feat: add CLI arguments support for better MCP client compatibility #34

alfonsodg · 2025-12-09T13:08:05Z

Problem

GitHub Copilot CLI v1.2.0 has a known bug where environment variables in MCP server configurations are not properly passed to the server process. This affects MiniMax-MCP and other MCP servers that rely on environment variables for configuration.

Issue: When configured with env block, the server starts but cannot access API keys or other configuration values, causing authentication failures.

Solution

This PR adds CLI argument support as an alternative configuration method that works reliably across all MCP clients, including GitHub Copilot CLI.

Changes

Added CLI argument parser for --api-key, --base-path, --api-host, --resource-mode
CLI arguments take precedence over environment variables
Updated README with both configuration options
Maintains backward compatibility with existing configurations

Benefits

✅ Solves environment variable issues in GitHub Copilot CLI (known bug in v1.2.0)
✅ Better compatibility across all MCP clients
✅ More flexible configuration options
✅ No breaking changes - existing configs continue to work

Configuration Examples

Traditional (environment variables) - works in most clients:

{
  "command": "uvx",
  "args": ["minimax-mcp", "-y"],
  "env": {
    "MINIMAX_API_KEY": "your-key"
  }
}

New (CLI arguments) - works in ALL clients including Copilot CLI:

{
  "command": "uvx",
  "args": [
    "minimax-mcp",
    "-y",
    "--api-key=your-key"
  ]
}

Testing

✅ Tested with GitHub Copilot CLI (previously broken, now works)
✅ Tested with Claude Desktop (continues to work)
✅ Backward compatibility verified with env vars

Related Work

Similar improvements implemented in other MCP servers:

These PRs solve the same GitHub Copilot CLI compatibility issue.

- Add --api-key, --base-path, --api-host, --resource-mode arguments - CLI arguments take precedence over environment variables - Improves compatibility with GitHub Copilot CLI - Update README with both configuration options

Copilot

Pull request overview

This PR adds CLI argument support to MiniMax-MCP to address a known bug in GitHub Copilot CLI v1.2.0 where environment variables are not properly passed to MCP server processes. The implementation maintains backward compatibility while providing an alternative configuration method.

Changes:

Added CLI argument parser with support for --api-key, --base-path, --api-host, --resource-mode, and --log-level
Implemented precedence hierarchy: CLI arguments > environment variables > defaults
Updated README with configuration examples for both environment variables and CLI arguments

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 2 out of 2 changed files in this pull request and generated 5 comments.

File	Description
minimax_mcp/server.py	Added CLI argument parsing logic and `get_config` helper function to support CLI arguments with fallback to environment variables
README.md	Added documentation for CLI argument configuration option with examples, marked as recommended for GitHub Copilot CLI

Comments suppressed due to low confidence (1)

minimax_mcp/server.py:59

The error messages still reference only environment variables, but now the values can also be provided via CLI arguments. The error messages should be updated to reflect both configuration methods to avoid confusion when users provide values via CLI arguments but still see error messages mentioning environment variables.

if not api_key:
    raise ValueError("MINIMAX_API_KEY environment variable is required")
if not api_host:
    raise ValueError("MINIMAX_API_HOST environment variable is required")

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Copilot · 2026-01-19T00:39:27Z

minimax_mcp/server.py

+cli_args = {}
+args = sys.argv[1:]
+for i in range(len(args)):
+    if args[i].startswith('--'):
+        key_value = args[i][2:].split('=', 1)
+        if len(key_value) == 2:
+            cli_args[key_value[0]] = key_value[1]
+        elif i + 1 < len(args) and not args[i + 1].startswith('--'):
+            cli_args[key_value[0]] = args[i + 1]
+


The CLI argument parsing code (lines 35-43) executes at module import time, which makes it difficult to test and could cause issues if this module is imported elsewhere. Consider wrapping this logic in a function (e.g., 'parse_cli_args') that can be called explicitly and tested independently.

Suggested change

cli_args = {}

args = sys.argv[1:]

for i in range(len(args)):

if args[i].startswith('--'):

key_value = args[i][2:].split('=', 1)

if len(key_value) == 2:

cli_args[key_value[0]] = key_value[1]

elif i + 1 < len(args) and not args[i + 1].startswith('--'):

cli_args[key_value[0]] = args[i + 1]

def parse_cli_args(argv=None):

"""Parse command-line arguments into a dictionary.

Supports flags in the form --key=value or --key value.

"""

if argv is None:

argv = sys.argv[1:]

parsed = {}

for i in range(len(argv)):

if argv[i].startswith('--'):

key_value = argv[i][2:].split('=', 1)

if len(key_value) == 2:

parsed[key_value[0]] = key_value[1]

elif i + 1 < len(argv) and not argv[i + 1].startswith('--'):

parsed[key_value[0]] = argv[i + 1]

return parsed

cli_args = parse_cli_args()

Copilot · 2026-01-19T00:39:28Z

minimax_mcp/server.py

+for i in range(len(args)):
+    if args[i].startswith('--'):
+        key_value = args[i][2:].split('=', 1)
+        if len(key_value) == 2:
+            cli_args[key_value[0]] = key_value[1]
+        elif i + 1 < len(args) and not args[i + 1].startswith('--'):
+            cli_args[key_value[0]] = args[i + 1]


The CLI argument parser has a potential issue with how it handles arguments. When parsing an argument like '--api-key' without a value (line 42), it will consume the next argument even if it's another flag or option. This could lead to unexpected behavior if someone accidentally omits a value. Additionally, the parser will skip incrementing the loop counter when it consumes the next argument, potentially processing the same argument twice.

Suggested change

for i in range(len(args)):

if args[i].startswith('--'):

key_value = args[i][2:].split('=', 1)

if len(key_value) == 2:

cli_args[key_value[0]] = key_value[1]

elif i + 1 < len(args) and not args[i + 1].startswith('--'):

cli_args[key_value[0]] = args[i + 1]

i = 0

while i < len(args):

arg = args[i]

if arg.startswith('--'):

key_value = arg[2:].split('=', 1)

key = key_value[0]

if len(key_value) == 2:

# Handle --key=value form

cli_args[key] = key_value[1]

elif i + 1 < len(args) and not args[i + 1].startswith('-'):

# Handle --key value form, ensuring the next token is not another flag

cli_args[key] = args[i + 1]

i += 1 # Skip the value we just consumed

i += 1

Copilot · 2026-01-19T00:39:28Z

README.md

+        "minimax-mcp",
+        "-y",
+        "--api-key=insert-your-api-key-here",
+        "--base-path=/User/xxx/Desktop",


The path '/User/xxx/Desktop' is incorrect for macOS/Unix systems. The correct path should be '/Users/xxx/Desktop' (with an 's'). This appears in both the CLI argument example and should be corrected to avoid confusing users.

Copilot · 2026-01-19T00:39:28Z

minimax_mcp/server.py

+# Parse CLI arguments
+cli_args = {}
+args = sys.argv[1:]
+for i in range(len(args)):
+    if args[i].startswith('--'):
+        key_value = args[i][2:].split('=', 1)
+        if len(key_value) == 2:
+            cli_args[key_value[0]] = key_value[1]
+        elif i + 1 < len(args) and not args[i + 1].startswith('--'):
+            cli_args[key_value[0]] = args[i + 1]
+
+def get_config(cli_key: str, env_key: str, default: str = None) -> str:
+    """Get config value with CLI args taking precedence over env vars."""
+    return cli_args.get(cli_key) or os.getenv(env_key) or default


The newly added CLI argument parsing logic (lines 34-43) and the get_config function (lines 45-47) lack test coverage. Since the repository has existing test infrastructure in the tests directory, these new functions should have corresponding unit tests to verify correct behavior, especially for edge cases like missing values, empty strings, and various argument formats.

Copilot · 2026-01-19T00:39:29Z

minimax_mcp/server.py

+    return cli_args.get(cli_key) or os.getenv(env_key) or default
+


The get_config function uses the 'or' operator for fallback logic, which means empty strings will be treated as falsy and fall through to the next option. If a user explicitly sets a CLI argument to an empty string (e.g., '--api-key='), it will fall back to the environment variable or default value instead of using the empty string. This behavior should be intentional, but if it's not, consider using 'is None' checks instead.

Suggested change

return cli_args.get(cli_key) or os.getenv(env_key) or default

cli_value = cli_args.get(cli_key)

if cli_value is not None:

return cli_value

env_value = os.getenv(env_key)

if env_value is not None:

return env_value

return default

feat: add CLI arguments support

a8b83a3

- Add --api-key, --base-path, --api-host, --resource-mode arguments - CLI arguments take precedence over environment variables - Improves compatibility with GitHub Copilot CLI - Update README with both configuration options

alfonsodg force-pushed the main branch from 2e51e7a to a8b83a3 Compare January 19, 2026 00:36

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings January 19, 2026 00:36

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of alfonsodg January 19, 2026 00:36 View session

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feat: add CLI arguments support for better MCP client compatibility #34

feat: add CLI arguments support for better MCP client compatibility #34

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alfonsodg commented Dec 9, 2025 •

edited

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-cli_args = {}
-args = sys.argv[1:]
-for i in range(len(args)):
-    if args[i].startswith('--'):
-        key_value = args[i][2:].split('=', 1)
-        if len(key_value) == 2:
-            cli_args[key_value[0]] = key_value[1]
-        elif i + 1 < len(args) and not args[i + 1].startswith('--'):
-            cli_args[key_value[0]] = args[i + 1]
+def parse_cli_args(argv=None):
+    """Parse command-line arguments into a dictionary.
+    Supports flags in the form --key=value or --key value.
+    """
+    if argv is None:
+        argv = sys.argv[1:]
+    parsed = {}
+    for i in range(len(argv)):
+        if argv[i].startswith('--'):
+            key_value = argv[i][2:].split('=', 1)
+            if len(key_value) == 2:
+                parsed[key_value[0]] = key_value[1]
+            elif i + 1 < len(argv) and not argv[i + 1].startswith('--'):
+                parsed[key_value[0]] = argv[i + 1]
+    return parsed
+cli_args = parse_cli_args()

-for i in range(len(args)):
-    if args[i].startswith('--'):
-        key_value = args[i][2:].split('=', 1)
-        if len(key_value) == 2:
-            cli_args[key_value[0]] = key_value[1]
-        elif i + 1 < len(args) and not args[i + 1].startswith('--'):
-            cli_args[key_value[0]] = args[i + 1]
+i = 0
+while i < len(args):
+    arg = args[i]
+    if arg.startswith('--'):
+        key_value = arg[2:].split('=', 1)
+        key = key_value[0]
+        if len(key_value) == 2:
+            # Handle --key=value form
+            cli_args[key] = key_value[1]
+        elif i + 1 < len(args) and not args[i + 1].startswith('-'):
+            # Handle --key value form, ensuring the next token is not another flag
+            cli_args[key] = args[i + 1]
+            i += 1  # Skip the value we just consumed
+    i += 1

		return cli_args.get(cli_key) or os.getenv(env_key) or default

-    return cli_args.get(cli_key) or os.getenv(env_key) or default
+    cli_value = cli_args.get(cli_key)
+    if cli_value is not None:
+        return cli_value
+    env_value = os.getenv(env_key)
+    if env_value is not None:
+        return env_value
+    return default

feat: add CLI arguments support for better MCP client compatibility #34

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alfonsodg commented Dec 9, 2025 •

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