vibecompass-mcp

MCP stdio server for VibeCompass.

It connects Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, and similar MCP-capable tools to a VibeCompass project so sessions can read project context and write back decisions, conflicts, and session handoff notes.

Requirements

• Node.js 20+

• One of:

  • VIBECOMPASS_API_KEY for hosted mode

  • VIBECOMPASS_ROOT for local read mode

• Local mode uses the bundled @vibecompass/vibecompass core dependency for file-backed reads

Related MCP server: kb

Environment

Hosted mode:

• VIBECOMPASS_API_KEY

• VIBECOMPASS_API_URL Defaults to https://vibecompass.dev

Local mode:

• VIBECOMPASS_ROOT Absolute path to the canonical local project-memory root (project.yaml, architecture/, decisions/, sessions/, state/manifest.json)

Hybrid mode:

• If both VIBECOMPASS_ROOT and VIBECOMPASS_API_KEY are set, read tools resolve from the local root, while write tools and hosted conflict reads remain enabled through the API client

Install

npm

Run the public scoped package:

npx -y @vibecompass/vibecompass-mcp

Development

npm test uses Node's t.mock.timers for timeout coverage. Node 20 prints an experimental MockTimers warning; the warning is expected and does not indicate a test failure.

Known upstream client issues: Codex 0.33 issue #3426 and Claude Code 2.0.76's internal effortLevel failure. See https://github.com/jack-whimvy/vibecompass-docs/blob/main/architecture/mcp-server/context-delivery/resilience.md for current dogfood status.

Example config

Hosted mode

Claude Code (claude mcp add)

claude mcp add --transport stdio vibecompass \
  --env VIBECOMPASS_API_KEY='your-api-key' \
  --env VIBECOMPASS_API_URL='https://vibecompass.dev' \
  -- npx -y @vibecompass/vibecompass-mcp

Claude Code (claude mcp add-json)

claude mcp add-json vibecompass '{"type":"stdio","command":"npx","args":["-y","@vibecompass/vibecompass-mcp"],"env":{"VIBECOMPASS_API_KEY":"your-api-key","VIBECOMPASS_API_URL":"https://vibecompass.dev"}}'

Claude Code project config (.mcp.json)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "vibecompass": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@vibecompass/vibecompass-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "VIBECOMPASS_API_KEY": "your-api-key",
        "VIBECOMPASS_API_URL": "https://vibecompass.dev"
      }
    }
  }
}

Cursor (~/.cursor/mcp.json)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "vibecompass": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@vibecompass/vibecompass-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "VIBECOMPASS_API_KEY": "your-api-key",
        "VIBECOMPASS_API_URL": "https://vibecompass.dev"
      }
    }
  }
}

Codex

Add this to ~/.codex/config.toml:

[mcp_servers.vibecompass]
command = "npx"
args = ["-y", "@vibecompass/vibecompass-mcp"]
env = { VIBECOMPASS_API_KEY = "your-api-key", VIBECOMPASS_API_URL = "https://vibecompass.dev" }

Keep the repo-level AGENTS.md file committed so Codex knows when to call the VibeCompass tools.

Local read mode

Example env:

{
  "VIBECOMPASS_ROOT": "/absolute/path/to/project-memory-root"
}

Claude Code local-mode command:

claude mcp add --transport stdio vibecompass \
  --env VIBECOMPASS_ROOT='/absolute/path/to/project-memory-root' \
  -- npx -y @vibecompass/vibecompass-mcp

Hybrid mode

Example env:

{
  "VIBECOMPASS_ROOT": "/absolute/path/to/project-memory-root",
  "VIBECOMPASS_API_KEY": "your-api-key",
  "VIBECOMPASS_API_URL": "https://vibecompass.dev"
}

Hybrid asymmetry, by design: reads prefer the local root (conflicts and pending proposals still come from hosted — they are collaboration metadata), while ALL write tools (log_decision, add_session_summary, update_feature_status, flag_conflict) go to the hosted project only. A decision logged over MCP lands in the hosted structured tables and does NOT appear in your local canonical decisions/*.md unless it comes back through the proposal flow. Local file writes stay with the @vibecompass/vibecompass package.

Changing a project's hosting mode

Environment variables are read once at startup — after moving a project between modes, update the variables and restart the MCP server:

• Promoted to hosted-only (vibecompass promote-hosted): set VIBECOMPASS_API_KEY (create a key on the hosted Setup page) and remove VIBECOMPASS_ROOT.

• Demoted to local-primary (vibecompass demote-hosted): set VIBECOMPASS_ROOT back to the local root; keep the API key for hybrid writes if you want them.

Local development

npm install
npm run build
npm test
VIBECOMPASS_API_KEY=your-api-key npm run start

Local-only read development:

VIBECOMPASS_ROOT=/absolute/path/to/project-memory-root npm run start

Tools

Read tools work in hosted mode or local mode:

• get_project_context

• get_feature_context

• get_decision_log

• get_conflicts

• get_file_context

Write tools require VIBECOMPASS_API_KEY and are disabled in pure local mode:

• log_decision

• update_feature_status

• flag_conflict

• add_session_summary