MCP Server

MCP Server

FrameShift 0.10.0 includes a local stdio Model Context Protocol server. Any MCP-capable host can expose the same tools and prompts without agent-specific logic inside FrameShift.

Running

cargo run -p frameshift-mcp
# or, if installed:
frameshift-mcp

The server exchanges JSON-RPC 2.0 messages over stdin and stdout. Diagnostic tracing goes to stderr so it cannot corrupt the protocol stream. The maximum input line is 8 MiB.

The newest implemented MCP protocol revision is 2025-11-25. Initialization also negotiates the supported 2025-06-18 and 2024-11-05 revisions for compatible hosts.

Tools

Sixteen tools are exposed:

Tool	Description
frameshift_install	Install a persona pack for a project
frameshift_activate	Activate an installed persona
frameshift_list	List installed personas
frameshift_grow_append	Append a local growth observation
frameshift_select	Rank personas without changing active state
frameshift_use	Activate a persona and return its rendered content
frameshift_automate	Manage Automate policy with on, off, status, lock, or unlock
frameshift_capabilities	Report declared capabilities and annotate candidate agent tools
frameshift_prefs	Show, bump, decay, or reset preference biases
frameshift_search	Search the registry pack catalog
frameshift_draft_create	Create a private Creator Studio draft from a template, local source, or registry pack
frameshift_draft_list	List private Creator Studio drafts
frameshift_draft_status	Report a draft's lifecycle status and next valid actions
frameshift_draft_preview	Render a draft preview without granting publication authority
frameshift_draft_read	Read a bounded editable draft file
frameshift_draft_write	Replace a bounded editable draft file and invalidate stale review state

frameshift_automate stores policy only. The connected host or FrameShift daemon must invoke selection and activation.

Creator Studio trust boundary

MCP can create, inspect, preview, and edit private drafts. It cannot perform final artifact review or authorize a registry submission. Those actions bind human intent to an exact artifact, publisher identity, and key, so they remain available only through an interactive human-facing client.

There is intentionally no frameshift_draft_review MCP tool.

Prompts

Three prompts provide context-aware persona management:

Prompt	Purpose
active_persona	Load the currently active persona into the conversation
select_persona	Rank available personas and return a scored table
automate_status	Report Automate state, active persona, and recent transitions

Configuration

Add FrameShift to the host's stdio MCP server configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "frameshift": {
      "command": "frameshift-mcp",
      "args": []
    }
  }
}

Use the configuration location documented by your MCP host.

FRAMESHIFT_PROJECT_ROOT sets the default project root. A tool call's project_root takes precedence; when neither is present, the server checks Claude Code's CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR and then the current working directory. FRAMESHIFT_TARGET sets the default render target.

Start discovery workflows with frameshift_search. Start authoring workflows with frameshift_draft_create, then query frameshift_draft_status before choosing the next action.

Runtime model

The MCP server is a thin local stdio wrapper around the same FrameShift engine used by the CLI. It has no HTTP listener and does not require a background daemon. Persistent project, persona, preference, and draft state remains in the local FrameShift stores used by the underlying engine.