zulook

Read-only access to Zulip conversations. Works as a CLI, an MCP server, or an ACP proxy.

Give it a Zulip URL, get back the messages. That's it.

$ zulook https://rust-lang.zulipchat.com/#narrow/stream/213817-t-lang/topic/test

Messages from t-lang > test:

**Alice** (2025-01-15 14:32 UTC) [test]
Has anyone looked at the new RFC?

**Bob** (2025-01-15 14:35 UTC) [test]
Yes, I left some comments on the thread.

Older: https://rust-lang.zulipchat.com/#narrow/channel/213817-t-lang/topic/test/near/12340
Newer: https://rust-lang.zulipchat.com/#narrow/channel/213817-t-lang/topic/test/near/12345

Setup

You need a Zulip API key. The easiest way:

1. Log in to your Zulip instance
2. Go to Personal settings > Account & privacy
3. Click Manage your API key, enter your password
4. Click Download .zuliprc
5. Move it to ~/zuliprc:

   mv ~/Downloads/.zuliprc ~/zuliprc
   

The config path follows zulip-terminal convention: ~/zuliprc (no dot).

Alternatively, set environment variables:

export ZULIP_URL=https://your-org.zulipchat.com
export ZULIP_EMAIL=you@example.com
export ZULIP_API_KEY=your_api_key

Usage

CLI

zulook <url> [limit=N]

Pass any Zulip URL — streams, topics, DMs, group DMs, with or without /near/ anchors. Default limit is 100 messages.

# Stream topic
zulook https://rust-lang.zulipchat.com/#narrow/stream/213817-t-lang/topic/test

# DM conversation
zulook https://rust-lang.zulipchat.com/#narrow/dm/116009,116107-dm/near/572348733

# Fewer messages
zulook https://rust-lang.zulipchat.com/#narrow/stream/213817-t-lang/topic/test limit=20

The output includes Older and Newer URLs for paging through history.

MCP server

zulook mcp

Runs as an MCP server over stdio. Exposes a single zulip tool — give it a URL or "help".

Claude Code config (~/.claude/settings.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "zulook": {
      "command": "/path/to/zulook",
      "args": ["mcp"]
    }
  }
}

ACP proxy

zulook acp

Runs as an ACP proxy over stdio, for use with an ACP conductor.

How it works

zulook parses Zulip narrow URLs to extract the stream/channel, topic, DM participants, and message anchor from the URL fragment. It then calls the Zulip REST API (GET /api/v1/messages) with the corresponding narrow filters and returns formatted messages.

The URL is the only interface. There's one tool, one command pattern, and pagination is just following URLs — the same ones you'd see in your browser.

Building

cargo build --release

Requires Rust 2024 edition.