What is the key difference between Showagent and Owlex?

Showagent 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 Showagent 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 Showagent and Owlex free or paid?

Showagent 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?

Showagent lists 6 tools with 3 views and 48 GitHub stars. Owlex lists 6 tools with 5 views and 139 GitHub stars.

Can I use both Showagent 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

Showagent vs Owlex

In-depth architectural comparison of the Showagent 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

Showagent

Coding Agents · Local stdio

Quality: 40/100 (Fair) | Auth: No auth required

Owlex

Coding Agents · Local stdio

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

Verdict Summary: Choose Showagent 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 Showagent 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: Searches supported local coding-agent sessions, Reads transcript context over MCP stdio, Previews transferable and dropped session state.

Explore Showagent 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.

Feature & Specification Comparison

Specification	Showagent Coding Agents	Owlex agentic-mcp-tools Coding Agents
Summary	Search, resume and convert AI coding sessions (Claude Code, Codex, Gemini, OpenCode, Pi) over MCP.	AI council server: query CLI agents (Claude Code, Codex, Gemini, and OpenCode) in parallel with deliberation rounds
Category & Scope	Coding Agents	Coding Agents

Tools & Capabilities Breakdown

Showagent Tools (6)

Searches supported local coding-agent sessions

Reads transcript context over MCP stdio

Previews transferable and dropped session state

Creates native session copies when enabled

Supports read-only MCP mode

Redacts secret-like transcript values by default

Owlex Tools (6)

Parallel council queries

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).

Showagent Configuration

mcpServers (Claude Desktop / Cursor)

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

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

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

More alternatives to Showagent More alternatives to Owlex Coding Agents category hub Canonical compare URL