ZulipChat MCP Server

Model Context Protocol server for Zulip Chat. Connect Claude Code, Gemini CLI, Codex, Cursor, Windsurf, VS Code Copilot, and other MCP clients to Zulip.

Quick Start · Setup Wizard · Integrations · Two-Tier Tools · Contributing

Quick Start

bash

uvx zulipchat-mcp --zulip-config-file ~/.zuliprc

That's it. Your AI assistant can now read and write Zulip messages.

Need a zuliprc? Zulip Settings > Personal > Account & privacy > API key — download the file, save it as ~/.zuliprc.

Interactive onboarding:

bash

uvx --from zulipchat-mcp zulipchat-mcp-setup

What This Does

ZulipChat MCP bridges any MCP-compatible AI assistant (Claude Code, Gemini CLI, Cursor, Windsurf, etc.) to your Zulip workspace. The assistant can:

Send and read messages — stream messages, DMs, replies, reactions
Search conversation history — full-text search with filters for sender, stream, time range
Resolve people by name — "message Jaime" just works, no hunting for formal emails
Switch identities — post as yourself or as a bot, in the same session
Monitor activity — search recent messages, get stream info, check who's online
Bind sessions to Zulip topics — give long-running agent sessions a stable control topic
Request approvals in-topic — owner replies with /approve REQUEST_ID or /deny REQUEST_ID in the session topic; each decision names the request it answers

Two-Tier Tool Architecture

v0.6.0 introduced a deliberate split: 20 core tools by default, 60 tools when you need more.

Core Mode (default)

The 20 tools that cover most daily use:

Category	Tools
Messaging	`send_message`, `edit_message`, `get_message`, `add_reaction`
Search	`search_messages`, `get_streams`, `get_stream_info`, `get_stream_topics`
Users	`resolve_user`, `get_users`, `get_own_user`
Agent Comms	`teleport_chat`, `register_agent`, `ensure_agent_session`, `agent_message`, `request_user_input`, `wait_for_response`
System	`switch_identity`, `server_info`, `manage_message_flags`

Why 20 instead of 60? Fewer tools means faster tool selection, lower token overhead, and less confusion for the AI. Most tasks — sending messages, searching, reacting, and binding an agent session to Zulip — only need the core set.

Extended Mode

Need scheduled messages, event queues, file uploads, analytics, or advanced search?

bash

uvx zulipchat-mcp --zulip-config-file ~/.zuliprc --extended-tools

Or via environment variable:

bash

ZULIPCHAT_EXTENDED_TOOLS=1 uvx zulipchat-mcp --zulip-config-file ~/.zuliprc

Extended mode adds: toggle_reaction, cross_post_message, advanced_search, construct_narrow, get_scheduled_messages, manage_scheduled_message, get_drafts, create_draft, edit_draft, delete_draft, register_events, get_events, listen_events, upload_file, manage_files, get_daily_summary, manage_user_mute, get_user, get_presence, get_user_groups, and more.

Installation

Full per-client setup guide: docs/integrations/README.md

Claude Code

Terminal

claude mcp add zulipchat -- uvx zulipchat-mcp --zulip-config-file ~/.zuliprc

With dual identity (you + a bot):

Terminal

claude mcp add zulipchat -- uvx zulipchat-mcp \
  --zulip-config-file ~/.zuliprc \
  --zulip-bot-config-file ~/.zuliprc-bot

Optional Claude hook bridge for lifecycle and approval routing:

bash

uvx zulipchat-mcp-hook \
  --zulip-config-file ~/.zuliprc \
  --zulip-bot-config-file ~/.zuliprc-bot

Optional Claude package export for project-local hooks, skills, and subagents:

server.ts

uvx zulipchat-mcp-integrate export \
  --client claude-code \
  --mode standalone \
  --output-dir . \
  --zulip-config-file ~/.zuliprc \
  --zulip-bot-config-file ~/.zuliprc-bot

Gemini CLI

Add to ~/.gemini/settings.json under mcpServers:

config.json

{
  "zulipchat": {
    "command": "uvx",
    "args": ["zulipchat-mcp", "--zulip-config-file", "/path/to/.zuliprc"]
  }
}

Claude Desktop / Cursor / Any MCP Client

Add to your MCP configuration:

config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "zulipchat": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["zulipchat-mcp", "--zulip-config-file", "/path/to/.zuliprc"]
    }
  }
}

Configuration Options

Option	Description
`--zulip-config-file PATH`	Path to your zuliprc file
`--zulip-bot-config-file PATH`	Bot zuliprc for dual identity
`--extended-tools`	Register all 60 tools instead of the 20-tool core set
`--transport {stdio,http}`	Transport to serve on (default: `stdio`)
`--host HOST`	Bind host for HTTP transport (default: `127.0.0.1`)
`--port PORT`	Bind port for HTTP transport (default: `8000`)
`--auth-token TOKEN`	Bearer auth token for HTTP transport (or `ZULIPCHAT_HTTP_AUTH_TOKEN`)
`--allowed-host HOST`	Additional trusted HTTP hostname; repeat for multiple names
`--allowed-origin URL`	Additional trusted browser origin; repeat for multiple origins
`--unsafe`	Enable administrative tools (use with caution)
`--debug`	Enable debug logging

Remote HTTP Transport

ZulipChat MCP supports stateless HTTP deployments under the MCP 2026-07-28 protocol:

bash

# Run server over HTTP with bearer authentication
ZULIPCHAT_HTTP_AUTH_TOKEN=your-secret-token \
  uvx zulipchat-mcp --zulip-config-file ~/.zuliprc --transport http --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8000 --allowed-host mcp.internal

Generate client integration snippets for remote HTTP connections:

bash

uvx zulipchat-mcp-integrate print --client claude-code --remote-url http://mcp.internal:8000/mcp --remote-token your-secret-token

HTTP startup requires a bearer token for non-loopback binds and validates Host and Origin headers. Configure --allowed-host for the hostname used by clients or a reverse proxy; terminate TLS at the proxy for remote connections. A token grants access to the configured Zulip account: deploy a separate instance per trusted account, rather than sharing it across unrelated users.

HTTP tools reject server-local file paths, outbound event callbacks, and switch_identity. Upload with file_content; download without download_path to obtain a URL. Use stdio for local file operations and runtime identity switching. Attachment deletion requires --unsafe.

Agent sessions, approvals, listener cursors, and default background-task storage remain local state. Use a single instance for these workflows. Separate DuckDB paths avoid writer conflicts but do not share session data; ordinary round-robin routing across such replicas is not supported. Legacy HTTP clients may also retain transport sessions.

AI Analytics & LLM Provider

AI-powered analytics tools (analyze_stream_with_llm, analyze_team_activity_with_llm, intelligent_report_generator) execute using a server-side Anthropic LLM provider:

Set ANTHROPIC_API_KEY on the server process for LLM generation.
Optionally set ANTHROPIC_MODEL to override the default model (claude-opus-5).
Without an API key, analytics tools return structured data summaries with llm_unavailable: true so your client assistant can analyze the data directly.

More clients

Dedicated setup pages:

Dual Identity

Configure both a user and a bot zuliprc to let your assistant switch between identities mid-session:

bash

uvx zulipchat-mcp \
  --zulip-config-file ~/.zuliprc \
  --zulip-bot-config-file ~/.zuliprc-bot

The assistant posts as you by default. Call switch_identity to post as the bot — useful for automated notifications, agent-to-agent communication, or keeping human vs. bot messages distinct.

Real-World Examples

"Catch me up on what happened in #engineering today" → Assistant calls search_messages with stream + time filter, summarizes the thread.

"Tell the team we're deploying at 3pm" → Assistant calls send_message to #engineering with the announcement.

"Who sent that message about the API migration?" → Assistant calls search_messages with keywords, returns sender and context.

"React with :thumbs_up: to Sarah's last message" → Assistant calls resolve_user ("Sarah"), search_messages (sender), then add_reaction.

"DM Jaime that the PR is ready" → Assistant calls teleport_chat with fuzzy name resolution — no email needed.

Development

bash

git clone https://github.com/akougkas/zulipchat-mcp.git
cd zulipchat-mcp
uv sync
uv run zulipchat-mcp --zulip-config-file ~/.zuliprc

Run checks:

bash

uv run pytest -q              # full test suite, 60% coverage gate
uv run ruff check .           # Linting
uv run mypy src               # Type checking

For packaging, dependency, FastMCP, or startup changes, run the release smoke:

bash

uv build
scripts/pre_release_smoke.sh --version X.Y.Z --allow-dirty

See CONTRIBUTING.md for the full guide, and CLAUDE.md / AGENTS.md for AI agent instructions.

Architecture

Code

src/zulipchat_mcp/
├── core/           # Client wrapper, identity, caching, security
├── tools/          # MCP tool implementations (two-tier registration)
├── services/       # Background listener and session event routing
├── utils/          # Logging, DuckDB persistence, metrics
└── config.py       # config loading (zuliprc + environment fallback)

Built on FastMCP with async-first design, DuckDB for agent state persistence, and smart user/stream caching for fast fuzzy resolution.

Privacy

No data collection — nothing leaves your machine except Zulip API calls
No telemetry — zero analytics, tracking, or usage reporting
Local execution — all processing happens on your hardware
Credentials stay local — API keys are never logged or transmitted beyond your Zulip server

Full policy: PRIVACY.md

License

MIT — See LICENSE

Links

_{Built for the Zulip community}