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Polybrain MCP Server

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for connecting AI agents to multiple LLM models. Supports conversation history, model switching, and seamless Claude Code integration.

Features

  • Multi-model support (OpenAI, OpenRouter, custom endpoints)

  • Conversation history management

  • Switch models mid-conversation

  • Extended thinking/reasoning support (configurable by provider)

  • Pure MCP protocol (silent by default)

  • Automatic server management

Installation

npm install -g polybrain # or pnpm add -g polybrain

Quick Setup

1. Configure Models

Option A: YAML (recommended)

Create ~/.polybrain.yaml:

models: - id: "gpt-4o" modelName: "gpt-4o" baseUrl: "https://api.openai.com/v1" apiKey: "${OPENAI_API_KEY}" provider: "openai" - id: "gpt-5.1" modelName: "openai/gpt-5.1" baseUrl: "https://openrouter.io/api/v1" apiKey: "${OPENROUTER_KEY}" provider: "openrouter"

Set env vars:

export OPENAI_API_KEY="sk-..." export OPENROUTER_KEY="sk-or-..."

Option B: Environment variables

export POLYBRAIN_BASE_URL="https://api.openai.com/v1" export POLYBRAIN_API_KEY="sk-..." export POLYBRAIN_MODEL_NAME="gpt-4o"

2. Coding Agent Integration

Claude Code

Run the following command to add Polybrain to Claude Code:

claude mcp add -s user -t stdio polybrain -- polybrain

OpenAI Codex

Open ~/.codex/config.toml and add:

[mcpServers.polybrain] command = "polybrain"

Usage

You can now ask your coding agent to consult specific models. For example:

"Ask deepseek what's the best way to install python on mac"

Or:

"What models are available from polybrain?"

Configuration Reference

Environment Variables

  • POLYBRAIN_BASE_URL - LLM API base URL

  • POLYBRAIN_API_KEY - API key

  • POLYBRAIN_MODEL_NAME - Model name

  • POLYBRAIN_HTTP_PORT - Server port (default: 32701)

  • POLYBRAIN_LOG_LEVEL - Log level (default: info)

  • POLYBRAIN_DEBUG - Enable debug logging to stderr

  • POLYBRAIN_CONFIG_PATH - Custom config file path

YAML Config Fields

httpPort: 32701 # Optional truncateLimit: 500 # Optional logLevel: info # Optional models: # Required - id: "model-id" # Internal ID modelName: "actual-model-name" # API model name baseUrl: "https://api.url/v1" # API endpoint apiKey: "key or ${ENV_VAR}" # API key provider: "openai" # Optional: provider type for reasoning support

Supported Providers

The provider field enables provider-specific features like extended thinking/reasoning. If not specified, reasoning parameters will not be passed to the API (safe default).

Provider

Reasoning Support

Valid Values

OpenAI

YES

"openai"

OpenRouter

VARIES

"openrouter"

Examples:

  • Use provider: "openai" for OpenAI API models (GPT-4, o-series)

  • Use provider: "openrouter" for OpenRouter proxy service (supports 400+ models)

  • Omit provider field if your endpoint doesn't support reasoning parameters

Example with reasoning:

models: - id: "gpt-o1" modelName: "o1" baseUrl: "https://api.openai.com/v1" apiKey: "${OPENAI_API_KEY}" provider: "openai" # Enables reasoning support - id: "gpt-5.1" modelName: "openai/gpt-5.1" baseUrl: "https://openrouter.io/api/v1" apiKey: "${OPENROUTER_KEY}" provider: "openrouter" # Enables reasoning support

To use reasoning, set reasoning: true in the chat tool call. If the model and provider support it, you'll receive both the response and reasoning content.

Development

Setup

pnpm install

Build

pnpm build

Lint & Format

pnpm lint pnpm format

Type Check

pnpm type-check

Development Mode

pnpm dev

Project Structure

src/ ├── bin/polybrain.ts # CLI entry point ├── launcher.ts # Server launcher & management ├── http-server.ts # HTTP server ├── index.ts # Main server logic ├── mcp-tools.ts # MCP tool definitions ├── conversation-manager.ts ├── openai-client.ts ├── config.ts ├── logger.ts └── types.ts

Debugging

Enable debug logs to stderr:

{ "mcpServers": { "polybrain": { "command": "polybrain", "env": { "POLYBRAIN_DEBUG": "true" } } } }

Restart Server

After changing configuration in ~/.polybrain.yaml, restart the HTTP backend server:

polybrain --restart

This kills the background HTTP server. The next time you use polybrain, it will automatically start a fresh server with the updated configuration.

License

MIT

One-click Deploy
A
security – no known vulnerabilities
A
license - permissive license
A
quality - confirmed to work

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