feat: persistent Gemini ACP provider + status spinner

Replace per-call gemini CLI spawning (~10s cold start each time) with
persistent ACP (Agent Client Protocol) subprocess. First call absorbs
the cold start, subsequent calls are near-instant over JSON-RPC stdio.

- Add AcpClient: manages persistent gemini --experimental-acp subprocess
  with lazy init, auto-restart on crash/timeout, NDJSON framing
- Add GeminiAcpProvider: LlmProvider wrapper with serial queue for
  concurrent calls, same interface as GeminiCliProvider
- Add dispose() to LlmProvider interface + disposeAll() to registry
- Wire provider disposal into mcplocal shutdown handler
- Add status command spinner with progressive output and color-coded
  LLM health check results (green checkmark/red cross)
- 25 new tests (17 ACP client + 8 provider)

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

src/cli/src/commands/config-setup.ts

@@ -1,11 +1,15 @@
 import { Command } from 'commander';
 import http from 'node:http';
 import https from 'node:https';
+import { execFile } from 'node:child_process';
+import { promisify } from 'node:util';
 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';
 
+const execFileAsync = promisify(execFile);
+
 export interface ConfigSetupPrompt {
   select<T>(message: string, choices: Array<{ name: string; value: T; description?: string }>): Promise<T>;
   input(message: string, defaultValue?: string): Promise<string>;
@@ -19,6 +23,7 @@ export interface ConfigSetupDeps {
   log: (...args: string[]) => void;
   prompt: ConfigSetupPrompt;
   fetchModels: (url: string, path: string) => Promise<string[]>;
+  whichBinary: (name: string) => Promise<string | null>;
 }
 
 interface ProviderChoice {
@@ -130,6 +135,16 @@ const defaultPrompt: ConfigSetupPrompt = {
   confirm: defaultConfirm,
 };
 
+async function defaultWhichBinary(name: string): Promise<string | null> {
+  try {
+    const { stdout } = await execFileAsync('which', [name], { timeout: 3000 });
+    const path = stdout.trim();
+    return path || null;
+  } catch {
+    return null;
+  }
+}
+
 export function createConfigSetupCommand(deps?: Partial<ConfigSetupDeps>): Command {
   return new Command('setup')
     .description('Interactive LLM provider setup wizard')
@@ -138,6 +153,7 @@ export function createConfigSetupCommand(deps?: Partial<ConfigSetupDeps>): Comma
       const log = deps?.log ?? ((...args: string[]) => console.log(...args));
       const prompt = deps?.prompt ?? defaultPrompt;
       const fetchModels = deps?.fetchModels ?? defaultFetchModels;
+      const whichBinary = deps?.whichBinary ?? defaultWhichBinary;
       const secretStore = deps?.secretStore ?? await createSecretStore();
 
       const config = loadConfig(configDeps);
@@ -164,7 +180,7 @@ export function createConfigSetupCommand(deps?: Partial<ConfigSetupDeps>): Comma
 
       switch (provider) {
         case 'gemini-cli':
-          llmConfig = await setupGeminiCli(prompt, currentLlm);
+          llmConfig = await setupGeminiCli(prompt, log, whichBinary, currentLlm);
           break;
         case 'ollama':
           llmConfig = await setupOllama(prompt, fetchModels, currentLlm);
@@ -192,7 +208,12 @@ export function createConfigSetupCommand(deps?: Partial<ConfigSetupDeps>): Comma
     });
 }
 
-async function setupGeminiCli(prompt: ConfigSetupPrompt, current?: LlmConfig): Promise<LlmConfig> {
+async function setupGeminiCli(
+  prompt: ConfigSetupPrompt,
+  log: (...args: string[]) => void,
+  whichBinary: (name: string) => Promise<string | null>,
+  current?: LlmConfig,
+): Promise<LlmConfig> {
   const model = await prompt.select<string>('Select model:', [
     ...GEMINI_MODELS.map((m) => ({
       name: m === current?.model ? `${m} (current)` : m,
@@ -205,10 +226,17 @@ async function setupGeminiCli(prompt: ConfigSetupPrompt, current?: LlmConfig): P
     ? await prompt.input('Model name:', current?.model)
     : model;
 
-  const customBinary = await prompt.confirm('Use custom binary path?', false);
+  // Auto-detect gemini binary path
-  const binaryPath = customBinary
+  let binaryPath: string | undefined;
-    ? await prompt.input('Binary path:', current?.binaryPath ?? 'gemini')
+  const detected = await whichBinary('gemini');
-    : undefined;
+  if (detected) {
+    log(`Found gemini at: ${detected}`);
+    binaryPath = detected;
+  } else {
+    log('Warning: gemini binary not found in PATH');
+    const manualPath = await prompt.input('Binary path (or install with: npm i -g @google/gemini-cli):');
+    if (manualPath) binaryPath = manualPath;
+  }
 
   return { provider: 'gemini-cli', model: finalModel, binaryPath };
 }

src/cli/src/commands/status.ts

@@ -1,17 +1,31 @@
 import { Command } from 'commander';
 import http from 'node:http';
+import { execFile } from 'node:child_process';
+import { promisify } from 'node:util';
 import { loadConfig } from '../config/index.js';
-import type { ConfigLoaderDeps } from '../config/index.js';
+import type { ConfigLoaderDeps, LlmConfig } from '../config/index.js';
 import { loadCredentials } from '../auth/index.js';
 import type { CredentialsDeps } from '../auth/index.js';
 import { formatJson, formatYaml } from '../formatters/index.js';
 import { APP_VERSION } from '@mcpctl/shared';
 
+const execFileAsync = promisify(execFile);
+
+// ANSI helpers
+const GREEN = '\x1b[32m';
+const RED = '\x1b[31m';
+const DIM = '\x1b[2m';
+const RESET = '\x1b[0m';
+const CLEAR_LINE = '\x1b[2K\r';
+
 export interface StatusCommandDeps {
   configDeps: Partial<ConfigLoaderDeps>;
   credentialsDeps: Partial<CredentialsDeps>;
   log: (...args: string[]) => void;
+  write: (text: string) => void;
   checkHealth: (url: string) => Promise<boolean>;
+  checkLlm: (llm: LlmConfig) => Promise<string>;
+  isTTY: boolean;
 }
 
 function defaultCheckHealth(url: string): Promise<boolean> {
@@ -28,15 +42,51 @@ function defaultCheckHealth(url: string): Promise<boolean> {
   });
 }
 
+/**
+ * Quick LLM health check. Returns 'ok', 'binary not found', 'auth error', etc.
+ */
+async function defaultCheckLlm(llm: LlmConfig): Promise<string> {
+  if (llm.provider === 'gemini-cli') {
+    const bin = llm.binaryPath ?? 'gemini';
+    try {
+      const { stdout } = await execFileAsync(bin, ['-p', 'respond with exactly: ok', '-m', llm.model ?? 'gemini-2.5-flash', '-o', 'text'], { timeout: 15000 });
+      return stdout.trim().toLowerCase().includes('ok') ? 'ok' : 'unexpected response';
+    } catch (err) {
+      const msg = (err as Error).message;
+      if (msg.includes('ENOENT')) return 'binary not found';
+      if (msg.includes('auth') || msg.includes('token') || msg.includes('login') || msg.includes('401')) return 'not authenticated';
+      return `error: ${msg.slice(0, 80)}`;
+    }
+  }
+
+  if (llm.provider === 'ollama') {
+    const url = llm.url ?? 'http://localhost:11434';
+    try {
+      const ok = await defaultCheckHealth(url);
+      return ok ? 'ok' : 'unreachable';
+    } catch {
+      return 'unreachable';
+    }
+  }
+
+  // For API-key providers, we don't want to make a billable call on every status check
+  return 'ok (key stored)';
+}
+
+const SPINNER_FRAMES = ['⠋', '⠙', '⠹', '⠸', '⠼', '⠴', '⠦', '⠧', '⠇', '⠏'];
+
 const defaultDeps: StatusCommandDeps = {
   configDeps: {},
   credentialsDeps: {},
   log: (...args) => console.log(...args),
+  write: (text) => process.stdout.write(text),
   checkHealth: defaultCheckHealth,
+  checkLlm: defaultCheckLlm,
+  isTTY: process.stdout.isTTY ?? false,
 };
 
 export function createStatusCommand(deps?: Partial<StatusCommandDeps>): Command {
-  const { configDeps, credentialsDeps, log, checkHealth } = { ...defaultDeps, ...deps };
+  const { configDeps, credentialsDeps, log, write, checkHealth, checkLlm, isTTY } = { ...defaultDeps, ...deps };
 
   return new Command('status')
     .description('Show mcpctl status and connectivity')
@@ -45,13 +95,20 @@ export function createStatusCommand(deps?: Partial<StatusCommandDeps>): Command
       const config = loadConfig(configDeps);
       const creds = loadCredentials(credentialsDeps);
 
-      const [mcplocalReachable, mcpdReachable] = await Promise.all([
+      const llmLabel = config.llm && config.llm.provider !== 'none'
+        ? `${config.llm.provider}${config.llm.model ? ` / ${config.llm.model}` : ''}`
+        : null;
+
+      if (opts.output !== 'table') {
+        // JSON/YAML: run everything in parallel, wait, output at once
+        const [mcplocalReachable, mcpdReachable, llmStatus] = await Promise.all([
           checkHealth(config.mcplocalUrl),
           checkHealth(config.mcpdUrl),
+          llmLabel ? checkLlm(config.llm!) : Promise.resolve(null),
         ]);
 
-      const llm = config.llm && config.llm.provider !== 'none'
+        const llm = llmLabel
-        ? `${config.llm.provider}${config.llm.model ? ` / ${config.llm.model}` : ''}`
+          ? llmStatus === 'ok' ? llmLabel : `${llmLabel} (${llmStatus})`
           : null;
 
         const status = {
@@ -64,21 +121,59 @@ export function createStatusCommand(deps?: Partial<StatusCommandDeps>): Command
           registries: config.registries,
           outputFormat: config.outputFormat,
           llm,
+          llmStatus,
         };
 
-      if (opts.output === 'json') {
+        log(opts.output === 'json' ? formatJson(status) : formatYaml(status));
-        log(formatJson(status));
+        return;
-      } else if (opts.output === 'yaml') {
+      }
-        log(formatYaml(status));
-      } else {
-        log(`mcpctl v${status.version}`);
-        log(`mcplocal:   ${status.mcplocalUrl} (${mcplocalReachable ? 'connected' : 'unreachable'})`);
-        log(`mcpd:       ${status.mcpdUrl} (${mcpdReachable ? 'connected' : 'unreachable'})`);
-        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')"}`);
 
+      // Table format: print lines progressively, LLM last with spinner
+
+      // Fast health checks first
+      const [mcplocalReachable, mcpdReachable] = await Promise.all([
+        checkHealth(config.mcplocalUrl),
+        checkHealth(config.mcpdUrl),
+      ]);
+
+      log(`mcpctl v${APP_VERSION}`);
+      log(`mcplocal:   ${config.mcplocalUrl} (${mcplocalReachable ? 'connected' : 'unreachable'})`);
+      log(`mcpd:       ${config.mcpdUrl} (${mcpdReachable ? 'connected' : 'unreachable'})`);
+      log(`Auth:       ${creds ? `logged in as ${creds.user}` : 'not logged in'}`);
+      log(`Registries: ${config.registries.join(', ')}`);
+      log(`Output:     ${config.outputFormat}`);
+
+      if (!llmLabel) {
+        log(`LLM:        not configured (run 'mcpctl config setup')`);
+        return;
+      }
+
+      // LLM check with spinner
+      const llmPromise = checkLlm(config.llm!);
+
+      if (isTTY) {
+        let frame = 0;
+        const interval = setInterval(() => {
+          write(`${CLEAR_LINE}LLM:        ${llmLabel} ${DIM}${SPINNER_FRAMES[frame % SPINNER_FRAMES.length]} checking...${RESET}`);
+          frame++;
+        }, 80);
+
+        const llmStatus = await llmPromise;
+        clearInterval(interval);
+
+        if (llmStatus === 'ok' || llmStatus === 'ok (key stored)') {
+          write(`${CLEAR_LINE}LLM:        ${llmLabel} ${GREEN}✓ ${llmStatus}${RESET}\n`);
+        } else {
+          write(`${CLEAR_LINE}LLM:        ${llmLabel} ${RED}✗ ${llmStatus}${RESET}\n`);
+        }
+      } else {
+        // Non-TTY: no spinner, just wait and print
+        const llmStatus = await llmPromise;
+        if (llmStatus === 'ok' || llmStatus === 'ok (key stored)') {
+          log(`LLM:        ${llmLabel} ✓ ${llmStatus}`);
+        } else {
+          log(`LLM:        ${llmLabel} ✗ ${llmStatus}`);
+        }
       }
     });
 }

src/cli/tests/commands/config-setup.test.ts

@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@ function buildDeps(overrides: {
   secrets?: Record<string, string>;
   answers?: unknown[];
   fetchModels?: ConfigSetupDeps['fetchModels'];
+  whichBinary?: ConfigSetupDeps['whichBinary'];
 } = {}): ConfigSetupDeps {
   return {
     configDeps: { configDir: tempDir },
@@ -49,6 +50,7 @@ function buildDeps(overrides: {
     log: (...args: string[]) => logs.push(args.join(' ')),
     prompt: mockPrompt(overrides.answers ?? []),
     fetchModels: overrides.fetchModels ?? vi.fn(async () => []),
+    whichBinary: overrides.whichBinary ?? vi.fn(async () => '/usr/bin/gemini'),
   };
 }
 
@@ -76,26 +78,49 @@ describe('config setup wizard', () => {
   });
 
   describe('provider: gemini-cli', () => {
-    it('saves gemini-cli with selected model', async () => {
+    it('auto-detects binary path and saves config', async () => {
-      // Answers: select provider, select model, confirm custom binary=false
+      // Answers: select provider, select model (no binary prompt — auto-detected)
-      const deps = buildDeps({ answers: ['gemini-cli', 'gemini-2.5-flash', false] });
+      const deps = buildDeps({
+        answers: ['gemini-cli', 'gemini-2.5-flash'],
+        whichBinary: vi.fn(async () => '/home/user/.npm-global/bin/gemini'),
+      });
       await runSetup(deps);
 
       const config = readConfig();
-      expect((config.llm as Record<string, unknown>).provider).toBe('gemini-cli');
+      const llm = config.llm as Record<string, unknown>;
-      expect((config.llm as Record<string, unknown>).model).toBe('gemini-2.5-flash');
+      expect(llm.provider).toBe('gemini-cli');
+      expect(llm.model).toBe('gemini-2.5-flash');
+      expect(llm.binaryPath).toBe('/home/user/.npm-global/bin/gemini');
+      expect(logs.some((l) => l.includes('Found gemini at'))).toBe(true);
       cleanup();
     });
 
-    it('saves gemini-cli with custom model and binary path', async () => {
+    it('prompts for manual path when binary not found', async () => {
-      // Answers: select provider, select custom, enter model name, confirm custom binary=true, enter path
+      // Answers: select provider, select model, enter manual path
-      const deps = buildDeps({ answers: ['gemini-cli', '__custom__', 'gemini-3.0-flash', true, '/opt/gemini'] });
+      const deps = buildDeps({
+        answers: ['gemini-cli', 'gemini-2.5-flash', '/opt/gemini'],
+        whichBinary: vi.fn(async () => null),
+      });
+      await runSetup(deps);
+
+      const config = readConfig();
+      const llm = config.llm as Record<string, unknown>;
+      expect(llm.binaryPath).toBe('/opt/gemini');
+      expect(logs.some((l) => l.includes('not found'))).toBe(true);
+      cleanup();
+    });
+
+    it('saves gemini-cli with custom model', async () => {
+      // Answers: select provider, select custom, enter model name
+      const deps = buildDeps({
+        answers: ['gemini-cli', '__custom__', 'gemini-3.0-flash'],
+        whichBinary: vi.fn(async () => '/usr/bin/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();
     });
   });
@@ -250,7 +275,7 @@ describe('config setup wizard', () => {
 
   describe('output messages', () => {
     it('shows restart instruction', async () => {
-      const deps = buildDeps({ answers: ['gemini-cli', 'gemini-2.5-flash', false] });
+      const deps = buildDeps({ answers: ['gemini-cli', 'gemini-2.5-flash'] });
       await runSetup(deps);
 
       expect(logs.some((l) => l.includes('systemctl --user restart mcplocal'))).toBe(true);
@@ -258,7 +283,7 @@ describe('config setup wizard', () => {
     });
 
     it('shows configured provider and model', async () => {
-      const deps = buildDeps({ answers: ['gemini-cli', 'gemini-2.5-flash', false] });
+      const deps = buildDeps({ answers: ['gemini-cli', 'gemini-2.5-flash'] });
       await runSetup(deps);
 
       expect(logs.some((l) => l.includes('gemini-cli') && l.includes('gemini-2.5-flash'))).toBe(true);

src/cli/tests/commands/status.test.ts

@@ -3,19 +3,38 @@ import { mkdtempSync, rmSync } from 'node:fs';
 import { join } from 'node:path';
 import { tmpdir } from 'node:os';
 import { createStatusCommand } from '../../src/commands/status.js';
+import type { StatusCommandDeps } from '../../src/commands/status.js';
 import { saveConfig, DEFAULT_CONFIG } from '../../src/config/index.js';
 import { saveCredentials } from '../../src/auth/index.js';
 
 let tempDir: string;
 let output: string[];
+let written: string[];
 
 function log(...args: string[]) {
   output.push(args.join(' '));
 }
 
+function write(text: string) {
+  written.push(text);
+}
+
+function baseDeps(overrides?: Partial<StatusCommandDeps>): Partial<StatusCommandDeps> {
+  return {
+    configDeps: { configDir: tempDir },
+    credentialsDeps: { configDir: tempDir },
+    log,
+    write,
+    checkHealth: async () => true,
+    isTTY: false,
+    ...overrides,
+  };
+}
+
 beforeEach(() => {
   tempDir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'mcpctl-status-test-'));
   output = [];
+  written = [];
 });
 
 afterEach(() => {
@@ -24,12 +43,7 @@ afterEach(() => {
 
 describe('status command', () => {
   it('shows status in table format', async () => {
-    const cmd = createStatusCommand({
+    const cmd = createStatusCommand(baseDeps());
-      configDeps: { configDir: tempDir },
-      credentialsDeps: { configDir: tempDir },
-      log,
-      checkHealth: async () => true,
-    });
     await cmd.parseAsync([], { from: 'user' });
     const out = output.join('\n');
     expect(out).toContain('mcpctl v');
@@ -39,46 +53,26 @@ describe('status command', () => {
   });
 
   it('shows unreachable when daemons are down', async () => {
-    const cmd = createStatusCommand({
+    const cmd = createStatusCommand(baseDeps({ checkHealth: async () => false }));
-      configDeps: { configDir: tempDir },
-      credentialsDeps: { configDir: tempDir },
-      log,
-      checkHealth: async () => false,
-    });
     await cmd.parseAsync([], { from: 'user' });
     expect(output.join('\n')).toContain('unreachable');
   });
 
   it('shows not logged in when no credentials', async () => {
-    const cmd = createStatusCommand({
+    const cmd = createStatusCommand(baseDeps());
-      configDeps: { configDir: tempDir },
-      credentialsDeps: { configDir: tempDir },
-      log,
-      checkHealth: async () => true,
-    });
     await cmd.parseAsync([], { from: 'user' });
     expect(output.join('\n')).toContain('not logged in');
   });
 
   it('shows logged in user when credentials exist', async () => {
     saveCredentials({ token: 'tok', mcpdUrl: 'http://x:3100', user: 'alice@example.com' }, { configDir: tempDir });
-    const cmd = createStatusCommand({
+    const cmd = createStatusCommand(baseDeps());
-      configDeps: { configDir: tempDir },
-      credentialsDeps: { configDir: tempDir },
-      log,
-      checkHealth: async () => true,
-    });
     await cmd.parseAsync([], { from: 'user' });
     expect(output.join('\n')).toContain('logged in as alice@example.com');
   });
 
   it('shows status in JSON format', async () => {
-    const cmd = createStatusCommand({
+    const cmd = createStatusCommand(baseDeps());
-      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['version']).toBe('0.1.0');
@@ -87,12 +81,7 @@ describe('status command', () => {
   });
 
   it('shows status in YAML format', async () => {
-    const cmd = createStatusCommand({
+    const cmd = createStatusCommand(baseDeps({ checkHealth: async () => false }));
-      configDeps: { configDir: tempDir },
-      credentialsDeps: { configDir: tempDir },
-      log,
-      checkHealth: async () => false,
-    });
     await cmd.parseAsync(['-o', 'yaml'], { from: 'user' });
     expect(output[0]).toContain('mcplocalReachable: false');
   });
@@ -100,15 +89,12 @@ describe('status command', () => {
   it('checks correct URLs from config', async () => {
     saveConfig({ ...DEFAULT_CONFIG, mcplocalUrl: 'http://local:3200', mcpdUrl: 'http://remote:3100' }, { configDir: tempDir });
     const checkedUrls: string[] = [];
-    const cmd = createStatusCommand({
+    const cmd = createStatusCommand(baseDeps({
-      configDeps: { configDir: tempDir },
-      credentialsDeps: { configDir: tempDir },
-      log,
       checkHealth: async (url) => {
         checkedUrls.push(url);
         return false;
       },
-    });
+    }));
     await cmd.parseAsync([], { from: 'user' });
     expect(checkedUrls).toContain('http://local:3200');
     expect(checkedUrls).toContain('http://remote:3100');
@@ -116,24 +102,14 @@ describe('status command', () => {
 
   it('shows registries from config', async () => {
     saveConfig({ ...DEFAULT_CONFIG, registries: ['official'] }, { configDir: tempDir });
-    const cmd = createStatusCommand({
+    const cmd = createStatusCommand(baseDeps());
-      configDeps: { configDir: tempDir },
-      credentialsDeps: { configDir: tempDir },
-      log,
-      checkHealth: async () => true,
-    });
     await cmd.parseAsync([], { from: 'user' });
     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({
+    const cmd = createStatusCommand(baseDeps());
-      configDeps: { configDir: tempDir },
-      credentialsDeps: { configDir: tempDir },
-      log,
-      checkHealth: async () => true,
-    });
     await cmd.parseAsync([], { from: 'user' });
     const out = output.join('\n');
     expect(out).toContain('LLM:');
@@ -141,54 +117,75 @@ describe('status command', () => {
     expect(out).toContain('mcpctl config setup');
   });
 
-  it('shows configured LLM provider and model', async () => {
+  it('shows green check when LLM is healthy (non-TTY)', async () => {
     saveConfig({ ...DEFAULT_CONFIG, llm: { provider: 'anthropic', model: 'claude-haiku-3-5-20241022' } }, { configDir: tempDir });
-    const cmd = createStatusCommand({
+    const cmd = createStatusCommand(baseDeps({ checkLlm: async () => 'ok' }));
-      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');
+    expect(out).toContain('✓ ok');
+  });
+
+  it('shows red cross when LLM check fails (non-TTY)', async () => {
+    saveConfig({ ...DEFAULT_CONFIG, llm: { provider: 'gemini-cli', model: 'gemini-2.5-flash' } }, { configDir: tempDir });
+    const cmd = createStatusCommand(baseDeps({ checkLlm: async () => 'not authenticated' }));
+    await cmd.parseAsync([], { from: 'user' });
+    const out = output.join('\n');
+    expect(out).toContain('✗ not authenticated');
+  });
+
+  it('shows binary not found error', async () => {
+    saveConfig({ ...DEFAULT_CONFIG, llm: { provider: 'gemini-cli', model: 'gemini-2.5-flash' } }, { configDir: tempDir });
+    const cmd = createStatusCommand(baseDeps({ checkLlm: async () => 'binary not found' }));
+    await cmd.parseAsync([], { from: 'user' });
+    expect(output.join('\n')).toContain('✗ binary not found');
+  });
+
+  it('uses spinner on TTY and writes final result', async () => {
+    saveConfig({ ...DEFAULT_CONFIG, llm: { provider: 'gemini-cli', model: 'gemini-2.5-flash' } }, { configDir: tempDir });
+    const cmd = createStatusCommand(baseDeps({
+      isTTY: true,
+      checkLlm: async () => 'ok',
+    }));
+    await cmd.parseAsync([], { from: 'user' });
+    // On TTY, the final LLM line goes through write(), not log()
+    const finalWrite = written[written.length - 1];
+    expect(finalWrite).toContain('gemini-cli / gemini-2.5-flash');
+    expect(finalWrite).toContain('✓ ok');
+  });
+
+  it('uses spinner on TTY and shows failure', async () => {
+    saveConfig({ ...DEFAULT_CONFIG, llm: { provider: 'gemini-cli', model: 'gemini-2.5-flash' } }, { configDir: tempDir });
+    const cmd = createStatusCommand(baseDeps({
+      isTTY: true,
+      checkLlm: async () => 'not authenticated',
+    }));
+    await cmd.parseAsync([], { from: 'user' });
+    const finalWrite = written[written.length - 1];
+    expect(finalWrite).toContain('✗ not authenticated');
   });
 
   it('shows not configured when LLM provider is none', async () => {
     saveConfig({ ...DEFAULT_CONFIG, llm: { provider: 'none' } }, { configDir: tempDir });
-    const cmd = createStatusCommand({
+    const cmd = createStatusCommand(baseDeps());
-      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 () => {
+  it('includes llm and llmStatus in JSON output', async () => {
     saveConfig({ ...DEFAULT_CONFIG, llm: { provider: 'gemini-cli', model: 'gemini-2.5-flash' } }, { configDir: tempDir });
-    const cmd = createStatusCommand({
+    const cmd = createStatusCommand(baseDeps({ checkLlm: async () => 'ok' }));
-      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');
+    expect(parsed['llmStatus']).toBe('ok');
   });
 
   it('includes null llm in JSON output when not configured', async () => {
-    const cmd = createStatusCommand({
+    const cmd = createStatusCommand(baseDeps());
-      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();
+    expect(parsed['llmStatus']).toBeNull();
   });
 });

src/mcplocal/src/http/project-mcp-endpoint.ts

@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ export function registerProjectMcpEndpoint(app: FastifyInstance, mcpdClient: Mcp
     await refreshProjectUpstreams(router, mcpdClient, projectName, authToken);
 
     // Wire pagination support with LLM provider if configured
-    router.setPaginator(new ResponsePaginator(providerRegistry?.getActive() ?? null));
+    router.setPaginator(new ResponsePaginator(providerRegistry ?? null));
 
     // Configure prompt resources with SA-scoped client for RBAC
     const saClient = mcpdClient.withHeaders({ 'X-Service-Account': `project:${projectName}` });

src/mcplocal/src/llm-config.ts

@@ -1,11 +1,16 @@
 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 { GeminiAcpProvider } from './providers/gemini-acp.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';
+import type { GeminiAcpConfig } from './providers/gemini-acp.js';
+import type { OllamaConfig } from './providers/ollama.js';
+import type { AnthropicConfig } from './providers/anthropic.js';
+import type { OpenAiConfig } from './providers/openai.js';
+import type { DeepSeekConfig } from './providers/deepseek.js';
 
 /**
  * Create a ProviderRegistry from user config + secret store.
@@ -19,19 +24,21 @@ export async function createProviderFromConfig(
   if (!config?.provider || config.provider === 'none') return registry;
 
   switch (config.provider) {
-    case 'gemini-cli':
+    case 'gemini-cli': {
-      registry.register(new GeminiCliProvider({
+      const cfg: GeminiAcpConfig = {};
-        binaryPath: config.binaryPath,
+      if (config.binaryPath) cfg.binaryPath = config.binaryPath;
-        defaultModel: config.model,
+      if (config.model) cfg.defaultModel = config.model;
-      }));
+      registry.register(new GeminiAcpProvider(cfg));
       break;
+    }
 
-    case 'ollama':
+    case 'ollama': {
-      registry.register(new OllamaProvider({
+      const cfg: OllamaConfig = {};
-        baseUrl: config.url,
+      if (config.url) cfg.baseUrl = config.url;
-        defaultModel: config.model,
+      if (config.model) cfg.defaultModel = config.model;
-      }));
+      registry.register(new OllamaProvider(cfg));
       break;
+    }
 
     case 'anthropic': {
       const apiKey = await secretStore.get('anthropic-api-key');
@@ -39,10 +46,9 @@ export async function createProviderFromConfig(
         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({
+      const cfg: AnthropicConfig = { apiKey };
-        apiKey,
+      if (config.model) cfg.defaultModel = config.model;
-        defaultModel: config.model,
+      registry.register(new AnthropicProvider(cfg));
-      }));
       break;
     }
 
@@ -52,11 +58,10 @@ export async function createProviderFromConfig(
         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({
+      const cfg: OpenAiConfig = { apiKey };
-        apiKey,
+      if (config.url) cfg.baseUrl = config.url;
-        baseUrl: config.url,
+      if (config.model) cfg.defaultModel = config.model;
-        defaultModel: config.model,
+      registry.register(new OpenAiProvider(cfg));
-      }));
       break;
     }
 
@@ -66,11 +71,10 @@ export async function createProviderFromConfig(
         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({
+      const cfg: DeepSeekConfig = { apiKey };
-        apiKey,
+      if (config.url) cfg.baseUrl = config.url;
-        baseUrl: config.url,
+      if (config.model) cfg.defaultModel = config.model;
-        defaultModel: config.model,
+      registry.register(new DeepSeekProvider(cfg));
-      }));
       break;
     }
 

src/mcplocal/src/main.ts

@@ -139,6 +139,7 @@ export async function main(argv: string[] = process.argv): Promise<MainResult> {
     if (shuttingDown) return;
     shuttingDown = true;
 
+    providerRegistry.disposeAll();
     server.stop();
     if (httpServer) {
       await httpServer.close();

src/mcplocal/src/providers/acp-client.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,287 @@
+import { spawn, type ChildProcess } from 'node:child_process';
+import { createInterface, type Interface as ReadlineInterface } from 'node:readline';
+
+export interface AcpClientConfig {
+  binaryPath: string;
+  model: string;
+  /** Timeout for individual RPC requests in ms (default: 60000) */
+  requestTimeoutMs: number;
+  /** Timeout for process initialization in ms (default: 30000) */
+  initTimeoutMs: number;
+  /** Override spawn for testing */
+  spawn?: typeof spawn;
+}
+
+interface PendingRequest {
+  resolve: (result: unknown) => void;
+  reject: (err: Error) => void;
+  timer: ReturnType<typeof setTimeout>;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Low-level ACP (Agent Client Protocol) client.
+ * Manages a persistent `gemini --experimental-acp` subprocess and communicates
+ * via JSON-RPC 2.0 over NDJSON stdio.
+ *
+ * Pattern follows StdioUpstream: readline for parsing, pending request map with timeouts.
+ */
+export class AcpClient {
+  private process: ChildProcess | null = null;
+  private readline: ReadlineInterface | null = null;
+  private pendingRequests = new Map<number, PendingRequest>();
+  private nextId = 1;
+  private sessionId: string | null = null;
+  private ready = false;
+  private initPromise: Promise<void> | null = null;
+  private readonly config: AcpClientConfig;
+
+  /** Accumulates text chunks from session/update agent_message_chunk during a prompt. */
+  private activePromptChunks: string[] = [];
+
+  constructor(config: AcpClientConfig) {
+    this.config = config;
+  }
+
+  /** Ensure the subprocess is spawned and initialized. Idempotent and lazy. */
+  async ensureReady(): Promise<void> {
+    if (this.ready && this.process && !this.process.killed) return;
+
+    // If already initializing, wait for it
+    if (this.initPromise) return this.initPromise;
+
+    this.initPromise = this.doInit();
+    try {
+      await this.initPromise;
+    } catch (err) {
+      this.initPromise = null;
+      throw err;
+    }
+  }
+
+  /** Send a prompt and collect the streamed text response. */
+  async prompt(text: string): Promise<string> {
+    await this.ensureReady();
+
+    // Set up chunk accumulator
+    this.activePromptChunks = [];
+
+    const result = await this.sendRequest('session/prompt', {
+      sessionId: this.sessionId,
+      prompt: [{ type: 'text', text }],
+    }, this.config.requestTimeoutMs) as { stopReason: string };
+
+    const collected = this.activePromptChunks.join('');
+    this.activePromptChunks = [];
+
+    if (result.stopReason === 'refusal') {
+      throw new Error('Gemini refused to process the prompt');
+    }
+
+    return collected;
+  }
+
+  /** Kill the subprocess and clean up. */
+  dispose(): void {
+    this.cleanup();
+  }
+
+  /** Check if the subprocess is alive and initialized. */
+  get isAlive(): boolean {
+    return this.ready && this.process !== null && !this.process.killed;
+  }
+
+  // --- Private ---
+
+  private async doInit(): Promise<void> {
+    // Clean up any previous state
+    this.cleanup();
+
+    this.spawnProcess();
+    this.setupReadline();
+
+    // ACP handshake: initialize
+    await this.sendRequest('initialize', {
+      protocolVersion: 1,
+      clientCapabilities: {},
+      clientInfo: { name: 'mcpctl', version: '1.0.0' },
+    }, this.config.initTimeoutMs);
+
+    // ACP handshake: session/new
+    const sessionResult = await this.sendRequest('session/new', {
+      cwd: '/tmp',
+      mcpServers: [],
+    }, this.config.initTimeoutMs) as { sessionId: string };
+
+    this.sessionId = sessionResult.sessionId;
+    this.ready = true;
+  }
+
+  private spawnProcess(): void {
+    const spawnFn = this.config.spawn ?? spawn;
+    this.process = spawnFn(this.config.binaryPath, ['--experimental-acp'], {
+      stdio: ['pipe', 'pipe', 'pipe'],
+      env: process.env,
+    });
+
+    this.process.on('exit', () => {
+      this.ready = false;
+      this.initPromise = null;
+      this.sessionId = null;
+
+      // Reject all pending requests
+      for (const [id, pending] of this.pendingRequests) {
+        clearTimeout(pending.timer);
+        pending.reject(new Error('Gemini ACP process exited'));
+        this.pendingRequests.delete(id);
+      }
+    });
+
+    this.process.on('error', (err) => {
+      this.ready = false;
+      this.initPromise = null;
+
+      for (const [id, pending] of this.pendingRequests) {
+        clearTimeout(pending.timer);
+        pending.reject(err);
+        this.pendingRequests.delete(id);
+      }
+    });
+  }
+
+  private setupReadline(): void {
+    if (!this.process?.stdout) return;
+
+    this.readline = createInterface({ input: this.process.stdout });
+    this.readline.on('line', (line) => this.handleLine(line));
+  }
+
+  private handleLine(line: string): void {
+    let msg: Record<string, unknown>;
+    try {
+      msg = JSON.parse(line) as Record<string, unknown>;
+    } catch {
+      // Skip non-JSON lines (e.g., debug output on stdout)
+      return;
+    }
+
+    // Response to a pending request (has 'id')
+    if ('id' in msg && msg.id !== undefined && ('result' in msg || 'error' in msg)) {
+      this.handleResponse(msg as { id: number; result?: unknown; error?: { code: number; message: string } });
+      return;
+    }
+
+    // Notification (has 'method', no 'id')
+    if ('method' in msg && !('id' in msg)) {
+      this.handleNotification(msg as { method: string; params?: Record<string, unknown> });
+      return;
+    }
+
+    // Request from agent (has 'method' AND 'id') — agent asking us for something
+    if ('method' in msg && 'id' in msg) {
+      this.handleAgentRequest(msg as { id: number; method: string; params?: Record<string, unknown> });
+      return;
+    }
+  }
+
+  private handleResponse(msg: { id: number; result?: unknown; error?: { code: number; message: string } }): void {
+    const pending = this.pendingRequests.get(msg.id);
+    if (!pending) return;
+
+    clearTimeout(pending.timer);
+    this.pendingRequests.delete(msg.id);
+
+    if (msg.error) {
+      pending.reject(new Error(`ACP error ${msg.error.code}: ${msg.error.message}`));
+    } else {
+      pending.resolve(msg.result);
+    }
+  }
+
+  private handleNotification(msg: { method: string; params?: Record<string, unknown> }): void {
+    if (msg.method !== 'session/update' || !msg.params) return;
+
+    const update = msg.params.update as Record<string, unknown> | undefined;
+    if (!update) return;
+
+    // Collect text from agent_message_chunk
+    if (update.sessionUpdate === 'agent_message_chunk') {
+      const content = update.content as Array<{ type: string; text?: string }> | undefined;
+      if (content) {
+        for (const block of content) {
+          if (block.type === 'text' && block.text) {
+            this.activePromptChunks.push(block.text);
+          }
+        }
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
+  /** Handle requests from the agent (e.g., session/request_permission). Reject them all. */
+  private handleAgentRequest(msg: { id: number; method: string; params?: Record<string, unknown> }): void {
+    if (!this.process?.stdin) return;
+
+    if (msg.method === 'session/request_permission') {
+      // Reject permission requests — we don't want tool use
+      const response = JSON.stringify({
+        jsonrpc: '2.0',
+        id: msg.id,
+        result: { outcome: { outcome: 'cancelled' } },
+      });
+      this.process.stdin.write(response + '\n');
+    } else {
+      // Unknown method — return error
+      const response = JSON.stringify({
+        jsonrpc: '2.0',
+        id: msg.id,
+        error: { code: -32601, message: 'Method not supported' },
+      });
+      this.process.stdin.write(response + '\n');
+    }
+  }
+
+  private sendRequest(method: string, params: Record<string, unknown>, timeoutMs: number): Promise<unknown> {
+    if (!this.process?.stdin) {
+      return Promise.reject(new Error('ACP process not started'));
+    }
+
+    const id = this.nextId++;
+
+    return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+      const timer = setTimeout(() => {
+        this.pendingRequests.delete(id);
+        // Kill the process on timeout — it's hung
+        this.cleanup();
+        reject(new Error(`ACP request '${method}' timed out after ${timeoutMs}ms`));
+      }, timeoutMs);
+
+      this.pendingRequests.set(id, { resolve, reject, timer });
+
+      const msg = JSON.stringify({ jsonrpc: '2.0', id, method, params });
+      this.process!.stdin!.write(msg + '\n');
+    });
+  }
+
+  private cleanup(): void {
+    this.ready = false;
+    this.initPromise = null;
+    this.sessionId = null;
+    this.activePromptChunks = [];
+
+    // Reject all pending requests
+    for (const [id, pending] of this.pendingRequests) {
+      clearTimeout(pending.timer);
+      pending.reject(new Error('ACP client disposed'));
+      this.pendingRequests.delete(id);
+    }
+
+    if (this.readline) {
+      this.readline.close();
+      this.readline = null;
+    }
+
+    if (this.process) {
+      this.process.kill('SIGTERM');
+      this.process = null;
+    }
+  }
+}

src/mcplocal/src/providers/gemini-acp.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,97 @@
+import { execFile } from 'node:child_process';
+import { promisify } from 'node:util';
+import type { LlmProvider, CompletionOptions, CompletionResult } from './types.js';
+import { AcpClient } from './acp-client.js';
+import type { AcpClientConfig } from './acp-client.js';
+
+const execFileAsync = promisify(execFile);
+
+export interface GeminiAcpConfig {
+  binaryPath?: string;
+  defaultModel?: string;
+  requestTimeoutMs?: number;
+  initTimeoutMs?: number;
+  /** Override for testing — passed through to AcpClient */
+  spawn?: AcpClientConfig['spawn'];
+}
+
+/**
+ * Gemini CLI provider using ACP (Agent Client Protocol) mode.
+ * Keeps the gemini process alive as a persistent subprocess, eliminating
+ * the ~10s cold-start per call. Auto-restarts on crash or timeout.
+ */
+export class GeminiAcpProvider implements LlmProvider {
+  readonly name = 'gemini-cli';
+  private client: AcpClient;
+  private binaryPath: string;
+  private defaultModel: string;
+  private queue: Promise<void> = Promise.resolve();
+
+  constructor(config?: GeminiAcpConfig) {
+    this.binaryPath = config?.binaryPath ?? 'gemini';
+    this.defaultModel = config?.defaultModel ?? 'gemini-2.5-flash';
+
+    const acpConfig: AcpClientConfig = {
+      binaryPath: this.binaryPath,
+      model: this.defaultModel,
+      requestTimeoutMs: config?.requestTimeoutMs ?? 60_000,
+      initTimeoutMs: config?.initTimeoutMs ?? 30_000,
+    };
+    if (config?.spawn) acpConfig.spawn = config.spawn;
+
+    this.client = new AcpClient(acpConfig);
+  }
+
+  async complete(options: CompletionOptions): Promise<CompletionResult> {
+    return this.enqueue(() => this.doComplete(options));
+  }
+
+  async listModels(): Promise<string[]> {
+    return ['gemini-2.5-flash', 'gemini-2.5-pro', 'gemini-2.0-flash'];
+  }
+
+  async isAvailable(): Promise<boolean> {
+    try {
+      await execFileAsync(this.binaryPath, ['--version'], { timeout: 5000 });
+      return true;
+    } catch {
+      return false;
+    }
+  }
+
+  dispose(): void {
+    this.client.dispose();
+  }
+
+  // --- Private ---
+
+  private async doComplete(options: CompletionOptions): Promise<CompletionResult> {
+    const prompt = options.messages
+      .map((m) => {
+        if (m.role === 'system') return `System: ${m.content}`;
+        if (m.role === 'user') return m.content;
+        if (m.role === 'assistant') return `Assistant: ${m.content}`;
+        return m.content;
+      })
+      .join('\n\n');
+
+    const content = await this.client.prompt(prompt);
+
+    return {
+      content: content.trim(),
+      toolCalls: [],
+      usage: { promptTokens: 0, completionTokens: 0, totalTokens: 0 },
+      finishReason: 'stop',
+    };
+  }
+
+  private enqueue<T>(fn: () => Promise<T>): Promise<T> {
+    const result = new Promise<T>((resolve, reject) => {
+      this.queue = this.queue.then(
+        () => fn().then(resolve, reject),
+        () => fn().then(resolve, reject),
+      );
+    });
+    return result;
+  }
+}

src/mcplocal/src/providers/index.ts

@@ -9,4 +9,8 @@ export { GeminiCliProvider } from './gemini-cli.js';
 export type { GeminiCliConfig } from './gemini-cli.js';
 export { DeepSeekProvider } from './deepseek.js';
 export type { DeepSeekConfig } from './deepseek.js';
+export { GeminiAcpProvider } from './gemini-acp.js';
+export type { GeminiAcpConfig } from './gemini-acp.js';
+export { AcpClient } from './acp-client.js';
+export type { AcpClientConfig } from './acp-client.js';
 export { ProviderRegistry } from './registry.js';

src/mcplocal/src/providers/registry.ts

@@ -45,4 +45,11 @@ export class ProviderRegistry {
   getActiveName(): string | null {
     return this.activeProvider;
   }
+
+  /** Dispose all registered providers that have a dispose method. */
+  disposeAll(): void {
+    for (const provider of this.providers.values()) {
+      provider.dispose?.();
+    }
+  }
 }

src/mcplocal/src/providers/types.ts

@@ -53,4 +53,6 @@ export interface LlmProvider {
   listModels(): Promise<string[]>;
   /** Check if the provider is configured and reachable */
   isAvailable(): Promise<boolean>;
+  /** Optional cleanup for providers with persistent resources (e.g., subprocesses). */
+  dispose?(): void;
 }

src/mcplocal/tests/acp-client.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,415 @@
+import { describe, it, expect, vi, beforeEach, afterEach } from 'vitest';
+import { EventEmitter, Readable } from 'node:stream';
+import { AcpClient } from '../src/providers/acp-client.js';
+import type { AcpClientConfig } from '../src/providers/acp-client.js';
+
+/**
+ * Creates a mock child process that speaks ACP protocol.
+ * Returns the mock process and helpers to send responses.
+ */
+function createMockProcess() {
+  const stdin = {
+    write: vi.fn(),
+    writable: true,
+  };
+
+  const stdoutEmitter = new EventEmitter();
+  const stdout = Object.assign(stdoutEmitter, {
+    readable: true,
+    // readline needs these
+    [Symbol.asyncIterator]: undefined,
+    pause: vi.fn(),
+    resume: vi.fn(),
+    isPaused: () => false,
+    setEncoding: vi.fn(),
+    read: vi.fn(),
+    destroy: vi.fn(),
+    pipe: vi.fn(),
+    unpipe: vi.fn(),
+    unshift: vi.fn(),
+    wrap: vi.fn(),
+  }) as unknown as Readable;
+
+  const proc = Object.assign(new EventEmitter(), {
+    stdin,
+    stdout,
+    stderr: new EventEmitter(),
+    pid: 12345,
+    killed: false,
+    kill: vi.fn(function (this: { killed: boolean }) {
+      this.killed = true;
+    }),
+  });
+
+  /** Send a line of JSON from the "agent" to our client */
+  function sendLine(data: unknown) {
+    stdoutEmitter.emit('data', Buffer.from(JSON.stringify(data) + '\n'));
+  }
+
+  /** Send a JSON-RPC response */
+  function sendResponse(id: number, result: unknown) {
+    sendLine({ jsonrpc: '2.0', id, result });
+  }
+
+  /** Send a JSON-RPC error */
+  function sendError(id: number, code: number, message: string) {
+    sendLine({ jsonrpc: '2.0', id, error: { code, message } });
+  }
+
+  /** Send a session/update notification with agent_message_chunk */
+  function sendChunk(sessionId: string, text: string) {
+    sendLine({
+      jsonrpc: '2.0',
+      method: 'session/update',
+      params: {
+        sessionId,
+        update: {
+          sessionUpdate: 'agent_message_chunk',
+          content: [{ type: 'text', text }],
+        },
+      },
+    });
+  }
+
+  /** Send a session/request_permission request */
+  function sendPermissionRequest(id: number, sessionId: string) {
+    sendLine({
+      jsonrpc: '2.0',
+      id,
+      method: 'session/request_permission',
+      params: { sessionId },
+    });
+  }
+
+  return { proc, stdin, stdout: stdoutEmitter, sendLine, sendResponse, sendError, sendChunk, sendPermissionRequest };
+}
+
+function createConfig(overrides?: Partial<AcpClientConfig>): AcpClientConfig {
+  return {
+    binaryPath: '/usr/bin/gemini',
+    model: 'gemini-2.5-flash',
+    requestTimeoutMs: 5000,
+    initTimeoutMs: 5000,
+    ...overrides,
+  };
+}
+
+describe('AcpClient', () => {
+  let client: AcpClient;
+  let mock: ReturnType<typeof createMockProcess>;
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    mock = createMockProcess();
+  });
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    client?.dispose();
+  });
+
+  function createClient(configOverrides?: Partial<AcpClientConfig>) {
+    const config = createConfig({
+      spawn: (() => mock.proc) as unknown as AcpClientConfig['spawn'],
+      ...configOverrides,
+    });
+    client = new AcpClient(config);
+    return client;
+  }
+
+  /** Helper: auto-respond to the initialize + session/new handshake */
+  function autoHandshake(sessionId = 'test-session') {
+    mock.stdin.write.mockImplementation((data: string) => {
+      const msg = JSON.parse(data.trim()) as { id: number; method: string };
+      if (msg.method === 'initialize') {
+        // Respond async to simulate real behavior
+        setImmediate(() => mock.sendResponse(msg.id, {
+          protocolVersion: 1,
+          agentInfo: { name: 'gemini-cli', version: '1.0.0' },
+        }));
+      } else if (msg.method === 'session/new') {
+        setImmediate(() => mock.sendResponse(msg.id, { sessionId }));
+      }
+    });
+  }
+
+  describe('ensureReady', () => {
+    it('spawns process and completes ACP handshake', async () => {
+      createClient();
+      autoHandshake();
+
+      await client.ensureReady();
+
+      expect(client.isAlive).toBe(true);
+      // Verify initialize was sent
+      const calls = mock.stdin.write.mock.calls.map((c) => JSON.parse(c[0] as string));
+      expect(calls[0].method).toBe('initialize');
+      expect(calls[0].params.protocolVersion).toBe(1);
+      expect(calls[0].params.clientInfo.name).toBe('mcpctl');
+      // Verify session/new was sent
+      expect(calls[1].method).toBe('session/new');
+      expect(calls[1].params.cwd).toBe('/tmp');
+      expect(calls[1].params.mcpServers).toEqual([]);
+    });
+
+    it('is idempotent when already ready', async () => {
+      createClient();
+      autoHandshake();
+
+      await client.ensureReady();
+      await client.ensureReady();
+
+      // Should only have sent initialize + session/new once
+      const calls = mock.stdin.write.mock.calls;
+      expect(calls.length).toBe(2);
+    });
+
+    it('shares init promise for concurrent calls', async () => {
+      createClient();
+      autoHandshake();
+
+      const p1 = client.ensureReady();
+      const p2 = client.ensureReady();
+
+      await Promise.all([p1, p2]);
+      expect(mock.stdin.write.mock.calls.length).toBe(2);
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('prompt', () => {
+    it('sends session/prompt and collects agent_message_chunk text', async () => {
+      createClient();
+      const sessionId = 'sess-123';
+      autoHandshake(sessionId);
+
+      await client.ensureReady();
+
+      // Now set up the prompt response handler
+      mock.stdin.write.mockImplementation((data: string) => {
+        const msg = JSON.parse(data.trim()) as { id: number; method: string };
+        if (msg.method === 'session/prompt') {
+          setImmediate(() => {
+            mock.sendChunk(sessionId, 'Hello ');
+            mock.sendChunk(sessionId, 'world!');
+            mock.sendResponse(msg.id, { stopReason: 'end_turn' });
+          });
+        }
+      });
+
+      const result = await client.prompt('Say hello');
+      expect(result).toBe('Hello world!');
+    });
+
+    it('handles multi-block content in a single chunk', async () => {
+      createClient();
+      autoHandshake('sess-1');
+      await client.ensureReady();
+
+      mock.stdin.write.mockImplementation((data: string) => {
+        const msg = JSON.parse(data.trim()) as { id: number; method: string };
+        if (msg.method === 'session/prompt') {
+          setImmediate(() => {
+            mock.sendLine({
+              jsonrpc: '2.0',
+              method: 'session/update',
+              params: {
+                sessionId: 'sess-1',
+                update: {
+                  sessionUpdate: 'agent_message_chunk',
+                  content: [
+                    { type: 'text', text: 'Part A' },
+                    { type: 'text', text: ' Part B' },
+                  ],
+                },
+              },
+            });
+            mock.sendResponse(msg.id, { stopReason: 'end_turn' });
+          });
+        }
+      });
+
+      const result = await client.prompt('test');
+      expect(result).toBe('Part A Part B');
+    });
+
+    it('calls ensureReady automatically (lazy init)', async () => {
+      createClient();
+      autoHandshake('sess-auto');
+
+      // After handshake, handle prompts
+      const originalWrite = mock.stdin.write;
+      let handshakeDone = false;
+      mock.stdin.write.mockImplementation((data: string) => {
+        const msg = JSON.parse(data.trim()) as { id: number; method: string };
+        if (msg.method === 'initialize') {
+          setImmediate(() => mock.sendResponse(msg.id, { protocolVersion: 1 }));
+        } else if (msg.method === 'session/new') {
+          setImmediate(() => {
+            mock.sendResponse(msg.id, { sessionId: 'sess-auto' });
+            handshakeDone = true;
+          });
+        } else if (msg.method === 'session/prompt') {
+          setImmediate(() => {
+            mock.sendChunk('sess-auto', 'ok');
+            mock.sendResponse(msg.id, { stopReason: 'end_turn' });
+          });
+        }
+      });
+
+      // Call prompt directly without ensureReady
+      const result = await client.prompt('test');
+      expect(result).toBe('ok');
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('auto-restart', () => {
+    it('restarts after process exit', async () => {
+      createClient();
+      autoHandshake('sess-1');
+      await client.ensureReady();
+      expect(client.isAlive).toBe(true);
+
+      // Simulate process exit
+      mock.proc.killed = true;
+      mock.proc.emit('exit', 1);
+      expect(client.isAlive).toBe(false);
+
+      // Create a new mock for the respawned process
+      mock = createMockProcess();
+      // Update the spawn function to return new mock
+      (client as unknown as { config: { spawn: unknown } }).config.spawn = () => mock.proc;
+      autoHandshake('sess-2');
+
+      await client.ensureReady();
+      expect(client.isAlive).toBe(true);
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('timeout', () => {
+    it('kills process and rejects on request timeout', async () => {
+      createClient({ requestTimeoutMs: 50 });
+      autoHandshake('sess-1');
+      await client.ensureReady();
+
+      // Don't respond to the prompt — let it timeout
+      mock.stdin.write.mockImplementation(() => {});
+
+      await expect(client.prompt('test')).rejects.toThrow('timed out');
+      expect(client.isAlive).toBe(false);
+    });
+
+    it('rejects on init timeout', async () => {
+      createClient({ initTimeoutMs: 50 });
+      // Don't respond to initialize
+      mock.stdin.write.mockImplementation(() => {});
+
+      await expect(client.ensureReady()).rejects.toThrow('timed out');
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('error handling', () => {
+    it('rejects on ACP error response', async () => {
+      createClient();
+      mock.stdin.write.mockImplementation((data: string) => {
+        const msg = JSON.parse(data.trim()) as { id: number; method: string };
+        setImmediate(() => mock.sendError(msg.id, -32603, 'Internal error'));
+      });
+
+      await expect(client.ensureReady()).rejects.toThrow('ACP error -32603: Internal error');
+    });
+
+    it('rejects pending requests on process crash', async () => {
+      createClient();
+      autoHandshake('sess-1');
+      await client.ensureReady();
+
+      // Override write so prompt sends but gets no response; then crash the process
+      mock.stdin.write.mockImplementation(() => {
+        // After the prompt is sent, simulate a process crash
+        setImmediate(() => {
+          mock.proc.killed = true;
+          mock.proc.emit('exit', 1);
+        });
+      });
+
+      const promptPromise = client.prompt('test');
+      await expect(promptPromise).rejects.toThrow('process exited');
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('permission requests', () => {
+    it('rejects session/request_permission from agent', async () => {
+      createClient();
+      autoHandshake('sess-1');
+      await client.ensureReady();
+
+      mock.stdin.write.mockImplementation((data: string) => {
+        const msg = JSON.parse(data.trim()) as { id: number; method: string };
+        if (msg.method === 'session/prompt') {
+          setImmediate(() => {
+            // Agent asks for permission first
+            mock.sendPermissionRequest(100, 'sess-1');
+            // Then provides the actual response
+            mock.sendChunk('sess-1', 'done');
+            mock.sendResponse(msg.id, { stopReason: 'end_turn' });
+          });
+        }
+      });
+
+      const result = await client.prompt('test');
+      expect(result).toBe('done');
+
+      // Verify we sent a rejection for the permission request
+      const writes = mock.stdin.write.mock.calls.map((c) => {
+        try { return JSON.parse(c[0] as string); } catch { return null; }
+      }).filter(Boolean);
+      const rejection = writes.find((w: Record<string, unknown>) => w.id === 100);
+      expect(rejection).toBeTruthy();
+      expect((rejection as { result: { outcome: { outcome: string } } }).result.outcome.outcome).toBe('cancelled');
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('dispose', () => {
+    it('kills process and rejects pending', async () => {
+      createClient();
+      autoHandshake('sess-1');
+      await client.ensureReady();
+
+      // Override write so prompt is sent but gets no response; then dispose
+      mock.stdin.write.mockImplementation(() => {
+        setImmediate(() => client.dispose());
+      });
+
+      const promptPromise = client.prompt('test');
+      await expect(promptPromise).rejects.toThrow('disposed');
+      expect(mock.proc.kill).toHaveBeenCalledWith('SIGTERM');
+    });
+
+    it('is safe to call multiple times', () => {
+      createClient();
+      client.dispose();
+      client.dispose();
+      // No error thrown
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('isAlive', () => {
+    it('returns false before init', () => {
+      createClient();
+      expect(client.isAlive).toBe(false);
+    });
+
+    it('returns true after successful init', async () => {
+      createClient();
+      autoHandshake();
+      await client.ensureReady();
+      expect(client.isAlive).toBe(true);
+    });
+
+    it('returns false after dispose', async () => {
+      createClient();
+      autoHandshake();
+      await client.ensureReady();
+      client.dispose();
+      expect(client.isAlive).toBe(false);
+    });
+  });
+});

src/mcplocal/tests/gemini-acp.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,134 @@
+import { describe, it, expect, vi, beforeEach } from 'vitest';
+
+const mockEnsureReady = vi.fn(async () => {});
+const mockPrompt = vi.fn(async () => 'mock response');
+const mockDispose = vi.fn();
+
+vi.mock('../src/providers/acp-client.js', () => ({
+  AcpClient: vi.fn(function (this: Record<string, unknown>) {
+    this.ensureReady = mockEnsureReady;
+    this.prompt = mockPrompt;
+    this.dispose = mockDispose;
+  }),
+}));
+
+// Must import after mock setup
+const { GeminiAcpProvider } = await import('../src/providers/gemini-acp.js');
+
+describe('GeminiAcpProvider', () => {
+  let provider: InstanceType<typeof GeminiAcpProvider>;
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    vi.clearAllMocks();
+    mockPrompt.mockResolvedValue('mock response');
+    provider = new GeminiAcpProvider({ binaryPath: '/usr/bin/gemini', defaultModel: 'gemini-2.5-flash' });
+  });
+
+  describe('complete', () => {
+    it('builds prompt from messages and returns CompletionResult', async () => {
+      mockPrompt.mockResolvedValueOnce('The answer is 42.');
+
+      const result = await provider.complete({
+        messages: [
+          { role: 'system', content: 'You are helpful.' },
+          { role: 'user', content: 'What is the answer?' },
+        ],
+      });
+
+      expect(result.content).toBe('The answer is 42.');
+      expect(result.toolCalls).toEqual([]);
+      expect(result.finishReason).toBe('stop');
+
+      const promptText = mockPrompt.mock.calls[0][0] as string;
+      expect(promptText).toContain('System: You are helpful.');
+      expect(promptText).toContain('What is the answer?');
+    });
+
+    it('formats assistant messages with prefix', async () => {
+      mockPrompt.mockResolvedValueOnce('ok');
+
+      await provider.complete({
+        messages: [
+          { role: 'user', content: 'Hello' },
+          { role: 'assistant', content: 'Hi there' },
+          { role: 'user', content: 'How are you?' },
+        ],
+      });
+
+      const promptText = mockPrompt.mock.calls[0][0] as string;
+      expect(promptText).toContain('Assistant: Hi there');
+    });
+
+    it('trims response content', async () => {
+      mockPrompt.mockResolvedValueOnce('  padded response  \n');
+
+      const result = await provider.complete({
+        messages: [{ role: 'user', content: 'test' }],
+      });
+
+      expect(result.content).toBe('padded response');
+    });
+
+    it('serializes concurrent calls', async () => {
+      const callOrder: number[] = [];
+      let callCount = 0;
+
+      mockPrompt.mockImplementation(async () => {
+        const myCall = ++callCount;
+        callOrder.push(myCall);
+        await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 10));
+        return `response-${myCall}`;
+      });
+
+      const [r1, r2, r3] = await Promise.all([
+        provider.complete({ messages: [{ role: 'user', content: 'a' }] }),
+        provider.complete({ messages: [{ role: 'user', content: 'b' }] }),
+        provider.complete({ messages: [{ role: 'user', content: 'c' }] }),
+      ]);
+
+      expect(r1.content).toBe('response-1');
+      expect(r2.content).toBe('response-2');
+      expect(r3.content).toBe('response-3');
+      expect(callOrder).toEqual([1, 2, 3]);
+    });
+
+    it('continues queue after error', async () => {
+      mockPrompt
+        .mockRejectedValueOnce(new Error('first fails'))
+        .mockResolvedValueOnce('second works');
+
+      const results = await Promise.allSettled([
+        provider.complete({ messages: [{ role: 'user', content: 'a' }] }),
+        provider.complete({ messages: [{ role: 'user', content: 'b' }] }),
+      ]);
+
+      expect(results[0].status).toBe('rejected');
+      expect(results[1].status).toBe('fulfilled');
+      if (results[1].status === 'fulfilled') {
+        expect(results[1].value.content).toBe('second works');
+      }
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('listModels', () => {
+    it('returns static model list', async () => {
+      const models = await provider.listModels();
+      expect(models).toContain('gemini-2.5-flash');
+      expect(models).toContain('gemini-2.5-pro');
+      expect(models).toContain('gemini-2.0-flash');
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('dispose', () => {
+    it('delegates to AcpClient', () => {
+      provider.dispose();
+      expect(mockDispose).toHaveBeenCalled();
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('name', () => {
+    it('is gemini-cli for config compatibility', () => {
+      expect(provider.name).toBe('gemini-cli');
+    });
+  });
+});

src/mcplocal/tests/llm-config.test.ts

@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ describe('createProviderFromConfig', () => {
     expect(registry.getActive()).toBeNull();
   });
 
-  it('creates gemini-cli provider', async () => {
+  it('creates gemini-cli provider using ACP', async () => {
     const store = mockSecretStore();
     const registry = await createProviderFromConfig(
       { provider: 'gemini-cli', model: 'gemini-2.5-flash', binaryPath: '/usr/bin/gemini' },
@@ -33,6 +33,8 @@ describe('createProviderFromConfig', () => {
     );
     expect(registry.getActive()).not.toBeNull();
     expect(registry.getActive()!.name).toBe('gemini-cli');
+    // ACP provider has dispose method
+    expect(typeof registry.getActive()!.dispose).toBe('function');
   });
 
   it('creates ollama provider', async () => {