Zen MCP Server

🚀 Zen MCP: Many Workflows. One Context.

Zen MCP is a Model Context Protocol server designed as the ultimate development partner for coding agents like Claude or Gemini CLI. It provides access to multiple AI models, enabling enhanced code analysis, problem - solving, and collaborative development. This server allows for true AI orchestration, where conversations can continue across workflows, and Claude can seamlessly switch between different tools and models within a single conversation thread.

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Python 3.10+ (3.12 recommended)
• Git
• Windows users: WSL2 is required for Claude Code CLI

1. Get API Keys (at least one required)

• Option A: OpenRouter (Access multiple models with one API)
  • Visit OpenRouter for access to multiple models through one API. Setup Guide
  • Control model access and spending limits directly in your OpenRouter dashboard.
  • Configure model aliases in conf/custom_models.json.
• Option B: Native APIs
  • Gemini: Visit Google AI Studio and generate an API key. For best results with Gemini 2.5 Pro, use a paid API key as the free tier has limited access to the latest models.
  • OpenAI: Visit [OpenAI Platform](https://platform.openai.com/api - keys) to get an API key for O3 model access.
  • X.AI: Visit X.AI Console to get an API key for GROK model access.
  • DIAL: Visit DIAL Platform to get an API key for accessing multiple models through their unified API. DIAL is an open - source AI orchestration platform that provides vendor - agnostic access to models from major providers, open - source community, and self - hosted deployments. API Documentation
• Option C: Custom API Endpoints (Local models like Ollama, vLLM)
  • [Please see the setup guide](docs/custom_models.md#option - 2 - custom - api - setup - ollama - vllm - etc). With a custom API you can use:
    • Ollama: Run models like Llama 3.2 locally for free inference.
    • vLLM: Self - hosted inference server for high - throughput inference.
    • LM Studio: Local model hosting with OpenAI - compatible API interface.
    • Text Generation WebUI: Popular local interface for running models.
    • Any OpenAI - compatible API: Custom endpoints for your own infrastructure.

⚠️ Important Note

Using multiple provider options may create ambiguity about which provider / model to use if there is an overlap. If all APIs are configured, native APIs will take priority when there is a clash in model name, such as for gemini and o3. Configure your model aliases and give them unique names in conf/custom_models.json

2. Choose Your Installation Method

• Option A: Quick Install with uvx

  • Prerequisites: Install [uv](https://docs.astral.sh/uv/getting - started/installation/) first (required for uvx)
  Claude Desktop Configuration

  Add this to your `claude_desktop_config.json`: ```json { "mcpServers": { "zen": { "command": "sh", "args": [ "-c", "exec $(which uvx || echo uvx) --from git+https://github.com/BeehiveInnovations/zen - mcp - server.git zen - mcp - server" ], "env": { "PATH": "/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/opt/homebrew/bin:~/.local/bin", "OPENAI_API_KEY": "your_api_key_here" } } } } ```
  Claude Code CLI Configuration

  Create a `.mcp.json` file in your project root for [project - scoped configuration](https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/claude - code/mcp#project - scope): ```json { "mcpServers": { "zen": { "command": "sh", "args": [ "-c", "exec $(which uvx || echo uvx) --from git+https://github.com/BeehiveInnovations/zen - mcp - server.git zen - mcp - server" ], "env": { "PATH": "/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/opt/homebrew/bin:~/.local/bin", "OPENAI_API_KEY": "your_api_key_here" } } } } ```
  Gemini CLI Configuration

  Edit `~/.gemini/settings.json` and add: ```json { "mcpServers": { "zen": { "command": "sh", "args": [ "-c", "exec $(which uvx || echo uvx) --from git+https://github.com/BeehiveInnovations/zen - mcp - server.git zen - mcp - server" ], "env": { "PATH": "/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/opt/homebrew/bin:~/.local/bin", "OPENAI_API_KEY": "your_api_key_here" } } } } ``` **Note**: While Zen MCP Server connects successfully to Gemini CLI, tool invocation is not working correctly yet. See [Gemini CLI Setup](docs/gemini - setup.md) for updates.
  - **What this does**: - **Zero setup required** - uvx handles everything automatically. - **Always up - to - date** - Pulls latest version on each run. - **No local dependencies** - Works without Python environment setup. - **Instant availability** - Ready to use immediately.

• Option B: Traditional Clone and Set Up

  # Clone to your preferred location
  git clone https://github.com/BeehiveInnovations/zen - mcp - server.git
  cd zen - mcp - server
  
  # One - command setup installs Zen in Claude
  ./run - server.sh
  
  # Or for Windows users using PowerShell:
  ./run - server.ps1
  
  # To view MCP configuration for Claude
  ./run - server.sh - c
  
  # PowerShell:
  ./run - server.ps1 - Config
  
  # See help for more
  ./run - server.sh --help
  
  # PowerShell:
  ./run - server.ps1 - Help
  

  • What this does:
    • Sets up everything automatically - Python environment, dependencies, configuration.
    • Configures Claude integrations - Adds to Claude Code CLI and guides Desktop setup.
    • Ready to use immediately - No manual configuration needed.
    • Also works with Gemini CLI - See [Gemini CLI Setup](docs/gemini - setup.md) for configuration.

  After updates: Always run ./run - server.sh again after git pull to ensure everything stays current. Windows users: Using WSL? See the [WSL Setup Guide](docs/wsl - setup.md) for detailed instructions.

3. Add Your API Keys

# Edit.env to add your API keys (if not already set in environment)
nano.env

# The file will contain, at least one should be set:
# GEMINI_API_KEY=your - gemini - api - key - here  # For Gemini models
# OPENAI_API_KEY=your - openai - api - key - here  # For O3 model
# OPENROUTER_API_KEY=your - openrouter - key  # For OpenRouter (see docs/custom_models.md)
# DIAL_API_KEY=your - dial - api - key - here      # For DIAL platform

# For DIAL (optional configuration):
# DIAL_API_HOST=https://core.dialx.ai      # Default DIAL host (optional)
# DIAL_API_VERSION=2024 - 12 - 01 - preview      # API version (optional)
# DIAL_ALLOWED_MODELS=o3,gemini - 2.5 - pro    # Restrict to specific models (optional)

# For local models (Ollama, vLLM, etc.):
# CUSTOM_API_URL=http://localhost:11434/v1  # Ollama example
# CUSTOM_API_KEY=                                      # Empty for Ollama
# CUSTOM_MODEL_NAME=llama3.2                          # Default model

# Note: At least one API key OR custom URL is required

No restart needed: The server reads the .env file each time Claude calls a tool, so changes take effect immediately. Next: Now run claude from your project folder using the terminal for it to connect to the newly added mcp server. If you were already running a claude code session, please exit and start a new session.

If Setting up for Claude Desktop

Need the exact configuration? Run ./run - server.sh - c to display the platform - specific setup instructions with correct paths.

1. Open Claude Desktop config: Settings → Developer → Edit Config
2. Copy the configuration shown by ./run - server.sh - c into your claude_desktop_config.json
3. Restart Claude Desktop for changes to take effect

4. Start Using It!

Just ask Claude naturally:

• "Think deeper about this architecture design with zen" → Claude picks best model + thinkdeep
• "Using zen perform a code review of this code for security issues" → Claude might pick Gemini Pro + codereview
• "Use zen and debug why this test is failing, the bug might be in my_class.swift" → Claude might pick O3 + debug
• "With zen, analyze these files to understand the data flow" → Claude picks appropriate model + analyze
• "Use flash to suggest how to format this code based on the specs mentioned in policy.md" → Uses Gemini Flash specifically
• "Think deeply about this and get o3 to debug this logic error I found in the checkOrders() function" → Uses O3 specifically
• "Brainstorm scaling strategies with pro. Study the code, pick your preferred strategy and debate with pro to settle on two best approaches" → Uses Gemini Pro specifically
• "Use local - llama to localize and add missing translations to this project" → Uses local Llama 3.2 via custom URL
• "First use local - llama for a quick local analysis, then use opus for a thorough security review" → Uses both providers in sequence

✨ Features

• Guided workflows: Developer - centric processes that enforce systematic investigation, preventing rushed analysis by ensuring Claude examines code thoroughly at each phase ([debug](#7 - debug---expert - debugging - assistant), [precommit](#6 - precommit---pre - commit - validation), [refactor](#9 - refactor---intelligent - code - refactoring), [analyze](#8 - analyze---smart - file - analysis), [codereview](#5 - codereview---professional - code - review)).
• Multiple AI perspectives: Let Claude orchestrate between different models to get the best analysis.
• Automatic model selection: Claude picks the right model for each task (or you can specify).
• A senior developer partner: To validate and extend ideas ([chat](#1 - chat---general - development - chat--collaborative - thinking)).
• A second opinion: On complex architectural decisions - augment Claude's thinking with perspectives from Gemini Pro, O3, or dozens of other models via custom endpoints ([thinkdeep](#2 - thinkdeep---extended - reasoning - partner)).
• Get multiple expert opinions: Have different AI models debate your ideas (some supporting, some critical) to help you make better decisions ([consensus](#3 - consensus---multi - model - perspective - gathering)).
• Professional code reviews: With actionable feedback across entire repositories ([codereview](#4 - codereview---professional - code - review)).
• Pre - commit validation: With deep analysis using the best model for the job ([precommit](#5 - precommit---pre - commit - validation)).
• Expert debugging: O3 for logical issues, Gemini for architectural problems ([debug](#6 - debug---expert - debugging - assistant)).
• Extended context windows beyond Claude's limits: Delegate analysis to Gemini (1M tokens) or O3 (200K tokens) for entire codebases, large datasets, or comprehensive documentation.
• Model - specific strengths: Extended thinking with Gemini Pro, fast iteration with Flash, strong reasoning with O3, local privacy with Ollama.
• Local model support: Run models like Llama 3.2 locally via Ollama, vLLM, or LM Studio for privacy and cost control.
• Dynamic collaboration: Models can request additional context and follow - up replies from Claude mid - analysis.
• Smart file handling: Automatically expands directories, manages token limits based on model capacity.
• Vision support: Analyze images, diagrams, screenshots, and visual content with vision - capable models.
• [Bypass MCP's token limits](docs/advanced - usage.md#working - with - large - prompts): Work around MCP's 25K limit automatically.
• [Context revival across sessions](docs/context - revival.md): Continue conversations even after Claude's context resets, with other models maintaining full history.

📦 Available Tools

These tools enable Claude to think like a real developer. They prevent hasty responses and encourage Claude to thoroughly analyze code and solve problems step - by - step.

Quick Tool Selection Guide

• Need a thinking partner? → chat (brainstorm ideas, get second opinions, validate approaches)
• Need deeper thinking? → thinkdeep (extends analysis, finds edge cases)
• Want to prevent "You're absolutely right!" responses? → challenge (challenges assumptions, encourages thoughtful re - evaluation)
• Need to break down complex projects? → planner (step - by - step planning, project structure, breaking down complex ideas)
• Need multiple perspectives? → consensus (get diverse expert opinions on proposals and decisions)
• Code needs review? → codereview (bugs, security, performance issues)
• Pre - commit validation? → precommit (validate git changes before committing)
• Something's broken? → debug (systematic investigation, step - by - step root cause analysis)
• Want to understand code? → analyze (architecture, patterns, dependencies)
• Code needs refactoring? → refactor (intelligent refactoring with decomposition focus)
• Need call - flow analysis? → tracer (generates prompts for execution tracing and dependency mapping)
• Need comprehensive tests? → testgen (generates test suites with edge cases)
• Security concerns? → secaudit (OWASP analysis, compliance evaluation, vulnerability assessment)
• Code needs documentation? → docgen (generates comprehensive documentation with complexity analysis)
• Which models are available? → listmodels (shows all configured providers and models)
• Server info? → version (version and configuration details)

Auto Mode

When DEFAULT_MODEL = auto, Claude automatically picks the best model for each task. You can override with: "Use flash for quick analysis" or "Use o3 to debug this".

Model Selection Examples

• Complex architecture review → Claude picks Gemini Pro
• Quick formatting check → Claude picks Flash
• Logical debugging → Claude picks O3
• General explanations → Claude picks Flash for speed
• Local analysis → Claude picks your Ollama model

Pro Tip

Thinking modes (for Gemini models) control depth vs token cost. Use "minimal" or "low" for quick tasks, "high" or "max" for complex problems. [Learn more](docs/advanced - usage.md#thinking - modes)

Tools Overview

1. chat - Collaborative thinking and development conversations
2. thinkdeep - Extended reasoning and problem - solving
3. challenge - Critical challenge prompt, prevents You're absolutely right!
4. planner - Interactive sequential planning for complex projects
5. consensus - Multi - model consensus analysis with stance steering
6. codereview - Professional code review with severity levels
7. precommit - Validate git changes before committing
8. debug - Systematic investigation and debugging
9. analyze - General - purpose file and code analysis
10. refactor - Code refactoring with decomposition focus
11. tracer - Static code analysis prompt generator for call - flow mapping
12. testgen - Comprehensive test generation with edge case coverage
13. secaudit - Comprehensive security audit with OWASP Top 10 analysis
14. docgen - Comprehensive documentation generation with complexity analysis
15. listmodels - Display all available AI models organized by provider
16. version - Get server version and configuration

1. chat - General Development Chat & Collaborative Thinking

Your thinking partner for brainstorming, getting second opinions, and validating approaches. Perfect for technology comparisons, architecture discussions, and collaborative problem - solving.

Chat with zen about the best approach for user authentication in my React app

📖 Read More - Detailed features, examples, and best practices

2. thinkdeep - Extended Reasoning Partner

Get a second opinion to augment Claude's own extended thinking. Uses specialized thinking models to challenge assumptions, identify edge cases, and provide alternative perspectives.

The button won't animate when clicked, it seems something else is intercepting the clicks. Use thinkdeep with gemini pro after gathering related code and handing it the files
and find out what the root cause is

📖 Read More - Enhanced analysis capabilities and critical evaluation process

3. challenge - Critical Challenge Prompt

Encourages thoughtful reassessment of statements instead of automatic agreement, especially when you're wrong. Wraps your input with instructions for critical thinking and honest analysis.

challenge isn't adding this function to the base class a bad idea?

Normally, your favorite coding agent will enthusiastically reply with “You’re absolutely right!”—then proceed to completely reverse the correct strategy, without ever explaining why you're wrong.

4. planner - Interactive Step - by - Step Planning

Break down complex projects or ideas into manageable, structured plans through step - by - step thinking. Perfect for adding new features to an existing system, scaling up system design, migration strategies, and architectural planning with branching and revision capabilities.

Pro Tip

Claude supports sub - tasks where it will spawn and run separate background tasks. You can ask Claude to run Zen's planner with two separate ideas. Then when it's done, use Zen's consensus tool to pass the entire plan and get expert perspective from two powerful AI models on which one to work on first! Like performing AB testing in one - go without the wait!

Create two separate sub - tasks: in one, using planner tool show me how to add natural language support
to my cooking app. In the other sub - task, use planner to plan how to add support for voice notes to my cooking app.
Once done, start a consensus by sharing both plans to o3 and flash to give me the final verdict. Which one do
I implement first?

📖 Read More - Step - by - step planning methodology and multi - session continuation

5. consensus - Multi - Model Perspective Gathering

Get diverse expert opinions from multiple AI models on technical proposals and decisions. Supports stance steering (for/against/neutral) and structured decision - making.

Get a consensus with flash taking a supportive stance and gemini pro being critical to evaluate whether we should
migrate from REST to GraphQL for our API. I need a definitive answer.

📖 Read More - Multi - model orchestration and decision analysis

6. codereview - Professional Code Review

Comprehensive code analysis with prioritized feedback and severity levels. This workflow tool guides Claude through systematic investigation steps with forced pauses between each step to ensure thorough code examination, issue identification, and quality assessment before providing expert analysis.

Perform a codereview with gemini pro especially the auth.py as I feel some of the code is bypassing security checks
and there may be more potential vulnerabilities. Find and share related code."

Tips:

• To avoid extra API costs, add do not use another model to run the entire codereview workflow locally.
• If you want to always consult an external model (recommended for code reviews) regardless of Claude’s confidence level in identifying issues, use must codereview using <model name>. This ensures the model is consulted even if Claude is certain about identified issues. 📖 Read More - Professional review workflow with step - by - step analysis

7. precommit - Pre - Commit Validation

Comprehensive review of staged/unstaged git changes across multiple repositories. This workflow tool guides Claude through systematic investigation of git changes, repository status, and file modifications across multiple steps before providing expert validation to ensure changes meet requirements and prevent regressions.

Perform a thorough precommit with o3, we want to only highlight critical issues, no blockers, no regressions. I need
100% confidence this covers all the edge cases listed in FIX_ISSUE_ABC.md

Real Example:

• I asked claude (sonnet - 4) to refactor some code to fix a known bug; gave it exact instructions.
• The fix looked correct — and at a glance, so did the changes.
• More importantly, all existing unit tests passed (540+ unit tests) without a hitch. Zero regressions. Claude seemed confident and eager to commit. Everything looked perfect. I then ran:

Run a precommit with o3 confirm our changes are sound and diffs are valid. Confirm this won't cause breakage or
regressions and codesmells are out

This passed the tracked and untracked changes / diffs and the related code to o3 for a thorough review via Zen's precommit tool. Output:

⏺ Precommit Analysis Results - CRITICAL ISSUE FOUND
The O3 model has identified one HIGH - severity regression and several medium/low issues in our refactor. Here's the summary:
🚨 HIGH SEVERITY - MUST FIX BEFORE COMMIT
...

The reported issue was in fact a very subtle bug that slipped through the quick glance — and a unit test for this exact case apparently was missing (out of 540 existing tests!) - explains the zero reported regressions. The fix was ultimately simple, but the fact Claude (and by extension, I) overlooked this, was a stark reminder: no number of eyeballs is ever enough. Fixed the issue, ran precommit with o3 again and got: RECOMMENDATION: PROCEED WITH COMMIT Tips:

• To avoid extra API costs, add do not use another model to run the entire precommit workflow locally.
• If you want to always consult an external model (recommended for pre - commit analysis) regardless of Claude’s confidence level in identifying issues, use must precommit using <model name>. This ensures the model is consulted even if Claude is certain about identified issues. 📖 Read More - Multi - repository validation and change analysis

8. debug - Expert Debugging Assistant

Systematic investigation - guided debugging that walks Claude through step - by - step root cause analysis. This workflow tool enforces a structured investigation process where Claude performs methodical code examination, evidence collection, and hypothesis formation across multiple steps before receiving expert analysis from the selected AI model. When Claude's confidence reaches 100% certainty during the investigative workflow, expert analysis via another model is skipped to save on tokens and cost, and Claude proceeds directly to fixing the issue.

See logs under /Users/me/project/diagnostics.log and related code under the sync folder.
Logs show that sync works but sometimes it gets stuck and there are no errors displayed to
the user. Using zen's debug tool with gemini pro, find out why this is happening and what the root
cause is and its fix

Tips:

• To avoid extra API costs, add do not use another model to run the entire debugging workflow locally. This is recommended in most cases, as Claude typically identifies the root cause with high confidence by the end.
• If you want to always consult an external model regardless of Claude’s confidence level, use must debug using <model name>. This ensures the model is consulted even if Claude is certain about the issue. When in doubt, you can always follow up with a new prompt and ask Claude to share its findings with another model:

Use continuation with thinkdeep, share details with o4 - mini to find out what the best fix is for this

📖 Read More - Step - by - step investigation methodology with workflow enforcement

9. analyze - Smart File Analysis

General - purpose code understanding and exploration. This workflow tool guides Claude through systematic investigation of code structure, patterns, and architectural decisions across multiple steps, gathering comprehensive insights before providing expert analysis for architecture assessment, pattern detection, and strategic improvement recommendations.

Use gemini to analyze main.py to understand how it works

📖 Read More - Comprehensive analysis workflow with step - by - step investigation

10. refactor - Intelligent Code Refactoring

Comprehensive refactoring analysis with top - down decomposition strategy. This workflow tool enforces systematic investigation of code smells, decomposition opportunities, and modernization possibilities across multiple steps, ensuring thorough analysis before providing expert refactoring recommendations with precise implementation guidance.

Use gemini pro to decompose my_crazy_big_class.m into smaller extensions

📖 Read More - Workflow - driven refactoring with progressive analysis

11. tracer - Static Code Analysis Prompt Generator

Creates detailed analysis prompts for call - flow mapping and dependency tracing. Generates structured analysis requests for precision execution flow or dependency mapping.

Use zen tracer to analyze how UserAuthManager.authenticate is used and why

📖 Read More - Prompt generation and analysis modes

12. testgen - Comprehensive Test Generation

Generates thorough test suites with edge case coverage based on existing code and test framework. This workflow tool guides Claude through systematic investigation of code functionality, critical paths, edge cases, and integration points across multiple steps before generating comprehensive tests with realistic failure mode analysis.

Use zen to generate tests for User.login() method

📖 Read More - Workflow - based test generation with comprehensive coverage

13. secaudit - Comprehensive Security Audit

Systematic OWASP - based security assessment with compliance evaluation. This workflow tool guides Claude through methodical security investigation steps with forced pauses between each step to ensure thorough vulnerability assessment, security pattern analysis, and compliance verification before providing expert analysis.

Perform a secaudit with o3 on this e - commerce web application focusing on payment processing security and PCI DSS compliance

📖 Read More - OWASP Top 10 analysis with compliance framework support

14. docgen - Comprehensive Documentation Generation

Generates thorough documentation with complexity analysis and gotcha identification. This workflow tool guides Claude through systematic investigation of code structure, function complexity, and documentation needs across multiple steps before generating comprehensive documentation that includes algorithmic complexity, call flow information, and unexpected behaviors that developers should know about.

# Includes complexity Big - O notiation, documents dependencies / code - flow, fixes existing stale docs
Use docgen to documentation the UserManager class

# Includes complexity Big - O notiation, documents dependencies / code - flow
Use docgen to add complexity analysis to all the new swift functions I added but don't update existing code

📖 Read More - Workflow - based documentation generation with gotcha detection

15. listmodels - List Available Models

Display all available AI models organized by provider, showing capabilities, context windows, and configuration status.

Use zen to list available models

📖 Read More - Model capabilities and configuration details

16. version - Server Information

Get server version, configuration details, and system status for debugging and troubleshooting.

What version of zen do I have

📖 Read More - Server diagnostics and configuration verification

Prompt Support

Zen supports powerful structured prompts in Claude Code for quick access to tools and models:

Tool Prompts

• /zen:chat ask local - llama what 2 + 2 is - Use chat tool with auto - selected model
• /zen:thinkdeep use o3 and tell me why the code isn't working in sorting.swift - Use thinkdeep tool with auto - selected model
• /zen:planner break down the microservices migration project into manageable steps - Use planner tool with auto - selected model
• /zen:consensus use o3:for and flash:against and tell me if adding feature X is a good idea for the project. Pass them a summary of what it does. - Use consensus tool with default configuration
• /zen:codereview review for security module ABC - Use codereview tool with auto - selected model
• /zen:debug table view is not scrolling properly, very jittery, I suspect the code is in my_controller.m - Use debug tool with auto - selected model
• /zen:analyze examine these files and tell me what if I'm using the CoreAudio framework properly - Use analyze tool with auto - selected model
• /zen:docgen generate comprehensive documentation for the UserManager class with complexity analysis - Use docgen tool with auto - selected model

Continuation Prompts

• /zen:chat continue and ask gemini pro if framework B is better - Continue previous conversation using chat tool

Advanced Examples

• /zen:thinkdeeper check if the algorithm in @sort.py is performant and if there are alternatives we could explore
• /zen:planner create a step - by - step plan for migrating our authentication system to OAuth2, including dependencies and rollback strategies
• /zen:consensus debate whether we should migrate to GraphQL for our API
• /zen:precommit confirm these changes match our requirements in COOL_FEATURE.md
• /zen:testgen write me tests for class ABC
• /zen:docgen document the payment processing module with gotchas and complexity analysis
• /zen:refactor propose a decomposition strategy, make a plan and save it in FIXES.md

Syntax Format

The prompt format is: /zen:[tool] [your_message]

• [tool] - Any available tool name (chat, thinkdeep, planner, consensus, codereview, debug, analyze, docgen, etc.)
• [your_message] - Your request, question, or instructions for the tool Note: All prompts will show as "(MCP) [tool]" in Claude Code to indicate they're provided by the MCP server.

🔧 Technical Details

AI - to - AI Conversation Threading

This server enables true AI collaboration between Claude and multiple AI models, where they can coordinate and build on each other's insights across tools and conversations. [📖 Read More](docs/ai - collaboration.md) - Multi - model coordination, conversation threading, and collaborative workflows

Configuration

Configure the Zen MCP Server through environment variables in your .env file. Supports multiple AI providers, model restrictions, conversation settings, and advanced options.

# Quick start - Auto mode (recommended)
DEFAULT_MODEL=auto
GEMINI_API_KEY=your - gemini - key
OPENAI_API_KEY=your - openai - key
DIAL_API_KEY=your - dial - key  # Optional: Access to multiple models via DIAL

Key Configuration Options:

• API Keys: Native APIs (Gemini, OpenAI, X.AI), OpenRouter, DIAL, or Custom endpoints (Ollama, vLLM)
• Model Selection: Auto mode or specific model defaults
• Usage Restrictions: Control which models can be used for cost control
• Conversation Settings: Timeout, turn limits, memory configuration
• Thinking Modes: Token allocation for extended reasoning
• Logging: Debug levels and operational visibility 📖 Read More - Complete configuration reference with examples

Pro Tip: Context Revival

This is an extremely powerful feature that cannot be highlighted enough:

The most amazing side - effect of this conversation continuation system is that even AFTER Claude's context resets or compacts, since the continuation info is kept within MCP's memory, you can ask it to continue discussing the plan with o3, and it will suddenly revive Claude because O3 would know what was being talked about and relay this back in a way that re - ignites Claude's understanding. All this without wasting context on asking Claude to ingest lengthy documents / code again and re - prompting it to communicate with another model. Zen manages that internally. The model's response revives Claude with better context around the discussion than an automatic summary ever can. [📖 Read the complete technical deep - dive on how this revolutionary system works](docs/context - revival.md)

📚 Documentation

• Testing: For information on running tests, see the Testing Guide.
• Contributing: We welcome contributions! Please see our comprehensive guides:
  • Contributing Guide - Code standards, PR process, and requirements
  • Adding a New Provider - Step - by - step guide for adding AI providers

📄 License

Apache 2.0 License - see LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

Built with the power of Multi - Model AI collaboration 🤝

• Actual Intelligence by real Humans
• MCP (Model Context Protocol) by Anthropic
• Claude Code - Your AI coding assistant & orchestrator
• Gemini 2.5 Pro & 2.0 Flash - Extended thinking & fast analysis
• OpenAI O3 - Strong reasoning & general intelligence

Star History

[](https://www.star - history.com/#BeehiveInnovations/zen - mcp - server&Date)