Allow the MCP Connector to write the same characters in object names that Workfront already accepts
What happens today
The Workfront MCP Connector refuses to write any object name containing a colon, forward slash, double quote, or curly brace. This applies to both workflow_create_any_object and workflow_update_any_object.
Workfront itself accepts all of them. The UI saves them, the database stores them, and the connector's own read path returns them intact. Reads pass. Only writes are blocked.
Where it stands
I raised this with Support. The engineer reproduced it and took it to Product, who confirmed it is a known, open discussion covering all Workfront object types with no decision yet. It is currently treated as a feature request rather than a bug, on the basis that the validation follows OS-level filename restrictions.
That reasoning is worth a second look. The blocked set does not match any OS restricted set, curly braces are blocked but are legal in filenames on Windows, macOS and Linux, while several genuinely reserved characters are not blocked at all. And object names are not filenames. If something downstream needs a filename-safe string, sanitize it at that point, not on the stored field.
What I am asking for
Align the connector's name validation with what Workfront actually accepts. If a specific character has to be restricted for a real technical reason, restrict that one, document why, and apply it to every write path rather than to the connector alone.
Why it matters
Naming conventions are how a project plan stays readable at a glance. Ours puts the task type before a colon and appends the confirmed meeting date and time:
Client Review: Homepage Design (8/6, 4:30 PM)
Three collisions in one convention. The colon after the task type, the slash in the date, the colon in an off-the-hour time. Nothing renamed through the connector comes out matching the tasks around it.
Automating that rename is why we adopted the connector in the first place. The workaround is renaming by hand in the UI, which removes the point.
If your team uses colons, slashes, or dates in object names, this will hit you too.