@mcp-use/cli

A CLI tool for interacting with Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers using natural language. Built with mcp-use and powered by OpenAI's GPT models.

Features

• 🤖 Natural language interface for MCP servers
• 🔧 Built-in filesystem MCP server support
• 💬 Interactive chat interface with tool call visualization
• ⚡ Direct integration with mcp-use (no API layer needed)
• 🚀 Single command installation
• 🔄 Multiple LLM providers (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Mistral)
• ⚙️ Slash commands for configuration (like Claude Code)
• 🔑 Smart API key prompting - automatically asks for keys when needed
• 💾 Persistent secure storage - encrypted keys and settings saved across sessions

Install

$ npm install --global mcp-use-cli

Quick Start

• Install and run:

  $ npm install --global mcp-use-cli
  $ mcp-use-cli
  

• Choose your model (CLI handles API key setup automatically):

  # Just pick a model - that's it!
  /model openai gpt-4o-mini
  /model anthropic claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022
  /model google gemini-1.5-pro
  
  # CLI will prompt: "Please enter your OPENAI API key:"
  # Paste your key and start chatting immediately!
  

• Get API keys when prompted from:

  • OpenAI
  • Anthropic
  • Google AI
  • Mistral

Keys are stored securely encrypted in ~/.mcp-use-cli/config.json and persist across sessions.

Alternative Setup

If you prefer environment variables:

export OPENAI_API_KEY=your_key_here
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your_key_here
# Then just run: mcp-use-cli

Usage

$ mcp-use-cli --help

  Usage
    $ mcp-use-cli

  Options
    --name        Your name (optional)
    --config      Path to MCP configuration file (optional)

  Examples
    $ mcp-use-cli
    $ mcp-use-cli --name=Jane
    $ mcp-use-cli --config=./mcp-config.json

  Environment Variables
    OPENAI_API_KEY    Required - Your OpenAI API key

  Setup
    1. Set your OpenAI API key: export OPENAI_API_KEY=your_key_here
    2. Run: mcp-use-cli
    3. Start chatting with MCP servers!

Configuration

By default, the CLI connects to a filesystem MCP server in /tmp. You can provide a custom configuration file:

{
  "servers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "/path/to/directory"],
      "env": {}
    },
    "other-server": {
      "command": "your-mcp-server-command",
      "args": ["--arg1", "value1"],
      "env": {}
    }
  }
}

Slash Commands

Switch LLM providers and configure settings using slash commands (similar to Claude Code):

# Set API keys (stored securely)
/setkey openai sk-1234567890abcdef...
/setkey anthropic ant_1234567890abcdef...
/clearkeys  # Clear all stored keys

# Switch models
/model openai gpt-4o
/model anthropic claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022
/model google gemini-1.5-pro
/model mistral mistral-large-latest

# List available models
/models
/models anthropic

# Configuration
/config temp 0.5
/config tokens 4000

# Status and help
/status
/help

Chat Examples

• "List files in the current directory"
• "Create a new file called hello.txt with the content 'Hello, World!'"
• "Search for files containing 'TODO'"
• "What's the structure of this project?"

Architecture

This CLI uses:

• Frontend: React + Ink for the terminal UI
• Agent: mcp-use MCPAgent for LLM + MCP integration
• LLM: OpenAI GPT-4o-mini
• Transport: Direct TypeScript integration (no API layer)

License

MIT