The context-window tax

Every MCP server you connect dumps its full tool schema into your agent's context window on every turn — used or not. mcpfold's local proxy curates the toolset per client, so each agent sees only the tools it needs. In a reproducible benchmark, curating a typical multi-server setup cuts tool-schema tokens by ~80%.

You write one canonical config, and mcpfold folds it out to every client (Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf, and more) — resolving secret references at sync time instead of hardcoding keys into a dozen client files.

Install

# npm (cross-platform)
npm install -g mcpfold

# or run without installing
npx mcpfold@latest init

# macOS / Linux — Homebrew
brew install dj-pearson/tap/mcpfold

# Windows — WinGet
winget install PearsonMedia.mcpfold
# or Scoop
scoop bucket add mcpfold https://github.com/dj-pearson/scoop-bucket && scoop install mcpfold

# Docker
docker run --rm -v "$PWD:/work" ghcr.io/dj-pearson/mcpfold --help

# curl (standalone binary, no Node required)
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/dj-pearson/MCPFold/main/scripts/install.sh | sh

Quickstart

mcpfold init          # scaffold a canonical mcpfold config
mcpfold import        # pull in servers already configured in your clients
mcpfold sync          # fold the config out to every detected client
mcpfold diff          # preview what a sync would change, per client
mcpfold doctor        # diagnose config, clients, and secret references

mcpf is a shorter alias for mcpfold.

Why mcpfold

• Cut the token tax — per-client tool curation trims schemas an agent never uses (~80% in the benchmark).
• One source of truth — edit config once; every client stays in sync.
• Secret references, not values — keep keys out of client config files; resolve them at sync time.
• Local-first & private — the CLI and proxy run entirely on your machine.
• Free forever, MIT-licensed — the optional hosted cloud (accounts, config sync, teams) is self-hostable.

Docs

Full documentation lives in the repo: https://github.com/dj-pearson/MCPFold · site: https://mcpfold.com

License

MIT © Pearson Media