A side-by-side look at the Joao Berne MCP and Grok MCP MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Joao Berne MCP for conversational ai work as a local process; choose Grok MCP for conversational ai as a local process. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Consult, Build, Review.XAI_API_KEY, GROK_MCP_TIMEOUT, GROK_MCP_PATH_SECRET.grok_chat, grok_review, grok_consult.Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Conversational AI | Conversational AI |
| Quality signal | 52/100 · Good | 60/100 · Good |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | Not declared | Not declared |
| Pricing | Not declared | Not declared |
| Required env vars | None listed | XAI_API_KEYGROK_MCP_TIMEOUTGROK_MCP_PATH_SECRET |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 2 | 11 |
| Directory activity | 2 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 1 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 4 | 4 |
| Full listing | View Joao Berne MCP | View Grok MCP |
Consult`ask_<lane>`, `ask_all`, `ask_cascade`, `ask_best`, `conversations`, `list_models`Build`ask_build` (`mode=isolated` → diff, `mode=direct` → zone-guarded writes; with `mode=direct`, `async=true` → steerable via `job`)Review`review_diff` (`focus=code|security`), `debate` (`vote=judge|borda`), `workflow` (presets: `refine_plan`, `map_review`, `research_verify`, `fanout_compare`, `converge`, `premortem`, `test_plan`, `challenge`), `git_text` (`kind=commit|pr`)Operate`job` (`action=status|result|cancel|list|tail|steer`), `rate_lane`, `set_lane_cost`, `doctor`, `setup`grok_chatSend a one-shot prompt to xAI Grok and return its reply. Stateless — for multi-turn use grok_consult.grok_reviewHave Grok review a git diff. If no diff is provided, runs `git diff <base_ref>...HEAD` (default base: main). Returns a per-dimension review. Use format='json' for CI gating (verdict + scores + blockers).grok_consultContinue a conversation with Grok by replaying the full message history each call. Stateless on the server side — the caller owns the thread.grok_challengeAsk Grok to adversarially break a piece of code: edge cases, race conditions, security holes, adversarial inputs. Returns severity-ranked issues with reproductions.Paste either block (or both) into your client config, e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json. We only show a config when the install command is confirmed.
{
"mcpServers": {
"cli-bridge-mcp": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"--from",
"cli-bridge-mcp",
"cli-bridge"
]
}
}
}
{
"mcpServers": {
"grok-mcp": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"grok-cli-mcp"
],
"env": {
"XAI_API_KEY": "YOUR_XAI_API_KEY_HERE",
"GROK_MCP_TIMEOUT": "YOUR_GROK_MCP_TIMEOUT_HERE",
"GROK_MCP_PATH_SECRET": "YOUR_GROK_MCP_PATH_SECRET_HERE"
}
}
}
}