ZulipChat MCP Server

Quick Start · Setup Wizard · Integrations · Two-Tier Tools · Contributing

Quick Start

uvx zulipchat-mcp --zulip-config-file ~/.zuliprc

Configure this command in your MCP client to let the assistant read and write Zulip messages with the configured account.

Need a zuliprc? Zulip Settings > Personal > Account & privacy > API key — download the file, save it as ~/.zuliprc.

Interactive onboarding:

uvx --from zulipchat-mcp zulipchat-mcp-setup

What This Does

ZulipChat MCP bridges any MCP-compatible AI assistant (Claude Code, Gemini CLI, Cursor, Windsurf, etc.) to your Zulip workspace. The assistant can:

• Send and read messages — stream messages, DMs, replies, reactions
• Search conversation history — full-text search with filters for sender, stream, time range
• Resolve people by name — verify a unique recipient before sending; ambiguous names need clarification
• Switch identities — post as yourself or as a bot, in the same session
• Monitor activity — search recent messages, get stream info, check who's online
• Bind sessions to Zulip topics — give long-running agent sessions a stable control topic
• Receive ordinary bot mentions — an event-fed local inbox that your own host adapter polls to wake an agent and reply in the source topic, without /reply for conversation. The server is the transport; it does not launch or supervise coding agents
• Reuse dated snapshots — short-lived message caches and rate-aware request admission reduce repeated API reads
• Request approvals in-topic — owner replies with /approve REQUEST_ID or /deny REQUEST_ID in the session topic; each decision names the request it answers
• Load Agent Skills — four packaged instructions for messaging, session control, notifications, and bounded work loops, available as local files and MCP Resources
• Export agent packages — native host configuration and skills, Claude's hook/plugin assets, or an Agent Plugins 1.0.0 package

Agent setup

# Substitute another supported client as needed.
uvx --from zulipchat-mcp zulipchat-mcp-integrate export --client clio-coder \
  --output-dir /absolute/path/to/project \
  --zulip-config-file /absolute/path/to/.zuliprc --extended-tools

Exports support claude-code, codex, opencode, copilot, vscode, antigravity-cli, clio-coder, and generic. Add --mode plugin for a package. For several Zulip organizations, export once per organization with --server-id zulipchat-<org>; exports merge into one host configuration. Account state lives under ~/.local/state/zulipchat-mcp/. Host trust remains explicit; Clio configures MCP execution separately from plugin content. See the capability matrix, Clio guide, and complete workflow.

For read-only access, add --tool-profile read-only: discovery and execution both expose nine core reads or 23 extended reads. The default full profile retains 20/60 tools. See API coverage and efficiency for cache freshness, rate limits and the boundary between message transport and host execution. The live Luna experiment records normal mention-to-bot replies from a real Clio TUI driven by a private, unshipped host adapter. Other hosts were tested through exported configuration and fake-credential checks, not live sessions.

Two-Tier Tool Architecture

v0.6.0 introduced a deliberate split: 20 core tools by default, 60 tools when you need more.

Core Mode (default)

The 20 tools that cover most daily use:

Why 20 instead of 60? Fewer tools means faster tool selection, lower token overhead, and less confusion for the AI. Most tasks — sending messages, searching, reacting, and binding an agent session to Zulip — only need the core set.

Extended Mode

Need scheduled messages, event queues, file uploads, analytics, or advanced search?

uvx zulipchat-mcp --zulip-config-file ~/.zuliprc --extended-tools

Or via environment variable:

ZULIPCHAT_EXTENDED_TOOLS=1 uvx zulipchat-mcp --zulip-config-file ~/.zuliprc

Extended mode adds: toggle_reaction, cross_post_message, advanced_search, construct_narrow, get_scheduled_messages, manage_scheduled_message, get_drafts, create_draft, edit_draft, delete_draft, register_events, get_events, listen_events, upload_file, manage_files, get_daily_summary, manage_user_mute, get_user, get_presence, get_user_groups, and more.

Installation

Full per-client setup guide: docs/integrations/README.md

Claude Code

claude mcp add zulipchat -- uvx zulipchat-mcp --zulip-config-file ~/.zuliprc

With dual identity (you + a bot):

claude mcp add zulipchat -- uvx zulipchat-mcp \
  --zulip-config-file ~/.zuliprc \
  --zulip-bot-config-file ~/.zuliprc-bot

Optional Claude hook bridge for lifecycle and approval routing:

uvx --from zulipchat-mcp zulipchat-mcp-hook \
  --zulip-config-file ~/.zuliprc \
  --zulip-bot-config-file ~/.zuliprc-bot

Optional Claude package export for project-local hooks, skills, and subagents:

uvx --from zulipchat-mcp zulipchat-mcp-integrate export \
  --client claude-code \
  --mode standalone \
  --output-dir . \
  --zulip-config-file ~/.zuliprc \
  --zulip-bot-config-file ~/.zuliprc-bot

Gemini CLI

Add to ~/.gemini/settings.json under mcpServers:

{
  "zulipchat": {
    "command": "uvx",
    "args": ["zulipchat-mcp", "--zulip-config-file", "/path/to/.zuliprc"]
  }
}

Claude Desktop / Cursor / Any MCP Client

Add to your MCP configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "zulipchat": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["zulipchat-mcp", "--zulip-config-file", "/path/to/.zuliprc"]
    }
  }
}

Configuration Options

Remote HTTP Transport

ZulipChat MCP supports stateless HTTP deployments under the MCP 2026-07-28 protocol:

# Run server over HTTP with bearer authentication
ZULIPCHAT_HTTP_AUTH_TOKEN=your-secret-token \
  uvx zulipchat-mcp --zulip-config-file ~/.zuliprc --transport http --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8000 --allowed-host mcp.internal

Generate client integration snippets for remote HTTP connections:

uvx --from zulipchat-mcp zulipchat-mcp-integrate print --client claude-code --remote-url http://mcp.internal:8000/mcp --remote-token your-secret-token

HTTP startup requires a bearer token for non-loopback binds and validates Host and Origin headers. Configure --allowed-host for the hostname used by clients or a reverse proxy; terminate TLS at the proxy for remote connections. A token grants access to the configured Zulip account: deploy a separate instance per trusted account, rather than sharing it across unrelated users.

HTTP tools reject server-local file paths, outbound event callbacks, and switch_identity. Upload text with file_content or binary bytes with file_content_base64; download without download_path to obtain a URL. Use stdio for local file operations and runtime identity switching. Attachment deletion requires --unsafe.

Persistent state defaults to an account-scoped directory. An explicitly selected ZULIPCHAT_DB_PATH is associated with the normalized realm and user/bot principals; a different account cannot reuse it. Legacy state is left intact and requires deliberate association. See database migration.

Agent sessions, approvals, listener cursors, and default background-task storage remain local state. Use a single instance for these workflows. Separate DuckDB paths avoid writer conflicts but do not share session data; ordinary round-robin routing across such replicas is not supported. Legacy HTTP clients may also retain transport sessions.

AI Analytics & LLM Provider

AI-powered analytics tools (analyze_stream_with_llm, analyze_team_activity_with_llm, intelligent_report_generator) execute using a server-side Anthropic LLM provider:

• Set ANTHROPIC_API_KEY on the server process for LLM generation.
• Optionally set ANTHROPIC_MODEL to override the default model (claude-opus-5).
• Without an API key, analytics tools return structured data summaries with llm_unavailable: true so your client assistant can analyze the data directly.

More clients

Dedicated setup pages:

• Gemini CLI
• Codex
• OpenCode
• VS Code + GitHub Copilot
• Cursor
• Windsurf
• Antigravity
• Generic MCP

Dual Identity

Configure both a user and a bot zuliprc to let your assistant switch between identities mid-session:

uvx zulipchat-mcp \
  --zulip-config-file ~/.zuliprc \
  --zulip-bot-config-file ~/.zuliprc-bot

The assistant posts as you by default. Call switch_identity to post as the bot — useful for automated notifications, agent-to-agent communication, or keeping human vs. bot messages distinct.

Real-World Examples

"Catch me up on what happened in #engineering today" → Assistant calls search_messages with stream + time filter, summarizes the thread.

"Tell the team we're deploying at 3pm" → Assistant calls send_message to #engineering with the announcement.

"Who sent that message about the API migration?" → Assistant calls search_messages with keywords, returns sender and context.

"React with :thumbs_up: to Sarah's last message" → Assistant calls resolve_user ("Sarah"), search_messages (sender), then add_reaction.

"DM Jaime that the PR is ready" → Assistant calls teleport_chat with fuzzy name resolution — no email needed.

Development

git clone https://github.com/akougkas/zulipchat-mcp.git
cd zulipchat-mcp
uv sync
uv run zulipchat-mcp --zulip-config-file ~/.zuliprc

Run checks:

uv run pytest -q              # full test suite, 60% coverage gate
uv run ruff check .           # Linting
uv run mypy src               # Type checking

For packaging, dependency, FastMCP, or startup changes, run the release smoke:

uv build
scripts/pre_release_smoke.sh --version X.Y.Z --allow-dirty

See CONTRIBUTING.md for the full guide, and CLAUDE.md / AGENTS.md for AI agent instructions.

Architecture

src/zulipchat_mcp/
├── core/           # Client wrapper, identity, caching, security
├── tools/          # MCP tool implementations (two-tier registration)
├── services/       # Background listener and session event routing
├── utils/          # Logging, DuckDB persistence, metrics
└── config.py       # config loading (zuliprc + environment fallback)

Built on FastMCP with async-first design, DuckDB for agent state persistence, and smart user/stream caching for fast fuzzy resolution.

Privacy

• No data collection — nothing leaves your machine except Zulip API calls
• No telemetry — zero analytics, tracking, or usage reporting
• Local execution — all processing happens on your hardware
• Credentials stay local — API keys are never logged or transmitted beyond your Zulip server

Full policy: PRIVACY.md

License

MIT — See LICENSE

Links

• Documentation Index
• Support
• Security Policy
• Zulip API Documentation
• Model Context Protocol
• Report Issues
• Discussions