What is the key difference between Kagan and Owlex?

Kagan belongs to the Coding Agents category with local stdio execution, while Owlex belongs to the Coding Agents category with local stdio execution.

How do I install Kagan or Owlex in Claude Desktop or Cursor?

Copy the mcpServers JSON configuration snippet provided on this page into your claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json file and restart your AI client.

Are Kagan and Owlex free or paid?

Kagan operates under a Free / Open Source model (No auth required). Owlex operates under a BYOK (Pay Provider Direct) model (API Key required).

Which MCP server has more tools and community activity?

Kagan lists 5 tools with 3 views and 10 GitHub stars. Owlex lists 6 tools with 5 views and 139 GitHub stars.

Can I use both Kagan and Owlex together in the same MCP host?

Yes! MCP hosts like Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, Cline, and VS Code support configuring multiple servers under the mcpServers object simultaneously.

Side-by-Side Model Context Protocol Comparison

Kagan vs Owlex

In-depth architectural comparison of the Kagan and Owlex MCP servers. Compare execution transports, security boundaries, tool capabilities, quality scores, and ready-to-paste client installation snippets for Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, and VS Code.

At a Glance & Executive Verdict

Kagan

Coding Agents · Local stdio

Quality: 44/100 (Fair) | Auth: No auth required

Owlex

Coding Agents · Local stdio

Quality: 37/100 (Fair) | Auth: API Key required

Verdict Summary: Choose Kagan if you need specialized Coding Agents tools running via a local process. Choose Owlex if your workspace requires Coding Agents integration with local subprocess execution. Both servers can be configured concurrently in your client's mcpServers manifest.

Which MCP Server Should You Choose?

Choose Kagan when:

You need dedicated capabilities in the Coding Agents domain.
You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).
Primary tools included: Supervised kanban task workflow, Isolated git worktrees and branches, Reviewer-agent findings with ranking.

Explore Kagan Details

Choose Owlex when:

You need dedicated capabilities in the Coding Agents domain.
You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
Your security boundary fits: API Key required (BYOK (Pay Provider Direct)).
You have access to required keys: COUNCIL_EXCLUDE_AGENTS, COUNCIL_DEFAULT_TEAM, COUNCIL_CLAUDE_OPINION, OWLEX_DEFAULT_TIMEOUT, CODEX_BYPASS_APPROVALS, GEMINI_YOLO_MODE, OPENCODE_AGENT, OPENROUTER_API_KEY.
Primary tools included: Parallel council queries, Two-round deliberation and critique mode, Specialist roles and team presets.

Feature & Specification Comparison

Specification	Kagan kagan-sh Coding Agents	Owlex agentic-mcp-tools Coding Agents
Summary	AI-powered Kanban TUI and MCP server for autonomous development workflows. Orchestrates 14 coding agents across task tracking, isolated git worktrees, review, and merge.	AI council server: query CLI agents (Claude Code, Codex, Gemini, and OpenCode) in parallel with deliberation rounds
Category & Scope	Coding Agents

Tools & Capabilities Breakdown

Kagan Tools (5)

Supervised kanban task workflow

Isolated git worktrees and branches

Reviewer-agent findings with ranking

Manual triage and merge gates

OpenCode task and settings commands

Owlex Tools (6)

Parallel council queries

Two-round deliberation and critique mode

Ready-to-Paste Client Configurations

Paste either (or both) of these JSON server blocks into your client config file (e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json).

Kagan Configuration

mcpServers (Claude Desktop / Cursor)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "kagan-sh-kagan": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "kagan-sh-kagan"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Owlex Configuration

mcpServers (Claude Desktop / Cursor)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "agentic-mcp-tools-owlex": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "agentic-mcp-tools-owlex"
      ],
      "env": {
        "COUNCIL_EXCLUDE_AGENTS": "YOUR_COUNCIL_EXCLUDE_AGENTS_HERE",
        "COUNCIL_DEFAULT_TEAM": "YOUR_COUNCIL_DEFAULT_TEAM_HERE",
        "COUNCIL_CLAUDE_OPINION": "YOUR_COUNCIL_CLAUDE_OPINION_HERE",
        "OWLEX_DEFAULT_TIMEOUT": "YOUR_OWLEX_DEFAULT_TIMEOUT_HERE",
        "CODEX_BYPASS_APPROVALS": "YOUR_CODEX_BYPASS_APPROVALS_HERE",
        "GEMINI_YOLO_MODE": "YOUR_GEMINI_YOLO_MODE_HERE",
        "OPENCODE_AGENT": "YOUR_OPENCODE_AGENT_HERE",
        "OPENROUTER_API_KEY": "YOUR_OPENROUTER_API_KEY_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

Frequently Asked Questions

Kagan is categorized under Coding Agents and uses a local stdio subprocess. In contrast, Owlex belongs to Coding Agents using local stdio subprocess. Select Kagan when you need capabilities focused on coding agents and Owlex when you require tools for coding agents.

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