A fork of adhikasp/mcp-client-cli that adds interactive mode, dynamic command configuration, and more features.
This is a CLI program that implements the Model Context Protocol (MCP) client, allowing you to run LLM prompts from your terminal.
You can use any MCP-compatible servers through this client. It serves as an alternative to Claude Desktop, and supports various LLM providers including OpenAI, Groq, or local LLM models via llama.
$ llm What is the capital city of North Sumatra?
The capital city of North Sumatra is Medan.You can omit the quotes, but be careful with bash special characters like &, |, ; that might be interpreted by your shell.
You can start an interactive session using the -i or --interactive flag:
$ llm -i
──────────────────
User: What is the capital city of North Sumatra?
Assistant:
The capital city of North Sumatra is Medan.
──────────────────
User: Tell me more about Medan
Assistant:
[LLM will provide information about Medan]
──────────────────
User: exitIn interactive mode:
- Each message is clearly separated with a divider
- Your input is labeled as "User:" and responses are prefixed with "A:"
- The conversation context is maintained throughout the session
- Type
exitor press Ctrl+C to end the session
You can also pipe input from other commands or files:
$ echo "What is the capital city of North Sumatra?" | llm
The capital city of North Sumatra is Medan.
$ echo "Given a location, tell me its capital city." > instructions.txt
$ cat instruction.txt | llm "West Java"
The capital city of West Java is Bandung.You can pipe image files to analyze them with multimodal LLMs:
$ cat image.jpg | llm "What do you see in this image?"
[LLM will analyze and describe the image]
$ cat screenshot.png | llm "Is there any error in this screenshot?"
[LLM will analyze the screenshot and point out any errors]You can use predefined prompt templates by using the p prefix followed by the template name and its arguments:
# List available prompt templates
$ llm --list-prompts
# Use a template
$ llm p review # Review git changes
$ llm p commit # Generate commit message
$ llm p yt url=https://youtube.com/... # Summarize YouTube video$ llm What is the top article on hackernews today?
================================== Ai Message ==================================
Tool Calls:
brave_web_search (call_eXmFQizLUp8TKBgPtgFo71et)
Call ID: call_eXmFQizLUp8TKBgPtgFo71et
Args:
query: site:news.ycombinator.com
count: 1
Brave Search MCP Server running on stdio
# If the tool requires confirmation, you'll be prompted:
Confirm tool call? [y/n]: y
================================== Ai Message ==================================
Tool Calls:
fetch (call_xH32S0QKqMfudgN1ZGV6vH1P)
Call ID: call_xH32S0QKqMfudgN1ZGV6vH1P
Args:
url: https://news.ycombinator.com/
================================= Tool Message =================================
Name: fetch
[TextContent(type='text', text='Contents [REDACTED]]
================================== Ai Message ==================================
The top article on Hacker News today is:
### [Why pipes sometimes get "stuck": buffering](https://jvns.ca)
- **Points:** 31
- **Posted by:** tanelpoder
- **Posted:** 1 hour ago
You can view the full list of articles on [Hacker News](https://news.ycombinator.com/)To bypass tool confirmation requirements, use the --no-confirmations flag:
$ llm --no-confirmations "What is the top article on hackernews today?"To use in bash scripts, add the --no-intermediates, so it doesn't print intermediate messages, only the concluding end message.
$ llm --no-intermediates "What is the time in Tokyo right now?"$ llm --no-confirmations "What is the top article on hackernews today?"Add a c prefix to your message to continue the last conversation.
$ llm asldkfjasdfkl
It seems like your message might have been a typo or an error. Could you please clarify or provide more details about what you need help with?
$ llm c what did i say previously?
You previously typed "asldkfjasdfkl," which appears to be a random string of characters. If you meant to ask something specific or if you have a question, please let me know!You can use content from your clipboard using the cb command:
# After copying text to clipboard
$ llm cb
[LLM will process the clipboard text]
$ llm cb "What language is this code written in?"
[LLM will analyze the clipboard text with your question]
# After copying an image to clipboard
$ llm cb "What do you see in this image?"
[LLM will analyze the clipboard image]
# You can combine it with continuation
$ llm cb c "Tell me more about what you see"
[LLM will continue the conversation about the clipboard content]The clipboard feature works in:
- Native Windows/macOS/Linux environments
- Windows: Uses PowerShell
- macOS: Uses
pbpastefor text,pngpastefor images (optional) - Linux: Uses
xclip(required for clipboard support)
- Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)
- Accesses the Windows clipboard through PowerShell
- Works with both text and images
- Make sure you have access to
powershell.exefrom WSL
Required tools for clipboard support:
- Windows: PowerShell (built-in)
- macOS:
pbpaste(built-in) for textpngpaste(optional) for images:brew install pngpaste
- Linux:
xclip:sudo apt install xclipor equivalent
The CLI automatically detects if the clipboard content is text or image and handles it appropriately.
$ llm --list-tools # List all available tools
$ llm --list-prompts # List available prompt templates
$ llm --no-tools # Run without any tools
$ llm --force-refresh # Force refresh tool capabilities
$ llm --text-only # Output raw text without markdown formatting
$ llm --show-memories # Show user memories
$ llm --clear-memories # Clear all user memories
$ llm -i, --interactive # Start an interactive chat session-
Clone the repository:
pip install git+https://github.com/monotykamary/mcp-client-cli.git # OR pipx install git+https://github.com/monotykamary/mcp-client-cli.git -
Create the following configuration files:
.llmrules(optional, in your project directory) or~/.llm/.llmrules(optional, global):You are an AI assistant helping a software engineer...Note:
- The local .llmrules file in your project directory takes precedence over the global one in ~/.llm/
- If no .llmrules file is found, the system will start with an empty system prompt
~/.llm/config.json:{ "llm": { "provider": "openai", "model": "gpt-4", "api_key": "your-openai-api-key", "temperature": 0.7, "base_url": "https://api.openai.com/v1" // Optional, for OpenRouter or other providers }, "mcpServers": { "fetch": { "command": "uvx", "args": ["mcp-server-fetch"], "requires_confirmation": ["fetch"], "enabled": true, // Optional, defaults to true "exclude_tools": [] // Optional, list of tool names to exclude }, "local-server": { "command": "python", "args": ["{pwd}/my_server.py"], // {pwd} will be replaced with the current working directory "requires_confirmation": ["local_tool"] }, "project-server": { "command": "node", "args": ["server.js", "--name", "{basename_pwd}"], // {basename_pwd} will be replaced with the current directory name "requires_confirmation": ["project_tool"] }, "brave-search": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-brave-search"], "env": { "BRAVE_API_KEY": "your-brave-api-key" }, "requires_confirmation": ["brave_web_search"] }, "youtube": { "command": "uvx", "args": ["--from", "git+https://github.com/adhikasp/mcp-youtube", "mcp-youtube"] } } }Note:
- Use
requires_confirmationto specify which tools need user confirmation before execution - The LLM API key can also be set via environment variables
LLM_API_KEYorOPENAI_API_KEY - The config file can be placed in either
~/.llm/config.jsonor$PWD/.llm/config.json - You can comment the JSON config file with
//if you like to switch around the configuration - Use
{pwd}in command or args to reference the current working directory where the command is being executed (useful for local server paths) - Use
{basename_pwd}to reference just the name of the current directory (e.g., if pwd is "/path/to/project", basename_pwd will be "project")
-
Run the CLI:
llm "What is the capital city of North Sumatra?"
Feel free to submit issues and pull requests for improvements or bug fixes.