Skip to content
dent8dent8

Connect any MCP client

dent8 speaks JSON-RPC 2.0 over newline-delimited stdio via dent8 mcp serve. Any MCP-capable client — Cursor, Windsurf, Cline, Claude Desktop/Code, Zed, Codex CLI, or your own — can connect and use the shared fact base as a memory firewall: a low-authority or stale write can’t silently override a trusted fact, a contradiction surfaces instead of overwriting, and every believed fact is replayable with an integrity receipt.

This is the canonical, client-agnostic guide. For the belief model and env-var reference see examples/mcp/README.md; for per-agent installers see the examples/<agent>/ profiles.

Scope: install the server in the project agent config (repo-local .mcp.json, .codex/config.toml, .cursor/mcp.json, .grok/config.toml, and so on) when the store is that project’s belief base. User-global MCP config attaches the same store in every workspace — fine for one intentional personal store, wrong for multi-agent repo dogfood.

Tools and access

Section titled “Tools and access”

The server exposes 17 tools plus readable dent8://{kind}/{key}/{predicate} resources. 7 are write tools and are gated off under read-only access (an unauthenticated daemon connection): assert, supersede, retract, contradict, derive, reinforce, expire. The other 10 are read/audit and always available: runtime_status, snapshot, list_facts, verify, conflicts, native_scan, native_reconcile, explain, replay, whatif. A stdio server (the configs below) runs with full access; a rejected write comes back as a tool error with the reason, so the agent learns why.

Verify it yourself

Section titled “Verify it yourself”

Verified locally — the following was run against the built dent8 0.8.0 binary in a fresh git init directory (no pre-existing .dent8 store is needed; initialize/tools/list work against an empty dev store). Copy-paste one-liner:

Terminal window
printf '%s\n' \
 '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"initialize","params":{"protocolVersion":"2025-06-18","capabilities":{},"clientInfo":{"name":"manual","version":"0"}}}' \
 '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"notifications/initialized"}' \
 '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":2,"method":"tools/list","params":{}}' \
 | dent8 mcp serve

The initialize response (id 1) — verbatim, pretty-printed:

{
  "id": 1,
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "result": {
    "capabilities": {
      "resources": {},
      "tools": { "listChanged": false }
    },
    "instructions": "dent8 is a memory integrity firewall for durable agent facts. Before relying on project facts, call snapshot (or runtime_status/list_facts for narrower checks), then explain as needed. Record stable facts with assert using truthful source and authority. When the connection has a signed source grant, write tools may omit source and authority. Use supersede for corrections, contradict for disputes, derive for facts based on other facts. Use native_scan/native_reconcile to audit provider-native memory/rules files when available. Treat rejected writes as safety signals; do not silently overwrite.",
    "protocolVersion": "2025-06-18",
    "serverInfo": { "name": "dent8", "version": "0.8.0" }
  }
}

The notifications/initialized notification produces no response, as expected. The tools/list response (id 2) returns all 17 tools, in this order:

runtime_status  snapshot  list_facts  verify  conflicts  native_scan  native_reconcile
assert  supersede  retract  contradict  reinforce  expire  derive  explain  replay  whatif

Each tool carries an inputSchema and an outputSchema. The server prefers protocol version 2025-11-25 and also speaks 2025-06-18 (echoing back the client’s requested version when supported). For a scripted round-trip that also asserts a fact and watches the firewall reject a low-authority override, run examples/mcp/demo.sh.

Client config matrix

Section titled “Client config matrix”

Each block below is config per that client’s docs; the dent8 server side verified above is what’s exercised here — the client picking up the config is not exercised in this environment (no client installs; first-party doc hosts were egress-blocked, so syntax follows public docs). Verify against the client version your team runs.

1. Standard mcpServers JSON — Cursor, Windsurf, Cline, Claude Desktop/Code

Section titled “1. Standard mcpServers JSON — Cursor, Windsurf, Cline, Claude Desktop/Code”

The canonical, most-widely-copied shape. File location differs per client: .cursor/mcp.json (Cursor), ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json (Windsurf), cline_mcp_settings.json in VS Code global storage (Cline), the client’s MCP config (Claude Desktop/Code).

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "dent8": {
      "command": "dent8",
      "args": ["mcp", "serve"],
      "env": {}
    }
  }
}

Cline adds two optional keys per entry — "alwaysAllow": [] and "disabled": false. Docs: Cursor · Windsurf · Cline.

2. Zed — top-level context_servers (NOT mcpServers)

Section titled “2. Zed — top-level context_servers (NOT mcpServers)”

Zed diverges: the top-level key is context_servers, and each entry adds enabled and source. File: ~/.config/zed/settings.json (global) or .zed/settings.json (project).

{
  "context_servers": {
    "dent8": {
      "enabled": true,
      "source": "custom",
      "command": "dent8",
      "args": ["mcp", "serve"],
      "env": {}
    }
  }
}

Docs: https://zed.dev/docs/ai/mcp. Zed’s project context otherwise rides on AGENTS.md (see below), which the generic adapter maintains.

3. Codex CLI — [mcp_servers.dent8] TOML (NOT JSON)

Section titled “3. Codex CLI — [mcp_servers.dent8] TOML (NOT JSON)”

Codex diverges: config is TOML in .codex/config.toml in a trusted project (preferred for a repo store) or ~/.codex/config.toml (user-global), and the table is mcp_servers (underscore).

[mcp_servers.dent8]
command = "dent8"
args = ["mcp", "serve"]
# optional:
# startup_timeout_sec = 10
# tool_timeout_sec = 60

Env for a Codex server splits into env_vars = ["NAME", …] (passthrough names) and an explicit [mcp_servers.dent8.env] sub-table. Docs: https://developers.openai.com/codex/mcp. See also examples/codex/.

Two shapes to remember: everyone else uses mcpServers JSON; Zed uses context_servers JSON and Codex uses mcp_servers TOML. aider has no MCP support as of mid-2026 — reach it through AGENTS.md / --read instead (see examples/agent-hooks/generic/).

Environment the server honors

Section titled “Environment the server honors”

The stock env: {} above works against the discovered .dent8/ store. For a hardened, signed-identity setup the server honors DENT8_LOG, DENT8_AUTHORITY, DENT8_REQUIRE_AUTHORITY, DENT8_TRUST, DENT8_REQUIRE_IDENTITY, DENT8_GRANT, and DENT8_IDENTITY_KEY — documented with a full example block in examples/mcp/README.md. Set DENT8_STORE_URL for an operational backend (sqlite:// in the stock build; postgres:// needs a --features postgres build).

See also

Section titled “See also”