---
title: "mcp"
description: "Serve a companion to an MCP host over stdio."
---

> Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://clanka.jfa.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# mcp

```sh
clanka mcp [--budget <tokens>] <soul>
```

Serves one companion to an MCP host over stdio, for trying it out. The host
does the talking and calls the tools: `begin_turn` before each reply,
`end_turn` after it, `recall` to search memory on purpose, and `sleep` to
end the conversation. The persona prompt tells the host's model how to use
them.

Memory is written by the [`[model]`](/configuration/#model) in
`config.toml`, so set the host to the same model. Without one, turns are
recorded but never turned into memories, and `sleep` is unavailable.

stdout carries the MCP protocol; notes go to stderr.

[MCP](/guides/mcp/) shows how to add it to a host.

```sh
clanka mcp ~/.config/clanka/souls/<id>.md
```

## Flags

### `--budget <tokens>`

Estimated tokens the memory context may use per turn.

- Default: `6000`

```sh
clanka mcp --budget 4000 ~/.config/clanka/souls/<id>.md
```

Source: https://clanka.jfa.dev/cli/mcp/index.mdx