Codex CLI on Windows 11: MCP server (Context7) fails with “request timed out”

[wbdb]

What version of Codex is running?

0.23.0-0.31.0

Which model were you using?

GPT-5

What platform is your computer?

Microsoft Windows NT 10.0.26100.0 x64

What steps can reproduce the bug?

OS: Windows 11 Pro (PowerShell 7 / Windows Terminal)
Codex CLI: 0.23.0
Node.js: 22.17.0, npm: 11.5.1
Context7 MCP: @upstash/context7-mcp (local)
Location of config: C:\Users\Name\.codex\config.toml

I tried these variations in my config.toml:

[mcp_servers.context7]
args = ["-y", "@upstash/context7-mcp", "--api-key", "YOUR_API_KEY"]
command = "npx"

=> 🖐 MCP client for context7 failed to start: program not found

[mcp_servers.context7]
command = "cmd"
args    = ["/c","npx","-y","@upstash/context7-mcp"]

=> 🖐 MCP client for context7 failed to start: request timed out

[mcp_servers.context7]
command = "C:\\Program Files\\nodejs\\npx.cmd"
args    = ["-y","@upstash/context7-mcp@latest","--transport","stdio"]

=> 🖐 MCP client for context7 failed to start: request timed out

[mcp_servers.context7]
command = "C:\\Program Files\\nodejs\\node.exe"
args = [
  "C:\\Users\\Name\\AppData\\Roaming\\npm\\node_modules\\@upstash\\context7-mcp\\dist\\index.js",
  "--transport","stdio"
]

[mcp_servers.context7.env]
LOCALAPPDATA = 'C:\\Users\\Name\\AppData\\Local'
APPDATA = 'C:\\Users\\Name\\AppData\\Roaming'
PROGRAMFILES = 'C:\\Program Files'
"PROGRAMFILES(X86)" = 'C:\\Program Files (x86)'
SYSTEMROOT = 'C:\\Windows'
WINDIR = 'C:\\Windows'
HOMEDRIVE = 'C:'
HOMEPATH = '\\Users\\Name'
HOME = 'C:\\Users\\Name'

=> 🖐 MCP client for context7 failed to start: request timed out

What is the expected behavior?

Using MCP Context7

What do you see instead?

MCP Errors

Additional information

Microsoft has invested so much in OpenAI, I don't understand why Windows is being treated so shabbily given its market share.

[gurumnyang]

same issues

[wbdb]

Temporary workaround:

Install Context7 globally and link to it directly:

npm i -g @upstash/context7-mcp

Config:

[mcp_servers.context7]
command = "C:\\Program Files\\nodejs\\node.exe"
args    = ["C:\\Users\\Name\\AppData\\Roaming\\npm\\node_modules\\@upstash\\context7-mcp\\dist\\index.js","--transport","stdio"]

[gurumnyang]

it works! you are my hero

[wbdb]

@gurumnyang

But unfortunately, I keep getting errors like this :(

tool running... context7.resolve-library-id({"libraryName":"CodeIgniter Shield"})
tool success, duration: 84ms

context7.resolve-library-id({"libraryName":"CodeIgniter Shield"})
Error searching libraries: TypeError: fetch failed

You too?

[gurumnyang]

Added to the /mcp list, but when I tested it, I got the same error...

[wbdb]

I now use it via Windows WSL. It works flawlessly there.

---

WSL

Open WSL: wsl
Enable WSL 2: wsl.exe --set-default-version 2
Install Ubuntu 24.04 LTS: wsl --install -d Ubuntu-24.04
Set Ubuntu as default (for wsl start): wsl --set-default Ubuntu-24.04
List installed WSL distros: wsl -l -v
Switch to a specific WSL distro: wsl -d Ubuntu-24.04
Execute a specific command directly: wsl -d Ubuntu-24.04 ls -la
Exit WSL session: exit
Shut down all WSL sessions: wsl --shutdown
Terminate a specific WSL session: wsl --terminate Ubuntu-24.04

---

Codex & Node.js

Check correct Linux version: uname -a
Install updates: sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
Install essential packages: sudo apt install -y curl git build-essential unzip

Download and install fnm:
curl -o- https://fnm.vercel.app/install | bash

Download and install Node.js:
fnm install 22

Reload shell: source ~/.bashrc

Verify Node.js version:
node -v (should print “v22.18.0”)

Verify npm version:
npm -v (should print “10.9.3”)

Update npm: npm install -g npm@latest
Show npm version: npm --version (e.g. 11.5.2)

Install Codex CLI: npm install -g @openai/codex
Check Codex version: codex --version

---

MCP Context 7 Setup

Create config directory and file, then edit:
mkdir -p ~/.codex && touch ~/.codex/config.toml && nano ~/.codex/config.toml

Add the following:

[mcp_servers.context7]
command = "npx"
args = ["-y", "@upstash/context7-mcp"]

[evgenyop]

After spending (wasting) several hours troubleshooting this issue, I found a workaround:

1. install this http-stdio adapter: npm install -g mcp-remote
2. specify explicit environment variables in your: C:/Users/username/.codex/config.toml :

`
[mcp_servers.learn_mcp]

command = 'node'

args = [
'C:/Users/username/AppData/Roaming/npm/node_modules/mcp-remote/dist/proxy.js',
'https://learn.microsoft.com/api/mcp'
]

env = { APPDATA = 'C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming', LOCALAPPDATA = 'C:\Users\username\AppData\Local', SystemRoot = 'C:\WINDOWS', COMSPEC = 'C:\WINDOWS\system32\cmd.exe' }
`

[edulml98]

Hello, are there another install options?

[sting8k]

Same issue here. The following is a quick way to fix it:

[mcp_servers.context7]
command = "C:\\.....\\nodejs\\node.exe"
args = ["C:\\Users\\.....\\AppData\\Local\\npm-cache\\_npx\\.....\\node_modules\\@upstash\\context7-mcp\\dist\\index.js"]

I was able to get this working with the server-memory MCP as well.

Update 1/9: I’m now using MCP-Router as the central gateway for all other MCP servers.
Then I only need to push this into config.toml:

[mcp_servers.mcp-router]
command = "C:\\...\\bin\\bun.exe" # Or node.exe
args = [".....\\mcpr-cli\\dist\\mcpr.js", "connect"]
env = { SystemRoot = 'C:\WINDOWS', COMSPEC = 'C:\WINDOWS\system32\cmd.exe' , MCPR_TOKEN = "<key>" } # Thanks @evgenyop 

[Xopoko]

I started to use Docker MCP Toolkit (you can find there Context7 MCP, Firecrawl, Playwrith and more). And it works for Codex CLI (and Codex VSCode extension).

Details

My config:

[mcp_servers.toolkit]
command = "docker"
args = [
    "mcp",
    "gateway",
    "run"
]
env = { "LOCALAPPDATA" = "C:\\Users\\<USER>\\AppData\\Local", "ProgramFiles" = "C:\\Program Files" }

[eburakars]

Is there anyone who can resolve the error “Error searching libraries: TypeError: fetch failed” using Windows 11 cmd?

[hbiaou]

I started to use Docker MCP Toolkit (you can find there Context7 MCP, Firecrawl, Playwrith and more). And it works for Codex CLI (and Codex VSCode extension).

Details
My config:

[mcp_servers.toolkit]
command = "docker"
args = [
    "mcp",
    "gateway",
    "run"
]
env = { "LOCALAPPDATA" = "C:\\Users\\<USER>\\AppData\\Local", "ProgramFiles" = "C:\\Program Files" }

---

It didn't work for me. Only the per-server entries below worked. Posting in case it helps others.
After a lot of failures trying to spawn MCP servers with npx on Windows, I used ChatGPT to iterate on options and landed on a simple, reliable fix:

---

Environment

• Windows 11
• PowerShell 7.x
• Docker Desktop
• Codex CLI (latest at time of writing)

---

Symptoms

• npx @playwright/mcp@latest would repeatedly “request timed out” when launched by Codex, even though it worked in MCP Inspector.

---

What worked (Docker over STDIO)

Pre-pull (optional but speeds up first run):
docker pull mcp/playwright
docker pull mcp/fetch

Codex config: %USERPROFILE%.codex\config.toml
[mcp_servers.fetch]
command = "docker"
args = ["run","--rm","-i","--init","--security-opt","no-new-privileges","mcp/fetch"]
[mcp_servers.fetch.env]
PYTHONIOENCODING = "utf-8"
PYTHONUNBUFFERED = "1" # avoids rare Python stdio stalls on Windows

[mcp_servers.playwright]
command = "docker"
args = ["run","--rm","-i","--init","--security-opt","no-new-privileges","mcp/playwright"]

Notes
Keep -i (STDIO attached). Don’t use -d.

Sanity checks
These should return help immediately:
docker run --rm -i mcp/playwright --help
docker run --rm -i mcp/fetch --help