toolmux 1.1.3

Efficient MCP server aggregation with HTTP/SSE support and 98.65% token reduction

ToolMux 🛠️

🚀 98.65% Token Reduction - Efficient MCP server aggregation with HTTP/SSE support and on-demand loading

The Problem

Traditional MCP bridges load all tool schemas upfront, consuming 15-20% of your token budget before you even start:

• Large deployments can have hundreds of tools across multiple servers
• Each schema consumes tokens even if never used
• Mixed stdio/HTTP servers require separate client implementations
• Result: Token budgets exhausted before real work begins

The Solution

ToolMux exposes only 4 meta-tools with unified stdio/HTTP support and loads servers on-demand:

Approach	Tools Loaded	Token Usage	Transport Support	Functionality
Traditional Bridge	All schemas	15-20% tokens	Single protocol	✅ Full access
ToolMux	4 meta-tools	1.35% tokens	Mixed stdio/HTTP	✅ Full access

Real Performance

In a deployment with 200+ tools across 11 MCP servers (stdio + HTTP):

• Before: ~20% token usage for schema loading
• After: 1.35% token usage with ToolMux
• Savings: 98.65% reduction in overhead
• Bonus: Unified interface for mixed transport protocols

Requirements

• Python 3.10+ (required for fastmcp dependency)
• pip3 (Python package manager)
• Virtual environment support (recommended)

Dependencies:

• fastmcp>=0.2.0 - FastMCP runtime for MCP protocol support
• httpx>=0.24.0 - HTTP client for HTTP/SSE MCP servers
• websockets>=11.0.0 - WebSocket support for real-time communication
• pydantic>=2.6.0 - Data validation and settings management
• click>=8.0.0 - CLI interface and command handling

Note: Python 3.10+ is required for full functionality including HTTP/SSE transport support.

Installation

Quick Install (Recommended)

uvx toolmux

That's it! ToolMux will auto-configure on first run.

🎉 Now available on PyPI: https://pypi.org/project/toolmux/

Latest Updates (v1.1.1)

• ✅ Fixed: Empty input handling - no more error messages when pressing Enter
• ✅ Improved: Interactive mode with helpful guidance messages
• ✅ Enhanced: Better first-time user experience

Alternative Methods

Install as Persistent Tool

uv tool install toolmux

Install from Git (Development)

uvx --from git+https://github.com/subnetangel/ToolMux toolmux

Install Specific Version

uvx toolmux@1.1.1

Manual Install (Development)

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/subnetangel/ToolMux.git
cd ToolMux

# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

# Run directly
python toolmux.py

Quick Start

1. Install and First Run

# Install ToolMux
uvx toolmux

# First run creates configuration
toolmux --list-servers

On first run, ToolMux creates:

• ~/toolmux/mcp.json - Your main configuration file
• ~/toolmux/examples/ - Reference configurations for copy-paste

2. Configure Your Servers

Edit ~/toolmux/mcp.json to add your MCP servers:

{
  "servers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "/home/user"],
      "description": "Local filesystem access"
    },
    "brave-search": {
      "command": "uvx", 
      "args": ["mcp-server-brave-search"],
      "env": {"BRAVE_API_KEY": "your-key"},
      "description": "Web search using Brave Search API"
    },
    "remote-api": {
      "transport": "http",
      "base_url": "https://api.example.com/mcp",
      "headers": {"Authorization": "Bearer your-token"},
      "timeout": 30,
      "description": "Remote HTTP MCP server"
    }
  }
}

3. Run ToolMux

# Basic usage
toolmux

# With custom config
toolmux --config /path/to/custom.json

# List configured servers
toolmux --list-servers

# See all options
toolmux --help

How It Works

ToolMux exposes 4 efficient meta-tools:

🔍 Discovery

catalog_tools  # List all available tools from all servers

📋 Schema

get_tool_schema({"name": "read_file"})  # Get parameters for specific tool

⚡ Execute

invoke({"name": "read_file", "args": {"path": "/tmp/test.txt"}})  # Run any tool

📊 Stats

get_tool_count  # Show tool count by server

HTTP/SSE MCP Support 🌐

ToolMux supports mixed configurations with both stdio and HTTP/SSE MCP servers:

Architecture

Q CLI (stdio) ↔ ToolMux (stdio) ↔ Mixed MCP Servers
                                  ├── stdio servers
                                  └── HTTP/SSE servers

Benefits

• Unified Interface: Q CLI sees all tools as single stdio server
• Mixed Deployments: Combine local stdio + remote HTTP servers
• Transparent Routing: ToolMux handles protocol translation
• Backward Compatible: Existing stdio configs unchanged
• Scalable: Add HTTP servers without Q CLI changes

HTTP Server Configuration

{
  "servers": {
    "local-stdio": {
      "command": "python", 
      "args": ["server.py"]
    },
    "remote-http": {
      "transport": "http",
      "base_url": "https://api.example.com/mcp",
      "headers": {"Authorization": "Bearer token"},
      "timeout": 30,
      "sse_endpoint": "/events"
    }
  }
}

Authentication Options

• Bearer Tokens: "Authorization": "Bearer your-token"
• API Keys: "X-API-Key": "your-api-key"
• OAuth: "Authorization": "Bearer oauth-token"
• Custom Headers: Any additional headers needed

Testing HTTP Support

# Start test HTTP server
python test_http_server.py

# Test mixed configuration
python test_http_transport.py

# Run ToolMux with mixed servers
./toolmux.py --config mixed_servers.json

Adding Servers

ToolMux uses a single mcp.json configuration file. Copy examples from ~/toolmux/examples/ into your main config.

Popular MCP Servers

Filesystem Access

"filesystem": {
  "command": "npx",
  "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "/home/user"],
  "description": "Local filesystem access"
}

Web Search (Brave)

"brave-search": {
  "command": "uvx",
  "args": ["mcp-server-brave-search"],
  "env": {"BRAVE_API_KEY": "your-api-key"},
  "description": "Web search using Brave Search API"
}

Database Access (SQLite)

"sqlite": {
  "command": "uvx",
  "args": ["mcp-server-sqlite", "--db-path", "/path/to/database.sqlite"],
  "description": "SQLite database queries"
}

GitHub Integration

"github": {
  "command": "uvx",
  "args": ["mcp-server-github"],
  "env": {"GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN": "your-token"},
  "description": "GitHub repository and issue management"
}

HTTP MCP Server

"remote-api": {
  "transport": "http",
  "base_url": "https://api.example.com/mcp",
  "headers": {"Authorization": "Bearer your-token"},
  "timeout": 30,
  "description": "Remote HTTP MCP server"
}

Configuration Reference

All server configurations support:

• command + args: Command to run (stdio servers)
• transport: "http" for HTTP servers (default: stdio)
• base_url: HTTP server endpoint
• headers: HTTP headers for authentication
• timeout: Request timeout in seconds
• env: Environment variables
• cwd: Working directory
• description: Human-readable description

Agent Integration

Q CLI Integration

Quick Start (Recommended)

{
  "name": "simple-toolmux-agent",
  "mcpServers": {
    "toolmux": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["toolmux"],
      "timeout": 30000
    }
  },
  "tools": ["*"],
  "systemPrompt": "Use catalog_tools to see available tools, get_tool_schema for parameters, and invoke to execute tools."
}

Complete Configuration

See toolmux/examples/q-cli-agent.json for a comprehensive Q CLI configuration with:

• Detailed system prompt explaining ToolMux workflow
• All 4 meta-tools explicitly listed
• Hooks and examples
• Alternative installation methods

Available Examples

• q-cli-simple.json - Minimal configuration to get started
• q-cli-agent.json - Complete configuration with all features
• example_agent_config.json - Legacy example (updated for v1.1.1)

Other AI Clients

Include AGENT_INSTRUCTIONS.md in your agent's system prompt to ensure proper meta-tool usage.

Files Included

• toolmux.py - Main multiplexer server
• mcp.json - Default server configuration
• example_mcp.json - Extended configuration examples
• toolmux_hook.sh - Q CLI agent hook
• AGENT_INSTRUCTIONS.md - Agent behavior guide
• example_agent_config.json - Complete Q CLI config

Benefits

✅ 98.65% token reduction - Only 4 tools vs hundreds of schemas
✅ On-demand loading - Servers start when needed
✅ Standard config - Uses familiar mcp.json format
✅ Zero breaking changes - Works with any MCP server
✅ Full functionality - Access all tools through meta-tools

Use Cases

Perfect for:

• AI Assistants with multiple MCP servers
• Token-constrained environments
• Large MCP deployments (10+ servers)
• Development workflows with many tools

Architecture

┌─────────────────┐    ┌──────────────────┐
│   AI Assistant  │    │     ToolMux      │
│                 │◄──►│  (4 meta-tools)  │
│ 1.35% token use │    │                  │
└─────────────────┘    └──────────┬───────┘
                                  │
                       ┌──────────▼───────────┐
                       │    On-Demand Load    │
                       │                      │
                       ▼                      ▼
                ┌─────────────┐        ┌─────────────┐
                │ Filesystem  │        │ Brave Search│
                │   Server    │        │   Server    │
                └─────────────┘        └─────────────┘

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details

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