MCP Server Guide¶

Use LLM Council as a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server with Claude Code or Claude Desktop.

Installation¶

pip install "llm-council-core[mcp]"

Claude Code Setup¶

# Store API key securely
llm-council setup-key

# Add MCP server
claude mcp add llm-council --scope user -- llm-council

Claude Desktop Setup¶

Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "llm-council": {
      "command": "llm-council"
    }
  }
}

Available Tools¶

`consult_council`¶

Ask the LLM council a question.

Arguments:

Argument	Type	Default	Description
`query`	string	required	Question to ask
`confidence`	string	`"high"`	`quick`, `balanced`, `high`, `reasoning`
`verdict_type`	string	`"synthesis"`	`synthesis`, `binary`, `tie_breaker`
`include_details`	boolean	`false`	Individual responses + full cost breakdown
`include_dissent`	boolean	`false`	Include minority opinions

Every response ends with a one-line Cost & Tokens summary (ADR-011); include_details=true adds the per-model/per-stage breakdown.

Set MCP_TIMEOUT for high/reasoning

These tiers exceed many clients' default transport timeout (~60s). Set MCP_TIMEOUT (milliseconds) in your client config — e.g. 180000 for high, 600000 for reasoning — or the client will drop the connection while the council deliberates.

Example:

Use consult_council with confidence="balanced" to ask:
"What are the trade-offs between REST and GraphQL?"

`verify`¶

Multi-model verification of code, documents, or any work product with a machine-actionable verdict — the CI-gate surface. See the Verification & CI Gating guide for tiers, unclear_reason routing, calibrated confidence, screening, and evidence injection.

Arguments:

Argument	Type	Default	Description
`snapshot_id`	string	required	Git commit SHA (≥7 hex chars)
`target_paths`	list	none	Files/dirs to verify (scope to the change)
`tier`	string	`"balanced"`	`quick`, `balanced`, `high`, `reasoning`
`rubric_focus`	string	none	e.g. `Security`, `Performance`
`confidence_threshold`	float	`0.7`	Minimum confidence for PASS
`evidence`	list	none	Upstream tool findings (ADR-042)

Returns verdict/confidence (raw + calibrated), rubric scores, blocking issues, unclear_reason on UNCLEAR, and the transcript location. Under LLM_COUNCIL_STRUCTURED_FINDINGS (ADR-051) it also returns a typed findings array and computes the verdict from it — see the verify guide's Response fields and structured-findings sections.

`audit`¶

Retrieve the persisted transcript for a past verification (by verification_id) — the audit trail behind every verdict.

`council_health_check`¶

Verify the council is ready.

Returns:

api_key_configured: Whether key is set
key_source: Where key came from
council_size: Number of models
ready: Whether council is operational

Jury Mode¶

For binary decisions:

Use consult_council with verdict_type="binary" to ask:
"Should we approve this architectural change?"

Returns:

{
  "verdict": "approved",
  "confidence": 0.75,
  "rationale": "Council agreed..."
}