Pi MCP Adapter
Token-efficient MCP adapter for Pi coding agent
What is Pi MCP Adapter?
Pi MCP Adapter is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that allows AI assistants like Claude, Cursor, and VS Code to token-efficient mcp adapter for pi coding agent
Token-efficient MCP adapter for Pi coding agent
This server falls under the Coding Agents category on MCPgee, the world's largest MCP server directory with 33,000+ servers.
Features
- Token-efficient MCP adapter for Pi coding agent
Use Cases
Maintainer
Works with
Installation
NPM
npx -y pi-mcp-adapterManual Installation
npx -y pi-mcp-adapterConfiguration
Configuration Details
claude_desktop_config.json
Performance
Response Metrics
Resource Usage
How to Set Up and Use Pi MCP Adapter
Pi MCP Adapter is a token-efficient MCP proxy for the Pi coding agent that replaces verbose per-tool definitions with a single compact 'mcp' tool, reducing token overhead by presenting a unified interface to all connected MCP servers. It supports lazy server connections, cached metadata, environment variable interpolation in config files, and OAuth 2.1 flows for remote server authentication. Developers use it to connect Pi to any MCP server (file systems, databases, browser tools, etc.) while keeping context windows lean and costs low.
Prerequisites
- Pi coding agent installed and running
- Node.js 18 or later for running the adapter
- npm or npx available on your PATH
- MCP servers you want to proxy (e.g., filesystem, database, or browser tool servers)
- An MCP client such as Claude Desktop or Pi itself
Install pi-mcp-adapter via Pi
The recommended installation method is through Pi's package manager, which handles dependency resolution and PATH setup automatically.
pi install npm:pi-mcp-adapterInitialize configuration
Run the init command to create the default configuration file. This sets up the .mcp.json config at the project or global level.
pi-mcp-adapter initConfigure MCP servers in .mcp.json
Edit .mcp.json to list the MCP servers you want to proxy. Place it at your project root for project-scoped servers, or at ~/.config/mcp/mcp.json for global servers. Use environment variable interpolation with ${VAR} syntax for secrets.
{
"mcpServers": {
"chrome-devtools": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "chrome-devtools-mcp@latest"],
"lifecycle": "lazy",
"idleTimeout": 10
}
}
}Restart Pi
After installation and configuration, restart Pi so it picks up the new adapter and reads your .mcp.json configuration.
Use the /mcp command to manage servers
Inside Pi, use the /mcp slash command to open the interactive setup panel, reconnect servers, or clear OAuth credentials for remote servers.
/mcp
/mcp setup
/mcp reconnect chrome-devtoolsInvoke tools via the unified mcp() interface
The adapter exposes a single 'mcp' tool. Use it to search for tools, execute them, or describe their parameters — all with a compact token footprint.
mcp({ search: "browser" })
mcp({ tool: "screenshot", args: '{"url":"https://example.com"}' })
mcp({ describe: "screenshot" })Pi MCP Adapter Examples
Client configuration
Configure Claude Desktop to use pi-mcp-adapter as the MCP server entry point, proxying all downstream MCP server connections.
{
"mcpServers": {
"pi-mcp-adapter": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "pi-mcp-adapter"]
}
}
}Prompts to try
Example prompts using pi-mcp-adapter's unified mcp() tool interface.
- "Search for all available file system tools via MCP"
- "Take a screenshot of https://github.com using the browser MCP tool"
- "Connect to the database MCP server and list all tables"
- "Describe what the 'read_file' tool does and what arguments it takes"
- "Start OAuth authentication for the remote Notion MCP server"Troubleshooting Pi MCP Adapter
pi-mcp-adapter is not found after installing via 'pi install'
Restart Pi after installation — Pi needs to reload its package registry before new packages are available. If the issue persists, run 'pi-mcp-adapter --version' from the terminal to verify the binary is in your PATH.
Environment variables in .mcp.json are not being substituted
Use the ${VAR_NAME} or $env:VAR_NAME syntax exactly as documented. Ensure the environment variable is exported in your shell before starting Pi. For secrets, consider using the 'bearerTokenEnv' field to reference a variable containing a bearer token.
A downstream MCP server connection times out
Check the server's 'lifecycle' setting in .mcp.json — if set to 'lazy', the server only connects on first use. Use '/mcp reconnect <server-name>' inside Pi to force a connection attempt and see any error output.
Frequently Asked Questions about Pi MCP Adapter
What is Pi MCP Adapter?
Pi MCP Adapter is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that token-efficient mcp adapter for pi coding agent It connects AI assistants to external tools and data sources through a standardized interface.
How do I install Pi MCP Adapter?
Install via npm with the command: npx -y pi-mcp-adapter. Then add the server configuration to your AI client's JSON config file (e.g., claude_desktop_config.json or .cursor/mcp.json).
Which AI clients work with Pi MCP Adapter?
Pi MCP Adapter works with all major MCP-compatible AI clients including Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code (GitHub Copilot), Windsurf, and Cline.
Is Pi MCP Adapter free to use?
Yes, Pi MCP Adapter is open source and available under the MIT license. You can use it freely in both personal and commercial projects.
Pi MCP Adapter Alternatives — Similar Coding Agents Servers
Looking for alternatives to Pi MCP Adapter? Here are other popular coding agents servers you can use with Claude, Cursor, and VS Code.
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★ 24.5kA coding agent toolkit that provides IDE-like semantic code retrieval and editing tools, enabling LLMs to efficiently navigate and modify codebases using symbol-level operations instead of basic file reading and string replacements.
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