Zerostel vs Athena Protocol
A side-by-side look at the Zerostel and Athena Protocol MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Z
ZerostelCoding AgentsCheckpoints, timeline and rewind for AI coding agents. Local, no telemetry.35FairAuth: no auth requiredVerdict: choose Zerostel for coding agents work; choose Athena Protocol for coding agents as a local process. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
ZChoose Zerostel when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Coding Agents domain.
- Its auth model fits you: No auth required.
Choose Athena Protocol when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Coding Agents domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- Its auth model fits you: API key required.
- You have the keys it needs:
DEFAULT_LLM_PROVIDER, PROVIDER_SELECTION_PRIORITY.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | Z Zerostel | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Coding Agents | Coding Agents |
| Quality signal | 35/100 · Fair | 44/100 · Fair |
| Install command | Not confirmed yet | Confirmed |
| Transport | — | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | No auth required | API key required |
| Pricing | Free | BYOK (pay the provider) |
| Required env vars | None listed | DEFAULT_LLM_PROVIDERPROVIDER_SELECTION_PRIORITY |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 0 | 7 |
| Directory activity | 0 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 4 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | Not listed | Not listed |
| Full listing | View Zerostel | View Athena Protocol |
Tools & capabilities
Zerostel tools
No tool names declared yet. Check the project README from the listing page.
Athena Protocol tools
No tool names declared yet. Check the project README from the listing page.
Ready-to-paste client configs
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.
Zerostel
No confirmed install command for Zerostel yet — follow the setup steps linked from its listing page rather than a guessed package name.
Athena Protocol
{
"mcpServers": {
"athena-protocol": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"usage"
],
"env": {
"DEFAULT_LLM_PROVIDER": "YOUR_DEFAULT_LLM_PROVIDER_HERE",
"PROVIDER_SELECTION_PRIORITY": "YOUR_PROVIDER_SELECTION_PRIORITY_HERE"
}
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Zerostel is categorized under Coding Agents and uses an install path we have not confirmed yet. Athena Protocol belongs to Coding Agents and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick Zerostel for coding agents work and Athena Protocol for coding agents.
Copy the mcpServers block from the config section on this page into your client's config (for example claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json), then fully restart the client. Zerostel has no confirmed install command yet — follow its own setup instructions.
Zerostel is listed as free. Auth: no auth required. Athena Protocol is bring-your-own-key: usage is billed by the API provider you supply a key for. Auth: api key required. If a server needs environment variables such as API keys, define them under the env key in your client's MCP config.
Yes. MCP clients support multiple servers: add zerostel and athena-protocol as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Zerostel has a quality signal of 35/100 (Fair) with 0 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars. Athena Protocol has 44/100 (Fair) with 4 views, 0 installs and 7 GitHub stars.