diff --git a/src/cli/src/commands/config-setup.ts b/src/cli/src/commands/config-setup.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2e1cb3a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/cli/src/commands/config-setup.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,319 @@
+import { Command } from 'commander';
+import http from 'node:http';
+import https from 'node:https';
+import { loadConfig, saveConfig } from '../config/index.js';
+import type { ConfigLoaderDeps, McpctlConfig, LlmConfig, LlmProviderName } from '../config/index.js';
+import type { SecretStore } from '@mcpctl/shared';
+import { createSecretStore } from '@mcpctl/shared';
+
+export interface ConfigSetupPrompt {
+  select<T>(message: string, choices: Array<{ name: string; value: T; description?: string }>): Promise<T>;
+  input(message: string, defaultValue?: string): Promise<string>;
+  password(message: string): Promise<string>;
+  confirm(message: string, defaultValue?: boolean): Promise<boolean>;
+}
+
+export interface ConfigSetupDeps {
+  configDeps: Partial<ConfigLoaderDeps>;
+  secretStore: SecretStore;
+  log: (...args: string[]) => void;
+  prompt: ConfigSetupPrompt;
+  fetchModels: (url: string, path: string) => Promise<string[]>;
+}
+
+interface ProviderChoice {
+  name: string;
+  value: LlmProviderName;
+  description: string;
+}
+
+const PROVIDER_CHOICES: ProviderChoice[] = [
+  { name: 'Gemini CLI', value: 'gemini-cli', description: 'Google Gemini via local CLI (free, no API key)' },
+  { name: 'Ollama', value: 'ollama', description: 'Local models via Ollama' },
+  { name: 'Anthropic (Claude)', value: 'anthropic', description: 'Claude API (requires API key)' },
+  { name: 'vLLM', value: 'vllm', description: 'Self-hosted vLLM (OpenAI-compatible)' },
+  { name: 'OpenAI', value: 'openai', description: 'OpenAI API (requires API key)' },
+  { name: 'DeepSeek', value: 'deepseek', description: 'DeepSeek API (requires API key)' },
+  { name: 'None (disable)', value: 'none', description: 'Disable LLM features' },
+];
+
+const GEMINI_MODELS = ['gemini-2.5-flash', 'gemini-2.5-pro', 'gemini-2.0-flash'];
+const ANTHROPIC_MODELS = ['claude-haiku-3-5-20241022', 'claude-sonnet-4-20250514', 'claude-opus-4-20250514'];
+const DEEPSEEK_MODELS = ['deepseek-chat', 'deepseek-reasoner'];
+
+function defaultFetchModels(baseUrl: string, path: string): Promise<string[]> {
+  return new Promise((resolve) => {
+    const url = new URL(path, baseUrl);
+    const isHttps = url.protocol === 'https:';
+    const transport = isHttps ? https : http;
+
+    const req = transport.get({
+      hostname: url.hostname,
+      port: url.port || (isHttps ? 443 : 80),
+      path: url.pathname,
+      timeout: 5000,
+    }, (res) => {
+      const chunks: Buffer[] = [];
+      res.on('data', (chunk: Buffer) => chunks.push(chunk));
+      res.on('end', () => {
+        try {
+          const raw = Buffer.concat(chunks).toString('utf-8');
+          const data = JSON.parse(raw) as { models?: Array<{ name: string }>; data?: Array<{ id: string }> };
+          // Ollama format: { models: [{ name }] }
+          if (data.models) {
+            resolve(data.models.map((m) => m.name));
+            return;
+          }
+          // OpenAI/vLLM format: { data: [{ id }] }
+          if (data.data) {
+            resolve(data.data.map((m) => m.id));
+            return;
+          }
+          resolve([]);
+        } catch {
+          resolve([]);
+        }
+      });
+    });
+    req.on('error', () => resolve([]));
+    req.on('timeout', () => { req.destroy(); resolve([]); });
+  });
+}
+
+async function defaultSelect<T>(message: string, choices: Array<{ name: string; value: T; description?: string }>): Promise<T> {
+  const { default: inquirer } = await import('inquirer');
+  const { answer } = await inquirer.prompt([{
+    type: 'list',
+    name: 'answer',
+    message,
+    choices: choices.map((c) => ({
+      name: c.description ? `${c.name} — ${c.description}` : c.name,
+      value: c.value,
+      short: c.name,
+    })),
+  }]);
+  return answer as T;
+}
+
+async function defaultInput(message: string, defaultValue?: string): Promise<string> {
+  const { default: inquirer } = await import('inquirer');
+  const { answer } = await inquirer.prompt([{
+    type: 'input',
+    name: 'answer',
+    message,
+    default: defaultValue,
+  }]);
+  return answer as string;
+}
+
+async function defaultPassword(message: string): Promise<string> {
+  const { default: inquirer } = await import('inquirer');
+  const { answer } = await inquirer.prompt([{ type: 'password', name: 'answer', message }]);
+  return answer as string;
+}
+
+async function defaultConfirm(message: string, defaultValue?: boolean): Promise<boolean> {
+  const { default: inquirer } = await import('inquirer');
+  const { answer } = await inquirer.prompt([{
+    type: 'confirm',
+    name: 'answer',
+    message,
+    default: defaultValue ?? true,
+  }]);
+  return answer as boolean;
+}
+
+const defaultPrompt: ConfigSetupPrompt = {
+  select: defaultSelect,
+  input: defaultInput,
+  password: defaultPassword,
+  confirm: defaultConfirm,
+};
+
+export function createConfigSetupCommand(deps?: Partial<ConfigSetupDeps>): Command {
+  return new Command('setup')
+    .description('Interactive LLM provider setup wizard')
+    .action(async () => {
+      const configDeps = deps?.configDeps ?? {};
+      const log = deps?.log ?? ((...args: string[]) => console.log(...args));
+      const prompt = deps?.prompt ?? defaultPrompt;
+      const fetchModels = deps?.fetchModels ?? defaultFetchModels;
+      const secretStore = deps?.secretStore ?? await createSecretStore();
+
+      const config = loadConfig(configDeps);
+      const currentLlm = config.llm;
+
+      // Annotate current provider in choices
+      const choices = PROVIDER_CHOICES.map((c) => {
+        if (currentLlm?.provider === c.value) {
+          return { ...c, name: `${c.name} (current)` };
+        }
+        return c;
+      });
+
+      const provider = await prompt.select<LlmProviderName>('Select LLM provider:', choices);
+
+      if (provider === 'none') {
+        const updated: McpctlConfig = { ...config, llm: { provider: 'none' } };
+        saveConfig(updated, configDeps);
+        log('LLM disabled. Restart mcplocal: systemctl --user restart mcplocal');
+        return;
+      }
+
+      let llmConfig: LlmConfig;
+
+      switch (provider) {
+        case 'gemini-cli':
+          llmConfig = await setupGeminiCli(prompt, currentLlm);
+          break;
+        case 'ollama':
+          llmConfig = await setupOllama(prompt, fetchModels, currentLlm);
+          break;
+        case 'anthropic':
+          llmConfig = await setupApiKeyProvider(prompt, secretStore, 'anthropic', 'anthropic-api-key', ANTHROPIC_MODELS, currentLlm);
+          break;
+        case 'vllm':
+          llmConfig = await setupVllm(prompt, fetchModels, currentLlm);
+          break;
+        case 'openai':
+          llmConfig = await setupApiKeyProvider(prompt, secretStore, 'openai', 'openai-api-key', [], currentLlm);
+          break;
+        case 'deepseek':
+          llmConfig = await setupApiKeyProvider(prompt, secretStore, 'deepseek', 'deepseek-api-key', DEEPSEEK_MODELS, currentLlm);
+          break;
+        default:
+          return;
+      }
+
+      const updated: McpctlConfig = { ...config, llm: llmConfig };
+      saveConfig(updated, configDeps);
+      log(`\nLLM configured: ${llmConfig.provider}${llmConfig.model ? ` / ${llmConfig.model}` : ''}`);
+      log('Restart mcplocal: systemctl --user restart mcplocal');
+    });
+}
+
+async function setupGeminiCli(prompt: ConfigSetupPrompt, current?: LlmConfig): Promise<LlmConfig> {
+  const model = await prompt.select<string>('Select model:', [
+    ...GEMINI_MODELS.map((m) => ({
+      name: m === current?.model ? `${m} (current)` : m,
+      value: m,
+    })),
+    { name: 'Custom...', value: '__custom__' },
+  ]);
+
+  const finalModel = model === '__custom__'
+    ? await prompt.input('Model name:', current?.model)
+    : model;
+
+  const customBinary = await prompt.confirm('Use custom binary path?', false);
+  const binaryPath = customBinary
+    ? await prompt.input('Binary path:', current?.binaryPath ?? 'gemini')
+    : undefined;
+
+  return { provider: 'gemini-cli', model: finalModel, binaryPath };
+}
+
+async function setupOllama(prompt: ConfigSetupPrompt, fetchModels: ConfigSetupDeps['fetchModels'], current?: LlmConfig): Promise<LlmConfig> {
+  const url = await prompt.input('Ollama URL:', current?.url ?? 'http://localhost:11434');
+
+  // Try to fetch models from Ollama
+  const models = await fetchModels(url, '/api/tags');
+  let model: string;
+
+  if (models.length > 0) {
+    const choices = models.map((m) => ({
+      name: m === current?.model ? `${m} (current)` : m,
+      value: m,
+    }));
+    choices.push({ name: 'Custom...', value: '__custom__' });
+    model = await prompt.select<string>('Select model:', choices);
+    if (model === '__custom__') {
+      model = await prompt.input('Model name:', current?.model);
+    }
+  } else {
+    model = await prompt.input('Model name (could not fetch models):', current?.model ?? 'llama3.2');
+  }
+
+  return { provider: 'ollama', model, url };
+}
+
+async function setupVllm(prompt: ConfigSetupPrompt, fetchModels: ConfigSetupDeps['fetchModels'], current?: LlmConfig): Promise<LlmConfig> {
+  const url = await prompt.input('vLLM URL:', current?.url ?? 'http://localhost:8000');
+
+  // Try to fetch models from vLLM (OpenAI-compatible)
+  const models = await fetchModels(url, '/v1/models');
+  let model: string;
+
+  if (models.length > 0) {
+    const choices = models.map((m) => ({
+      name: m === current?.model ? `${m} (current)` : m,
+      value: m,
+    }));
+    choices.push({ name: 'Custom...', value: '__custom__' });
+    model = await prompt.select<string>('Select model:', choices);
+    if (model === '__custom__') {
+      model = await prompt.input('Model name:', current?.model);
+    }
+  } else {
+    model = await prompt.input('Model name (could not fetch models):', current?.model ?? 'default');
+  }
+
+  return { provider: 'vllm', model, url };
+}
+
+async function setupApiKeyProvider(
+  prompt: ConfigSetupPrompt,
+  secretStore: SecretStore,
+  provider: LlmProviderName,
+  secretKey: string,
+  hardcodedModels: string[],
+  current?: LlmConfig,
+): Promise<LlmConfig> {
+  // Check for existing API key
+  const existingKey = await secretStore.get(secretKey);
+  let apiKey: string;
+
+  if (existingKey) {
+    const masked = `****${existingKey.slice(-4)}`;
+    const changeKey = await prompt.confirm(`API key stored (${masked}). Change it?`, false);
+    if (changeKey) {
+      apiKey = await prompt.password('API key:');
+    } else {
+      apiKey = existingKey;
+    }
+  } else {
+    apiKey = await prompt.password('API key:');
+  }
+
+  // Store API key
+  if (apiKey !== existingKey) {
+    await secretStore.set(secretKey, apiKey);
+  }
+
+  // Model selection
+  let model: string;
+  if (hardcodedModels.length > 0) {
+    const choices = hardcodedModels.map((m) => ({
+      name: m === current?.model ? `${m} (current)` : m,
+      value: m,
+    }));
+    choices.push({ name: 'Custom...', value: '__custom__' });
+    model = await prompt.select<string>('Select model:', choices);
+    if (model === '__custom__') {
+      model = await prompt.input('Model name:', current?.model);
+    }
+  } else {
+    model = await prompt.input('Model name:', current?.model ?? 'gpt-4o');
+  }
+
+  // Optional custom URL for openai
+  let url: string | undefined;
+  if (provider === 'openai') {
+    const customUrl = await prompt.confirm('Use custom API endpoint?', false);
+    if (customUrl) {
+      url = await prompt.input('API URL:', current?.url ?? 'https://api.openai.com');
+    }
+  }
+
+  return { provider, model, url };
+}
diff --git a/src/cli/src/commands/config.ts b/src/cli/src/commands/config.ts
index 7524776..099ae13 100644
--- a/src/cli/src/commands/config.ts
+++ b/src/cli/src/commands/config.ts
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import { loadConfig, saveConfig, mergeConfig, getConfigPath, DEFAULT_CONFIG } fr
 import type { McpctlConfig, ConfigLoaderDeps } from '../config/index.js';
 import { formatJson, formatYaml } from '../formatters/index.js';
 import { saveCredentials, loadCredentials } from '../auth/index.js';
+import { createConfigSetupCommand } from './config-setup.js';
 import type { CredentialsDeps, StoredCredentials } from '../auth/index.js';
 import type { ApiClient } from '../api-client.js';
 
@@ -138,6 +139,8 @@ export function createConfigCommand(deps?: Partial<ConfigCommandDeps>, apiDeps?:
   registerClaudeCommand('claude', false);
   registerClaudeCommand('claude-generate', true); // backward compat
 
+  config.addCommand(createConfigSetupCommand({ configDeps }));
+
   if (apiDeps) {
     const { client, credentialsDeps, log: apiLog } = apiDeps;
 
diff --git a/src/cli/src/commands/status.ts b/src/cli/src/commands/status.ts
index 6ea3e10..34c7e17 100644
--- a/src/cli/src/commands/status.ts
+++ b/src/cli/src/commands/status.ts
@@ -50,6 +50,10 @@ export function createStatusCommand(deps?: Partial<StatusCommandDeps>): Command
         checkHealth(config.mcpdUrl),
       ]);
 
+      const llm = config.llm && config.llm.provider !== 'none'
+        ? `${config.llm.provider}${config.llm.model ? ` / ${config.llm.model}` : ''}`
+        : null;
+
       const status = {
         version: APP_VERSION,
         mcplocalUrl: config.mcplocalUrl,
@@ -59,6 +63,7 @@ export function createStatusCommand(deps?: Partial<StatusCommandDeps>): Command
         auth: creds ? { user: creds.user } : null,
         registries: config.registries,
         outputFormat: config.outputFormat,
+        llm,
       };
 
       if (opts.output === 'json') {
@@ -72,6 +77,8 @@ export function createStatusCommand(deps?: Partial<StatusCommandDeps>): Command
         log(`Auth:       ${creds ? `logged in as ${creds.user}` : 'not logged in'}`);
         log(`Registries: ${status.registries.join(', ')}`);
         log(`Output:     ${status.outputFormat}`);
+        log(`LLM:        ${status.llm ?? "not configured (run 'mcpctl config setup')"}`);
+
       }
     });
 }
diff --git a/src/cli/src/config/index.ts b/src/cli/src/config/index.ts
index 8765cf8..b7d856a 100644
--- a/src/cli/src/config/index.ts
+++ b/src/cli/src/config/index.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-export { McpctlConfigSchema, DEFAULT_CONFIG } from './schema.js';
-export type { McpctlConfig } from './schema.js';
+export { McpctlConfigSchema, LlmConfigSchema, LLM_PROVIDERS, DEFAULT_CONFIG } from './schema.js';
+export type { McpctlConfig, LlmConfig, LlmProviderName } from './schema.js';
 export { loadConfig, saveConfig, mergeConfig, getConfigPath } from './loader.js';
 export type { ConfigLoaderDeps } from './loader.js';
diff --git a/src/cli/src/config/schema.ts b/src/cli/src/config/schema.ts
index b398406..e923d8f 100644
--- a/src/cli/src/config/schema.ts
+++ b/src/cli/src/config/schema.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,21 @@
 import { z } from 'zod';
 
+export const LLM_PROVIDERS = ['gemini-cli', 'ollama', 'anthropic', 'openai', 'deepseek', 'vllm', 'none'] as const;
+export type LlmProviderName = typeof LLM_PROVIDERS[number];
+
+export const LlmConfigSchema = z.object({
+  /** LLM provider name */
+  provider: z.enum(LLM_PROVIDERS),
+  /** Model name */
+  model: z.string().optional(),
+  /** Provider URL (for ollama, vllm, openai with custom endpoint) */
+  url: z.string().optional(),
+  /** Binary path override (for gemini-cli) */
+  binaryPath: z.string().optional(),
+}).strict();
+
+export type LlmConfig = z.infer<typeof LlmConfigSchema>;
+
 export const McpctlConfigSchema = z.object({
   /** mcplocal daemon endpoint (local LLM pre-processing proxy) */
   mcplocalUrl: z.string().default('http://localhost:3200'),
@@ -19,6 +35,8 @@ export const McpctlConfigSchema = z.object({
   outputFormat: z.enum(['table', 'json', 'yaml']).default('table'),
   /** Smithery API key */
   smitheryApiKey: z.string().optional(),
+  /** LLM provider configuration for smart features (pagination summaries, etc.) */
+  llm: LlmConfigSchema.optional(),
 }).transform((cfg) => {
   // Backward compatibility: if old daemonUrl is set but mcplocalUrl wasn't explicitly changed,
   // use daemonUrl as mcplocalUrl
diff --git a/src/cli/tests/commands/config-setup.test.ts b/src/cli/tests/commands/config-setup.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..53347b4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/cli/tests/commands/config-setup.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,268 @@
+import { describe, it, expect, vi, beforeEach } from 'vitest';
+import { createConfigSetupCommand } from '../../src/commands/config-setup.js';
+import type { ConfigSetupDeps, ConfigSetupPrompt } from '../../src/commands/config-setup.js';
+import type { SecretStore } from '@mcpctl/shared';
+import { mkdtempSync, rmSync, readFileSync } from 'node:fs';
+import { join } from 'node:path';
+import { tmpdir } from 'node:os';
+
+let tempDir: string;
+let logs: string[];
+
+beforeEach(() => {
+  tempDir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'mcpctl-config-setup-test-'));
+  logs = [];
+});
+
+function cleanup() {
+  rmSync(tempDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+}
+
+function mockSecretStore(secrets: Record<string, string> = {}): SecretStore {
+  const store: Record<string, string> = { ...secrets };
+  return {
+    get: vi.fn(async (key: string) => store[key] ?? null),
+    set: vi.fn(async (key: string, value: string) => { store[key] = value; }),
+    delete: vi.fn(async () => true),
+    backend: () => 'mock',
+  };
+}
+
+function mockPrompt(answers: unknown[]): ConfigSetupPrompt {
+  let callIndex = 0;
+  return {
+    select: vi.fn(async () => answers[callIndex++]),
+    input: vi.fn(async () => answers[callIndex++] as string),
+    password: vi.fn(async () => answers[callIndex++] as string),
+    confirm: vi.fn(async () => answers[callIndex++] as boolean),
+  };
+}
+
+function buildDeps(overrides: {
+  secrets?: Record<string, string>;
+  answers?: unknown[];
+  fetchModels?: ConfigSetupDeps['fetchModels'];
+} = {}): ConfigSetupDeps {
+  return {
+    configDeps: { configDir: tempDir },
+    secretStore: mockSecretStore(overrides.secrets),
+    log: (...args: string[]) => logs.push(args.join(' ')),
+    prompt: mockPrompt(overrides.answers ?? []),
+    fetchModels: overrides.fetchModels ?? vi.fn(async () => []),
+  };
+}
+
+function readConfig(): Record<string, unknown> {
+  const raw = readFileSync(join(tempDir, 'config.json'), 'utf-8');
+  return JSON.parse(raw) as Record<string, unknown>;
+}
+
+async function runSetup(deps: ConfigSetupDeps): Promise<void> {
+  const cmd = createConfigSetupCommand(deps);
+  await cmd.parseAsync([], { from: 'user' });
+}
+
+describe('config setup wizard', () => {
+  describe('provider: none', () => {
+    it('disables LLM and saves config', async () => {
+      const deps = buildDeps({ answers: ['none'] });
+      await runSetup(deps);
+
+      const config = readConfig();
+      expect(config.llm).toEqual({ provider: 'none' });
+      expect(logs.some((l) => l.includes('LLM disabled'))).toBe(true);
+      cleanup();
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('provider: gemini-cli', () => {
+    it('saves gemini-cli with selected model', async () => {
+      // Answers: select provider, select model, confirm custom binary=false
+      const deps = buildDeps({ answers: ['gemini-cli', 'gemini-2.5-flash', false] });
+      await runSetup(deps);
+
+      const config = readConfig();
+      expect((config.llm as Record<string, unknown>).provider).toBe('gemini-cli');
+      expect((config.llm as Record<string, unknown>).model).toBe('gemini-2.5-flash');
+      cleanup();
+    });
+
+    it('saves gemini-cli with custom model and binary path', async () => {
+      // Answers: select provider, select custom, enter model name, confirm custom binary=true, enter path
+      const deps = buildDeps({ answers: ['gemini-cli', '__custom__', 'gemini-3.0-flash', true, '/opt/gemini'] });
+      await runSetup(deps);
+
+      const config = readConfig();
+      const llm = config.llm as Record<string, unknown>;
+      expect(llm.model).toBe('gemini-3.0-flash');
+      expect(llm.binaryPath).toBe('/opt/gemini');
+      cleanup();
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('provider: ollama', () => {
+    it('fetches models and allows selection', async () => {
+      const fetchModels = vi.fn(async () => ['llama3.2', 'codellama', 'mistral']);
+      // Answers: select provider, enter URL, select model
+      const deps = buildDeps({
+        answers: ['ollama', 'http://localhost:11434', 'codellama'],
+        fetchModels,
+      });
+      await runSetup(deps);
+
+      expect(fetchModels).toHaveBeenCalledWith('http://localhost:11434', '/api/tags');
+      const config = readConfig();
+      const llm = config.llm as Record<string, unknown>;
+      expect(llm.provider).toBe('ollama');
+      expect(llm.model).toBe('codellama');
+      expect(llm.url).toBe('http://localhost:11434');
+      cleanup();
+    });
+
+    it('falls back to manual input when fetch fails', async () => {
+      const fetchModels = vi.fn(async () => []);
+      // Answers: select provider, enter URL, enter model manually
+      const deps = buildDeps({
+        answers: ['ollama', 'http://localhost:11434', 'llama3.2'],
+        fetchModels,
+      });
+      await runSetup(deps);
+
+      const config = readConfig();
+      expect((config.llm as Record<string, unknown>).model).toBe('llama3.2');
+      cleanup();
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('provider: anthropic', () => {
+    it('prompts for API key and saves to secret store', async () => {
+      // Answers: select provider, enter API key, select model
+      const deps = buildDeps({
+        answers: ['anthropic', 'sk-ant-new-key', 'claude-haiku-3-5-20241022'],
+      });
+      await runSetup(deps);
+
+      expect(deps.secretStore.set).toHaveBeenCalledWith('anthropic-api-key', 'sk-ant-new-key');
+      const config = readConfig();
+      const llm = config.llm as Record<string, unknown>;
+      expect(llm.provider).toBe('anthropic');
+      expect(llm.model).toBe('claude-haiku-3-5-20241022');
+      // API key should NOT be in config file
+      expect(llm).not.toHaveProperty('apiKey');
+      cleanup();
+    });
+
+    it('shows existing key masked and allows keeping it', async () => {
+      // Answers: select provider, confirm change=false, select model
+      const deps = buildDeps({
+        secrets: { 'anthropic-api-key': 'sk-ant-existing-key-1234' },
+        answers: ['anthropic', false, 'claude-sonnet-4-20250514'],
+      });
+      await runSetup(deps);
+
+      // Should NOT have called set (kept existing key)
+      expect(deps.secretStore.set).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+      const config = readConfig();
+      expect((config.llm as Record<string, unknown>).model).toBe('claude-sonnet-4-20250514');
+      cleanup();
+    });
+
+    it('allows replacing existing key', async () => {
+      // Answers: select provider, confirm change=true, enter new key, select model
+      const deps = buildDeps({
+        secrets: { 'anthropic-api-key': 'sk-ant-old' },
+        answers: ['anthropic', true, 'sk-ant-new', 'claude-haiku-3-5-20241022'],
+      });
+      await runSetup(deps);
+
+      expect(deps.secretStore.set).toHaveBeenCalledWith('anthropic-api-key', 'sk-ant-new');
+      cleanup();
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('provider: vllm', () => {
+    it('fetches models from vLLM and allows selection', async () => {
+      const fetchModels = vi.fn(async () => ['my-model', 'llama-70b']);
+      // Answers: select provider, enter URL, select model
+      const deps = buildDeps({
+        answers: ['vllm', 'http://gpu:8000', 'llama-70b'],
+        fetchModels,
+      });
+      await runSetup(deps);
+
+      expect(fetchModels).toHaveBeenCalledWith('http://gpu:8000', '/v1/models');
+      const config = readConfig();
+      const llm = config.llm as Record<string, unknown>;
+      expect(llm.provider).toBe('vllm');
+      expect(llm.url).toBe('http://gpu:8000');
+      expect(llm.model).toBe('llama-70b');
+      cleanup();
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('provider: openai', () => {
+    it('prompts for key, model, and optional custom endpoint', async () => {
+      // Answers: select provider, enter key, enter model, confirm custom URL=true, enter URL
+      const deps = buildDeps({
+        answers: ['openai', 'sk-openai-key', 'gpt-4o', true, 'https://custom.api.com'],
+      });
+      await runSetup(deps);
+
+      expect(deps.secretStore.set).toHaveBeenCalledWith('openai-api-key', 'sk-openai-key');
+      const config = readConfig();
+      const llm = config.llm as Record<string, unknown>;
+      expect(llm.provider).toBe('openai');
+      expect(llm.model).toBe('gpt-4o');
+      expect(llm.url).toBe('https://custom.api.com');
+      cleanup();
+    });
+
+    it('skips custom URL when not requested', async () => {
+      // Answers: select provider, enter key, enter model, confirm custom URL=false
+      const deps = buildDeps({
+        answers: ['openai', 'sk-openai-key', 'gpt-4o-mini', false],
+      });
+      await runSetup(deps);
+
+      const config = readConfig();
+      const llm = config.llm as Record<string, unknown>;
+      expect(llm.url).toBeUndefined();
+      cleanup();
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('provider: deepseek', () => {
+    it('prompts for key and model', async () => {
+      // Answers: select provider, enter key, select model
+      const deps = buildDeps({
+        answers: ['deepseek', 'sk-ds-key', 'deepseek-chat'],
+      });
+      await runSetup(deps);
+
+      expect(deps.secretStore.set).toHaveBeenCalledWith('deepseek-api-key', 'sk-ds-key');
+      const config = readConfig();
+      const llm = config.llm as Record<string, unknown>;
+      expect(llm.provider).toBe('deepseek');
+      expect(llm.model).toBe('deepseek-chat');
+      cleanup();
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('output messages', () => {
+    it('shows restart instruction', async () => {
+      const deps = buildDeps({ answers: ['gemini-cli', 'gemini-2.5-flash', false] });
+      await runSetup(deps);
+
+      expect(logs.some((l) => l.includes('systemctl --user restart mcplocal'))).toBe(true);
+      cleanup();
+    });
+
+    it('shows configured provider and model', async () => {
+      const deps = buildDeps({ answers: ['gemini-cli', 'gemini-2.5-flash', false] });
+      await runSetup(deps);
+
+      expect(logs.some((l) => l.includes('gemini-cli') && l.includes('gemini-2.5-flash'))).toBe(true);
+      cleanup();
+    });
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/cli/tests/commands/status.test.ts b/src/cli/tests/commands/status.test.ts
index fc97dae..8616efa 100644
--- a/src/cli/tests/commands/status.test.ts
+++ b/src/cli/tests/commands/status.test.ts
@@ -126,4 +126,69 @@ describe('status command', () => {
     expect(output.join('\n')).toContain('official');
     expect(output.join('\n')).not.toContain('glama');
   });
+
+  it('shows LLM not configured hint when no LLM is set', async () => {
+    const cmd = createStatusCommand({
+      configDeps: { configDir: tempDir },
+      credentialsDeps: { configDir: tempDir },
+      log,
+      checkHealth: async () => true,
+    });
+    await cmd.parseAsync([], { from: 'user' });
+    const out = output.join('\n');
+    expect(out).toContain('LLM:');
+    expect(out).toContain('not configured');
+    expect(out).toContain('mcpctl config setup');
+  });
+
+  it('shows configured LLM provider and model', async () => {
+    saveConfig({ ...DEFAULT_CONFIG, llm: { provider: 'anthropic', model: 'claude-haiku-3-5-20241022' } }, { configDir: tempDir });
+    const cmd = createStatusCommand({
+      configDeps: { configDir: tempDir },
+      credentialsDeps: { configDir: tempDir },
+      log,
+      checkHealth: async () => true,
+    });
+    await cmd.parseAsync([], { from: 'user' });
+    const out = output.join('\n');
+    expect(out).toContain('LLM:');
+    expect(out).toContain('anthropic / claude-haiku-3-5-20241022');
+  });
+
+  it('shows not configured when LLM provider is none', async () => {
+    saveConfig({ ...DEFAULT_CONFIG, llm: { provider: 'none' } }, { configDir: tempDir });
+    const cmd = createStatusCommand({
+      configDeps: { configDir: tempDir },
+      credentialsDeps: { configDir: tempDir },
+      log,
+      checkHealth: async () => true,
+    });
+    await cmd.parseAsync([], { from: 'user' });
+    expect(output.join('\n')).toContain('not configured');
+  });
+
+  it('includes llm field in JSON output', async () => {
+    saveConfig({ ...DEFAULT_CONFIG, llm: { provider: 'gemini-cli', model: 'gemini-2.5-flash' } }, { configDir: tempDir });
+    const cmd = createStatusCommand({
+      configDeps: { configDir: tempDir },
+      credentialsDeps: { configDir: tempDir },
+      log,
+      checkHealth: async () => true,
+    });
+    await cmd.parseAsync(['-o', 'json'], { from: 'user' });
+    const parsed = JSON.parse(output[0]) as Record<string, unknown>;
+    expect(parsed['llm']).toBe('gemini-cli / gemini-2.5-flash');
+  });
+
+  it('includes null llm in JSON output when not configured', async () => {
+    const cmd = createStatusCommand({
+      configDeps: { configDir: tempDir },
+      credentialsDeps: { configDir: tempDir },
+      log,
+      checkHealth: async () => true,
+    });
+    await cmd.parseAsync(['-o', 'json'], { from: 'user' });
+    const parsed = JSON.parse(output[0]) as Record<string, unknown>;
+    expect(parsed['llm']).toBeNull();
+  });
 });
diff --git a/src/mcplocal/src/http/config.ts b/src/mcplocal/src/http/config.ts
index d298d9f..60a401b 100644
--- a/src/mcplocal/src/http/config.ts
+++ b/src/mcplocal/src/http/config.ts
@@ -37,6 +37,30 @@ function loadUserToken(): string {
   }
 }
 
+export interface LlmFileConfig {
+  provider: string;
+  model?: string;
+  url?: string;
+  binaryPath?: string;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Load LLM configuration from ~/.mcpctl/config.json.
+ * Returns undefined if no LLM section is configured.
+ */
+export function loadLlmConfig(): LlmFileConfig | undefined {
+  try {
+    const configPath = join(homedir(), '.mcpctl', 'config.json');
+    if (!existsSync(configPath)) return undefined;
+    const raw = readFileSync(configPath, 'utf-8');
+    const parsed = JSON.parse(raw) as { llm?: LlmFileConfig };
+    if (!parsed.llm?.provider || parsed.llm.provider === 'none') return undefined;
+    return parsed.llm;
+  } catch {
+    return undefined;
+  }
+}
+
 export function loadHttpConfig(env: Record<string, string | undefined> = process.env): HttpConfig {
   const portStr = env['MCPLOCAL_HTTP_PORT'];
   const port = portStr !== undefined ? parseInt(portStr, 10) : DEFAULT_HTTP_PORT;
diff --git a/src/mcplocal/src/http/project-mcp-endpoint.ts b/src/mcplocal/src/http/project-mcp-endpoint.ts
index eae0a91..dea9c2c 100644
--- a/src/mcplocal/src/http/project-mcp-endpoint.ts
+++ b/src/mcplocal/src/http/project-mcp-endpoint.ts
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ import { McpRouter } from '../router.js';
 import { ResponsePaginator } from '../llm/pagination.js';
 import { refreshProjectUpstreams } from '../discovery.js';
 import type { McpdClient } from './mcpd-client.js';
+import type { ProviderRegistry } from '../providers/registry.js';
 import type { JsonRpcRequest } from '../types.js';
 
 interface ProjectCacheEntry {
@@ -29,7 +30,7 @@ interface SessionEntry {
 
 const CACHE_TTL_MS = 60_000; // 60 seconds
 
-export function registerProjectMcpEndpoint(app: FastifyInstance, mcpdClient: McpdClient): void {
+export function registerProjectMcpEndpoint(app: FastifyInstance, mcpdClient: McpdClient, providerRegistry?: ProviderRegistry | null): void {
   const projectCache = new Map<string, ProjectCacheEntry>();
   const sessions = new Map<string, SessionEntry>();
 
@@ -45,8 +46,8 @@ export function registerProjectMcpEndpoint(app: FastifyInstance, mcpdClient: Mcp
     const router = existing?.router ?? new McpRouter();
     await refreshProjectUpstreams(router, mcpdClient, projectName, authToken);
 
-    // Wire pagination support (no LLM provider for now — simple index fallback)
-    router.setPaginator(new ResponsePaginator(null));
+    // Wire pagination support with LLM provider if configured
+    router.setPaginator(new ResponsePaginator(providerRegistry?.getActive() ?? null));
 
     // Configure prompt resources with SA-scoped client for RBAC
     const saClient = mcpdClient.withHeaders({ 'X-Service-Account': `project:${projectName}` });
diff --git a/src/mcplocal/src/http/server.ts b/src/mcplocal/src/http/server.ts
index 01ab7fc..d8380bc 100644
--- a/src/mcplocal/src/http/server.ts
+++ b/src/mcplocal/src/http/server.ts
@@ -10,11 +10,13 @@ import { registerProjectMcpEndpoint } from './project-mcp-endpoint.js';
 import type { McpRouter } from '../router.js';
 import type { HealthMonitor } from '../health.js';
 import type { TieredHealthMonitor } from '../health/tiered.js';
+import type { ProviderRegistry } from '../providers/registry.js';
 
 export interface HttpServerDeps {
   router: McpRouter;
   healthMonitor?: HealthMonitor | undefined;
   tieredHealthMonitor?: TieredHealthMonitor | undefined;
+  providerRegistry?: ProviderRegistry | null | undefined;
 }
 
 export async function createHttpServer(
@@ -87,7 +89,7 @@ export async function createHttpServer(
   registerMcpEndpoint(app, deps.router);
 
   // Project-scoped MCP endpoint at /projects/:projectName/mcp
-  registerProjectMcpEndpoint(app, mcpdClient);
+  registerProjectMcpEndpoint(app, mcpdClient, deps.providerRegistry);
 
   return app;
 }
diff --git a/src/mcplocal/src/llm-config.ts b/src/mcplocal/src/llm-config.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..31f03c9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/mcplocal/src/llm-config.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,93 @@
+import type { SecretStore } from '@mcpctl/shared';
+import type { LlmFileConfig } from './http/config.js';
+import { ProviderRegistry } from './providers/registry.js';
+import { GeminiCliProvider } from './providers/gemini-cli.js';
+import { OllamaProvider } from './providers/ollama.js';
+import { AnthropicProvider } from './providers/anthropic.js';
+import { OpenAiProvider } from './providers/openai.js';
+import { DeepSeekProvider } from './providers/deepseek.js';
+
+/**
+ * Create a ProviderRegistry from user config + secret store.
+ * Returns an empty registry if config is undefined or provider is 'none'.
+ */
+export async function createProviderFromConfig(
+  config: LlmFileConfig | undefined,
+  secretStore: SecretStore,
+): Promise<ProviderRegistry> {
+  const registry = new ProviderRegistry();
+  if (!config?.provider || config.provider === 'none') return registry;
+
+  switch (config.provider) {
+    case 'gemini-cli':
+      registry.register(new GeminiCliProvider({
+        binaryPath: config.binaryPath,
+        defaultModel: config.model,
+      }));
+      break;
+
+    case 'ollama':
+      registry.register(new OllamaProvider({
+        baseUrl: config.url,
+        defaultModel: config.model,
+      }));
+      break;
+
+    case 'anthropic': {
+      const apiKey = await secretStore.get('anthropic-api-key');
+      if (!apiKey) {
+        process.stderr.write('Warning: Anthropic API key not found in secret store. Run "mcpctl config setup" to configure.\n');
+        return registry;
+      }
+      registry.register(new AnthropicProvider({
+        apiKey,
+        defaultModel: config.model,
+      }));
+      break;
+    }
+
+    case 'openai': {
+      const apiKey = await secretStore.get('openai-api-key');
+      if (!apiKey) {
+        process.stderr.write('Warning: OpenAI API key not found in secret store. Run "mcpctl config setup" to configure.\n');
+        return registry;
+      }
+      registry.register(new OpenAiProvider({
+        apiKey,
+        baseUrl: config.url,
+        defaultModel: config.model,
+      }));
+      break;
+    }
+
+    case 'deepseek': {
+      const apiKey = await secretStore.get('deepseek-api-key');
+      if (!apiKey) {
+        process.stderr.write('Warning: DeepSeek API key not found in secret store. Run "mcpctl config setup" to configure.\n');
+        return registry;
+      }
+      registry.register(new DeepSeekProvider({
+        apiKey,
+        baseUrl: config.url,
+        defaultModel: config.model,
+      }));
+      break;
+    }
+
+    case 'vllm': {
+      // vLLM uses OpenAI-compatible API
+      if (!config.url) {
+        process.stderr.write('Warning: vLLM URL not configured. Run "mcpctl config setup" to configure.\n');
+        return registry;
+      }
+      registry.register(new OpenAiProvider({
+        apiKey: 'unused',
+        baseUrl: config.url,
+        defaultModel: config.model ?? 'default',
+      }));
+      break;
+    }
+  }
+
+  return registry;
+}
diff --git a/src/mcplocal/src/main.ts b/src/mcplocal/src/main.ts
index 0e74edb..5473e74 100644
--- a/src/mcplocal/src/main.ts
+++ b/src/mcplocal/src/main.ts
@@ -7,8 +7,11 @@ import { StdioProxyServer } from './server.js';
 import { StdioUpstream } from './upstream/stdio.js';
 import { HttpUpstream } from './upstream/http.js';
 import { createHttpServer } from './http/server.js';
-import { loadHttpConfig } from './http/config.js';
+import { loadHttpConfig, loadLlmConfig } from './http/config.js';
 import type { HttpConfig } from './http/config.js';
+import { createProviderFromConfig } from './llm-config.js';
+import { createSecretStore } from '@mcpctl/shared';
+import type { ProviderRegistry } from './providers/registry.js';
 
 interface ParsedArgs {
   configPath: string | undefined;
@@ -55,12 +58,22 @@ export interface MainResult {
   server: StdioProxyServer;
   httpServer: FastifyInstance | undefined;
   httpConfig: HttpConfig;
+  providerRegistry: ProviderRegistry;
 }
 
 export async function main(argv: string[] = process.argv): Promise<MainResult> {
   const args = parseArgs(argv);
   const httpConfig = loadHttpConfig();
 
+  // Load LLM provider from user config + secret store
+  const llmConfig = loadLlmConfig();
+  const secretStore = await createSecretStore();
+  const providerRegistry = await createProviderFromConfig(llmConfig, secretStore);
+  const activeLlm = providerRegistry.getActive();
+  if (activeLlm) {
+    process.stderr.write(`LLM provider: ${activeLlm.name}\n`);
+  }
+
   let upstreamConfigs: UpstreamConfig[] = [];
 
   if (args.configPath) {
@@ -115,7 +128,7 @@ export async function main(argv: string[] = process.argv): Promise<MainResult> {
   // Start HTTP server unless disabled
   let httpServer: FastifyInstance | undefined;
   if (!args.noHttp) {
-    httpServer = await createHttpServer(httpConfig, { router });
+    httpServer = await createHttpServer(httpConfig, { router, providerRegistry });
     await httpServer.listen({ port: httpConfig.httpPort, host: httpConfig.httpHost });
     process.stderr.write(`mcpctl-proxy HTTP server listening on ${httpConfig.httpHost}:${httpConfig.httpPort}\n`);
   }
@@ -137,7 +150,7 @@ export async function main(argv: string[] = process.argv): Promise<MainResult> {
   process.on('SIGTERM', () => void shutdown());
   process.on('SIGINT', () => void shutdown());
 
-  return { router, server, httpServer, httpConfig };
+  return { router, server, httpServer, httpConfig, providerRegistry };
 }
 
 // Run when executed directly
diff --git a/src/mcplocal/tests/http/config.test.ts b/src/mcplocal/tests/http/config.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..64bbee9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/mcplocal/tests/http/config.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+import { describe, it, expect, vi, afterEach } from 'vitest';
+import { loadLlmConfig } from '../../src/http/config.js';
+import { existsSync, readFileSync } from 'node:fs';
+
+vi.mock('node:fs', async () => {
+  const actual = await vi.importActual<typeof import('node:fs')>('node:fs');
+  return {
+    ...actual,
+    existsSync: vi.fn(),
+    readFileSync: vi.fn(),
+  };
+});
+
+afterEach(() => {
+  vi.restoreAllMocks();
+});
+
+describe('loadLlmConfig', () => {
+  it('returns undefined when config file does not exist', () => {
+    vi.mocked(existsSync).mockReturnValue(false);
+    expect(loadLlmConfig()).toBeUndefined();
+  });
+
+  it('returns undefined when config has no llm section', () => {
+    vi.mocked(existsSync).mockReturnValue(true);
+    vi.mocked(readFileSync).mockReturnValue(JSON.stringify({ mcplocalUrl: 'http://localhost:3200' }));
+    expect(loadLlmConfig()).toBeUndefined();
+  });
+
+  it('returns undefined when provider is none', () => {
+    vi.mocked(existsSync).mockReturnValue(true);
+    vi.mocked(readFileSync).mockReturnValue(JSON.stringify({ llm: { provider: 'none' } }));
+    expect(loadLlmConfig()).toBeUndefined();
+  });
+
+  it('returns LLM config when provider is configured', () => {
+    vi.mocked(existsSync).mockReturnValue(true);
+    vi.mocked(readFileSync).mockReturnValue(JSON.stringify({
+      llm: { provider: 'anthropic', model: 'claude-haiku-3-5-20241022' },
+    }));
+    const result = loadLlmConfig();
+    expect(result).toEqual({ provider: 'anthropic', model: 'claude-haiku-3-5-20241022' });
+  });
+
+  it('returns full LLM config with all fields', () => {
+    vi.mocked(existsSync).mockReturnValue(true);
+    vi.mocked(readFileSync).mockReturnValue(JSON.stringify({
+      llm: { provider: 'vllm', model: 'my-model', url: 'http://gpu:8000' },
+    }));
+    const result = loadLlmConfig();
+    expect(result).toEqual({ provider: 'vllm', model: 'my-model', url: 'http://gpu:8000' });
+  });
+
+  it('returns undefined on malformed JSON', () => {
+    vi.mocked(existsSync).mockReturnValue(true);
+    vi.mocked(readFileSync).mockReturnValue('NOT JSON!!!');
+    expect(loadLlmConfig()).toBeUndefined();
+  });
+
+  it('returns undefined on read error', () => {
+    vi.mocked(existsSync).mockReturnValue(true);
+    vi.mocked(readFileSync).mockImplementation(() => { throw new Error('EACCES'); });
+    expect(loadLlmConfig()).toBeUndefined();
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/mcplocal/tests/llm-config.test.ts b/src/mcplocal/tests/llm-config.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e1015ad
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/mcplocal/tests/llm-config.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,133 @@
+import { describe, it, expect, vi } from 'vitest';
+import { createProviderFromConfig } from '../src/llm-config.js';
+import type { SecretStore } from '@mcpctl/shared';
+
+function mockSecretStore(secrets: Record<string, string> = {}): SecretStore {
+  return {
+    get: vi.fn(async (key: string) => secrets[key] ?? null),
+    set: vi.fn(async () => {}),
+    delete: vi.fn(async () => true),
+    backend: () => 'mock',
+  };
+}
+
+describe('createProviderFromConfig', () => {
+  it('returns empty registry for undefined config', async () => {
+    const store = mockSecretStore();
+    const registry = await createProviderFromConfig(undefined, store);
+    expect(registry.getActive()).toBeNull();
+    expect(registry.list()).toEqual([]);
+  });
+
+  it('returns empty registry for provider=none', async () => {
+    const store = mockSecretStore();
+    const registry = await createProviderFromConfig({ provider: 'none' }, store);
+    expect(registry.getActive()).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it('creates gemini-cli provider', async () => {
+    const store = mockSecretStore();
+    const registry = await createProviderFromConfig(
+      { provider: 'gemini-cli', model: 'gemini-2.5-flash', binaryPath: '/usr/bin/gemini' },
+      store,
+    );
+    expect(registry.getActive()).not.toBeNull();
+    expect(registry.getActive()!.name).toBe('gemini-cli');
+  });
+
+  it('creates ollama provider', async () => {
+    const store = mockSecretStore();
+    const registry = await createProviderFromConfig(
+      { provider: 'ollama', model: 'llama3.2', url: 'http://localhost:11434' },
+      store,
+    );
+    expect(registry.getActive()!.name).toBe('ollama');
+  });
+
+  it('creates anthropic provider with API key from secret store', async () => {
+    const store = mockSecretStore({ 'anthropic-api-key': 'sk-ant-test' });
+    const registry = await createProviderFromConfig(
+      { provider: 'anthropic', model: 'claude-haiku-3-5-20241022' },
+      store,
+    );
+    expect(registry.getActive()!.name).toBe('anthropic');
+    expect(store.get).toHaveBeenCalledWith('anthropic-api-key');
+  });
+
+  it('returns empty registry when anthropic API key is missing', async () => {
+    const store = mockSecretStore();
+    const stderrSpy = vi.spyOn(process.stderr, 'write').mockImplementation(() => true);
+    const registry = await createProviderFromConfig(
+      { provider: 'anthropic', model: 'claude-haiku-3-5-20241022' },
+      store,
+    );
+    expect(registry.getActive()).toBeNull();
+    expect(stderrSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith(expect.stringContaining('Anthropic API key not found'));
+    stderrSpy.mockRestore();
+  });
+
+  it('creates openai provider with API key from secret store', async () => {
+    const store = mockSecretStore({ 'openai-api-key': 'sk-test' });
+    const registry = await createProviderFromConfig(
+      { provider: 'openai', model: 'gpt-4o', url: 'https://api.openai.com' },
+      store,
+    );
+    expect(registry.getActive()!.name).toBe('openai');
+    expect(store.get).toHaveBeenCalledWith('openai-api-key');
+  });
+
+  it('returns empty registry when openai API key is missing', async () => {
+    const store = mockSecretStore();
+    const stderrSpy = vi.spyOn(process.stderr, 'write').mockImplementation(() => true);
+    const registry = await createProviderFromConfig(
+      { provider: 'openai' },
+      store,
+    );
+    expect(registry.getActive()).toBeNull();
+    stderrSpy.mockRestore();
+  });
+
+  it('creates deepseek provider with API key from secret store', async () => {
+    const store = mockSecretStore({ 'deepseek-api-key': 'sk-ds-test' });
+    const registry = await createProviderFromConfig(
+      { provider: 'deepseek', model: 'deepseek-chat' },
+      store,
+    );
+    expect(registry.getActive()!.name).toBe('deepseek');
+    expect(store.get).toHaveBeenCalledWith('deepseek-api-key');
+  });
+
+  it('returns empty registry when deepseek API key is missing', async () => {
+    const store = mockSecretStore();
+    const stderrSpy = vi.spyOn(process.stderr, 'write').mockImplementation(() => true);
+    const registry = await createProviderFromConfig(
+      { provider: 'deepseek' },
+      store,
+    );
+    expect(registry.getActive()).toBeNull();
+    stderrSpy.mockRestore();
+  });
+
+  it('creates vllm provider using OpenAI provider', async () => {
+    const store = mockSecretStore();
+    const registry = await createProviderFromConfig(
+      { provider: 'vllm', model: 'my-model', url: 'http://gpu-server:8000' },
+      store,
+    );
+    // vLLM reuses OpenAI provider under the hood
+    expect(registry.getActive()).not.toBeNull();
+    expect(registry.getActive()!.name).toBe('openai');
+  });
+
+  it('returns empty registry when vllm URL is missing', async () => {
+    const store = mockSecretStore();
+    const stderrSpy = vi.spyOn(process.stderr, 'write').mockImplementation(() => true);
+    const registry = await createProviderFromConfig(
+      { provider: 'vllm' },
+      store,
+    );
+    expect(registry.getActive()).toBeNull();
+    expect(stderrSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith(expect.stringContaining('vLLM URL not configured'));
+    stderrSpy.mockRestore();
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/shared/src/index.ts b/src/shared/src/index.ts
index 9f512e7..384dd73 100644
--- a/src/shared/src/index.ts
+++ b/src/shared/src/index.ts
@@ -2,3 +2,4 @@ export * from './types/index.js';
 export * from './validation/index.js';
 export * from './constants/index.js';
 export * from './utils/index.js';
+export * from './secrets/index.js';
diff --git a/src/shared/src/secrets/file-store.ts b/src/shared/src/secrets/file-store.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..53d375f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/shared/src/secrets/file-store.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+import { existsSync, mkdirSync, readFileSync, writeFileSync, chmodSync } from 'node:fs';
+import { join } from 'node:path';
+import { homedir } from 'node:os';
+import type { SecretStore, SecretStoreDeps } from './types.js';
+
+function defaultConfigDir(): string {
+  return join(homedir(), '.mcpctl');
+}
+
+function secretsPath(configDir: string): string {
+  return join(configDir, 'secrets');
+}
+
+export class FileSecretStore implements SecretStore {
+  private readonly configDir: string;
+
+  constructor(deps?: SecretStoreDeps) {
+    this.configDir = deps?.configDir ?? defaultConfigDir();
+  }
+
+  backend(): string {
+    return 'file';
+  }
+
+  async get(key: string): Promise<string | null> {
+    const data = this.readAll();
+    return data[key] ?? null;
+  }
+
+  async set(key: string, value: string): Promise<void> {
+    const data = this.readAll();
+    data[key] = value;
+    this.writeAll(data);
+  }
+
+  async delete(key: string): Promise<boolean> {
+    const data = this.readAll();
+    if (!(key in data)) return false;
+    delete data[key];
+    this.writeAll(data);
+    return true;
+  }
+
+  private readAll(): Record<string, string> {
+    const path = secretsPath(this.configDir);
+    if (!existsSync(path)) return {};
+    try {
+      const raw = readFileSync(path, 'utf-8');
+      return JSON.parse(raw) as Record<string, string>;
+    } catch {
+      return {};
+    }
+  }
+
+  private writeAll(data: Record<string, string>): void {
+    if (!existsSync(this.configDir)) {
+      mkdirSync(this.configDir, { recursive: true });
+    }
+    const path = secretsPath(this.configDir);
+    writeFileSync(path, JSON.stringify(data, null, 2) + '\n', 'utf-8');
+    chmodSync(path, 0o600);
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/shared/src/secrets/gnome-keyring.ts b/src/shared/src/secrets/gnome-keyring.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..810a3ed
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/shared/src/secrets/gnome-keyring.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,97 @@
+import { spawn } from 'node:child_process';
+import { execFile } from 'node:child_process';
+import { promisify } from 'node:util';
+import type { SecretStore } from './types.js';
+
+const execFileAsync = promisify(execFile);
+const SERVICE = 'mcpctl';
+
+export type RunCommand = (cmd: string, args: string[], stdin?: string) => Promise<{ stdout: string; code: number }>;
+
+function defaultRunCommand(cmd: string, args: string[], stdin?: string): Promise<{ stdout: string; code: number }> {
+  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+    const child = spawn(cmd, args, {
+      stdio: ['pipe', 'pipe', 'pipe'],
+      timeout: 5000,
+    });
+
+    const stdoutChunks: Buffer[] = [];
+    child.stdout.on('data', (chunk: Buffer) => stdoutChunks.push(chunk));
+
+    child.on('error', reject);
+    child.on('close', (code) => {
+      const stdout = Buffer.concat(stdoutChunks).toString('utf-8');
+      resolve({ stdout, code: code ?? 1 });
+    });
+
+    if (stdin !== undefined) {
+      child.stdin.write(stdin);
+      child.stdin.end();
+    } else {
+      child.stdin.end();
+    }
+  });
+}
+
+export interface GnomeKeyringDeps {
+  run?: RunCommand;
+}
+
+export class GnomeKeyringStore implements SecretStore {
+  private readonly run: RunCommand;
+
+  constructor(deps?: GnomeKeyringDeps) {
+    this.run = deps?.run ?? defaultRunCommand;
+  }
+
+  backend(): string {
+    return 'gnome-keyring';
+  }
+
+  async get(key: string): Promise<string | null> {
+    try {
+      const { stdout, code } = await this.run(
+        'secret-tool', ['lookup', 'service', SERVICE, 'key', key],
+      );
+      if (code !== 0 || !stdout) return null;
+      return stdout;
+    } catch {
+      return null;
+    }
+  }
+
+  async set(key: string, value: string): Promise<void> {
+    const { code } = await this.run(
+      'secret-tool',
+      ['store', '--label', `mcpctl: ${key}`, 'service', SERVICE, 'key', key],
+      value,
+    );
+    if (code !== 0) {
+      throw new Error(`secret-tool store exited with code ${code}`);
+    }
+  }
+
+  async delete(key: string): Promise<boolean> {
+    try {
+      const { code } = await this.run(
+        'secret-tool', ['clear', 'service', SERVICE, 'key', key],
+      );
+      return code === 0;
+    } catch {
+      return false;
+    }
+  }
+
+  static async isAvailable(deps?: { run?: RunCommand }): Promise<boolean> {
+    try {
+      if (deps?.run) {
+        const { code } = await deps.run('secret-tool', ['--version']);
+        return code === 0;
+      }
+      await execFileAsync('secret-tool', ['--version'], { timeout: 3000 });
+      return true;
+    } catch {
+      return false;
+    }
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/shared/src/secrets/index.ts b/src/shared/src/secrets/index.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..599bcab
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/shared/src/secrets/index.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+export type { SecretStore, SecretStoreDeps } from './types.js';
+export { FileSecretStore } from './file-store.js';
+export { GnomeKeyringStore } from './gnome-keyring.js';
+export type { GnomeKeyringDeps, RunCommand } from './gnome-keyring.js';
+
+import { GnomeKeyringStore } from './gnome-keyring.js';
+import { FileSecretStore } from './file-store.js';
+import type { SecretStore, SecretStoreDeps } from './types.js';
+
+export async function createSecretStore(deps?: SecretStoreDeps): Promise<SecretStore> {
+  if (await GnomeKeyringStore.isAvailable()) {
+    return new GnomeKeyringStore();
+  }
+  return new FileSecretStore(deps);
+}
diff --git a/src/shared/src/secrets/types.ts b/src/shared/src/secrets/types.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..083e5f3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/shared/src/secrets/types.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+export interface SecretStore {
+  get(key: string): Promise<string | null>;
+  set(key: string, value: string): Promise<void>;
+  delete(key: string): Promise<boolean>;
+  backend(): string;
+}
+
+export interface SecretStoreDeps {
+  configDir?: string;
+}
diff --git a/src/shared/tests/secrets/factory.test.ts b/src/shared/tests/secrets/factory.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..124e2eb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/shared/tests/secrets/factory.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+import { describe, it, expect, vi, afterEach } from 'vitest';
+import { createSecretStore } from '../../src/secrets/index.js';
+import { GnomeKeyringStore } from '../../src/secrets/gnome-keyring.js';
+import { FileSecretStore } from '../../src/secrets/file-store.js';
+
+afterEach(() => {
+  vi.restoreAllMocks();
+});
+
+describe('createSecretStore', () => {
+  it('returns GnomeKeyringStore when secret-tool is available', async () => {
+    vi.spyOn(GnomeKeyringStore, 'isAvailable').mockResolvedValue(true);
+    const store = await createSecretStore();
+    expect(store.backend()).toBe('gnome-keyring');
+    expect(store).toBeInstanceOf(GnomeKeyringStore);
+  });
+
+  it('returns FileSecretStore when secret-tool is not available', async () => {
+    vi.spyOn(GnomeKeyringStore, 'isAvailable').mockResolvedValue(false);
+    const store = await createSecretStore();
+    expect(store.backend()).toBe('file');
+    expect(store).toBeInstanceOf(FileSecretStore);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/shared/tests/secrets/file-store.test.ts b/src/shared/tests/secrets/file-store.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..df3a737
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/shared/tests/secrets/file-store.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,93 @@
+import { describe, it, expect, beforeEach, afterEach } from 'vitest';
+import { mkdtempSync, rmSync, statSync, existsSync, writeFileSync } from 'node:fs';
+import { join } from 'node:path';
+import { tmpdir } from 'node:os';
+import { FileSecretStore } from '../../src/secrets/file-store.js';
+
+let tempDir: string;
+
+beforeEach(() => {
+  tempDir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'mcpctl-secrets-test-'));
+});
+
+afterEach(() => {
+  rmSync(tempDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+});
+
+describe('FileSecretStore', () => {
+  it('returns null for missing key', async () => {
+    const store = new FileSecretStore({ configDir: tempDir });
+    expect(await store.get('nonexistent')).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it('stores and retrieves a secret', async () => {
+    const store = new FileSecretStore({ configDir: tempDir });
+    await store.set('api-key', 'sk-12345');
+    expect(await store.get('api-key')).toBe('sk-12345');
+  });
+
+  it('overwrites existing values', async () => {
+    const store = new FileSecretStore({ configDir: tempDir });
+    await store.set('api-key', 'old-value');
+    await store.set('api-key', 'new-value');
+    expect(await store.get('api-key')).toBe('new-value');
+  });
+
+  it('stores multiple keys', async () => {
+    const store = new FileSecretStore({ configDir: tempDir });
+    await store.set('key-a', 'value-a');
+    await store.set('key-b', 'value-b');
+    expect(await store.get('key-a')).toBe('value-a');
+    expect(await store.get('key-b')).toBe('value-b');
+  });
+
+  it('deletes a key', async () => {
+    const store = new FileSecretStore({ configDir: tempDir });
+    await store.set('api-key', 'sk-12345');
+    expect(await store.delete('api-key')).toBe(true);
+    expect(await store.get('api-key')).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it('returns false when deleting nonexistent key', async () => {
+    const store = new FileSecretStore({ configDir: tempDir });
+    expect(await store.delete('nonexistent')).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it('sets 0600 permissions on secrets file', async () => {
+    const store = new FileSecretStore({ configDir: tempDir });
+    await store.set('api-key', 'sk-12345');
+    const stat = statSync(join(tempDir, 'secrets'));
+    expect(stat.mode & 0o777).toBe(0o600);
+  });
+
+  it('creates config dir if missing', async () => {
+    const nested = join(tempDir, 'sub', 'dir');
+    const store = new FileSecretStore({ configDir: nested });
+    await store.set('api-key', 'sk-12345');
+    expect(existsSync(join(nested, 'secrets'))).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it('recovers from corrupted JSON', async () => {
+    writeFileSync(join(tempDir, 'secrets'), 'NOT JSON!!!', 'utf-8');
+    const store = new FileSecretStore({ configDir: tempDir });
+    // Should not throw, returns null for any key
+    expect(await store.get('api-key')).toBeNull();
+    // Should be able to write over corrupted file
+    await store.set('api-key', 'fresh-value');
+    expect(await store.get('api-key')).toBe('fresh-value');
+  });
+
+  it('reports file backend', () => {
+    const store = new FileSecretStore({ configDir: tempDir });
+    expect(store.backend()).toBe('file');
+  });
+
+  it('preserves other keys on delete', async () => {
+    const store = new FileSecretStore({ configDir: tempDir });
+    await store.set('key-a', 'value-a');
+    await store.set('key-b', 'value-b');
+    await store.delete('key-a');
+    expect(await store.get('key-a')).toBeNull();
+    expect(await store.get('key-b')).toBe('value-b');
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/shared/tests/secrets/gnome-keyring.test.ts b/src/shared/tests/secrets/gnome-keyring.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7660952
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/shared/tests/secrets/gnome-keyring.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,125 @@
+import { describe, it, expect, vi } from 'vitest';
+import { GnomeKeyringStore } from '../../src/secrets/gnome-keyring.js';
+import type { RunCommand } from '../../src/secrets/gnome-keyring.js';
+
+function mockRun(
+  responses: Record<string, { stdout: string; code: number }>,
+): RunCommand {
+  return vi.fn(async (cmd: string, args: string[], _stdin?: string) => {
+    const key = `${cmd} ${args.join(' ')}`;
+    for (const [pattern, response] of Object.entries(responses)) {
+      if (key.includes(pattern)) return response;
+    }
+    return { stdout: '', code: 1 };
+  });
+}
+
+describe('GnomeKeyringStore', () => {
+  describe('get', () => {
+    it('returns value on success', async () => {
+      const run = mockRun({ 'lookup': { stdout: 'my-secret', code: 0 } });
+      const store = new GnomeKeyringStore({ run });
+      expect(await store.get('api-key')).toBe('my-secret');
+    });
+
+    it('returns null on exit code 1', async () => {
+      const run = mockRun({ 'lookup': { stdout: '', code: 1 } });
+      const store = new GnomeKeyringStore({ run });
+      expect(await store.get('api-key')).toBeNull();
+    });
+
+    it('returns null on empty stdout', async () => {
+      const run = mockRun({ 'lookup': { stdout: '', code: 0 } });
+      const store = new GnomeKeyringStore({ run });
+      expect(await store.get('api-key')).toBeNull();
+    });
+
+    it('returns null on error', async () => {
+      const run = vi.fn().mockRejectedValue(new Error('timeout'));
+      const store = new GnomeKeyringStore({ run });
+      expect(await store.get('api-key')).toBeNull();
+    });
+
+    it('calls secret-tool with correct args', async () => {
+      const run = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({ stdout: 'val', code: 0 });
+      const store = new GnomeKeyringStore({ run });
+      await store.get('my-key');
+      expect(run).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+        'secret-tool',
+        ['lookup', 'service', 'mcpctl', 'key', 'my-key'],
+      );
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('set', () => {
+    it('calls secret-tool store with value as stdin', async () => {
+      const run = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({ stdout: '', code: 0 });
+      const store = new GnomeKeyringStore({ run });
+      await store.set('api-key', 'secret-value');
+      expect(run).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+        'secret-tool',
+        ['store', '--label', 'mcpctl: api-key', 'service', 'mcpctl', 'key', 'api-key'],
+        'secret-value',
+      );
+    });
+
+    it('throws on non-zero exit code', async () => {
+      const run = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({ stdout: '', code: 1 });
+      const store = new GnomeKeyringStore({ run });
+      await expect(store.set('api-key', 'val')).rejects.toThrow('exited with code 1');
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('delete', () => {
+    it('returns true on success', async () => {
+      const run = mockRun({ 'clear': { stdout: '', code: 0 } });
+      const store = new GnomeKeyringStore({ run });
+      expect(await store.delete('api-key')).toBe(true);
+    });
+
+    it('returns false on failure', async () => {
+      const run = mockRun({ 'clear': { stdout: '', code: 1 } });
+      const store = new GnomeKeyringStore({ run });
+      expect(await store.delete('api-key')).toBe(false);
+    });
+
+    it('returns false on error', async () => {
+      const run = vi.fn().mockRejectedValue(new Error('fail'));
+      const store = new GnomeKeyringStore({ run });
+      expect(await store.delete('api-key')).toBe(false);
+    });
+
+    it('calls secret-tool clear with correct args', async () => {
+      const run = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({ stdout: '', code: 0 });
+      const store = new GnomeKeyringStore({ run });
+      await store.delete('my-key');
+      expect(run).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+        'secret-tool',
+        ['clear', 'service', 'mcpctl', 'key', 'my-key'],
+      );
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('isAvailable', () => {
+    it('returns true when secret-tool exists', async () => {
+      const run = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({ stdout: '0.20', code: 0 });
+      expect(await GnomeKeyringStore.isAvailable({ run })).toBe(true);
+    });
+
+    it('returns false when secret-tool not found', async () => {
+      const run = vi.fn().mockRejectedValue(new Error('ENOENT'));
+      expect(await GnomeKeyringStore.isAvailable({ run })).toBe(false);
+    });
+
+    it('returns false on non-zero exit', async () => {
+      const run = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({ stdout: '', code: 127 });
+      expect(await GnomeKeyringStore.isAvailable({ run })).toBe(false);
+    });
+  });
+
+  it('reports gnome-keyring backend', () => {
+    const run = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({ stdout: '', code: 0 });
+    const store = new GnomeKeyringStore({ run });
+    expect(store.backend()).toBe('gnome-keyring');
+  });
+});