bug: `Invalid input: must start with "file://"` error on start with VSCode and WSL #151

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opened 2025-10-14 15:43:53 -06:00 by navan · 0 comments

navan commented

2025-10-14 15:43:53 -06:00

Owner

Originally created by @davelowndes on 8/22/2025

Description

Starting the MCP server on VSCode in a WSL environment shows an error and Taskmaster tools are not recognised in Copilot.

Steps to Reproduce

Run npm i task-master-ai@latest -g in WSL terminal
Add taskmaster MCP server to .vscode/mcp.json:

{
  "servers": {
    "taskmaster-ai": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "--package=task-master-ai", "task-master-ai"],
      "env": {
        "OPENAI_API_KEY": "${env:OPENAI_API_KEY}",
      },
      "type": "stdio"
    }
  }
}

Run command MCP: Show Installed Servers.
Right click the taskmaster-ai listing and select Restart Server.
Open Copilot chat and run the get-tasks tool
Prompt Copilot to get the current tasks

Expected Behavior

Errors are not shown in the MCP Server start output
Prompts and tools related to task master tasks are recognised

Actual Behavior

Copilot doesn't understand taskmaster tool.
MCP: taskmaster-ai output shows an error.

Screenshots or Logs

Invalid input: must start with "file://" error in the MCP: taskmaster-ai output.

2025-08-23 08:15:57.980 [info] Starting server taskmaster-ai
2025-08-23 08:15:57.981 [info] Connection state: Starting
2025-08-23 08:15:57.981 [info] Starting server from Remote extension host
2025-08-23 08:15:57.991 [info] Connection state: Starting
2025-08-23 08:15:57.991 [info] Connection state: Running
2025-08-23 08:15:59.901 [info] Discovered 36 tools
2025-08-23 08:15:59.956 [warning] [server stderr] [FastMCP error] received error listing roots.
2025-08-23 08:15:59.957 [warning] [server stderr] 
2025-08-23 08:15:59.957 [warning] [server stderr] ZodError: [
2025-08-23 08:15:59.957 [warning] [server stderr]   {
2025-08-23 08:15:59.958 [warning] [server stderr]     "code": "invalid_string",
2025-08-23 08:15:59.958 [warning] [server stderr]     "validation": {
2025-08-23 08:15:59.958 [warning] [server stderr]       "startsWith": "file://"
2025-08-23 08:15:59.958 [warning] [server stderr]     },
2025-08-23 08:15:59.959 [warning] [server stderr]     "message": "Invalid input: must start with \"file://\"",
2025-08-23 08:15:59.959 [warning] [server stderr]     "path": [
2025-08-23 08:15:59.959 [warning] [server stderr]       "roots",
2025-08-23 08:15:59.960 [warning] [server stderr]       0,
2025-08-23 08:15:59.960 [warning] [server stderr]       "uri"
2025-08-23 08:15:59.960 [warning] [server stderr]     ]
2025-08-23 08:15:59.960 [warning] [server stderr]   }
2025-08-23 08:15:59.960 [warning] [server stderr] ]
2025-08-23 08:15:59.961 [warning] [server stderr]     at get error (file:///home/user/.npm/_npx/0726791833487271/node_modules/zod/v3/types.js:39:31)
2025-08-23 08:15:59.961 [warning] [server stderr]     at ZodObject.parse (file:///home/user/.npm/_npx/0726791833487271/node_modules/zod/v3/types.js:114:22)
2025-08-23 08:15:59.961 [warning] [server stderr]     at file:///home/user/.npm/_npx/0726791833487271/node_modules/@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/dist/esm/shared/protocol.js:294:49
2025-08-23 08:15:59.961 [warning] [server stderr]     at Server._onresponse (file:///home/user/.npm/_npx/0726791833487271/node_modules/@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/dist/esm/shared/protocol.js:220:13)
2025-08-23 08:15:59.961 [warning] [server stderr]     at _transport.onmessage (file:///home/user/.npm/_npx/0726791833487271/node_modules/@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/dist/esm/shared/protocol.js:84:22)
2025-08-23 08:15:59.962 [warning] [server stderr]     at StdioServerTransport.processReadBuffer (file:///home/user/.npm/_npx/0726791833487271/node_modules/@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/dist/esm/server/stdio.js:43:79)
2025-08-23 08:15:59.962 [warning] [server stderr]     at StdioServerTransport._ondata (file:///home/user/.npm/_npx/0726791833487271/node_modules/@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/dist/esm/server/stdio.js:17:18)
2025-08-23 08:15:59.962 [warning] [server stderr]     at Socket.emit (node:events:518:28)
2025-08-23 08:15:59.962 [warning] [server stderr]     at addChunk (node:internal/streams/readable:561:12)
2025-08-23 08:15:59.963 [warning] [server stderr]     at readableAddChunkPushByteMode (node:internal/streams/readable:512:3)
2025-08-23 08:15:59.964 [info] {"message":"MCP Server connected: undefined"}
2025-08-23 08:15:59.964 [info] {"message":"MCP Server connected"}

`get-tasks` response

Responses to running the get-tasks tool in Copilot:

What would you like me to do in /home/user/src/project? Choose one:

list files in the repo root
open or edit a specific file (tell me the path)
run tests or show how to run them
scaffold a new file or change existing code
review the active editor contents (paste or tell filename)

To list files in the project root, run:

ls -la /home/user/src/project

If you want a recursive listing:

ls -laR /home/user/src/project | sed -n '1,200p'

Copilot prompt

Input Copilot prompt:

get the taskmaster tasks

GitHub Copilot response:

Do you mean "Taskmaster" tasks defined in this repository, or tasks managed by a system tool? Tell me which and I can inspect files or run commands. Meanwhile, you can run these to find task definitions in /home/user/src/project:

# search for "taskmaster" mentions
grep -RIn "taskmaster" /home/user/src/project || true

Environment

Task Master version: 0.25.0
Node.js version: v22.15.0
Operating system: Ubuntu 22.04 (WSL distro)
IDE (if applicable): VSCode 1.103.2 (below)

Version: 1.103.2 (user setup)
Commit: 6f17636121051a53c88d3e605c491d22af2ba755
Date: 2025-08-20T16:45:34.255Z
Electron: 37.2.3
ElectronBuildId: 12035395
Chromium: 138.0.7204.100
Node.js: 22.17.0
V8: 13.8.500258-electron.0
OS: Windows_NT x64 10.0.26100

Additional Context

The same Taskmaster setup is working fine in Cursor 1.4.5. but I am trying VSCode since Cursor issue https://forum.cursor.com/t/run-command-often-freezes/123357 makes progress with Cursor difficult.

*Originally created by @davelowndes on 8/22/2025* ### Description Starting the MCP server on VSCode in a WSL environment shows an error and Taskmaster tools are not recognised in Copilot. ### Steps to Reproduce - Run `npm i task-master-ai@latest -g` in WSL terminal - Add taskmaster MCP server to `.vscode/mcp.json`: ```json { "servers": { "taskmaster-ai": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "--package=task-master-ai", "task-master-ai"], "env": { "OPENAI_API_KEY": "${env:OPENAI_API_KEY}", }, "type": "stdio" } } } ``` - Run command **MCP: Show Installed Servers**. - Right click the **taskmaster-ai** listing and select **Restart Server**. - Open Copilot chat and run the get-tasks tool - Prompt Copilot to get the current tasks ### Expected Behavior - Errors are not shown in the MCP Server start output - Prompts and tools related to task master tasks are recognised ### Actual Behavior - Copilot doesn't understand taskmaster tool. - **MCP: taskmaster-ai** output shows an error. ### Screenshots or Logs `Invalid input: must start with "file://"` error in the **MCP: taskmaster-ai** output. ``` 2025-08-23 08:15:57.980 [info] Starting server taskmaster-ai 2025-08-23 08:15:57.981 [info] Connection state: Starting 2025-08-23 08:15:57.981 [info] Starting server from Remote extension host 2025-08-23 08:15:57.991 [info] Connection state: Starting 2025-08-23 08:15:57.991 [info] Connection state: Running 2025-08-23 08:15:59.901 [info] Discovered 36 tools 2025-08-23 08:15:59.956 [warning] [server stderr] [FastMCP error] received error listing roots. 2025-08-23 08:15:59.957 [warning] [server stderr] 2025-08-23 08:15:59.957 [warning] [server stderr] ZodError: [ 2025-08-23 08:15:59.957 [warning] [server stderr] { 2025-08-23 08:15:59.958 [warning] [server stderr] "code": "invalid_string", 2025-08-23 08:15:59.958 [warning] [server stderr] "validation": { 2025-08-23 08:15:59.958 [warning] [server stderr] "startsWith": "file://" 2025-08-23 08:15:59.958 [warning] [server stderr] }, 2025-08-23 08:15:59.959 [warning] [server stderr] "message": "Invalid input: must start with \"file://\"", 2025-08-23 08:15:59.959 [warning] [server stderr] "path": [ 2025-08-23 08:15:59.959 [warning] [server stderr] "roots", 2025-08-23 08:15:59.960 [warning] [server stderr] 0, 2025-08-23 08:15:59.960 [warning] [server stderr] "uri" 2025-08-23 08:15:59.960 [warning] [server stderr] ] 2025-08-23 08:15:59.960 [warning] [server stderr] } 2025-08-23 08:15:59.960 [warning] [server stderr] ] 2025-08-23 08:15:59.961 [warning] [server stderr] at get error (file:///home/user/.npm/_npx/0726791833487271/node_modules/zod/v3/types.js:39:31) 2025-08-23 08:15:59.961 [warning] [server stderr] at ZodObject.parse (file:///home/user/.npm/_npx/0726791833487271/node_modules/zod/v3/types.js:114:22) 2025-08-23 08:15:59.961 [warning] [server stderr] at file:///home/user/.npm/_npx/0726791833487271/node_modules/@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/dist/esm/shared/protocol.js:294:49 2025-08-23 08:15:59.961 [warning] [server stderr] at Server._onresponse (file:///home/user/.npm/_npx/0726791833487271/node_modules/@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/dist/esm/shared/protocol.js:220:13) 2025-08-23 08:15:59.961 [warning] [server stderr] at _transport.onmessage (file:///home/user/.npm/_npx/0726791833487271/node_modules/@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/dist/esm/shared/protocol.js:84:22) 2025-08-23 08:15:59.962 [warning] [server stderr] at StdioServerTransport.processReadBuffer (file:///home/user/.npm/_npx/0726791833487271/node_modules/@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/dist/esm/server/stdio.js:43:79) 2025-08-23 08:15:59.962 [warning] [server stderr] at StdioServerTransport._ondata (file:///home/user/.npm/_npx/0726791833487271/node_modules/@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/dist/esm/server/stdio.js:17:18) 2025-08-23 08:15:59.962 [warning] [server stderr] at Socket.emit (node:events:518:28) 2025-08-23 08:15:59.962 [warning] [server stderr] at addChunk (node:internal/streams/readable:561:12) 2025-08-23 08:15:59.963 [warning] [server stderr] at readableAddChunkPushByteMode (node:internal/streams/readable:512:3) 2025-08-23 08:15:59.964 [info] {"message":"MCP Server connected: undefined"} 2025-08-23 08:15:59.964 [info] {"message":"MCP Server connected"} ``` #### `get-tasks` response Responses to running the `get-tasks` tool in Copilot: What would you like me to do in /home/user/src/project? Choose one: - list files in the repo root - open or edit a specific file (tell me the path) - run tests or show how to run them - scaffold a new file or change existing code - review the active editor contents (paste or tell filename) To list files in the project root, run: ```bash ls -la /home/user/src/project ``` If you want a recursive listing: ```bash ls -laR /home/user/src/project | sed -n '1,200p' ``` #### Copilot prompt Input Copilot prompt: ``` get the taskmaster tasks ``` GitHub Copilot response: > Do you mean "Taskmaster" tasks defined in this repository, or tasks managed by a system tool? Tell me which and I can inspect files or run commands. Meanwhile, you can run these to find task definitions in /home/user/src/project: ``` # search for "taskmaster" mentions grep -RIn "taskmaster" /home/user/src/project || true ``` ### Environment - Task Master version: 0.25.0 - Node.js version: v22.15.0 - Operating system: Ubuntu 22.04 (WSL distro) - IDE (if applicable): VSCode 1.103.2 (below) ``` Version: 1.103.2 (user setup) Commit: 6f17636121051a53c88d3e605c491d22af2ba755 Date: 2025-08-20T16:45:34.255Z Electron: 37.2.3 ElectronBuildId: 12035395 Chromium: 138.0.7204.100 Node.js: 22.17.0 V8: 13.8.500258-electron.0 OS: Windows_NT x64 10.0.26100 ``` ### Additional Context The same Taskmaster setup is working fine in Cursor 1.4.5. but I am trying VSCode since Cursor issue https://forum.cursor.com/t/run-command-often-freezes/123357 makes progress with Cursor difficult.