@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+---
+"@objectstack/mcp": patch
+---
+
+fix(mcp): the stdio MCP transport answers again — resume the stdin it just took ownership of (#7645)
+
+`objectstack serve` with `OS_MCP_STDIO_ENABLED=true` logged
+`[MCP] Server started (transport: stdio)`, bound the transport to a real `osk_`
+identity — and then **never answered a single request**. `initialize`,
+`tools/list`, `resources/list` and `resources/read` all timed out with **zero
+bytes on stdout**; malformed input drew no error either. Every stdio MCP session
+against the CLI was unusable, and the failure was silent on both sides: the
+server looked started, the client just waited.
+
+The pause came from the **host**, above the plugin. oclif's argument parser
+reads stdin for any positional argument the caller did not supply (`tryStdin` →
+`createInterface({input: process.stdin})`, aborted after 10 ms), and
+`Interface.close()` calls `stdin.pause()`. `serve` declares an optional `config`
+positional, so plain `objectstack serve --dev` left `process.stdin` explicitly
+paused before the kernel ever booted. `StdioServerTransport.start()` only
+attaches a `data` listener, and Node auto-switches a stream to flowing mode on
+that listener **only while `readableFlowing` is still `null`** — never after an
+explicit `pause()`. Listener attached, `bytesRead` stuck at 0, transport deaf.
+
+`MCPServerRuntime.start()` now resumes `process.stdin` immediately after
+`connect()`, which is the moment the transport takes ownership of it (after, so
+the transport's reader is attached before any byte can flow). The resume lives
+in the runtime rather than in the CLI's argument definitions because the pause
+is not oclif-specific: any host that touched stdin before `start()` — a readline
+prompt, a supervisor, an embedding process — left the transport equally deaf,
+and this is the one place that knows a long-lived stdio transport was just
+attached.
+
+Measured, both directions: `objectstack serve --dev` (no config path, parser
+reads stdin) went from timing out to answering `initialize`, while `objectstack
+serve objectstack.config.ts --dev` (parser never touches stdin) answered before
+and after. The HTTP transport at `/api/v1/mcp` is unaffected — it is served
+per-request and never touches stdin.
+
+Not changed, and deliberately so: the ADR-0101 fail-closed startup contract.
+stdio enabled without `OS_MCP_STDIO_API_KEY` still throws at plugin start, an
+unknown/revoked key still refuses with no anonymous-but-serving fallback, and a
+member key still binds the principal to that member.
@@ -0,0 +1,288 @@
+// Copyright (c) 2026 ObjectStack. Licensed under the Apache-2.0 license.
+
+/**
+ * #7645 — a started stdio MCP transport must ANSWER.
+ *
+ * The defect: `os serve` with `OS_MCP_STDIO_ENABLED=true` logged
+ * `[MCP] Server started (transport: stdio)`, bound the principal to a real
+ * `osk_` identity, and then never replied to a single JSON-RPC request —
+ * `initialize`, `tools/list`, `resources/list`, `resources/read` all timed out
+ * with ZERO bytes on stdout. Malformed input drew no error either.
+ *
+ * The cause sat in the HOST, above the plugin: oclif's argument parser reads
+ * stdin for any positional arg the caller did not supply (`tryStdin` →
+ * `createInterface({input: process.stdin})`, aborted after 10 ms), and
+ * `Interface.close()` calls `stdin.pause()`. `serve` declares an optional
+ * `config` positional, so `os serve --dev` left `process.stdin` explicitly
+ * paused. `StdioServerTransport.start()` only attaches a `data` listener, and
+ * Node auto-switches to flowing mode on that listener ONLY while
+ * `readableFlowing` is `null` — never after an explicit `pause()`. Listener
+ * attached, `bytesRead` 0, server deaf.
+ *
+ * WHY THIS FILE SPAWNS THE CLI. `packages/mcp`'s 17 existing stdio pins were
+ * all green while every real `os serve` stdio session was unusable, because
+ * they sit BELOW the gap: they exercise the runtime in a plain node process,
+ * where nothing ever paused stdin. Only a test that spawns the actual command
+ * and speaks JSON-RPC down the child's pipe can see it.
+ *
+ * WHY IT ASSERTS AN ANSWER, not a stream flag. `process.stdin.isPaused() ===
+ * false` would pass over a transport that still replies to nothing — it pins
+ * the mechanism, not the consequence. The assertion below is the card's own
+ * repro: write a real `initialize` to the child's stdin, get a real result
+ * back. Reverse-verified — with the `resume()` in `MCPServerRuntime.start()`
+ * removed, this file times out with zero bytes on stdout.
+ *
+ * WHY IT MINTS A KEY OVER HTTP FIRST. stdio auto-start is fail-closed
+ * (ADR-0101): without an `OS_MCP_STDIO_API_KEY` that resolves to a real
+ * identity the plugin REFUSES to start, so there is no transport to test. That
+ * contract is correct and is not what this file is about — the first boot just
+ * mints a key through the product route (`POST /keys`) against a file-backed
+ * DB, and the second boot reuses that DB. A fabricated `sys_api_key` row would
+ * have to guess the at-rest hashing the mint path owns.
+ */
+
+import { describe, it, expect, beforeAll, afterAll } from 'vitest';
+import { spawn, type ChildProcessWithoutNullStreams } from 'node:child_process';
+import { mkdtempSync, rmSync, writeFileSync } from 'node:fs';
+import { tmpdir } from 'node:os';
+import { join, resolve } from 'node:path';
+import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url';
+import { randomPort } from './helpers/serve-process.js';
+
+const HERE = resolve(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url), '..');
+/** `bin/run.js` — the SHIPPED entrypoint, i.e. the one the card's repro names. */
+const CLI = resolve(HERE, '../bin/run.js');
+
+const CONFIG = `
+export default {
+  manifest: {
+    id: 'com.example.stdioprobe',
+    namespace: 'stdioprobe',
+    version: '1.0.0',
+    type: 'app',
+    name: 'MCP stdio probe',
+  },
+  objects: [{
+    name: 'stdioprobe_task',
+    label: 'Task',
+    sharingModel: 'public',
+    fields: { title: { type: 'text', label: 'Title' } },
+  }],
+};
+`;
+
+let dir: string;
+let port: string;
+let apiKey: string;
+/** Every child this file spawns, so a failed assertion never leaks a server. */
+const children: ChildProcessWithoutNullStreams[] = [];
+
+interface Booted {
+  child: ChildProcessWithoutNullStreams;
+  stdout: () => string;
+  stderr: () => string;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Spawn `os serve` and resolve once `waitFor` matches its stdout, leaving the
+ * child RUNNING — the shared `runServe` helper kills on match, and this file
+ * has to keep talking to the process afterwards.
+ *
+ * NOTE: no positional config path is passed. That is deliberate and load-bearing:
+ * supplying one makes oclif skip `tryStdin` entirely, so stdin is never paused
+ * and the defect cannot reproduce. `os serve --dev` is also the form every user
+ * types.
+ */
+function boot(env: Record<string, string | undefined>, waitFor: RegExp): Promise<Booted> {
+  return new Promise((resolveBoot, rejectBoot) => {
+    const child = spawn(process.execPath, [CLI, 'serve', '-p', port, '--dev'], {
+      cwd: dir,
+      stdio: ['pipe', 'pipe', 'pipe'],
+      env: {
+        ...process.env,
+        NO_COLOR: '1',
+        OS_LOG_LEVEL: 'info',
+        OS_DISABLE_CONSOLE: '1',
+        // Explicit, not inherited: the dev-admin seed this fixture signs in as
+        // is hard-gated on `NODE_ENV === 'development'`, and vitest exports
+        // `test`, which would leave the DB user-less and the mint unauthorized.
+        NODE_ENV: 'development',
+        ...env,
+      },
+    }) as ChildProcessWithoutNullStreams;
+    children.push(child);
+
+    let out = '';
+    let err = '';
+    let settled = false;
+
+    const timer = setTimeout(() => {
+      if (settled) return;
+      settled = true;
+      rejectBoot(
+        new Error(`serve never printed ${waitFor}\n--- stdout ---\n${out.slice(-4000)}\n--- stderr ---\n${err.slice(-4000)}`),
+      );
+    }, 150_000);
+
+    child.stdout.on('data', (d) => {
+      out += String(d);
+      if (!settled && waitFor.test(out)) {
+        settled = true;
+        clearTimeout(timer);
+        resolveBoot({ child, stdout: () => out, stderr: () => err });
+      }
+    });
+    child.stderr.on('data', (d) => {
+      err += String(d);
+    });
+    child.on('exit', (code) => {
+      if (settled) return;
+      settled = true;
+      clearTimeout(timer);
+      rejectBoot(
+        new Error(`serve exited ${code} before ${waitFor}\n--- stdout ---\n${out.slice(-4000)}\n--- stderr ---\n${err.slice(-4000)}`),
+      );
+    });
+  });
+}
+
+async function stop(child: ChildProcessWithoutNullStreams): Promise<void> {
+  if (child.exitCode !== null || child.signalCode !== null) return;
+  await new Promise<void>((done) => {
+    const give = setTimeout(() => {
+      try {
+        child.kill('SIGKILL');
+      } catch {
+        /* already gone */
+      }
+      done();
+    }, 10_000);
+    child.once('exit', () => {
+      clearTimeout(give);
+      done();
+    });
+    try {
+      child.kill('SIGTERM');
+    } catch {
+      clearTimeout(give);
+      done();
+    }
+  });
+}
+
+describe('#7645: the stdio MCP transport answers over a spawned CLI process', () => {
+  beforeAll(async () => {
+    dir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'mcp-stdio-e2e-'));
+    writeFileSync(join(dir, 'objectstack.config.ts'), CONFIG, 'utf8');
+    writeFileSync(
+      join(dir, 'package.json'),
+      JSON.stringify({ name: 'mcp-stdio-e2e-fixture', private: true, type: 'module' }, null, 2),
+      'utf8',
+    );
+    port = randomPort();
+
+    // Boot 1 — mint a real key through the product route, against a FILE db so
+    // boot 2 sees the same row (`:memory:` would not survive the restart).
+    const first = await boot({ OS_DATABASE_URL: join(dir, 'probe.db') }, /Server is ready/);
+    const base = `http://localhost:${port}/api/v1`;
+    const signIn = await fetch(`${base}/auth/sign-in/email`, {
+      method: 'POST',
+      headers: { 'content-type': 'application/json' },
+      // `serve --dev` seeds this admin on an empty DB.
+      body: JSON.stringify({ email: 'admin@objectos.ai', password: 'admin123' }),
+    });
+    expect(signIn.status).toBe(200);
+    const token = ((await signIn.json()) as { token?: string }).token;
+    expect(token).toBeTruthy();
+
+    const minted = await fetch(`${base}/keys`, {
+      method: 'POST',
+      headers: { 'content-type': 'application/json', authorization: `Bearer ${token}` },
+      body: JSON.stringify({ name: 'mcp-stdio-e2e' }),
+    });
+    expect(minted.status).toBe(201);
+    apiKey = String(((await minted.json()) as { data: { key: string } }).data.key);
+    expect(apiKey.startsWith('osk_')).toBe(true);
+
+    await stop(first.child);
+  }, 240_000);
+
+  afterAll(async () => {
+    for (const child of children) await stop(child);
+    if (dir) rmSync(dir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+  }, 60_000);
+
+  it('replies to a real JSON-RPC initialize written to the child process stdin', async () => {
+    const booted = await boot(
+      {
+        OS_DATABASE_URL: join(dir, 'probe.db'),
+        OS_MCP_STDIO_ENABLED: 'true',
+        OS_MCP_STDIO_API_KEY: apiKey,
+      },
+      /\[MCP\] Server started \(transport: stdio/,
+    );
+
+    // The started transport is the premise, not the assertion — the whole
+    // defect was a transport that reached exactly this line and then went deaf.
+    const reply = await new Promise<string | null>((resolveReply) => {
+      let buf = '';
+      const onData = (d: Buffer | string) => {
+        buf += String(d);
+        // A JSON-RPC frame carrying OUR request id — not merely "some bytes".
+        if (/"jsonrpc"\s*:\s*"2\.0"/.test(buf) && /"id"\s*:\s*1\b/.test(buf)) {
+          clearTimeout(giveUp);
+          booted.child.stdout.off('data', onData);
+          resolveReply(buf);
+        }
+      };
+      booted.child.stdout.on('data', onData);
+
+      const giveUp = setTimeout(() => {
+        booted.child.stdout.off('data', onData);
+        resolveReply(null);
+      }, 45_000);
+
+      booted.child.stdin.write(
+        `${JSON.stringify({
+          jsonrpc: '2.0',
+          id: 1,
+          method: 'initialize',
+          params: {
+            protocolVersion: '2024-11-05',
+            capabilities: {},
+            clientInfo: { name: 'objectstack-e2e', version: '0.0.0' },
+          },
+        })}\n`,
+      );
+    });
+
+    expect(
+      reply,
+      'the stdio transport started but never answered `initialize` (#7645: stdin left paused by the host)',
+    ).not.toBeNull();
+
+    // An ANSWER, not just traffic: the frame has to parse as this request's
+    // result and carry the server's identity, so a stray log line that happens
+    // to contain `"jsonrpc"` cannot pass.
+    const frame = (reply as string)
+      .split('\n')
+      .map((line) => line.trim())
+      .filter((line) => line.startsWith('{') && line.includes('"jsonrpc"'))
+      .map((line) => {
+        try {
+          return JSON.parse(line) as Record<string, unknown>;
+        } catch {
+          return undefined;
+        }
+      })
+      .find((msg) => msg?.id === 1);
+
+    expect(frame, `no parseable JSON-RPC frame for id 1 in:\n${reply}`).toBeTruthy();
+    const result = frame!.result as { protocolVersion?: string; serverInfo?: { name?: string } } | undefined;
+    expect(frame!.error).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(result?.protocolVersion).toBeTruthy();
+    expect(result?.serverInfo?.name).toBeTruthy();
+
+    await stop(booted.child);
+  }, 240_000);
+});
@@ -1022,6 +1022,35 @@ export class MCPServerRuntime {
     if (this.config.transport === 'stdio') {
       this.transport = new StdioServerTransport();
       await this.mcpServer.connect(this.transport);
+      // [#7645] The transport now OWNS this process's stdin — so make sure it
+      // is actually flowing. `StdioServerTransport.start()` only attaches a
+      // `data` listener, and Node auto-switches a stream to flowing mode on
+      // that listener ONLY while `readableFlowing` is still `null`. Once
+      // something has explicitly called `pause()`, the flag is `false` and a
+      // later `data` listener does NOT resume it: the listener is attached,
+      // `bytesRead` stays 0, and the server is started-but-permanently-deaf.
+      //
+      // That is not hypothetical. Under `objectstack serve`, oclif's argument
+      // parser reads stdin for any positional arg the user did not supply
+      // (`tryStdin` → `createInterface({input: process.stdin})`, aborted after
+      // 10 ms), and `Interface.close()` calls `stdin.pause()`. `serve` declares
+      // an optional `config` positional, so `os serve --dev` (no path) left
+      // stdin paused and EVERY `initialize` / `tools/list` / `resources/read`
+      // timed out with zero bytes on stdout — while the same command WITH the
+      // path (parser never touches stdin) answered fine. Measured both ways.
+      //
+      // The resume lives here rather than in the CLI because the pause is not
+      // oclif-specific: any host that touched stdin before `start()` (a
+      // readline prompt, a supervisor, an embedding process) leaves it paused,
+      // and every one of them yields the same silent deafness. This is the one
+      // place that knows a long-lived stdio transport was just attached.
+      //
+      // Resumed AFTER `connect()` on purpose: `connect()` attaches the
+      // transport's `data` listener, so no byte can flow before there is a
+      // reader for it.
+      if (typeof process !== 'undefined' && typeof process.stdin?.resume === 'function') {
+        process.stdin.resume();
+      }
       this.started = true;
       logger?.info(`[MCP] Server started (transport: stdio, name: ${this.config.name})`);
     } else {