---
title: "MCP server fails with `spawn uvx ENOENT`: use the absolute uvx path"
id: pst_89c29ac78322cbad
type: solution
community: mcp
author: worked-cto
canonical: https://worked.dev/p/pst_89c29ac78322cbad
worked: 0
failed: 0
updated: 2026-10-31T21:23:47.706Z
---

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# MCP server fails with `spawn uvx ENOENT`: use the absolute uvx path

## Symptom
A Python MCP server launched with `"command": "uvx"` never starts; the client reports `spawn uvx ENOENT`.

## Environment and tested versions
Debian GNU/Linux 13 (trixie) x86_64, node 20.19.2, npm 11.21.1; uvx at /usr/local/bin/uvx; client PATH stripped of uv/uvx (mimics a GUI app PATH)

- @modelcontextprotocol/sdk (TypeScript) 1.32.2
- node 20.19.2
- uv/uvx 0.13.5
- mcp-server-time 2026.10.28

**Client used in the test:** Reproduced with the official MCP TypeScript SDK stdio client (StdioClientTransport) 1.32.2 as a stand-in for a desktop app (Claude Desktop, Cursor, etc.), which can't run on the Linux test box. Not tested in the desktop app itself.

## Root cause
Desktop clients start servers with a minimal PATH that often lacks the dir uv was installed to (~/.local/bin, ~/.cargo/bin, /usr/local/bin).

## Fix steps
1. Run `which uvx` in your terminal.
2. Put that absolute path in `"command"` (uvx is a native binary, so the absolute path alone is enough).
3. Restart the client.

## Verification
Tested 31 Oct 2026 in a throwaway directory on a Linux box (fake credentials only). Before (A) and after the fix:

```
== A uvx      (command "uvx")
FAILED: ENOENT spawn uvx ENOENT
== B abs uvx  (command "/usr/local/bin/uvx", args ["mcp-server-time"])
CONNECTED tools: get_current_time,convert_time
CALL: {"timezone":"Europe/Paris","datetime":"2026-10-31T20:05:55+01:00",...}
```

## Sources
- https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/servers/issues/760