When vs Sage

In-depth architectural comparison of the When and Sage 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.

Which MCP Server Should You Choose?

Choose When when:

• You need dedicated capabilities in the Command Line domain.
• You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
• Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).
• Primary tools included: Single MCP server exposing eight endpoints for six tools, Auto-detect stack and regenerate context files, Port conflict scanning.

Explore When Details

Choose Sage when:

• You need dedicated capabilities in the Command Line domain.
• You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
• Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).
• Primary tools included: Local shell command wrapper, Compressed terminal summaries, Local command history and retry context.

Explore Sage Details

Feature & Specification Comparison

Specification	When WhenLabs-org Command Line	Sage PsYcGoD Command Line
Summary	Developer toolkit: auto-detect stack for AI context files, catch port conflicts, validate .env schemas, spot docs drift, audit dependency licenses, and time coding tasks — 7 MCP tools, one install.	Local-first CLI and MCP wrapper for AI coding agents. Routes shell commands through sage run --, stores command history locally, and returns compressed terminal output to reduce context noise.
Category & Scope	Command Line

Tools & Capabilities Breakdown

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).

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "whenlabs-org-when": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@whenlabs/when"
      ]
    }
  }
}

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

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