feat: introduce McpServerObjectMapperFactory for consistent ObjectMapper configuration

auto-configurations/mcp/spring-ai-autoconfigure-mcp-server-common/src/main/java/org/springframework/ai/mcp/server/common/autoconfigure/McpServerAutoConfiguration.java

@@ -91,12 +91,31 @@ public class McpServerAutoConfiguration {
 
 	private static final LogAccessor logger = new LogAccessor(McpServerAutoConfiguration.class);
 
+	/**
+	 * Creates a configured ObjectMapper for MCP server JSON serialization.
+	 * <p>
+	 * This ObjectMapper is specifically configured for MCP protocol compliance with:
+	 * <ul>
+	 * <li>Lenient deserialization that doesn't fail on unknown properties</li>
+	 * <li>Proper handling of empty beans during serialization</li>
+	 * <li>Exclusion of null values from JSON output</li>
+	 * <li>Standard Jackson modules for Java 8, JSR-310, and Kotlin support</li>
+	 * </ul>
+	 * <p>
+	 * This bean can be overridden by providing a custom ObjectMapper bean with the name
+	 * "mcpServerObjectMapper".
+	 * @return configured ObjectMapper instance for MCP server operations
+	 */
+	@Bean(name = "mcpServerObjectMapper")
+	@ConditionalOnMissingBean(name = "mcpServerObjectMapper")
+	public ObjectMapper mcpServerObjectMapper() {
+		return McpServerObjectMapperFactory.createObjectMapper();
+	}
+
 	@Bean
 	@ConditionalOnMissingBean
-	public McpServerTransportProviderBase stdioServerTransport(ObjectProvider<ObjectMapper> objectMapperProvider) {
-		ObjectMapper objectMapper = objectMapperProvider.getIfAvailable(ObjectMapper::new);
-
-		return new StdioServerTransportProvider(new JacksonMcpJsonMapper(objectMapper));
+	public McpServerTransportProviderBase stdioServerTransport(ObjectMapper mcpServerObjectMapper) {
+		return new StdioServerTransportProvider(new JacksonMcpJsonMapper(mcpServerObjectMapper));
 	}
 
 	@Bean

auto-configurations/mcp/spring-ai-autoconfigure-mcp-server-common/src/main/java/org/springframework/ai/mcp/server/common/autoconfigure/McpServerObjectMapperFactory.java

@@ -0,0 +1,105 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2025-2025 the original author or authors.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package org.springframework.ai.mcp.server.common.autoconfigure;
+
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.annotation.JsonInclude;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.DeserializationFeature;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.ObjectMapper;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.SerializationFeature;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.json.JsonMapper;
+
+import org.springframework.ai.util.JacksonUtils;
+
+/**
+ * Factory class for creating properly configured {@link ObjectMapper} instances for MCP
+ * server operations.
+ * <p>
+ * This factory ensures consistent JSON serialization/deserialization configuration across
+ * all MCP server transport types (STDIO, SSE, Streamable-HTTP, Stateless). The
+ * configuration is optimized for MCP protocol compliance and handles common edge cases
+ * that can cause serialization failures.
+ * <p>
+ * Key configuration features:
+ * <ul>
+ * <li><b>Lenient Deserialization:</b> Does not fail on unknown JSON properties, allowing
+ * forward compatibility</li>
+ * <li><b>Empty Bean Handling:</b> Does not fail when serializing beans without
+ * properties</li>
+ * <li><b>Null Value Exclusion:</b> Excludes null values from JSON output for cleaner
+ * messages</li>
+ * <li><b>Date/Time Formatting:</b> Uses ISO-8601 format instead of timestamps</li>
+ * <li><b>Jackson Modules:</b> Registers standard modules for Java 8, JSR-310, parameter
+ * names, and Kotlin (if available)</li>
+ * </ul>
+ *
+ * @author Spring AI Team
+ */
+public final class McpServerObjectMapperFactory {
+
+	private McpServerObjectMapperFactory() {
+		// Utility class - prevent instantiation
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Creates a new {@link ObjectMapper} instance configured for MCP server operations.
+	 * <p>
+	 * This method creates a fresh ObjectMapper with standard configuration suitable for
+	 * MCP protocol serialization/deserialization. Each call creates a new instance, so
+	 * callers may want to cache the result if creating multiple instances.
+	 * @return a properly configured ObjectMapper instance
+	 */
+	public static ObjectMapper createObjectMapper() {
+		return JsonMapper.builder()
+			// Deserialization configuration
+			.disable(DeserializationFeature.FAIL_ON_UNKNOWN_PROPERTIES)
+			.enable(DeserializationFeature.ACCEPT_EMPTY_STRING_AS_NULL_OBJECT)
+			// Serialization configuration
+			.disable(SerializationFeature.FAIL_ON_EMPTY_BEANS)
+			.disable(SerializationFeature.WRITE_DATES_AS_TIMESTAMPS)
+			.serializationInclusion(JsonInclude.Include.NON_NULL)
+			// Register standard Jackson modules (Jdk8, JavaTime, ParameterNames, Kotlin)
+			.addModules(JacksonUtils.instantiateAvailableModules())
+			.build();
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Retrieves an ObjectMapper from the provided provider, or creates a configured
+	 * default if none is available.
+	 * <p>
+	 * This method is designed for use in Spring auto-configuration classes where an
+	 * ObjectMapper may optionally be provided by the user. If no ObjectMapper bean is
+	 * available, this method ensures a properly configured instance is used rather than a
+	 * vanilla ObjectMapper.
+	 * <p>
+	 * Example usage in auto-configuration:
+	 *
+	 * <pre>{@code
+	 * &#64;Bean
+	 * public TransportProvider transport(ObjectProvider<ObjectMapper> objectMapperProvider) {
+	 *     ObjectMapper mapper = McpServerObjectMapperFactory.getOrCreateObjectMapper(objectMapperProvider);
+	 *     return new TransportProvider(mapper);
+	 * }
+	 * }</pre>
+	 * @param objectMapperProvider the Spring ObjectProvider for ObjectMapper beans
+	 * @return the provided ObjectMapper, or a newly configured default instance
+	 */
+	public static ObjectMapper getOrCreateObjectMapper(
+			org.springframework.beans.factory.ObjectProvider<ObjectMapper> objectMapperProvider) {
+		return objectMapperProvider.getIfAvailable(McpServerObjectMapperFactory::createObjectMapper);
+	}
+
+}

auto-configurations/mcp/spring-ai-autoconfigure-mcp-server-common/src/test/java/org/springframework/ai/mcp/server/common/autoconfigure/McpToolWithStdioIT.java

@@ -0,0 +1,214 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2025-2025 the original author or authors.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package org.springframework.ai.mcp.server.common.autoconfigure;
+
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList;
+
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.ObjectMapper;
+import io.modelcontextprotocol.server.McpAsyncServer;
+import io.modelcontextprotocol.server.McpServerFeatures.AsyncToolSpecification;
+import io.modelcontextprotocol.server.McpSyncServer;
+import io.modelcontextprotocol.server.transport.StdioServerTransportProvider;
+import io.modelcontextprotocol.spec.McpSchema;
+import io.modelcontextprotocol.spec.McpServerTransportProviderBase;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+import org.springaicommunity.mcp.annotation.McpTool;
+import org.springaicommunity.mcp.annotation.McpToolParam;
+
+import org.springframework.ai.mcp.server.common.autoconfigure.annotations.McpServerAnnotationScannerAutoConfiguration;
+import org.springframework.ai.mcp.server.common.autoconfigure.annotations.McpServerSpecificationFactoryAutoConfiguration;
+import org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.AutoConfigurations;
+import org.springframework.boot.test.context.runner.ApplicationContextRunner;
+import org.springframework.stereotype.Component;
+import org.springframework.test.util.ReflectionTestUtils;
+
+import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.assertThat;
+
+/**
+ * Integration tests for @McpTool annotations with STDIO transport.
+ */
+public class McpToolWithStdioIT {
+
+	private final ApplicationContextRunner contextRunner = new ApplicationContextRunner().withConfiguration(
+			AutoConfigurations.of(McpServerAutoConfiguration.class, McpServerAnnotationScannerAutoConfiguration.class,
+					McpServerSpecificationFactoryAutoConfiguration.class));
+
+	/**
+	 * Verifies that a configured ObjectMapper bean is created for MCP server operations.
+	 */
+	@Test
+	void shouldCreateConfiguredObjectMapperForMcpServer() {
+		this.contextRunner.run(context -> {
+			assertThat(context).hasSingleBean(ObjectMapper.class);
+			ObjectMapper objectMapper = context.getBean("mcpServerObjectMapper", ObjectMapper.class);
+
+			assertThat(objectMapper).isNotNull();
+
+			// Verify that the ObjectMapper is properly configured
+			String emptyBeanJson = objectMapper.writeValueAsString(new EmptyBean());
+			assertThat(emptyBeanJson).isEqualTo("{}"); // Should not fail on empty beans
+
+			String nullValueJson = objectMapper.writeValueAsString(new BeanWithNull());
+			assertThat(nullValueJson).doesNotContain("null"); // Should exclude null
+																// values
+		});
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Verifies that STDIO transport uses the configured ObjectMapper.
+	 */
+	@Test
+	void stdioTransportShouldUseConfiguredObjectMapper() {
+		this.contextRunner.run(context -> {
+			assertThat(context).hasSingleBean(McpServerTransportProviderBase.class);
+			assertThat(context.getBean(McpServerTransportProviderBase.class))
+				.isInstanceOf(StdioServerTransportProvider.class);
+
+			// Verify that the MCP server was created successfully
+			assertThat(context).hasSingleBean(McpSyncServer.class);
+		});
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Verifies that @McpTool annotated methods are successfully registered with STDIO
+	 * transport and that tool specifications can be properly serialized to JSON without
+	 * errors.
+	 */
+	@Test
+	@SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
+	void mcpToolAnnotationsShouldWorkWithStdio() {
+		this.contextRunner.withBean(TestCalculatorTools.class).run(context -> {
+			// Verify the server was created
+			assertThat(context).hasSingleBean(McpSyncServer.class);
+			McpSyncServer syncServer = context.getBean(McpSyncServer.class);
+
+			// Get the async server from sync server (internal structure)
+			McpAsyncServer asyncServer = (McpAsyncServer) ReflectionTestUtils.getField(syncServer, "asyncServer");
+			assertThat(asyncServer).isNotNull();
+
+			// Verify that tools were registered
+			CopyOnWriteArrayList<AsyncToolSpecification> tools = (CopyOnWriteArrayList<AsyncToolSpecification>) ReflectionTestUtils
+				.getField(asyncServer, "tools");
+
+			assertThat(tools).isNotEmpty();
+			assertThat(tools).hasSize(3);
+
+			// Verify tool names
+			List<String> toolNames = tools.stream().map(spec -> spec.tool().name()).toList();
+			assertThat(toolNames).containsExactlyInAnyOrder("add", "subtract", "multiply");
+
+			// Verify that each tool has a valid inputSchema that can be serialized
+			ObjectMapper objectMapper = context.getBean("mcpServerObjectMapper", ObjectMapper.class);
+
+			for (AsyncToolSpecification spec : tools) {
+				McpSchema.Tool tool = spec.tool();
+
+				// Verify basic tool properties
+				assertThat(tool.name()).isNotBlank();
+				assertThat(tool.description()).isNotBlank();
+
+				// Verify inputSchema can be serialized to JSON without errors
+				if (tool.inputSchema() != null) {
+					String schemaJson = objectMapper.writeValueAsString(tool.inputSchema());
+					assertThat(schemaJson).isNotBlank();
+
+					// Should be valid JSON
+					objectMapper.readTree(schemaJson);
+				}
+			}
+		});
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Verifies that tools with complex parameter types work correctly.
+	 */
+	@Test
+	@SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
+	void mcpToolWithComplexParametersShouldWorkWithStdio() {
+		this.contextRunner.withBean(TestComplexTools.class).run(context -> {
+			assertThat(context).hasSingleBean(McpSyncServer.class);
+			McpSyncServer syncServer = context.getBean(McpSyncServer.class);
+
+			McpAsyncServer asyncServer = (McpAsyncServer) ReflectionTestUtils.getField(syncServer, "asyncServer");
+
+			CopyOnWriteArrayList<AsyncToolSpecification> tools = (CopyOnWriteArrayList<AsyncToolSpecification>) ReflectionTestUtils
+				.getField(asyncServer, "tools");
+
+			assertThat(tools).hasSize(1);
+
+			AsyncToolSpecification spec = tools.get(0);
+			assertThat(spec.tool().name()).isEqualTo("processData");
+
+			// Verify the tool can be serialized
+			ObjectMapper objectMapper = context.getBean("mcpServerObjectMapper", ObjectMapper.class);
+			String toolJson = objectMapper.writeValueAsString(spec.tool());
+			assertThat(toolJson).isNotBlank();
+		});
+	}
+
+	// Test components
+
+	@Component
+	static class TestCalculatorTools {
+
+		@McpTool(name = "add", description = "Add two numbers")
+		public int add(@McpToolParam(description = "First number", required = true) int a,
+				@McpToolParam(description = "Second number", required = true) int b) {
+			return a + b;
+		}
+
+		@McpTool(name = "subtract", description = "Subtract two numbers")
+		public int subtract(@McpToolParam(description = "First number", required = true) int a,
+				@McpToolParam(description = "Second number", required = true) int b) {
+			return a - b;
+		}
+
+		@McpTool(name = "multiply", description = "Multiply two numbers")
+		public int multiply(@McpToolParam(description = "First number", required = true) int a,
+				@McpToolParam(description = "Second number", required = true) int b) {
+			return a * b;
+		}
+
+	}
+
+	@Component
+	static class TestComplexTools {
+
+		@McpTool(name = "processData", description = "Process complex data")
+		public String processData(@McpToolParam(description = "Input data", required = true) String input,
+				@McpToolParam(description = "Options", required = false) String options) {
+			return "Processed: " + input + " with options: " + options;
+		}
+
+	}
+
+	// Test beans for ObjectMapper configuration verification
+
+	static class EmptyBean {
+
+	}
+
+	static class BeanWithNull {
+
+		public String value = null;
+
+		public String anotherValue = "test";
+
+	}
+
+}

auto-configurations/mcp/spring-ai-autoconfigure-mcp-server-webmvc/src/main/java/org/springframework/ai/mcp/server/autoconfigure/McpServerSseWebMvcAutoConfiguration.java

@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@
 import io.modelcontextprotocol.spec.McpServerTransportProvider;
 
 import org.springframework.ai.mcp.server.common.autoconfigure.McpServerAutoConfiguration;
+import org.springframework.ai.mcp.server.common.autoconfigure.McpServerObjectMapperFactory;
 import org.springframework.ai.mcp.server.common.autoconfigure.McpServerStdioDisabledCondition;
 import org.springframework.ai.mcp.server.common.autoconfigure.properties.McpServerSseProperties;
 import org.springframework.beans.factory.ObjectProvider;
@@ -78,7 +79,7 @@ public class McpServerSseWebMvcAutoConfiguration {
 	public WebMvcSseServerTransportProvider webMvcSseServerTransportProvider(
 			ObjectProvider<ObjectMapper> objectMapperProvider, McpServerSseProperties serverProperties) {
 
-		ObjectMapper objectMapper = objectMapperProvider.getIfAvailable(ObjectMapper::new);
+		ObjectMapper objectMapper = McpServerObjectMapperFactory.getOrCreateObjectMapper(objectMapperProvider);
 
 		return WebMvcSseServerTransportProvider.builder()
 			.jsonMapper(new JacksonMcpJsonMapper(objectMapper))

auto-configurations/mcp/spring-ai-autoconfigure-mcp-server-webmvc/src/main/java/org/springframework/ai/mcp/server/autoconfigure/McpServerStatelessWebMvcAutoConfiguration.java

@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
 import io.modelcontextprotocol.server.transport.WebMvcStatelessServerTransport;
 import io.modelcontextprotocol.spec.McpSchema;
 
+import org.springframework.ai.mcp.server.common.autoconfigure.McpServerObjectMapperFactory;
 import org.springframework.ai.mcp.server.common.autoconfigure.McpServerStatelessAutoConfiguration;
 import org.springframework.ai.mcp.server.common.autoconfigure.McpServerStdioDisabledCondition;
 import org.springframework.ai.mcp.server.common.autoconfigure.properties.McpServerStreamableHttpProperties;
@@ -50,7 +51,7 @@ public class McpServerStatelessWebMvcAutoConfiguration {
 	public WebMvcStatelessServerTransport webMvcStatelessServerTransport(
 			ObjectProvider<ObjectMapper> objectMapperProvider, McpServerStreamableHttpProperties serverProperties) {
 
-		ObjectMapper objectMapper = objectMapperProvider.getIfAvailable(ObjectMapper::new);
+		ObjectMapper objectMapper = McpServerObjectMapperFactory.getOrCreateObjectMapper(objectMapperProvider);
 
 		return WebMvcStatelessServerTransport.builder()
 			.jsonMapper(new JacksonMcpJsonMapper(objectMapper))