Persistproc

What irskep/persistproc MCP server does

The irskep/persistproc MCP server provides a shared process layer for development workflows involving services that stay running, such as web servers, API processes, frontend servers, asset builders, and database processes. Developers start a command through the persistproc CLI instead of launching it directly. The process remains available after the initiating terminal is closed, while its output is captured for later inspection.

Agents connect through MCP and can work with the same managed processes as the developer. This avoids repeatedly copying terminal output into an agent conversation and gives multiple MCP-compatible clients a common view of local services. The project is intended to be tool-agnostic and is useful when more than one agent needs to inspect or control the same development environment.

How it works

Running persistproc serve starts the local MCP server. The server listens at http://127.0.0.1:8947, and an MCP client can call its process-management tools programmatically. A separate command such as persistproc npm run dev registers and starts the child process; output can still be streamed to the terminal used to launch it.

The ctrl tool handles starting, stopping, and restarting processes. The list tool reports managed processes and their status, with optional filtering by process ID, command, or working directory. It also returns log paths. The output tool retrieves captured process output, including the error stream when requested.

Setup and configuration

Install the Python package with pip install persistproc, then run persistproc serve in a dedicated terminal and keep that server running. The command displays configuration instructions for connecting agents. In another terminal, change to the project directory and prefix the command you want managed with persistproc, for example persistproc npm run dev.

The irskep/persistproc MCP server has no configuration file. Process state and management are handled at runtime. Python 3.10 or newer is indicated by the project metadata. The repository is released under the MIT License.

Tools and capabilities

• Start, stop, or restart managed processes through ctrl.
• List process status and inspect matching processes with list.
• Filter listings by PID, command, or working directory.
• Retrieve captured process output and log locations.
• Let agents inspect multiple service logs through one local MCP endpoint.

Limitations and notes

The project is not intended to replace a process supervisor such as supervisord. It is most suitable when persistproc starts the processes itself and needs to expose both control and output to agents. Processes launched by another system are not currently a good fit for management through the irskep/persistproc MCP server; the README instead suggests writing their logs to a predictable location and telling the agent where to find them.

The tool list is deliberately small. The README explains that limiting the number of tools can help language models and avoid tool-count limits in some IDEs. Cursor is shown as a client example, and the project also discusses use with Claude Code, although that client is not one of the standardized compatibility labels in this listing.