Cortex MCP — Multi-Level Reasoning Server

Cortex MCP

Multi-level reasoning MCP server with configurable depth levels, session-based state management, structured thought input, and real-time trace resources.

Overview

Cortex MCP is a stdio-only MCP server for stateful, depth-controlled reasoning. The runtime entrypoint in src/index.ts connects createServer() to StdioServerTransport, and the server surface in src/server.ts enables tools, prompts, completions, logging, and subscribable resources around a single session-based reasoning engine.

The live MCP surface confirmed by Inspector is 1 tool, 6 concrete resources, 4 resource templates, and 7 prompts. Sessions are stored in memory, exposed as MCP resources, and cleared on process restart.

Key Features

• reasoning_think supports step-by-step sessions, run_to_completion batches, rollback, early conclusion, and structured observation / hypothesis / evaluation input.
• Four depth levels are built into the engine: basic, normal, high, and expert, each with bounded thought ranges and token budgets.
• Prompt helpers expose reasoning.basic, reasoning.normal, reasoning.high, reasoning.expert, reasoning.continue, reasoning.retry, and get-help.
• Resource endpoints expose internal docs plus live session lists, per-session JSON views, full markdown traces, and individual thought documents.
• Completions are wired for levels, session IDs, and thought names through completable() and resource-template completion hooks.

Requirements

• Node.js >=24 for local npx or npm usage.
• An MCP client that supports stdio transport.
• Optional: Docker if you want to build or run the container image defined by Dockerfile.

Quick Start

Use this standard MCP client configuration:

{

"mcpServers": { "cortex-mcp": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@j0hanz/cortex-mcp@latest"] } } }

Client Configuration

Install in VS Code

Add to .vscode/mcp.json:

{

"servers": { "cortex-mcp": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@j0hanz/cortex-mcp@latest"] } } }

Or install via CLI:

code --add-mcp '{"name":"cortex-mcp","command":"npx","args":["-y","@j0hanz/cortex-mcp@latest"]}'

For more info, see VS Code MCP docs.

Install in VS Code Insiders

Add to .vscode/mcp.json:

{

"servers": { "cortex-mcp": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@j0hanz/cortex-mcp@latest"] } } }

Or install via CLI:

code-insiders --add-mcp '{"name":"cortex-mcp","command":"npx","args":["-y","@j0hanz/cortex-mcp@latest"]}'

For more info, see VS Code Insiders MCP docs.

Install in Cursor

Add to ~/.cursor/mcp.json:

{

"mcpServers": { "cortex-mcp": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@j0hanz/cortex-mcp@latest"] } } }

For more info, see Cursor MCP docs.

Install in Visual Studio

Add to mcp.json (VS integrated):

{

"mcpServers": { "cortex-mcp": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@j0hanz/cortex-mcp@latest"] } } }

For more info, see Visual Studio MCP docs.

Install in Goose

Add to Goose extension registry:

{

"mcpServers": { "cortex-mcp": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@j0hanz/cortex-mcp@latest"] } } }

For more info, see Goose MCP docs.

Install in LM Studio

Add to LM Studio MCP config:

{

"mcpServers": { "cortex-mcp": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@j0hanz/cortex-mcp@latest"] } } }

For more info, see LM Studio MCP docs.

Install in Claude Desktop

Add to claude_desktop_config.json:

{

"mcpServers": { "cortex-mcp": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@j0hanz/cortex-mcp@latest"] } } }

For more info, see Claude Desktop MCP docs.

Install in Claude Code

Add to Claude Code CLI:

{

"mcpServers": { "cortex-mcp": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@j0hanz/cortex-mcp@latest"] } } }

Or install via CLI:

claude mcp add cortex-mcp -- npx -y @j0hanz/cortex-mcp@latest

For more info, see Claude Code MCP docs.

Install in Windsurf

Add to ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json:

{

"mcpServers": { "cortex-mcp": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@j0hanz/cortex-mcp@latest"] } } }

For more info, see Windsurf MCP docs.

Install in Amp

Add to Amp MCP config:

{

"mcpServers": { "cortex-mcp": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@j0hanz/cortex-mcp@latest"] } } }

Or install via CLI:

amp mcp add cortex-mcp -- npx -y @j0hanz/cortex-mcp@latest

For more info, see Amp MCP docs.

Install in Cline

Add to cline_mcp_settings.json:

{

"mcpServers": { "cortex-mcp": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@j0hanz/cortex-mcp@latest"] } } }

For more info, see Cline MCP docs.

Install in Codex CLI

Add to ~/.codex/config.yaml or codex CLI:

{

"mcpServers": { "cortex-mcp": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@j0hanz/cortex-mcp@latest"] } } }

For more info, see Codex CLI MCP docs.

Install in GitHub Copilot

Add to .vscode/mcp.json:

{

"servers": { "cortex-mcp": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@j0hanz/cortex-mcp@latest"] } } }

For more info, see GitHub Copilot MCP docs.

Install in Warp

Add to Warp MCP config:

{

"mcpServers": { "cortex-mcp": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@j0hanz/cortex-mcp@latest"] } } }

For more info, see Warp MCP docs.

Install in Kiro

Add to .kiro/settings/mcp.json:

{

"mcpServers": { "cortex-mcp": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@j0hanz/cortex-mcp@latest"] } } }

For more info, see Kiro MCP docs.

Install in Gemini CLI

Add to ~/.gemini/settings.json:

{

"mcpServers": { "cortex-mcp": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@j0hanz/cortex-mcp@latest"] } } }

For more info, see Gemini CLI MCP docs.

Install in Zed

Add to ~/.config/zed/settings.json:

{

"context_servers": { "cortex-mcp": { "settings": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@j0hanz/cortex-mcp@latest"] } } } }

For more info, see Zed MCP docs.

Install in Augment

Add to VS Code settings.json:

Add to your VS Code settings.json under augment.advanced.

{

"augment.advanced": { "mcpServers": [ { "id": "cortex-mcp", "c