llm-mcp-cli

A comprehensive LLM CLI plugin for Model Context Protocol (MCP) integration, enabling seamless interaction between the LLM command-line tool and MCP servers.

Table of Contents

• Installation
• Quick Start
• Commands Reference
  • Server Management
  • Tool Commands
• Usage Examples
• Common Workflows
• Configuration
• Troubleshooting

Installation

pip install llm-mcp-cli

Requirements

• Python 3.11 or higher
• llm >= 0.27.0
• MCP-compatible servers (e.g., @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem)

Quick Start

1. Add an MCP server:

llm mcp add filesystem npx @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem /path/to/directory

2. List available tools:

llm mcp tools --format list

3. Use tools in LLM conversations:

llm -m gpt-4 "List all files in my directory" $(llm mcp tools --format commands)

if you want to add specific server commands

llm -m gpt-4 "List all files in my directory" $(llm mcp tools --server fetch --format commands)

Commands Reference

Server Management

llm mcp add

Register a new MCP server.

Syntax:

llm mcp add <name> <command> [args...] [options]

Parameters:

• name (required) - Unique identifier for the server
• command (required) - Command to execute the server (e.g., npx, python)
• args (optional) - Additional arguments for the server command

Options:

• --env KEY=value - Set environment variables (can be used multiple times)
• --description - Add a description for the server

Examples:

# Add filesystem server
llm mcp add filesystem npx @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem /Users/docs

# First store your GitHub token (one-time setup)
llm keys set GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN

# Add GitHub server (API key automatically resolved from LLM storage)
llm mcp add github npx @modelcontextprotocol/server-github

# Add server with description
llm mcp add myserver python /path/to/server.py \
  --description "Custom MCP server for data processing"

# Multiple environment variables
llm mcp add api-server ./server \
  --env API_KEY=secret \
  --env DEBUG=true \
  --env PORT=8080

llm mcp remove

Remove a registered MCP server.

Syntax:

llm mcp remove <name>

Example:

llm mcp remove filesystem

llm mcp list

List all registered MCP servers.

Syntax:

llm mcp list [options]

Options:

• --enabled-only - Show only enabled servers
• --with-status - Include connection status information

Output includes:

• Server name with enabled/disabled indicator (✓/✗)
• Command and arguments
• Description (if provided)
• Environment variable count
• Connection status (with --with-status)
• Available tools count (with --with-status)

Examples:

# List all servers
llm mcp list

# List only enabled servers with status
llm mcp list --enabled-only --with-status

llm mcp enable

Enable a disabled MCP server.

Syntax:

llm mcp enable <name>

Example:

llm mcp enable filesystem

llm mcp disable

Disable an MCP server without removing it.

Syntax:

llm mcp disable <name>

Example:

llm mcp disable filesystem

llm mcp test

Test connectivity to an MCP server.

Syntax:

llm mcp test <name>

Output includes:

• Connection success/failure status
• Available tools count
• First 5 tool names (if available)
• Error messages (if connection fails)

Example:

llm mcp test filesystem

llm mcp describe

Show detailed information about a specific MCP server.

Syntax:

llm mcp describe <name>

Output includes:

• Server configuration details
• Environment variables (keys only, values hidden)
• Connection status
• Complete list of available tools with descriptions

Example:

llm mcp describe filesystem

llm mcp start

Manually start an MCP server connection.

Syntax:

llm mcp start <name>

Example:

llm mcp start filesystem

llm mcp stop

Stop an active MCP server connection.

Syntax:

llm mcp stop <name>

Example:

llm mcp stop filesystem

Tool Commands

llm mcp tools

List all available MCP tools from enabled servers.

Syntax:

llm mcp tools [options]

Options:

• --server <name> - Filter tools by specific server
• --format <type> - Output format (default: list)
  • list - Detailed format with descriptions
  • names - Tool names only, one per line
  • commands - As -T flags ready for use with llm
• --names-only - (Deprecated) Equivalent to --format names

Examples:

# List all tools with descriptions
llm mcp tools

# Get tools from specific server
llm mcp tools --server filesystem

# Get tool names only
llm mcp tools --format names

# Get ready-to-use command flags
llm mcp tools --format commands
# Output: -T filesystem__read_file -T filesystem__write_file ...

llm mcp call-tool

Call a specific MCP tool directly.

Syntax:

llm mcp call-tool <tool_name> [options]

Parameters:

• tool_name (required) - Tool name in format server__tool

Options:

• --args <json> - JSON object with tool arguments (default: "{}")

Examples:

# Read a file
llm mcp call-tool filesystem__read_file \
  --args '{"path": "/tmp/example.txt"}'

# List directory contents
llm mcp call-tool filesystem__list_directory \
  --args '{"path": "/Users/docs"}'

# Call with complex arguments
llm mcp call-tool github__search_repositories \
  --args '{"query": "language:python stars:>1000", "limit": 10}'

llm mcp status

Show overall MCP plugin status and statistics.

Syntax:

llm mcp status

Output includes:

• Total registered servers count
• Enabled servers count
• Connected servers count
• Available tools count
• Configuration directory path
• Log directory path

Example:

llm mcp status

Usage Examples

Basic Server Setup

# 1. Add a filesystem server for your documents
llm mcp add docs npx @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem ~/Documents

# 2. Store API keys securely (one-time setup)
llm keys set GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN

# 3. Add a GitHub server (API key automatically resolved)
llm mcp add github npx @modelcontextprotocol/server-github

# 4. Verify servers are working
llm mcp test docs
llm mcp test github

# 5. List all available tools
llm mcp tools

Using Tools with LLM

# Method 1: Use the tools in a conversation
llm -m gpt-4 \
  $(llm mcp tools --server docs --format commands) \
  "What markdown files are in my Documents folder?"

# Method 2: Specify individual tools
llm -m claude-3-opus \
  -T docs__read_file \
  -T docs__write_file \
  "Update the README.md file to include installation instructions"

# Method 3: Use all available tools
llm -m gpt-4 $(llm mcp tools --format commands) \
  "Analyze the project structure and create a summary"

Direct Tool Invocation

# List files in a directory
llm mcp call-tool docs__list_directory \
  --args '{"path": "/Users/me/Documents"}'

# Read a specific file
llm mcp call-tool docs__read_file \
  --args '{"path": "/Users/me/Documents/notes.md"}'

# Search GitHub repositories
llm mcp call-tool github__search_repositories \
  --args '{"query": "mcp server", "limit": 5}'

Common Workflows

1. Document Management Workflow

# Setup filesystem server for documents
llm mcp add documents npx @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem \
  ~/Documents ~/Projects

# Use with LLM to organize files
llm -m gpt-4 $(llm mcp tools --server documents --format commands) \
  "Create a summary of all README files in my Projects folder"

2. Code Analysis Workflow

# Add server for code directory
llm mcp add codebase npx @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem \
  /path/to/codebase

# Analyze code structure
llm -m claude-3-opus $(llm mcp tools --server codebase --format commands) \
  "Analyze the Python files and identify potential refactoring opportunities"

3. Multi-Server Workflow

# Store API keys once
llm keys set GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN

# Add multiple servers (API keys automatically resolved)
llm mcp add docs npx @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem ~/Documents
llm mcp add code npx @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem ~/Code
llm mcp add github npx @modelcontextprotocol/server-github

# Use all tools together
llm -m gpt-4 $(llm mcp tools --format commands) \
  "Compare my local documentation with similar projects on GitHub"

4. Automatic API Key Resolution

The plugin automatically resolves common API keys from LLM's secure storage, eliminating the need for --env flags:

# 1. Store API keys securely using LLM's key storage (one-time setup)
llm keys set FIRECRAWL_API_KEY
llm keys set GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN
llm keys set OPENAI_API_KEY

# 2. Add servers without needing to specify --env flags
llm mcp add firecrawl npx -- -y firecrawl-mcp
llm mcp add github npx @modelcontextprotocol/server-github

# 3. Test servers - API keys are automatically resolved
llm mcp test firecrawl  # ✓ Uses FIRECRAWL_API_KEY from storage
llm mcp test github     # ✓ Uses GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN from storage

Resolution Priority:

1. Environment variable (if already set)
2. LLM key storage (llm keys get KEY_NAME)
3. Server throws error if not found

5. Server Management Workflow

# Check overall status
llm mcp status

# List all servers with their status
llm mcp list --with-status

# Disable unused servers
llm mcp disable old-server

# Test specific server
llm mcp test docs

# Get detailed information
llm mcp describe docs

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Server won't connect

# Test the connection
llm mcp test servername

# Check server status
llm mcp describe servername

# Try restarting the server
llm mcp stop servername
llm mcp start servername

Tools not appearing

# Ensure server is enabled
llm mcp enable servername

# List tools for specific server
llm mcp tools --server servername

# Check server has tools available
llm mcp test servername

Debug Commands

# Get detailed server information
llm mcp describe servername

# Check overall plugin status
llm mcp status

# View server list with connection status
llm mcp list --with-status

# Test individual server connectivity
llm mcp test servername

Contributing

This is an open-source project. Contributions are welcome!

Development Setup

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/eugenepyvovarov/llm-mcp.git
cd llm-mcp

License

Apache 2.0 License - see LICENSE file for details.

Support

For issues, questions, or suggestions:

• GitHub Issues: github.com/eugenepyvovarov/llm-mcp/issues
• Documentation: This README
• MCP Specification: modelcontextprotocol.io