    if (record.title !== undefined && typeof record.title !== 'string') {
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    for (const key of ['readOnlyHint', 'destructiveHint', 'idempotentHint', 'openWorldHint'] as const) {
+        if (record[key] !== undefined && typeof record[key] !== 'boolean') {
+            return false;
+        }
+    }
+
+    return true;
+}
+
+function isLikelyJsonSchema(obj: unknown): boolean {
+    if (typeof obj !== 'object' || obj === null) {
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    // Exclude Zod schemas (including transformed/object schemas) first.
+    if (isZodSchemaInstance(obj)) {
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    const schema = obj as Record<string, unknown>;
+    return schema.type === 'object' || schema.properties !== undefined;
+}
+
 /**
  * Converts a provided Zod schema to a Zod object if it is a ZodRawShapeCompat,
  * otherwise returns the schema as is.

test/server/mcp.test.ts

@@ -993,6 +993,71 @@ describe.each(zodTestMatrix)('$zodVersionLabel', (entry: ZodMatrixEntry) => {
             expect(result.tools[1].annotations).toEqual(result.tools[0].annotations);
         });
 
+        /***
+         * Test: Tool Registration with JSON Schema
+         */
+        test('should treat plain JSON Schema as params schema instead of annotations', async () => {
+            const mcpServer = new McpServer({
+                name: 'test server',
+                version: '1.0'
+            });
+            const client = new Client({
+                name: 'test client',
+                version: '1.0'
+            });
+
+            (mcpServer.tool as any)(
+                'test-json-schema',
+                'JSON schema tool',
+                {
+                    type: 'object',
+                    properties: {
+                        name: { type: 'string' }
+                    },
+                    required: ['name']
+                },
+                async ({ name }: { name: string }) => ({
+                    content: [{ type: 'text', text: `Hello, ${name}!` }]
+                })
+            );
+
+            const [clientTransport, serverTransport] = InMemoryTransport.createLinkedPair();
+            await Promise.all([client.connect(clientTransport), mcpServer.server.connect(serverTransport)]);
+
+            const result = await client.request({ method: 'tools/list' }, ListToolsResultSchema);
+
+            expect(result.tools).toHaveLength(1);
+            expect(result.tools[0].name).toBe('test-json-schema');
+            expect(result.tools[0].description).toBe('JSON schema tool');
+            expect(result.tools[0].inputSchema).toMatchObject({
+                type: 'object',
+                properties: {
+                    name: { type: 'string' }
+                },
+                required: ['name']
+            });
+            expect(result.tools[0].annotations).toBeUndefined();
+        });
+
+        /***
+         * Test: Tool Registration with Invalid Object Argument
+         */
+        test('should throw when non-schema object is not valid ToolAnnotations', () => {
+            const mcpServer = new McpServer({
+                name: 'test server',
+                version: '1.0'
+            });
+
+            expect(() =>
+                (mcpServer.tool as any)(
+                    'invalid-arg',
+                    'Invalid object arg',
+                    { foo: 'bar' },
+                    async () => ({ content: [{ type: 'text', text: 'ok' }] })
+                )
+            ).toThrow("Invalid third argument for tool 'invalid-arg': expected input schema (Zod raw shape or JSON Schema) or ToolAnnotations");
+        });
+
         /***
          * Test: Tool Argument Validation
          */