# Simple MCP Client to Explore MCP Servers [](https://github.com/hideya/langchain-mcp-tools-py/blob/main/LICENSE) [](https://pypi.org/project/mcp-chat/)
**Quickly test and explore MCP servers from the command line!**
A simple, text-based CLI client for [Model Context Protocol (MCP)](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/) servers built with LangChain and Python.
Suitable for testing MCP servers, exploring their capabilities, and prototyping integrations.
Internally it uses [LangChain Agent](https://docs.langchain.com/oss/python/langchain/agents) and
a utility function `convert_mcp_to_langchain_tools()` from [`langchain_mcp_tools`](https://pypi.org/project/langchain-mcp-tools/).
A TypeScript equivalent of this utility is available [here](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@h1deya/mcp-try-cli)
## Prerequisites
- Python 3.11+
- [optional] [`uv` (`uvx`)](https://docs.astral.sh/uv/getting-started/installation/)
installed to run Python package-based MCP servers
- [optional] [npm 7+ (`npx`)](https://docs.npmjs.com/downloading-and-installing-node-js-and-npm)
to run Node.js package-based MCP servers
- LLM API key(s) from
[OpenAI](https://platform.openai.com/api-keys),
[Anthropic](https://console.anthropic.com/settings/keys),
[Google AI Studio (for GenAI/Gemini)](https://aistudio.google.com/apikey),
[xAI](https://console.x.ai/),
[Cerebras](https://cloud.cerebras.ai),
and/or
[Groq](https://console.groq.com/keys),
as needed
## Quick Start
- Install `mcp-chat` tool.
This can take up to a few minutes to complete:
```bash
pip install mcp-chat
```
- Configure LLM and MCP Servers settings via the configuration file, `llm_mcp_config.json5`
```bash
code llm_mcp_config.json5
```
The following is a simple configuration for quick testing:
```json5
{
"llm": {
"provider": "openai", "model": "gpt-5-mini",
// "provider": "anthropic", "model": "claude-haiku-4-5",
// "provider": "google_genai", "model": "gemini-2.5-flash",
// "provider": "xai", "model": "grok-4-1-fast-non-reasoning",
// "provider": "cerebras", "model": "gpt-oss-120b",
// "provider": "groq", "model": "openai/gpt-oss-20b",
},
"mcp_servers": {
"us-weather": { // US weather only
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@h1deya/mcp-server-weather"]
},
},
"example_queries": [
"Tell me how LLMs work in a few sentences",
"Are there any weather alerts in California?",
],
}
```
- Set up API keys
```bash
echo "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-...
OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-proj-...
GOOGLE_API_KEY=AI...
XAI_API_KEY=xai-...
CEREBRAS_API_KEY=csk-...
GROQ_API_KEY=gsk_..." > .env
code .env
```
- Run the tool
```bash
mcp-chat
```
By default, it reads the configuration file, `llm_mcp_config.json5`, from the current directory.
Then, it applies the environment variables specified in the `.env` file,
as well as the ones that are already defined.
## Features
- **Easy setup**: Works out of the box with popular MCP servers
- **Flexible configuration**: JSON5 config with environment variable support
- **Multiple LLM/API providers**: OpenAI, Anthropic, Google (GenAI), xAI, Ceberas, Groq
- **Command & URL servers**: Support for both local and remote MCP servers
- **Local MCP Server logging**: Save stdio MCP server logs with customizable log directory
- **Interactive testing**: Example queries for the convenience of repeated testing
## Limitations
- **Tool Return Types**: Currently, only text results of tool calls are supported.
It uses LangChain's `response_format: 'content'` (the default) internally, which only supports text strings.
While MCP tools can return multiple content types (text, images, etc.), this library currently filters and uses only text content.
- **MCP Features**: Only MCP [Tools](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/docs/concepts/tools) are supported. Other MCP features like Resources, Prompts, and Sampling are not implemented.
## Usage
### Basic Usage
```bash
mcp-chat
```
By default, it reads the configuration file, `llm_mcp_config.json5`, from the current directory.
Then, it applies the environment variables specified in the `.env` file,
as well as the ones that are already defined.
It outputs local MCP server logs to the current directory.
### With Options
```bash
# Specify the config file to use
mcp-chat --config my-config.json5
# Store local (stdio) MCP server logs in specific directory
mcp-chat --log-dir ./logs
# Enable verbose logging
mcp-chat --verbose
# Show help
mcp-chat --help
```
## Supported Model/API Providers
- **OpenAI**: `gpt-5-mini`, `gpt-4.1-nano`, etc.
- **Anthropic**: `claude-sonnet-4-0`, `claude-3-5-haiku-latest`, etc.
- **Google (GenAI)**: `gemini-2.5-flash`, `gemini-2.5-pro`, etc.
- **xAI**: `grok-3-mini`, `grok-4`, etc.
- **Cerebras**: `gpt-oss-120b`, etc.
- **Groq**: `openai/gpt-oss-20b`, `openai/gpt-oss-120b`, etc.
## Configuration
Create a `llm_mcp_config.json5` file:
- [The configuration file format](https://github.com/hideya/mcp-client-langchain-py/blob/main/llm_mcp_config.json5)
for MCP servers follows the same structure as
[Claude for Desktop](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/quickstart/user),
with one difference: the key name `mcpServers` has been changed
to `mcp_servers` to follow the snake_case convention
commonly used in JSON configuration files.
- The file format is [JSON5](https://json5.org/),
where comments and trailing commas are allowed.
- The format is further extended to replace `${...}` notations
with the values of corresponding environment variables.
- Keep all the credentials and private info in the `.env` file
and refer to them with `${...}` notation as needed
```json5
{
"llm": {
// https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/pricing
"provider": "openai", "model": "gpt-5-mini"
// "provider": "openai", "model": "gpt-5.2"
// https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/about-claude/models/overview
// "provider": "anthropic", "model": "claude-3-5-haiku-latest"
// "provider": "anthropic", "model": "claude-haiku-4-5"
// https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/pricing
// "provider": "google_genai", "model": "gemini-2.5-flash"
// "provider": "google_genai", "model": "gemini-3-flash-preview"
// https://docs.x.ai/developers/models
// "provider": "xai", "model": "grok-3-mini"
// "provider": "xai", "model": "grok-4-1-fast-non-reasoning"
// https://inference-docs.cerebras.ai/models/overview
// "provider": "cerebras", "model": "gpt-oss-120b"
// https://groq.com/pricing
// "provider": "groq", "model": "openai/gpt-oss-20b"
},
"example_queries": [
"Read and briefly summarize the LICENSE file in the current directory",
"Fetch the raw HTML content from bbc.com and tell me the titile",
"Search for 'news in California' and show the first hit",
"Tell me about my default GitHub profile",
"Tell me about my default Notion account",
],
"mcp_servers": {
// Local MCP server that uses `npx`
"filesystem": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem",
"." // path to a directory to allow access to
]
},
// Local server that uses `uvx`
"fetch": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [ "mcp-server-fetch" ]
},
// Embedding the value of an environment variable
"brave-search": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [ "-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-brave-search" ],
"env": { "BRAVE_API_KEY": "${BRAVE_API_KEY}" }
},
// Remote MCP server with authentication
"github": {
"type": "http", // recommended to specify the protocol explicitly when authentication is used
"url": "https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/",
"headers": {
"Authorization": "Bearer ${GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN}"
}
},
// For remote MCP servers that require OAuth, consider using "mcp-remote"
"notion": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.notion.com/mcp"],
},
}
}
```
### Environment Variables
Create a `.env` file for API keys:
```bash
OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-ant-...
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-proj-...
GOOGLE_API_KEY=AI...
XAI_API_KEY=xai-...
CEREBRAS_API_KEY=csk-...
GROQ_API_KEY=gsk_...
# Other services as needed
GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN=github_pat_...
BRAVE_API_KEY=BSA...
```
## Popular MCP Servers to Try
There are quite a few useful MCP servers already available:
- [MCP Server Listing on the Official Site](https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/servers?tab=readme-ov-file#model-context-protocol-servers)
## Troubleshooting
- Make sure your configuration and .env files are correct, especially the spelling of the API keys
- Check the local MCP server logs
- Use `--verbose` flag to view the detailed logs
- Refer to [Debugging Section in MCP documentation](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/docs/tools/debugging)
## Building from Source
See [README_DEV.md](https://github.com/hideya/mcp-client-langchain-py/blob/main/README_DEV.md) for details.
## Change Log
Can be found [here](https://github.com/hideya/mcp-client-langchain-py/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md)
## License
MIT License - see [LICENSE](https://github.com/hideya/mcp-client-langchain-py/blob/main/LICENSE) file for details.
## Contributing
Issues and pull requests welcome! This tool aims to make MCP server testing as simple as possible.
