Installation
Same hosted MCP as your editor — human-readable output in the shell. 9 tools in terminal; 10 total including editor-only. Your code stays on disk by default.
Tip: Run mcpcli setup once — it saves ~/.zephex/credentials.json so terminal tools work even before you connect an editor.
Both hit https://zephex.dev/mcp with the same API key. CLI returns human-readable output you can pipe or paste; MCP tools run inside your editor agent loop.
| Scenario | Terminal CLI | Editor MCP tool | Pick |
|---|---|---|---|
| You want a project brief before coding | mcpcli get-context | Ask agent: get_project_context | Either — CLI for copy-paste; MCP when agent is already in chat |
| Search repo for a symbol or string | mcpcli find-code "auth" | Ask agent: find_code | CLI for quick grep; MCP when agent should act on results |
| Outline a file before editing | mcpcli outline src/auth.ts | Ask agent: read_code | CLI — human-readable, no agent loop |
| Check if an npm package is safe | mcpcli safe express | Ask agent: check_package | Either — no project folder required |
| Audit live HTTP headers / TLS | Not available in terminal | audit_headers (editor only) | MCP in editor — needs a running dev server URL |
| Multi-turn investigation session | mcpcli think "debug 401" (one-shot) | keep_thinking with sessionId | MCP for persistent sessions; CLI for quick reasoning |
| Connect a new editor | mcpcli setup --cursor | N/A — setup is CLI-only | CLI |
| Diagnose broken MCP connection | mcpcli doctor · mcpcli repair · mcpcli list | Ask agent: tools/list | CLI — doctor checks Node, network, and config files |
Common mistake: Running terminal tools from ~ or /tmp — Zephex needs a project folder with package.json + source files. cd into your app first, or use --cwd apps/web in monorepos.
No AI agent in the loop. Your shell runs npx zephex; the CLI uploads a search index from disk (inline_files) and calls the same hosted endpoint as your editor.
Terminal CLI needs Node.js 18+ (or Docker). Check with node -v. No Node? start from zero (MB + steps) · 6 install methods
Short commands: after npm install -g zephex, use mcpcli setup (same as npx zephex setup). Requires Node.js 18+ — no Node? see options. Same CLI: mcpcli, zepx, zphx, mcpz, zepcli, zephx, or zephex (after npm i -g zephex).
npm install -g zephex && mcpcli setupcd your-appmcpcli get-contextmcpcli find-code "auth middleware"mcpcli outline src/index.tsmcpcli architectureYou should see Using local project (N files from …) — not a git remote URL. If tools fail with Using Git remote, update: npm install -g zephex@latest.
npx zephex cli-guidenpx zephex cli-guide quickstartnpx zephex cli-guide monoreponpx zephex help terminalUnknown subcommand? See Command Compass.
npx zephex learnnpx zephex learn find_codenpx zephex find-code toolscd mcp-proxy && mcpcli find-code "query"mcpcli find-code "query" --cwd mcp-proxymcpcli outline mcp-proxy/src/cli.tsDEFAULT
Uploads an index from the folder on your machine. Private code never leaves unless you run the tool.
REMOTE
mcpcli get-context github:owner/repo or --path github:owner/repo
FORCE REMOTE
--no-local — requires repo access on your Zephex account
mcpcli safe expressmcpcli check-package next --task upgrade --from-version 14.2.0mcpcli check-package --from-lock --strict --jsonSee check_package and complete packages section.
| Command | MCP tool |
|---|---|
get-context | get_project_context |
find-code | find_code |
summarize / outline / symbol | read_code |
architecture | explain_architecture |
check-test | check_test |
think | keep_thinking |
check-package | check_package |
project-memory | project_memory |
docs | Zephex_dev_info |
HTTP/TLS header audit on a live URL — requires a running dev server; use in Cursor/Claude after setup.
Terminal has one-shot think/reason/debug-think; sessionId flows are editor-only.
--json Raw MCP JSON--cwd <dir> Project / package root--no-local Use git remote instead of local upload--path github:o/r Explicit remote repo--api-key Override saved key