feat: tiered LLM providers (fast/heavy) with multi-provider config

Adds tier-based LLM routing so fast local models (vLLM, Ollama) handle
structured tasks while cloud models (Gemini, Anthropic) are reserved for
heavy reasoning. Single-provider configs continue to work via fallback.

- Tier type + ProviderRegistry with assignTier/getProvider/fallback chain
- Multi-provider config format: { providers: [{ name, type, tier, ... }] }
- NamedProvider wrapper for multiple instances of same provider type
- Setup wizard: Simple (legacy) / Advanced (fast+heavy tiers) modes
- Status display: tiered view with /llm/providers endpoint
- Call sites use getProvider('fast') instead of getActive()
- Full backward compatibility with existing single-provider configs

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

completions/mcpctl.bash

@@ -2,10 +2,10 @@ _mcpctl() {
   local cur prev words cword
   _init_completion || return
 
-  local commands="status login logout config get describe delete logs create edit apply backup restore mcp help"
+  local commands="status login logout config get describe delete logs create edit apply backup restore mcp approve help"
   local project_commands="attach-server detach-server get describe delete logs create edit help"
   local global_opts="-v --version --daemon-url --direct --project -h --help"
-  local resources="servers instances secrets templates projects users groups rbac"
+  local resources="servers instances secrets templates projects users groups rbac prompts promptrequests"
 
   # Check if --project was given
   local has_project=false
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ _mcpctl() {
   case "$subcmd" in
     config)
       if [[ $((cword - subcmd_pos)) -eq 1 ]]; then
-        COMPREPLY=($(compgen -W "view set path reset claude impersonate help" -- "$cur"))
+        COMPREPLY=($(compgen -W "view set path reset claude claude-generate setup impersonate help" -- "$cur"))
       fi
       return ;;
     status)
@@ -114,7 +114,7 @@ _mcpctl() {
       return ;;
     create)
       if [[ $((cword - subcmd_pos)) -eq 1 ]]; then
-        COMPREPLY=($(compgen -W "server secret project user group rbac help" -- "$cur"))
+        COMPREPLY=($(compgen -W "server secret project user group rbac prompt promptrequest help" -- "$cur"))
       fi
       return ;;
     apply)
@@ -150,6 +150,15 @@ _mcpctl() {
       fi
       COMPREPLY=($(compgen -W "$names" -- "$cur"))
       return ;;
+    approve)
+      if [[ -z "$resource_type" ]]; then
+        COMPREPLY=($(compgen -W "promptrequest" -- "$cur"))
+      else
+        local names
+        names=$(_mcpctl_resource_names "$resource_type")
+        COMPREPLY=($(compgen -W "$names" -- "$cur"))
+      fi
+      return ;;
     help)
       COMPREPLY=($(compgen -W "$commands" -- "$cur"))
       return ;;

completions/mcpctl.fish

@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 # Erase any stale completions from previous versions
 complete -c mcpctl -e
 
-set -l commands status login logout config get describe delete logs create edit apply backup restore mcp help
+set -l commands status login logout config get describe delete logs create edit apply backup restore mcp approve help
 set -l project_commands attach-server detach-server get describe delete logs create edit help
 
 # Disable file completions by default
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ function __mcpctl_has_project
 end
 
 # Helper: check if a resource type has been selected after get/describe/delete/edit
-set -l resources servers instances secrets templates projects users groups rbac
+set -l resources servers instances secrets templates projects users groups rbac prompts promptrequests
 
 function __mcpctl_needs_resource_type
     set -l tokens (commandline -opc)
@@ -36,11 +36,11 @@ function __mcpctl_needs_resource_type
     for tok in $tokens
         if $found_cmd
             # Check if next token after get/describe/delete/edit is a resource type
-            if contains -- $tok servers instances secrets templates projects users groups rbac
+            if contains -- $tok servers instances secrets templates projects users groups rbac prompts promptrequests
                 return 1 # resource type already present
             end
         end
-        if contains -- $tok get describe delete edit
+        if contains -- $tok get describe delete edit approve
             set found_cmd true
         end
     end
@@ -55,12 +55,12 @@ function __mcpctl_get_resource_type
     set -l found_cmd false
     for tok in $tokens
         if $found_cmd
-            if contains -- $tok servers instances secrets templates projects users groups rbac
+            if contains -- $tok servers instances secrets templates projects users groups rbac prompts promptrequests
                 echo $tok
                 return
             end
         end
-        if contains -- $tok get describe delete edit
+        if contains -- $tok get describe delete edit approve
             set found_cmd true
         end
     end
@@ -139,6 +139,7 @@ complete -c mcpctl -n "not __mcpctl_has_project; and not __fish_seen_subcommand_
 complete -c mcpctl -n "not __mcpctl_has_project; and not __fish_seen_subcommand_from $commands" -a apply -d 'Apply configuration from file'
 complete -c mcpctl -n "not __mcpctl_has_project; and not __fish_seen_subcommand_from $commands" -a backup -d 'Backup configuration'
 complete -c mcpctl -n "not __mcpctl_has_project; and not __fish_seen_subcommand_from $commands" -a restore -d 'Restore from backup'
+complete -c mcpctl -n "not __mcpctl_has_project; and not __fish_seen_subcommand_from $commands" -a approve -d 'Approve a prompt request'
 complete -c mcpctl -n "not __mcpctl_has_project; and not __fish_seen_subcommand_from $commands" -a help -d 'Show help'
 
 # Project-scoped commands (with --project)
@@ -157,7 +158,7 @@ complete -c mcpctl -n "__fish_seen_subcommand_from get describe delete; and __mc
 complete -c mcpctl -n "__fish_seen_subcommand_from edit; and __mcpctl_needs_resource_type" -a 'servers projects' -d 'Resource type'
 
 # Resource names — after resource type is selected
-complete -c mcpctl -n "__fish_seen_subcommand_from get describe delete edit; and not __mcpctl_needs_resource_type" -a '(__mcpctl_resource_names)' -d 'Resource name'
+complete -c mcpctl -n "__fish_seen_subcommand_from get describe delete edit approve; and not __mcpctl_needs_resource_type" -a '(__mcpctl_resource_names)' -d 'Resource name'
 
 # Helper: check if attach-server/detach-server already has a server argument
 function __mcpctl_needs_server_arg
@@ -196,22 +197,25 @@ complete -c mcpctl -n "__fish_seen_subcommand_from login" -l email -d 'Email add
 complete -c mcpctl -n "__fish_seen_subcommand_from login" -l password -d 'Password' -x
 
 # config subcommands
-set -l config_cmds view set path reset claude claude-generate impersonate
+set -l config_cmds view set path reset claude claude-generate setup impersonate
 complete -c mcpctl -n "__fish_seen_subcommand_from config; and not __fish_seen_subcommand_from $config_cmds" -a view -d 'Show configuration'
 complete -c mcpctl -n "__fish_seen_subcommand_from config; and not __fish_seen_subcommand_from $config_cmds" -a set -d 'Set a config value'
 complete -c mcpctl -n "__fish_seen_subcommand_from config; and not __fish_seen_subcommand_from $config_cmds" -a path -d 'Show config file path'
 complete -c mcpctl -n "__fish_seen_subcommand_from config; and not __fish_seen_subcommand_from $config_cmds" -a reset -d 'Reset to defaults'
 complete -c mcpctl -n "__fish_seen_subcommand_from config; and not __fish_seen_subcommand_from $config_cmds" -a claude -d 'Generate .mcp.json for project'
+complete -c mcpctl -n "__fish_seen_subcommand_from config; and not __fish_seen_subcommand_from $config_cmds" -a setup -d 'Configure LLM provider'
 complete -c mcpctl -n "__fish_seen_subcommand_from config; and not __fish_seen_subcommand_from $config_cmds" -a impersonate -d 'Impersonate a user'
 
 # create subcommands
-set -l create_cmds server secret project user group rbac
+set -l create_cmds server secret project user group rbac prompt promptrequest
 complete -c mcpctl -n "__fish_seen_subcommand_from create; and not __fish_seen_subcommand_from $create_cmds" -a server -d 'Create a server'
 complete -c mcpctl -n "__fish_seen_subcommand_from create; and not __fish_seen_subcommand_from $create_cmds" -a secret -d 'Create a secret'
 complete -c mcpctl -n "__fish_seen_subcommand_from create; and not __fish_seen_subcommand_from $create_cmds" -a project -d 'Create a project'
 complete -c mcpctl -n "__fish_seen_subcommand_from create; and not __fish_seen_subcommand_from $create_cmds" -a user -d 'Create a user'
 complete -c mcpctl -n "__fish_seen_subcommand_from create; and not __fish_seen_subcommand_from $create_cmds" -a group -d 'Create a group'
 complete -c mcpctl -n "__fish_seen_subcommand_from create; and not __fish_seen_subcommand_from $create_cmds" -a rbac -d 'Create an RBAC binding'
+complete -c mcpctl -n "__fish_seen_subcommand_from create; and not __fish_seen_subcommand_from $create_cmds" -a prompt -d 'Create an approved prompt'
+complete -c mcpctl -n "__fish_seen_subcommand_from create; and not __fish_seen_subcommand_from $create_cmds" -a promptrequest -d 'Create a prompt request'
 
 # logs options
 complete -c mcpctl -n "__fish_seen_subcommand_from logs" -l tail -d 'Number of lines' -x
@@ -227,6 +231,9 @@ complete -c mcpctl -n "__fish_seen_subcommand_from restore" -s i -l input -d 'In
 complete -c mcpctl -n "__fish_seen_subcommand_from restore" -s p -l password -d 'Decryption password' -x
 complete -c mcpctl -n "__fish_seen_subcommand_from restore" -s c -l conflict -d 'Conflict strategy' -xa 'skip overwrite fail'
 
+# approve: first arg is resource type (promptrequest only), second is name
+complete -c mcpctl -n "__fish_seen_subcommand_from approve; and __mcpctl_needs_resource_type" -a 'promptrequest' -d 'Resource type'
+
 # apply takes a file
 complete -c mcpctl -n "__fish_seen_subcommand_from apply" -s f -l file -d 'Configuration file' -rF
 complete -c mcpctl -n "__fish_seen_subcommand_from apply" -F

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

@@ -0,0 +1,464 @@
+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, LlmProviderEntry, LlmTier } 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>;
+  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[]>;
+  whichBinary: (name: string) => Promise<string | null>;
+}
+
+interface ProviderChoice {
+  name: string;
+  value: LlmProviderName;
+  description: string;
+}
+
+/** Provider config fields returned by per-provider setup functions. */
+interface ProviderFields {
+  model?: string;
+  url?: string;
+  binaryPath?: string;
+}
+
+const FAST_PROVIDER_CHOICES: ProviderChoice[] = [
+  { name: 'vLLM', value: 'vllm', description: 'Self-hosted vLLM (OpenAI-compatible)' },
+  { name: 'Ollama', value: 'ollama', description: 'Local models via Ollama' },
+];
+
+const HEAVY_PROVIDER_CHOICES: ProviderChoice[] = [
+  { name: 'Gemini CLI', value: 'gemini-cli', description: 'Google Gemini via local CLI (free, no API key)' },
+  { name: 'Anthropic (Claude)', value: 'anthropic', description: 'Claude API (requires API key)' },
+  { name: 'OpenAI', value: 'openai', description: 'OpenAI API (requires API key)' },
+  { name: 'DeepSeek', value: 'deepseek', description: 'DeepSeek API (requires API key)' },
+];
+
+const ALL_PROVIDER_CHOICES: ProviderChoice[] = [
+  ...FAST_PROVIDER_CHOICES,
+  ...HEAVY_PROVIDER_CHOICES,
+  { 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} — ${c.description}` : c.name,
+      value: c.value,
+      short: c.name,
+    })),
+  }]);
+  return answer as T;
+}
+
+async function defaultInput(message: string, defaultValue?: string): Promise<string> {
+  const { default: inquirer } = await import('inquirer');
+  const { answer } = await inquirer.prompt([{
+    type: 'input',
+    name: 'answer',
+    message,
+    default: defaultValue,
+  }]);
+  return answer as string;
+}
+
+async function defaultPassword(message: string): Promise<string> {
+  const { default: inquirer } = await import('inquirer');
+  const { answer } = await inquirer.prompt([{ type: 'password', name: 'answer', message }]);
+  return answer as string;
+}
+
+async function defaultConfirm(message: string, defaultValue?: boolean): Promise<boolean> {
+  const { default: inquirer } = await import('inquirer');
+  const { answer } = await inquirer.prompt([{
+    type: 'confirm',
+    name: 'answer',
+    message,
+    default: defaultValue ?? true,
+  }]);
+  return answer as boolean;
+}
+
+const defaultPrompt: ConfigSetupPrompt = {
+  select: defaultSelect,
+  input: defaultInput,
+  password: defaultPassword,
+  confirm: defaultConfirm,
+};
+
+async function defaultWhichBinary(name: string): Promise<string | null> {
+  try {
+    const { stdout } = await execFileAsync('which', [name], { timeout: 3000 });
+    const path = stdout.trim();
+    return path || null;
+  } catch {
+    return null;
+  }
+}
+
+// --- Per-provider setup functions (return ProviderFields for reuse in both modes) ---
+
+async function setupGeminiCliFields(
+  prompt: ConfigSetupPrompt,
+  log: (...args: string[]) => void,
+  whichBinary: (name: string) => Promise<string | null>,
+  currentModel?: string,
+): Promise<ProviderFields> {
+  const model = await prompt.select<string>('Select model:', [
+    ...GEMINI_MODELS.map((m) => ({
+      name: m === currentModel ? `${m} (current)` : m,
+      value: m,
+    })),
+    { name: 'Custom...', value: '__custom__' },
+  ]);
+
+  const finalModel = model === '__custom__'
+    ? await prompt.input('Model name:', currentModel)
+    : model;
+
+  let binaryPath: string | undefined;
+  const detected = await whichBinary('gemini');
+  if (detected) {
+    log(`Found gemini at: ${detected}`);
+    binaryPath = detected;
+  } else {
+    log('Warning: gemini binary not found in PATH');
+    const manualPath = await prompt.input('Binary path (or install with: npm i -g @google/gemini-cli):');
+    if (manualPath) binaryPath = manualPath;
+  }
+
+  const result: ProviderFields = { model: finalModel };
+  if (binaryPath) result.binaryPath = binaryPath;
+  return result;
+}
+
+async function setupOllamaFields(
+  prompt: ConfigSetupPrompt,
+  fetchModels: ConfigSetupDeps['fetchModels'],
+  currentUrl?: string,
+  currentModel?: string,
+): Promise<ProviderFields> {
+  const url = await prompt.input('Ollama URL:', currentUrl ?? 'http://localhost:11434');
+  const models = await fetchModels(url, '/api/tags');
+  let model: string;
+
+  if (models.length > 0) {
+    const choices = models.map((m) => ({
+      name: m === currentModel ? `${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:', currentModel);
+    }
+  } else {
+    model = await prompt.input('Model name (could not fetch models):', currentModel ?? 'llama3.2');
+  }
+
+  const result: ProviderFields = { model };
+  if (url) result.url = url;
+  return result;
+}
+
+async function setupVllmFields(
+  prompt: ConfigSetupPrompt,
+  fetchModels: ConfigSetupDeps['fetchModels'],
+  currentUrl?: string,
+  currentModel?: string,
+): Promise<ProviderFields> {
+  const url = await prompt.input('vLLM URL:', currentUrl ?? 'http://localhost:8000');
+  const models = await fetchModels(url, '/v1/models');
+  let model: string;
+
+  if (models.length > 0) {
+    const choices = models.map((m) => ({
+      name: m === currentModel ? `${m} (current)` : m,
+      value: m,
+    }));
+    choices.push({ name: 'Custom...', value: '__custom__' });
+    model = await prompt.select<string>('Select model:', choices);
+    if (model === '__custom__') {
+      model = await prompt.input('Model name:', currentModel);
+    }
+  } else {
+    model = await prompt.input('Model name (could not fetch models):', currentModel ?? 'default');
+  }
+
+  const result: ProviderFields = { model };
+  if (url) result.url = url;
+  return result;
+}
+
+async function setupApiKeyFields(
+  prompt: ConfigSetupPrompt,
+  secretStore: SecretStore,
+  provider: LlmProviderName,
+  secretKey: string,
+  hardcodedModels: string[],
+  currentModel?: string,
+  currentUrl?: string,
+): Promise<ProviderFields> {
+  const existingKey = await secretStore.get(secretKey);
+  let apiKey: string;
+
+  if (existingKey) {
+    const masked = `****${existingKey.slice(-4)}`;
+    const changeKey = await prompt.confirm(`API key stored (${masked}). Change it?`, false);
+    apiKey = changeKey ? await prompt.password('API key:') : existingKey;
+  } else {
+    apiKey = await prompt.password('API key:');
+  }
+
+  if (apiKey !== existingKey) {
+    await secretStore.set(secretKey, apiKey);
+  }
+
+  let model: string;
+  if (hardcodedModels.length > 0) {
+    const choices = hardcodedModels.map((m) => ({
+      name: m === currentModel ? `${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:', currentModel);
+    }
+  } else {
+    model = await prompt.input('Model name:', currentModel ?? 'gpt-4o');
+  }
+
+  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:', currentUrl ?? 'https://api.openai.com');
+    }
+  }
+
+  const result: ProviderFields = { model };
+  if (url) result.url = url;
+  return result;
+}
+
+/** Configure a single provider type and return its fields. */
+async function setupProviderFields(
+  providerType: LlmProviderName,
+  prompt: ConfigSetupPrompt,
+  log: (...args: string[]) => void,
+  fetchModels: ConfigSetupDeps['fetchModels'],
+  whichBinary: (name: string) => Promise<string | null>,
+  secretStore: SecretStore,
+): Promise<ProviderFields> {
+  switch (providerType) {
+    case 'gemini-cli':
+      return setupGeminiCliFields(prompt, log, whichBinary);
+    case 'ollama':
+      return setupOllamaFields(prompt, fetchModels);
+    case 'vllm':
+      return setupVllmFields(prompt, fetchModels);
+    case 'anthropic':
+      return setupApiKeyFields(prompt, secretStore, 'anthropic', 'anthropic-api-key', ANTHROPIC_MODELS);
+    case 'openai':
+      return setupApiKeyFields(prompt, secretStore, 'openai', 'openai-api-key', []);
+    case 'deepseek':
+      return setupApiKeyFields(prompt, secretStore, 'deepseek', 'deepseek-api-key', DEEPSEEK_MODELS);
+    default:
+      return {};
+  }
+}
+
+/** Build a LlmProviderEntry from type, name, and fields. */
+function buildEntry(providerType: LlmProviderName, name: string, fields: ProviderFields, tier?: LlmTier): LlmProviderEntry {
+  const entry: LlmProviderEntry = { name, type: providerType };
+  if (fields.model) entry.model = fields.model;
+  if (fields.url) entry.url = fields.url;
+  if (fields.binaryPath) entry.binaryPath = fields.binaryPath;
+  if (tier) entry.tier = tier;
+  return entry;
+}
+
+/** Simple mode: single provider (legacy format). */
+async function simpleSetup(
+  config: McpctlConfig,
+  configDeps: Partial<ConfigLoaderDeps>,
+  prompt: ConfigSetupPrompt,
+  log: (...args: string[]) => void,
+  fetchModels: ConfigSetupDeps['fetchModels'],
+  whichBinary: (name: string) => Promise<string | null>,
+  secretStore: SecretStore,
+): Promise<void> {
+  const currentLlm = config.llm && 'provider' in config.llm ? config.llm : undefined;
+
+  const choices = ALL_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;
+  }
+
+  const fields = await setupProviderFields(provider, prompt, log, fetchModels, whichBinary, secretStore);
+  const llmConfig: LlmConfig = { provider, ...fields };
+  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');
+}
+
+/** Advanced mode: multiple providers with tier assignments. */
+async function advancedSetup(
+  config: McpctlConfig,
+  configDeps: Partial<ConfigLoaderDeps>,
+  prompt: ConfigSetupPrompt,
+  log: (...args: string[]) => void,
+  fetchModels: ConfigSetupDeps['fetchModels'],
+  whichBinary: (name: string) => Promise<string | null>,
+  secretStore: SecretStore,
+): Promise<void> {
+  const entries: LlmProviderEntry[] = [];
+
+  // Fast providers
+  const addFast = await prompt.confirm('Add a FAST provider? (vLLM, Ollama — local, cheap, fast)', true);
+  if (addFast) {
+    let addMore = true;
+    while (addMore) {
+      const providerType = await prompt.select<LlmProviderName>('Fast provider type:', FAST_PROVIDER_CHOICES);
+      const defaultName = providerType === 'vllm' ? 'vllm-local' : providerType;
+      const name = await prompt.input('Provider name:', defaultName);
+      const fields = await setupProviderFields(providerType, prompt, log, fetchModels, whichBinary, secretStore);
+      entries.push(buildEntry(providerType, name, fields, 'fast'));
+      log(`  Added: ${name} (${providerType}) → fast tier`);
+      addMore = await prompt.confirm('Add another fast provider?', false);
+    }
+  }
+
+  // Heavy providers
+  const addHeavy = await prompt.confirm('Add a HEAVY provider? (Gemini, Anthropic, OpenAI — cloud, smart)', true);
+  if (addHeavy) {
+    let addMore = true;
+    while (addMore) {
+      const providerType = await prompt.select<LlmProviderName>('Heavy provider type:', HEAVY_PROVIDER_CHOICES);
+      const defaultName = providerType;
+      const name = await prompt.input('Provider name:', defaultName);
+      const fields = await setupProviderFields(providerType, prompt, log, fetchModels, whichBinary, secretStore);
+      entries.push(buildEntry(providerType, name, fields, 'heavy'));
+      log(`  Added: ${name} (${providerType}) → heavy tier`);
+      addMore = await prompt.confirm('Add another heavy provider?', false);
+    }
+  }
+
+  if (entries.length === 0) {
+    log('No providers configured.');
+    return;
+  }
+
+  // Summary
+  log('\nProvider configuration:');
+  for (const e of entries) {
+    log(`  ${e.tier ?? 'unassigned'}: ${e.name} (${e.type})${e.model ? ` / ${e.model}` : ''}`);
+  }
+
+  const updated: McpctlConfig = { ...config, llm: { providers: entries } };
+  saveConfig(updated, configDeps);
+  log('\nRestart mcplocal: systemctl --user restart mcplocal');
+}
+
+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 whichBinary = deps?.whichBinary ?? defaultWhichBinary;
+      const secretStore = deps?.secretStore ?? await createSecretStore();
+
+      const config = loadConfig(configDeps);
+
+      const mode = await prompt.select<'simple' | 'advanced'>('Setup mode:', [
+        { name: 'Simple', value: 'simple', description: 'One provider for everything' },
+        { name: 'Advanced', value: 'advanced', description: 'Multiple providers with fast/heavy tiers' },
+      ]);
+
+      if (mode === 'simple') {
+        await simpleSetup(config, configDeps, prompt, log, fetchModels, whichBinary, secretStore);
+      } else {
+        await advancedSetup(config, configDeps, prompt, log, fetchModels, whichBinary, secretStore);
+      }
+    });
+}

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;
 

src/cli/src/commands/create.ts

@@ -196,8 +196,6 @@ export function createCreateCommand(deps: CreateCommandDeps): Command {
     .argument('<name>', 'Project name')
     .option('-d, --description <text>', 'Project description', '')
     .option('--proxy-mode <mode>', 'Proxy mode (direct, filtered)')
-    .option('--proxy-mode-llm-provider <name>', 'LLM provider name (for filtered proxy mode)')
-    .option('--proxy-mode-llm-model <name>', 'LLM model name (for filtered proxy mode)')
     .option('--prompt <text>', 'Project-level prompt / instructions for the LLM')
     .option('--server <name>', 'Server name (repeat for multiple)', collect, [])
     .option('--force', 'Update if already exists')
@@ -208,8 +206,6 @@ export function createCreateCommand(deps: CreateCommandDeps): Command {
         proxyMode: opts.proxyMode ?? 'direct',
       };
       if (opts.prompt) body.prompt = opts.prompt;
-      if (opts.proxyModeLlmProvider) body.llmProvider = opts.proxyModeLlmProvider;
-      if (opts.proxyModeLlmModel) body.llmModel = opts.proxyModeLlmModel;
       if (opts.server.length > 0) body.servers = opts.server;
 
       try {
@@ -379,5 +375,31 @@ export function createCreateCommand(deps: CreateCommandDeps): Command {
       log(`prompt '${prompt.name}' created (id: ${prompt.id})`);
     });
 
+  // --- create promptrequest ---
+  cmd.command('promptrequest')
+    .description('Create a prompt request (pending proposal that needs approval)')
+    .argument('<name>', 'Prompt request name (lowercase alphanumeric with hyphens)')
+    .requiredOption('--project <name>', 'Project name (required)')
+    .option('--content <text>', 'Prompt content text')
+    .option('--content-file <path>', 'Read prompt content from file')
+    .action(async (name: string, opts) => {
+      let content = opts.content as string | undefined;
+      if (opts.contentFile) {
+        const fs = await import('node:fs/promises');
+        content = await fs.readFile(opts.contentFile as string, 'utf-8');
+      }
+      if (!content) {
+        throw new Error('--content or --content-file is required');
+      }
+
+      const projectName = opts.project as string;
+      const pr = await client.post<{ id: string; name: string }>(
+        `/api/v1/projects/${encodeURIComponent(projectName)}/promptrequests`,
+        { name, content },
+      );
+      log(`prompt request '${pr.name}' created (id: ${pr.id})`);
+      log(`  approve with: mcpctl approve promptrequest ${pr.name}`);
+    });
+
   return cmd;
 }

src/cli/src/commands/status.ts

@@ -7,11 +7,31 @@ import type { CredentialsDeps } from '../auth/index.js';
 import { formatJson, formatYaml } from '../formatters/index.js';
 import { APP_VERSION } from '@mcpctl/shared';
 
+// ANSI helpers
+const GREEN = '\x1b[32m';
+const RED = '\x1b[31m';
+const DIM = '\x1b[2m';
+const RESET = '\x1b[0m';
+const CLEAR_LINE = '\x1b[2K\r';
+
+interface ProvidersInfo {
+  providers: string[];
+  tiers: { fast: string[]; heavy: string[] };
+}
+
 export interface StatusCommandDeps {
   configDeps: Partial<ConfigLoaderDeps>;
   credentialsDeps: Partial<CredentialsDeps>;
   log: (...args: string[]) => void;
+  write: (text: string) => void;
   checkHealth: (url: string) => Promise<boolean>;
+  /** Check LLM health via mcplocal's /llm/health endpoint */
+  checkLlm: (mcplocalUrl: string) => Promise<string>;
+  /** Fetch available models from mcplocal's /llm/models endpoint */
+  fetchModels: (mcplocalUrl: string) => Promise<string[]>;
+  /** Fetch provider tier info from mcplocal's /llm/providers endpoint */
+  fetchProviders: (mcplocalUrl: string) => Promise<ProvidersInfo | null>;
+  isTTY: boolean;
 }
 
 function defaultCheckHealth(url: string): Promise<boolean> {
@@ -28,15 +48,114 @@ function defaultCheckHealth(url: string): Promise<boolean> {
   });
 }
 
+/**
+ * Check LLM health by querying mcplocal's /llm/health endpoint.
+ * This tests the actual provider running inside the daemon (uses persistent ACP for gemini, etc.)
+ */
+function defaultCheckLlm(mcplocalUrl: string): Promise<string> {
+  return new Promise((resolve) => {
+    const req = http.get(`${mcplocalUrl}/llm/health`, { timeout: 45000 }, (res) => {
+      const chunks: Buffer[] = [];
+      res.on('data', (chunk: Buffer) => chunks.push(chunk));
+      res.on('end', () => {
+        try {
+          const body = JSON.parse(Buffer.concat(chunks).toString('utf-8')) as { status: string; error?: string };
+          if (body.status === 'ok') {
+            resolve('ok');
+          } else if (body.status === 'not configured') {
+            resolve('not configured');
+          } else if (body.error) {
+            resolve(body.error.slice(0, 80));
+          } else {
+            resolve(body.status);
+          }
+        } catch {
+          resolve('invalid response');
+        }
+      });
+    });
+    req.on('error', () => resolve('mcplocal unreachable'));
+    req.on('timeout', () => { req.destroy(); resolve('timeout'); });
+  });
+}
+
+function defaultFetchModels(mcplocalUrl: string): Promise<string[]> {
+  return new Promise((resolve) => {
+    const req = http.get(`${mcplocalUrl}/llm/models`, { timeout: 5000 }, (res) => {
+      const chunks: Buffer[] = [];
+      res.on('data', (chunk: Buffer) => chunks.push(chunk));
+      res.on('end', () => {
+        try {
+          const body = JSON.parse(Buffer.concat(chunks).toString('utf-8')) as { models?: string[] };
+          resolve(body.models ?? []);
+        } catch {
+          resolve([]);
+        }
+      });
+    });
+    req.on('error', () => resolve([]));
+    req.on('timeout', () => { req.destroy(); resolve([]); });
+  });
+}
+
+function defaultFetchProviders(mcplocalUrl: string): Promise<ProvidersInfo | null> {
+  return new Promise((resolve) => {
+    const req = http.get(`${mcplocalUrl}/llm/providers`, { timeout: 5000 }, (res) => {
+      const chunks: Buffer[] = [];
+      res.on('data', (chunk: Buffer) => chunks.push(chunk));
+      res.on('end', () => {
+        try {
+          const body = JSON.parse(Buffer.concat(chunks).toString('utf-8')) as ProvidersInfo;
+          resolve(body);
+        } catch {
+          resolve(null);
+        }
+      });
+    });
+    req.on('error', () => resolve(null));
+    req.on('timeout', () => { req.destroy(); resolve(null); });
+  });
+}
+
+const SPINNER_FRAMES = ['⠋', '⠙', '⠹', '⠸', '⠼', '⠴', '⠦', '⠧', '⠇', '⠏'];
+
 const defaultDeps: StatusCommandDeps = {
   configDeps: {},
   credentialsDeps: {},
   log: (...args) => console.log(...args),
+  write: (text) => process.stdout.write(text),
   checkHealth: defaultCheckHealth,
+  checkLlm: defaultCheckLlm,
+  fetchModels: defaultFetchModels,
+  fetchProviders: defaultFetchProviders,
+  isTTY: process.stdout.isTTY ?? false,
 };
 
+/** Determine LLM label from config (handles both legacy and multi-provider formats). */
+function getLlmLabel(llm: unknown): string | null {
+  if (!llm || typeof llm !== 'object') return null;
+  // Legacy format: { provider, model }
+  if ('provider' in llm) {
+    const legacy = llm as { provider: string; model?: string };
+    if (legacy.provider === 'none') return null;
+    return `${legacy.provider}${legacy.model ? ` / ${legacy.model}` : ''}`;
+  }
+  // Multi-provider format: { providers: [...] }
+  if ('providers' in llm) {
+    const multi = llm as { providers: Array<{ name: string; type: string; tier?: string }> };
+    if (multi.providers.length === 0) return null;
+    return multi.providers.map((p) => `${p.name}${p.tier ? ` (${p.tier})` : ''}`).join(', ');
+  }
+  return null;
+}
+
+/** Check if config uses multi-provider format. */
+function isMultiProvider(llm: unknown): boolean {
+  return !!llm && typeof llm === 'object' && 'providers' in llm;
+}
+
 export function createStatusCommand(deps?: Partial<StatusCommandDeps>): Command {
-  const { configDeps, credentialsDeps, log, checkHealth } = { ...defaultDeps, ...deps };
+  const { configDeps, credentialsDeps, log, write, checkHealth, checkLlm, fetchModels, fetchProviders, isTTY } = { ...defaultDeps, ...deps };
 
   return new Command('status')
     .description('Show mcpctl status and connectivity')
@@ -45,33 +164,116 @@ export function createStatusCommand(deps?: Partial<StatusCommandDeps>): Command
       const config = loadConfig(configDeps);
       const creds = loadCredentials(credentialsDeps);
 
+      const llmLabel = getLlmLabel(config.llm);
+      const multiProvider = isMultiProvider(config.llm);
+
+      if (opts.output !== 'table') {
+        // JSON/YAML: run everything in parallel, wait, output at once
+        const [mcplocalReachable, mcpdReachable, llmStatus, providersInfo] = await Promise.all([
+          checkHealth(config.mcplocalUrl),
+          checkHealth(config.mcpdUrl),
+          llmLabel ? checkLlm(config.mcplocalUrl) : Promise.resolve(null),
+          multiProvider ? fetchProviders(config.mcplocalUrl) : Promise.resolve(null),
+        ]);
+
+        const llm = llmLabel
+          ? llmStatus === 'ok' ? llmLabel : `${llmLabel} (${llmStatus})`
+          : null;
+
+        const status = {
+          version: APP_VERSION,
+          mcplocalUrl: config.mcplocalUrl,
+          mcplocalReachable,
+          mcpdUrl: config.mcpdUrl,
+          mcpdReachable,
+          auth: creds ? { user: creds.user } : null,
+          registries: config.registries,
+          outputFormat: config.outputFormat,
+          llm,
+          llmStatus,
+          ...(providersInfo ? { providers: providersInfo } : {}),
+        };
+
+        log(opts.output === 'json' ? formatJson(status) : formatYaml(status));
+        return;
+      }
+
+      // 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),
       ]);
 
-      const status = {
+      log(`mcpctl v${APP_VERSION}`);
-        version: APP_VERSION,
+      log(`mcplocal:   ${config.mcplocalUrl} (${mcplocalReachable ? 'connected' : 'unreachable'})`);
-        mcplocalUrl: config.mcplocalUrl,
+      log(`mcpd:       ${config.mcpdUrl} (${mcpdReachable ? 'connected' : 'unreachable'})`);
-        mcplocalReachable,
+      log(`Auth:       ${creds ? `logged in as ${creds.user}` : 'not logged in'}`);
-        mcpdUrl: config.mcpdUrl,
+      log(`Registries: ${config.registries.join(', ')}`);
-        mcpdReachable,
+      log(`Output:     ${config.outputFormat}`);
-        auth: creds ? { user: creds.user } : null,
-        registries: config.registries,
-        outputFormat: config.outputFormat,
-      };
 
-      if (opts.output === 'json') {
+      if (!llmLabel) {
-        log(formatJson(status));
+        log(`LLM:        not configured (run 'mcpctl config setup')`);
-      } else if (opts.output === 'yaml') {
+        return;
-        log(formatYaml(status));
+      }
+
+      // LLM check + models + providers fetch in parallel
+      const llmPromise = checkLlm(config.mcplocalUrl);
+      const modelsPromise = fetchModels(config.mcplocalUrl);
+      const providersPromise = multiProvider ? fetchProviders(config.mcplocalUrl) : Promise.resolve(null);
+
+      if (isTTY) {
+        let frame = 0;
+        const interval = setInterval(() => {
+          write(`${CLEAR_LINE}LLM:        ${DIM}${SPINNER_FRAMES[frame % SPINNER_FRAMES.length]} checking...${RESET}`);
+          frame++;
+        }, 80);
+
+        const [llmStatus, models, providersInfo] = await Promise.all([llmPromise, modelsPromise, providersPromise]);
+        clearInterval(interval);
+
+        if (providersInfo && (providersInfo.tiers.fast.length > 0 || providersInfo.tiers.heavy.length > 0)) {
+          // Tiered display
+          write(`${CLEAR_LINE}`);
+          if (providersInfo.tiers.fast.length > 0) {
+            log(`LLM (fast):  ${providersInfo.tiers.fast.join(', ')} ${GREEN}✓${RESET}`);
+          }
+          if (providersInfo.tiers.heavy.length > 0) {
+            log(`LLM (heavy): ${providersInfo.tiers.heavy.join(', ')} ${GREEN}✓${RESET}`);
+          }
+        } else {
+          // Legacy single provider display
+          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`);
+          }
+        }
+        if (models.length > 0) {
+          log(`${DIM}            Available: ${models.join(', ')}${RESET}`);
+        }
       } else {
-        log(`mcpctl v${status.version}`);
+        // Non-TTY: no spinner, just wait and print
-        log(`mcplocal:   ${status.mcplocalUrl} (${mcplocalReachable ? 'connected' : 'unreachable'})`);
+        const [llmStatus, models, providersInfo] = await Promise.all([llmPromise, modelsPromise, providersPromise]);
-        log(`mcpd:       ${status.mcpdUrl} (${mcpdReachable ? 'connected' : 'unreachable'})`);
+
-        log(`Auth:       ${creds ? `logged in as ${creds.user}` : 'not logged in'}`);
+        if (providersInfo && (providersInfo.tiers.fast.length > 0 || providersInfo.tiers.heavy.length > 0)) {
-        log(`Registries: ${status.registries.join(', ')}`);
+          if (providersInfo.tiers.fast.length > 0) {
-        log(`Output:     ${status.outputFormat}`);
+            log(`LLM (fast):  ${providersInfo.tiers.fast.join(', ')}`);
+          }
+          if (providersInfo.tiers.heavy.length > 0) {
+            log(`LLM (heavy): ${providersInfo.tiers.heavy.join(', ')}`);
+          }
+        } else {
+          if (llmStatus === 'ok' || llmStatus === 'ok (key stored)') {
+            log(`LLM:        ${llmLabel} ✓ ${llmStatus}`);
+          } else {
+            log(`LLM:        ${llmLabel} ✗ ${llmStatus}`);
+          }
+        }
+        if (models.length > 0) {
+          log(`${DIM}            Available: ${models.join(', ')}${RESET}`);
+        }
       }
     });
 }

src/cli/src/config/index.ts

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-export { McpctlConfigSchema, DEFAULT_CONFIG } from './schema.js';
+export { McpctlConfigSchema, LlmConfigSchema, LlmProviderEntrySchema, LlmMultiConfigSchema, LLM_PROVIDERS, LLM_TIERS, DEFAULT_CONFIG } from './schema.js';
-export type { McpctlConfig } from './schema.js';
+export type { McpctlConfig, LlmConfig, LlmProviderEntry, LlmMultiConfig, LlmProviderName, LlmTier } from './schema.js';
 export { loadConfig, saveConfig, mergeConfig, getConfigPath } from './loader.js';
 export type { ConfigLoaderDeps } from './loader.js';

src/cli/src/config/schema.ts

@@ -1,5 +1,50 @@
 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 LLM_TIERS = ['fast', 'heavy'] as const;
+export type LlmTier = typeof LLM_TIERS[number];
+
+/** Legacy single-provider format. */
+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>;
+
+/** Multi-provider entry (advanced mode). */
+export const LlmProviderEntrySchema = z.object({
+  /** User-chosen name for this provider instance (e.g. "vllm-local") */
+  name: z.string(),
+  /** Provider type */
+  type: 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(),
+  /** Tier assignment */
+  tier: z.enum(LLM_TIERS).optional(),
+}).strict();
+
+export type LlmProviderEntry = z.infer<typeof LlmProviderEntrySchema>;
+
+/** Multi-provider format with providers array. */
+export const LlmMultiConfigSchema = z.object({
+  providers: z.array(LlmProviderEntrySchema).min(1),
+}).strict();
+
+export type LlmMultiConfig = z.infer<typeof LlmMultiConfigSchema>;
+
 export const McpctlConfigSchema = z.object({
   /** mcplocal daemon endpoint (local LLM pre-processing proxy) */
   mcplocalUrl: z.string().default('http://localhost:3200'),
@@ -19,6 +64,8 @@ export const McpctlConfigSchema = z.object({
   outputFormat: z.enum(['table', 'json', 'yaml']).default('table'),
   /** Smithery API key */
   smitheryApiKey: z.string().optional(),
+  /** LLM provider configuration — accepts legacy single-provider or multi-provider format */
+  llm: z.union([LlmConfigSchema, LlmMultiConfigSchema]).optional(),
 }).transform((cfg) => {
   // Backward compatibility: if old daemonUrl is set but mcplocalUrl wasn't explicitly changed,
   // use daemonUrl as mcplocalUrl

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

@@ -0,0 +1,293 @@
+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'];
+  whichBinary?: ConfigSetupDeps['whichBinary'];
+} = {}): 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 () => []),
+    whichBinary: overrides.whichBinary ?? vi.fn(async () => '/usr/bin/gemini'),
+  };
+}
+
+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: ['simple', '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('auto-detects binary path and saves config', async () => {
+      // Answers: select provider, select model (no binary prompt — auto-detected)
+      const deps = buildDeps({
+        answers: ['simple', 'gemini-cli', 'gemini-2.5-flash'],
+        whichBinary: vi.fn(async () => '/home/user/.npm-global/bin/gemini'),
+      });
+      await runSetup(deps);
+
+      const config = readConfig();
+      const llm = config.llm as Record<string, unknown>;
+      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('prompts for manual path when binary not found', async () => {
+      // Answers: select provider, select model, enter manual path
+      const deps = buildDeps({
+        answers: ['simple', '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: ['simple', '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');
+      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: ['simple', '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: ['simple', '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: ['simple', '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: ['simple', '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: ['simple', '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: ['simple', '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: ['simple', '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: ['simple', '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: ['simple', '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: ['simple', 'gemini-cli', 'gemini-2.5-flash'] });
+      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: ['simple', '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);
+      cleanup();
+    });
+  });
+});

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

@@ -30,8 +30,6 @@ describe('project with new fields', () => {
         'project', 'smart-home',
         '-d', 'Smart home project',
         '--proxy-mode', 'filtered',
-        '--proxy-mode-llm-provider', 'gemini-cli',
-        '--proxy-mode-llm-model', 'gemini-2.0-flash',
         '--server', 'my-grafana',
         '--server', 'my-ha',
       ], { from: 'user' });
@@ -40,8 +38,6 @@ describe('project with new fields', () => {
         name: 'smart-home',
         description: 'Smart home project',
         proxyMode: 'filtered',
-        llmProvider: 'gemini-cli',
-        llmModel: 'gemini-2.0-flash',
         servers: ['my-grafana', 'my-ha'],
       }));
     });

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

@@ -3,19 +3,39 @@ 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,
+    fetchProviders: async () => null,
+    isTTY: false,
+    ...overrides,
+  };
+}
+
 beforeEach(() => {
   tempDir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'mcpctl-status-test-'));
   output = [];
+  written = [];
 });
 
 afterEach(() => {
@@ -24,12 +44,7 @@ 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 +54,26 @@ 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 +82,7 @@ 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 +90,12 @@ 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');
@@ -116,14 +103,100 @@ 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(baseDeps());
+    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 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(baseDeps({ checkLlm: async () => 'ok' }));
+    await cmd.parseAsync([], { from: 'user' });
+    const out = output.join('\n');
+    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 error message from mcplocal', 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('queries mcplocal URL for LLM health', async () => {
+    saveConfig({ ...DEFAULT_CONFIG, mcplocalUrl: 'http://custom:9999', llm: { provider: 'gemini-cli', model: 'gemini-2.5-flash' } }, { configDir: tempDir });
+    let queriedUrl = '';
+    const cmd = createStatusCommand(baseDeps({
+      checkLlm: async (url) => { queriedUrl = url; return 'ok'; },
+    }));
+    await cmd.parseAsync([], { from: 'user' });
+    expect(queriedUrl).toBe('http://custom:9999');
+  });
+
+  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(baseDeps());
+    await cmd.parseAsync([], { from: 'user' });
+    expect(output.join('\n')).toContain('not configured');
+  });
+
+  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(baseDeps({ checkLlm: async () => 'ok' }));
+    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(baseDeps());
+    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/cli/tests/completions.test.ts

@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ describe('fish completions', () => {
   });
 
   it('does not offer resource types without __mcpctl_needs_resource_type guard', () => {
-    const resourceTypes = ['servers', 'instances', 'secrets', 'templates', 'projects', 'users', 'groups', 'rbac'];
+    const resourceTypes = ['servers', 'instances', 'secrets', 'templates', 'projects', 'users', 'groups', 'rbac', 'prompts', 'promptrequests'];
     const lines = fishFile.split('\n').filter((l) => l.startsWith('complete '));
 
     for (const line of lines) {

src/mcplocal/src/discovery.ts

@@ -48,6 +48,33 @@ export async function refreshProjectUpstreams(
   return syncUpstreams(router, mcpdClient, servers);
 }
 
+/**
+ * Fetch a project's LLM config (llmProvider, llmModel) from mcpd.
+ * These are the project-level "recommendations" — local overrides take priority.
+ */
+export interface ProjectLlmConfig {
+  llmProvider?: string;
+  llmModel?: string;
+}
+
+export async function fetchProjectLlmConfig(
+  mcpdClient: McpdClient,
+  projectName: string,
+): Promise<ProjectLlmConfig> {
+  try {
+    const project = await mcpdClient.get<{
+      llmProvider?: string;
+      llmModel?: string;
+    }>(`/api/v1/projects/${encodeURIComponent(projectName)}`);
+    const config: ProjectLlmConfig = {};
+    if (project.llmProvider) config.llmProvider = project.llmProvider;
+    if (project.llmModel) config.llmModel = project.llmModel;
+    return config;
+  } catch {
+    return {};
+  }
+}
+
 /** Shared sync logic: reconcile a router's upstreams with a server list. */
 function syncUpstreams(router: McpRouter, mcpdClient: McpdClient, servers: McpdServer[]): string[] {
   const registered: string[] = [];

src/mcplocal/src/http/config.ts

@@ -37,6 +37,119 @@ function loadUserToken(): string {
   }
 }
 
+export interface LlmFileConfig {
+  provider: string;
+  model?: string;
+  url?: string;
+  binaryPath?: string;
+}
+
+/** Multi-provider entry from config file. */
+export interface LlmProviderFileEntry {
+  name: string;
+  type: string;
+  model?: string;
+  url?: string;
+  binaryPath?: string;
+  tier?: 'fast' | 'heavy';
+}
+
+export interface ProjectLlmOverride {
+  model?: string;
+  provider?: string;
+}
+
+interface LlmMultiFileConfig {
+  providers: LlmProviderFileEntry[];
+}
+
+interface McpctlConfig {
+  llm?: LlmFileConfig | LlmMultiFileConfig;
+  projects?: Record<string, { llm?: ProjectLlmOverride }>;
+}
+
+/** Cached config for the process lifetime (reloaded on SIGHUP if needed). */
+let cachedConfig: McpctlConfig | null = null;
+
+function loadFullConfig(): McpctlConfig {
+  if (cachedConfig) return cachedConfig;
+  try {
+    const configPath = join(homedir(), '.mcpctl', 'config.json');
+    if (!existsSync(configPath)) return {};
+    const raw = readFileSync(configPath, 'utf-8');
+    cachedConfig = JSON.parse(raw) as McpctlConfig;
+    return cachedConfig;
+  } catch {
+    return {};
+  }
+}
+
+/** Type guard: is config the multi-provider format? */
+function isMultiConfig(llm: LlmFileConfig | LlmMultiFileConfig): llm is LlmMultiFileConfig {
+  return 'providers' in llm && Array.isArray((llm as LlmMultiFileConfig).providers);
+}
+
+/**
+ * Load LLM configuration from ~/.mcpctl/config.json.
+ * Returns undefined if no LLM section is configured.
+ * @deprecated Use loadLlmProviders() for multi-provider support.
+ */
+export function loadLlmConfig(): LlmFileConfig | undefined {
+  const config = loadFullConfig();
+  if (!config.llm) return undefined;
+  if (isMultiConfig(config.llm)) {
+    // Multi-provider format — return first provider as legacy compat
+    const first = config.llm.providers[0];
+    if (!first) return undefined;
+    const legacy: LlmFileConfig = { provider: first.type };
+    if (first.model) legacy.model = first.model;
+    if (first.url) legacy.url = first.url;
+    if (first.binaryPath) legacy.binaryPath = first.binaryPath;
+    return legacy;
+  }
+  if (!config.llm.provider || config.llm.provider === 'none') return undefined;
+  return config.llm;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Load LLM providers from ~/.mcpctl/config.json.
+ * Normalizes both legacy single-provider and multi-provider formats.
+ * Returns empty array if no LLM is configured.
+ */
+export function loadLlmProviders(): LlmProviderFileEntry[] {
+  const config = loadFullConfig();
+  if (!config.llm) return [];
+
+  if (isMultiConfig(config.llm)) {
+    return config.llm.providers.filter((p) => p.type !== 'none');
+  }
+
+  // Legacy single-provider format → normalize to one entry
+  if (!config.llm.provider || config.llm.provider === 'none') return [];
+  const entry: LlmProviderFileEntry = {
+    name: config.llm.provider,
+    type: config.llm.provider,
+  };
+  if (config.llm.model) entry.model = config.llm.model;
+  if (config.llm.url) entry.url = config.llm.url;
+  if (config.llm.binaryPath) entry.binaryPath = config.llm.binaryPath;
+  return [entry];
+}
+
+/**
+ * Load per-project LLM override from ~/.mcpctl/config.json.
+ * Returns the project-specific model/provider override, or undefined.
+ */
+export function loadProjectLlmOverride(projectName: string): ProjectLlmOverride | undefined {
+  const config = loadFullConfig();
+  return config.projects?.[projectName]?.llm;
+}
+
+/** Reset cached config (for testing). */
+export function resetConfigCache(): void {
+  cachedConfig = null;
+}
+
 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;

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

@@ -13,8 +13,10 @@ import { StreamableHTTPServerTransport } from '@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/server/
 import type { JSONRPCMessage } from '@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/types.js';
 import { McpRouter } from '../router.js';
 import { ResponsePaginator } from '../llm/pagination.js';
-import { refreshProjectUpstreams } from '../discovery.js';
+import { refreshProjectUpstreams, fetchProjectLlmConfig } from '../discovery.js';
+import { loadProjectLlmOverride } from './config.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 +31,7 @@ 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 +47,13 @@ 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)
+    // Resolve project LLM model: local override → mcpd recommendation → global default
-    router.setPaginator(new ResponsePaginator(null));
+    const localOverride = loadProjectLlmOverride(projectName);
+    const mcpdConfig = await fetchProjectLlmConfig(mcpdClient, projectName);
+    const resolvedModel = localOverride?.model ?? mcpdConfig.llmModel ?? undefined;
+
+    // Wire pagination support with LLM provider and project model override
+    router.setPaginator(new ResponsePaginator(providerRegistry ?? null, {}, resolvedModel));
 
     // Configure prompt resources with SA-scoped client for RBAC
     const saClient = mcpdClient.withHeaders({ 'X-Service-Account': `project:${projectName}` });

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(
@@ -79,6 +81,81 @@ export async function createHttpServer(
     reply.code(200).send({ status: 'ok' });
   });
 
+  // LLM health check — cached to avoid burning tokens on every call.
+  // Does a real inference call at most once per 10 minutes.
+  let llmHealthCache: { result: Record<string, unknown>; expiresAt: number } | null = null;
+  const LLM_HEALTH_CACHE_MS = 10 * 60 * 1000; // 10 minutes
+
+  app.get('/llm/health', async (_request, reply) => {
+    const provider = deps.providerRegistry?.getProvider('fast') ?? null;
+    if (!provider) {
+      reply.code(200).send({ status: 'not configured' });
+      return;
+    }
+
+    // Return cached result if fresh
+    if (llmHealthCache && Date.now() < llmHealthCache.expiresAt) {
+      reply.code(200).send(llmHealthCache.result);
+      return;
+    }
+
+    try {
+      const result = await provider.complete({
+        messages: [{ role: 'user', content: 'Respond with exactly: ok' }],
+        maxTokens: 10,
+      });
+      const ok = result.content.trim().toLowerCase().includes('ok');
+      const response = {
+        status: ok ? 'ok' : 'unexpected response',
+        provider: provider.name,
+        response: result.content.trim().slice(0, 100),
+      };
+      llmHealthCache = { result: response, expiresAt: Date.now() + LLM_HEALTH_CACHE_MS };
+      reply.code(200).send(response);
+    } catch (err) {
+      const msg = (err as Error).message ?? String(err);
+      const response = {
+        status: 'error',
+        provider: provider.name,
+        error: msg.slice(0, 200),
+      };
+      // Cache errors for 1 minute only (retry sooner)
+      llmHealthCache = { result: response, expiresAt: Date.now() + 60_000 };
+      reply.code(200).send(response);
+    }
+  });
+
+  // LLM models — list available models from the active provider
+  app.get('/llm/models', async (_request, reply) => {
+    const provider = deps.providerRegistry?.getProvider('fast') ?? null;
+    if (!provider) {
+      reply.code(200).send({ models: [], provider: null });
+      return;
+    }
+    try {
+      const models = await provider.listModels();
+      reply.code(200).send({ models, provider: provider.name });
+    } catch {
+      reply.code(200).send({ models: [], provider: provider.name });
+    }
+  });
+
+  // LLM providers — list all registered providers with tier assignments
+  app.get('/llm/providers', async (_request, reply) => {
+    const registry = deps.providerRegistry;
+    if (!registry) {
+      reply.code(200).send({ providers: [], tiers: { fast: [], heavy: [] } });
+      return;
+    }
+    reply.code(200).send({
+      providers: registry.list(),
+      tiers: {
+        fast: registry.getTierProviders('fast'),
+        heavy: registry.getTierProviders('heavy'),
+      },
+    });
+  });
+
   // Proxy management routes to mcpd
   const mcpdClient = new McpdClient(config.mcpdUrl, config.mcpdToken);
   registerProxyRoutes(app, mcpdClient);
@@ -87,7 +164,7 @@ 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;
 }

src/mcplocal/src/llm-config.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,171 @@
+import type { SecretStore } from '@mcpctl/shared';
+import type { LlmFileConfig, LlmProviderFileEntry } from './http/config.js';
+import { ProviderRegistry } from './providers/registry.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 { LlmProvider } from './providers/types.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';
+
+/**
+ * Thin wrapper that delegates all LlmProvider methods but overrides `name`.
+ * Used when the user's chosen name (e.g. "vllm-local") differs from the
+ * underlying provider's name (e.g. "openai").
+ */
+class NamedProvider implements LlmProvider {
+  readonly name: string;
+  private inner: LlmProvider;
+
+  constructor(name: string, inner: LlmProvider) {
+    this.name = name;
+    this.inner = inner;
+  }
+
+  complete(...args: Parameters<LlmProvider['complete']>) {
+    return this.inner.complete(...args);
+  }
+  listModels() {
+    return this.inner.listModels();
+  }
+  isAvailable() {
+    return this.inner.isAvailable();
+  }
+  dispose() {
+    this.inner.dispose?.();
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Create a single LlmProvider from a provider entry config.
+ * Returns null if required config is missing (logs warning).
+ */
+async function createSingleProvider(
+  entry: LlmProviderFileEntry,
+  secretStore: SecretStore,
+): Promise<LlmProvider | null> {
+  switch (entry.type) {
+    case 'gemini-cli': {
+      const cfg: GeminiAcpConfig = {};
+      if (entry.binaryPath) cfg.binaryPath = entry.binaryPath;
+      if (entry.model) cfg.defaultModel = entry.model;
+      const provider = new GeminiAcpProvider(cfg);
+      provider.warmup();
+      return provider;
+    }
+
+    case 'ollama': {
+      const cfg: OllamaConfig = {};
+      if (entry.url) cfg.baseUrl = entry.url;
+      if (entry.model) cfg.defaultModel = entry.model;
+      return new OllamaProvider(cfg);
+    }
+
+    case 'anthropic': {
+      const apiKey = await secretStore.get('anthropic-api-key');
+      if (!apiKey) {
+        process.stderr.write(`Warning: Anthropic API key not found for provider "${entry.name}". Run "mcpctl config setup" to configure.\n`);
+        return null;
+      }
+      const cfg: AnthropicConfig = { apiKey };
+      if (entry.model) cfg.defaultModel = entry.model;
+      return new AnthropicProvider(cfg);
+    }
+
+    case 'openai': {
+      const apiKey = await secretStore.get('openai-api-key');
+      if (!apiKey) {
+        process.stderr.write(`Warning: OpenAI API key not found for provider "${entry.name}". Run "mcpctl config setup" to configure.\n`);
+        return null;
+      }
+      const cfg: OpenAiConfig = { apiKey };
+      if (entry.url) cfg.baseUrl = entry.url;
+      if (entry.model) cfg.defaultModel = entry.model;
+      return new OpenAiProvider(cfg);
+    }
+
+    case 'deepseek': {
+      const apiKey = await secretStore.get('deepseek-api-key');
+      if (!apiKey) {
+        process.stderr.write(`Warning: DeepSeek API key not found for provider "${entry.name}". Run "mcpctl config setup" to configure.\n`);
+        return null;
+      }
+      const cfg: DeepSeekConfig = { apiKey };
+      if (entry.url) cfg.baseUrl = entry.url;
+      if (entry.model) cfg.defaultModel = entry.model;
+      return new DeepSeekProvider(cfg);
+    }
+
+    case 'vllm': {
+      if (!entry.url) {
+        process.stderr.write(`Warning: vLLM URL not configured for provider "${entry.name}". Run "mcpctl config setup" to configure.\n`);
+        return null;
+      }
+      return new OpenAiProvider({
+        apiKey: 'unused',
+        baseUrl: entry.url,
+        defaultModel: entry.model ?? 'default',
+      });
+    }
+
+    default:
+      return null;
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Create a ProviderRegistry from multi-provider config entries + secret store.
+ * Registers each provider, wraps with NamedProvider if needed, assigns tiers.
+ */
+export async function createProvidersFromConfig(
+  entries: LlmProviderFileEntry[],
+  secretStore: SecretStore,
+): Promise<ProviderRegistry> {
+  const registry = new ProviderRegistry();
+
+  for (const entry of entries) {
+    const rawProvider = await createSingleProvider(entry, secretStore);
+    if (!rawProvider) continue;
+
+    // Wrap with NamedProvider if user name differs from provider's built-in name
+    const provider = rawProvider.name !== entry.name
+      ? new NamedProvider(entry.name, rawProvider)
+      : rawProvider;
+
+    registry.register(provider);
+
+    if (entry.tier) {
+      registry.assignTier(provider.name, entry.tier);
+    }
+  }
+
+  return registry;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Create a ProviderRegistry from legacy single-provider config + secret store.
+ * @deprecated Use createProvidersFromConfig() with loadLlmProviders() instead.
+ */
+export async function createProviderFromConfig(
+  config: LlmFileConfig | undefined,
+  secretStore: SecretStore,
+): Promise<ProviderRegistry> {
+  if (!config?.provider || config.provider === 'none') {
+    return new ProviderRegistry();
+  }
+
+  const entry: LlmProviderFileEntry = {
+    name: config.provider,
+    type: config.provider,
+  };
+  if (config.model) entry.model = config.model;
+  if (config.url) entry.url = config.url;
+  if (config.binaryPath) entry.binaryPath = config.binaryPath;
+
+  return createProvidersFromConfig([entry], secretStore);
+}

src/mcplocal/src/llm/pagination.ts

@@ -105,6 +105,7 @@ export class ResponsePaginator {
   constructor(
     private providers: ProviderRegistry | null,
     config: Partial<PaginationConfig> = {},
+    private modelOverride?: string,
   ) {
     this.config = { ...DEFAULT_PAGINATION_CONFIG, ...config };
   }
@@ -129,7 +130,8 @@ export class ResponsePaginator {
 
     try {
       index = await this.generateSmartIndex(resultId, toolName, raw, pages);
-    } catch {
+    } catch (err) {
+      console.error(`[pagination] Smart index failed for ${toolName}, falling back to simple:`, err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err));
       index = this.generateSimpleIndex(resultId, toolName, raw, pages);
     }
 
@@ -240,7 +242,7 @@ export class ResponsePaginator {
     raw: string,
     pages: PageInfo[],
   ): Promise<PaginationIndex> {
-    const provider = this.providers?.getActive();
+    const provider = this.providers?.getProvider('fast');
     if (!provider) {
       return this.generateSimpleIndex(resultId, toolName, raw, pages);
     }
@@ -259,9 +261,12 @@ export class ResponsePaginator {
       ],
       maxTokens: this.config.indexMaxTokens,
       temperature: 0,
+      ...(this.modelOverride ? { model: this.modelOverride } : {}),
     });
 
-    const summaries = JSON.parse(result.content) as Array<{ page: number; summary: string }>;
+    // LLMs often wrap JSON in ```json ... ``` fences — strip them
+    const cleaned = result.content.replace(/^```(?:json)?\s*\n?/i, '').replace(/\n?```\s*$/i, '').trim();
+    const summaries = JSON.parse(cleaned) as Array<{ page: number; summary: string }>;
 
     return {
       resultId,

src/mcplocal/src/llm/processor.ts

@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ export class LlmProcessor {
       return { optimized: false, params };
     }
 
-    const provider = this.providers.getActive();
+    const provider = this.providers.getProvider('fast');
     if (!provider) {
       return { optimized: false, params };
     }
@@ -142,7 +142,7 @@ export class LlmProcessor {
       return { filtered: false, result: response.result, originalSize: raw.length, filteredSize: raw.length };
     }
 
-    const provider = this.providers.getActive();
+    const provider = this.providers.getProvider('fast');
     if (!provider) {
       const raw = JSON.stringify(response.result);
       return { filtered: false, result: response.result, originalSize: raw.length, filteredSize: raw.length };

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, loadLlmProviders } from './http/config.js';
 import type { HttpConfig } from './http/config.js';
+import { createProvidersFromConfig } from './llm-config.js';
+import { createSecretStore } from '@mcpctl/shared';
+import type { ProviderRegistry } from './providers/registry.js';
 
 interface ParsedArgs {
   configPath: string | undefined;
@@ -55,12 +58,28 @@ 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 providers from user config + secret store
+  const llmEntries = loadLlmProviders();
+  const secretStore = await createSecretStore();
+  const providerRegistry = await createProvidersFromConfig(llmEntries, secretStore);
+  if (providerRegistry.hasTierConfig()) {
+    const fast = providerRegistry.getTierProviders('fast');
+    const heavy = providerRegistry.getTierProviders('heavy');
+    process.stderr.write(`LLM providers: fast=[${fast.join(',')}] heavy=[${heavy.join(',')}]\n`);
+  } else {
+    const activeLlm = providerRegistry.getActive();
+    if (activeLlm) {
+      process.stderr.write(`LLM provider: ${activeLlm.name}\n`);
+    }
+  }
+
   let upstreamConfigs: UpstreamConfig[] = [];
 
   if (args.configPath) {
@@ -115,7 +134,7 @@ 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`);
   }
@@ -126,6 +145,7 @@ export async function main(argv: string[] = process.argv): Promise<MainResult> {
     if (shuttingDown) return;
     shuttingDown = true;
 
+    providerRegistry.disposeAll();
     server.stop();
     if (httpServer) {
       await httpServer.close();
@@ -137,7 +157,7 @@ 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

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

@@ -0,0 +1,291 @@
+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;
+      // Gemini ACP sends content as a single object {type, text} or an array [{type, text}]
+      const blocks: Array<{ type: string; text?: string }> = Array.isArray(content)
+        ? content as Array<{ type: string; text?: string }>
+        : content && typeof content === 'object'
+          ? [content as { type: string; text?: string }]
+          : [];
+      for (const block of blocks) {
+        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 +1,165 @@
+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;
+  /** Idle TTL for pooled sessions in ms (default: 8 hours) */
+  idleTtlMs?: number;
+  /** Override for testing — passed through to AcpClient */
+  spawn?: AcpClientConfig['spawn'];
+}
+
+interface PoolEntry {
+  client: AcpClient;
+  lastUsed: number;
+  queue: Promise<void>;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Gemini CLI provider using ACP (Agent Client Protocol) mode.
+ *
+ * Maintains a pool of persistent subprocesses keyed by model name.
+ * Each model gets its own `gemini --experimental-acp` subprocess with
+ * a serial request queue. Idle sessions are evicted after 8 hours.
+ *
+ * NOTE: Gemini ACP currently doesn't support per-session model selection,
+ * so all sessions use the same model. The pool infrastructure is ready for
+ * when vLLM/OpenAI providers are added (they support per-request model).
+ */
+export class GeminiAcpProvider implements LlmProvider {
+  readonly name = 'gemini-cli';
+  private pool = new Map<string, PoolEntry>();
+  private binaryPath: string;
+  private defaultModel: string;
+  private readonly requestTimeoutMs: number;
+  private readonly initTimeoutMs: number;
+  private readonly idleTtlMs: number;
+  private readonly spawnOverride?: AcpClientConfig['spawn'];
+
+  constructor(config?: GeminiAcpConfig) {
+    this.binaryPath = config?.binaryPath ?? 'gemini';
+    this.defaultModel = config?.defaultModel ?? 'gemini-2.5-flash';
+    this.requestTimeoutMs = config?.requestTimeoutMs ?? 60_000;
+    this.initTimeoutMs = config?.initTimeoutMs ?? 30_000;
+    this.idleTtlMs = config?.idleTtlMs ?? 8 * 60 * 60 * 1000; // 8 hours
+    if (config?.spawn) this.spawnOverride = config.spawn;
+  }
+
+  async complete(options: CompletionOptions): Promise<CompletionResult> {
+    const model = options.model ?? this.defaultModel;
+    const entry = this.getOrCreateEntry(model);
+    entry.lastUsed = Date.now();
+
+    this.evictIdle();
+
+    return this.enqueue(entry, () => this.doComplete(entry.client, 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 {
+    for (const entry of this.pool.values()) {
+      entry.client.dispose();
+    }
+    this.pool.clear();
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Eagerly spawn the default model's ACP subprocess so it's ready
+   * for the first request (avoids 30s cold-start on health checks).
+   */
+  warmup(): void {
+    const entry = this.getOrCreateEntry(this.defaultModel);
+    // Fire-and-forget: start the subprocess initialization in the background
+    entry.client.ensureReady().catch(() => {
+      // Ignore errors — next request will retry
+    });
+  }
+
+  /** Number of active pool entries (for testing). */
+  get poolSize(): number {
+    return this.pool.size;
+  }
+
+  // --- Private ---
+
+  private getOrCreateEntry(model: string): PoolEntry {
+    const existing = this.pool.get(model);
+    if (existing) return existing;
+
+    const acpConfig: AcpClientConfig = {
+      binaryPath: this.binaryPath,
+      model,
+      requestTimeoutMs: this.requestTimeoutMs,
+      initTimeoutMs: this.initTimeoutMs,
+    };
+    if (this.spawnOverride) acpConfig.spawn = this.spawnOverride;
+
+    const entry: PoolEntry = {
+      client: new AcpClient(acpConfig),
+      lastUsed: Date.now(),
+      queue: Promise.resolve(),
+    };
+    this.pool.set(model, entry);
+    return entry;
+  }
+
+  private evictIdle(): void {
+    const now = Date.now();
+    for (const [model, entry] of this.pool) {
+      if (now - entry.lastUsed > this.idleTtlMs) {
+        entry.client.dispose();
+        this.pool.delete(model);
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
+  private async doComplete(client: AcpClient, 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 client.prompt(prompt);
+
+    return {
+      content: content.trim(),
+      toolCalls: [],
+      usage: { promptTokens: 0, completionTokens: 0, totalTokens: 0 },
+      finishReason: 'stop',
+    };
+  }
+
+  private enqueue<T>(entry: PoolEntry, fn: () => Promise<T>): Promise<T> {
+    const result = new Promise<T>((resolve, reject) => {
+      entry.queue = entry.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

@@ -1,11 +1,13 @@
-import type { LlmProvider } from './types.js';
+import type { LlmProvider, Tier } from './types.js';
 
 /**
- * Registry for LLM providers. Supports switching the active provider at runtime.
+ * Registry for LLM providers. Supports tier-based routing (fast/heavy)
+ * with cross-tier fallback, and legacy single-provider mode.
  */
 export class ProviderRegistry {
   private providers = new Map<string, LlmProvider>();
   private activeProvider: string | null = null;
+  private tierProviders = new Map<Tier, string[]>();
 
   register(provider: LlmProvider): void {
     this.providers.set(provider.name, provider);
@@ -20,6 +22,15 @@ export class ProviderRegistry {
       const first = this.providers.keys().next();
       this.activeProvider = first.done ? null : first.value;
     }
+    // Remove from tier assignments
+    for (const [tier, names] of this.tierProviders) {
+      const filtered = names.filter((n) => n !== name);
+      if (filtered.length === 0) {
+        this.tierProviders.delete(tier);
+      } else {
+        this.tierProviders.set(tier, filtered);
+      }
+    }
   }
 
   setActive(name: string): void {
@@ -34,6 +45,42 @@ export class ProviderRegistry {
     return this.providers.get(this.activeProvider) ?? null;
   }
 
+  /** Assign a provider to a tier. Call order = priority within the tier. */
+  assignTier(providerName: string, tier: Tier): void {
+    if (!this.providers.has(providerName)) {
+      throw new Error(`Provider '${providerName}' is not registered`);
+    }
+    const existing = this.tierProviders.get(tier) ?? [];
+    if (!existing.includes(providerName)) {
+      this.tierProviders.set(tier, [...existing, providerName]);
+    }
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Get provider for a specific tier with fallback.
+   * Resolution: requested tier → other tier → getActive() (legacy).
+   */
+  getProvider(tier: Tier): LlmProvider | null {
+    const primary = this.firstInTier(tier);
+    if (primary) return primary;
+
+    const otherTier: Tier = tier === 'fast' ? 'heavy' : 'fast';
+    const fallback = this.firstInTier(otherTier);
+    if (fallback) return fallback;
+
+    return this.getActive();
+  }
+
+  /** Get provider names assigned to a tier. */
+  getTierProviders(tier: Tier): string[] {
+    return this.tierProviders.get(tier) ?? [];
+  }
+
+  /** Whether any tier assignments exist (vs legacy single-provider mode). */
+  hasTierConfig(): boolean {
+    return this.tierProviders.size > 0;
+  }
+
   get(name: string): LlmProvider | undefined {
     return this.providers.get(name);
   }
@@ -45,4 +92,32 @@ export class ProviderRegistry {
   getActiveName(): string | null {
     return this.activeProvider;
   }
+
+  /** Provider info for status display. */
+  listProviders(): Array<{ name: string; tiers: Tier[] }> {
+    return this.list().map((name) => {
+      const tiers: Tier[] = [];
+      for (const [tier, names] of this.tierProviders) {
+        if (names.includes(name)) tiers.push(tier);
+      }
+      return { name, tiers };
+    });
+  }
+
+  /** Dispose all registered providers that have a dispose method. */
+  disposeAll(): void {
+    for (const provider of this.providers.values()) {
+      provider.dispose?.();
+    }
+  }
+
+  private firstInTier(tier: Tier): LlmProvider | null {
+    const names = this.tierProviders.get(tier);
+    if (!names) return null;
+    for (const name of names) {
+      const provider = this.providers.get(name);
+      if (provider) return provider;
+    }
+    return null;
+  }
 }

src/mcplocal/src/providers/types.ts

@@ -44,6 +44,9 @@ export interface CompletionOptions {
   model?: string;
 }
 
+/** LLM provider tier. 'fast' = local inference, 'heavy' = cloud reasoning. */
+export type Tier = 'fast' | 'heavy';
+
 export interface LlmProvider {
   /** Provider identifier (e.g., 'openai', 'anthropic', 'ollama') */
   readonly name: string;
@@ -53,4 +56,6 @@ 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 +1,486 @@
+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('handles single-object content (real Gemini ACP format)', 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(() => {
+            // Real Gemini ACP sends content as a single object, not an array
+            mock.sendLine({
+              jsonrpc: '2.0',
+              method: 'session/update',
+              params: {
+                sessionId: 'sess-1',
+                update: {
+                  sessionUpdate: 'agent_message_chunk',
+                  content: { type: 'text', text: 'ok' },
+                },
+              },
+            });
+            mock.sendResponse(msg.id, { stopReason: 'end_turn' });
+          });
+        }
+      });
+
+      const result = await client.prompt('test');
+      expect(result).toBe('ok');
+    });
+
+    it('ignores agent_thought_chunk notifications', 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(() => {
+            // Gemini sends thought chunks before message chunks
+            mock.sendLine({
+              jsonrpc: '2.0',
+              method: 'session/update',
+              params: {
+                sessionId: 'sess-1',
+                update: {
+                  sessionUpdate: 'agent_thought_chunk',
+                  content: { type: 'text', text: 'Thinking about it...' },
+                },
+              },
+            });
+            mock.sendLine({
+              jsonrpc: '2.0',
+              method: 'session/update',
+              params: {
+                sessionId: 'sess-1',
+                update: {
+                  sessionUpdate: 'agent_message_chunk',
+                  content: { type: 'text', text: 'ok' },
+                },
+              },
+            });
+            mock.sendResponse(msg.id, { stopReason: 'end_turn' });
+          });
+        }
+      });
+
+      const result = await client.prompt('test');
+      expect(result).toBe('ok');
+    });
+
+    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 +1,200 @@
+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 to same model', 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('session pool', () => {
+    it('creates separate pool entries for different models', async () => {
+      mockPrompt.mockResolvedValue('ok');
+
+      await provider.complete({ messages: [{ role: 'user', content: 'a' }], model: 'gemini-2.5-flash' });
+      await provider.complete({ messages: [{ role: 'user', content: 'b' }], model: 'gemini-2.5-pro' });
+
+      expect(provider.poolSize).toBe(2);
+    });
+
+    it('reuses existing pool entry for same model', async () => {
+      mockPrompt.mockResolvedValue('ok');
+
+      await provider.complete({ messages: [{ role: 'user', content: 'a' }], model: 'gemini-2.5-flash' });
+      await provider.complete({ messages: [{ role: 'user', content: 'b' }], model: 'gemini-2.5-flash' });
+
+      expect(provider.poolSize).toBe(1);
+    });
+
+    it('uses defaultModel when no model specified', async () => {
+      mockPrompt.mockResolvedValue('ok');
+
+      await provider.complete({ messages: [{ role: 'user', content: 'a' }] });
+
+      expect(provider.poolSize).toBe(1);
+    });
+
+    it('evicts idle sessions', async () => {
+      // Use a very short TTL for testing
+      const shortTtl = new GeminiAcpProvider({
+        binaryPath: '/usr/bin/gemini',
+        defaultModel: 'gemini-2.5-flash',
+        idleTtlMs: 1, // 1ms TTL
+      });
+
+      mockPrompt.mockResolvedValue('ok');
+      await shortTtl.complete({ messages: [{ role: 'user', content: 'a' }], model: 'model-a' });
+      expect(shortTtl.poolSize).toBe(1);
+
+      // Wait for TTL to expire
+      await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 10));
+
+      // Next complete call triggers eviction of old entry and creates new one
+      await shortTtl.complete({ messages: [{ role: 'user', content: 'b' }], model: 'model-b' });
+      // model-a should have been evicted, only model-b remains
+      expect(shortTtl.poolSize).toBe(1);
+      expect(mockDispose).toHaveBeenCalled();
+
+      shortTtl.dispose();
+    });
+
+    it('dispose kills all pooled clients', async () => {
+      mockPrompt.mockResolvedValue('ok');
+
+      await provider.complete({ messages: [{ role: 'user', content: 'a' }], model: 'model-a' });
+      await provider.complete({ messages: [{ role: 'user', content: 'b' }], model: 'model-b' });
+      expect(provider.poolSize).toBe(2);
+
+      provider.dispose();
+      expect(provider.poolSize).toBe(0);
+      expect(mockDispose).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
+    });
+  });
+
+  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 all pooled AcpClients', async () => {
+      mockPrompt.mockResolvedValue('ok');
+      await provider.complete({ messages: [{ role: 'user', content: 'test' }] });
+      provider.dispose();
+      expect(mockDispose).toHaveBeenCalled();
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('name', () => {
+    it('is gemini-cli for config compatibility', () => {
+      expect(provider.name).toBe('gemini-cli');
+    });
+  });
+});

src/mcplocal/tests/http/config.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+import { describe, it, expect, vi, afterEach, beforeEach } from 'vitest';
+import { loadLlmConfig, resetConfigCache } 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(),
+  };
+});
+
+beforeEach(() => {
+  resetConfigCache();
+});
+
+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();
+  });
+});

src/mcplocal/tests/integration/e2e-flow.test.ts

@@ -6,13 +6,14 @@
  * (node:http) and a mock LLM provider. No Docker or external services needed.
  */
 
-import { describe, it, expect, beforeEach, afterEach, afterAll } from 'vitest';
+import { describe, it, expect, vi, beforeEach, afterEach, afterAll } from 'vitest';
 import { createServer, type Server, type IncomingMessage, type ServerResponse } from 'node:http';
 
 import { McpRouter } from '../../src/router.js';
 import { McpdUpstream } from '../../src/upstream/mcpd.js';
 import { McpdClient } from '../../src/http/mcpd-client.js';
 import { LlmProcessor, DEFAULT_PROCESSOR_CONFIG } from '../../src/llm/processor.js';
+import { ResponsePaginator } from '../../src/llm/pagination.js';
 import { ProviderRegistry } from '../../src/providers/registry.js';
 import { TieredHealthMonitor } from '../../src/health/tiered.js';
 import { refreshUpstreams } from '../../src/discovery.js';
@@ -1096,4 +1097,429 @@ describe('End-to-end integration: 3-tier architecture', () => {
       }
     });
   });
+
+  // -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+  // 8. Smart pagination through the full pipeline
+  // -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+  describe('Smart pagination', () => {
+    // Helper: generate a large JSON response (~100KB)
+    function makeLargeToolResult(): { flows: Array<{ id: string; type: string; label: string; wires: string[] }> } {
+      return {
+        flows: Array.from({ length: 200 }, (_, i) => ({
+          id: `flow-${String(i).padStart(4, '0')}`,
+          type: i % 3 === 0 ? 'function' : i % 3 === 1 ? 'http request' : 'inject',
+          label: `Node ${String(i)}: ${i % 3 === 0 ? 'Data transform' : i % 3 === 1 ? 'API call' : 'Timer trigger'}`,
+          wires: [`flow-${String(i + 1).padStart(4, '0')}`],
+        })),
+      };
+    }
+
+    it('paginates large tool response with smart AI summaries through router', async () => {
+      const largeResult = makeLargeToolResult();
+
+      mockMcpd = await startMockMcpd({
+        servers: [{ id: 'srv-nodered', name: 'node-red', transport: 'stdio' }],
+        proxyResponses: new Map([
+          ['srv-nodered:tools/list', {
+            result: { tools: [{ name: 'get_flows', description: 'Get all flows' }] },
+          }],
+          ['srv-nodered:tools/call', {
+            result: largeResult,
+          }],
+        ]),
+      });
+
+      const client = new McpdClient(mockMcpd.baseUrl, mockMcpd.config.expectedToken);
+      router = new McpRouter();
+      await refreshUpstreams(router, client);
+      await router.discoverTools();
+
+      // Set up paginator with LLM provider for smart summaries
+      const registry = new ProviderRegistry();
+      const completeFn = vi.fn().mockImplementation(() => ({
+        content: JSON.stringify([
+          { page: 1, summary: 'Function nodes and data transforms (flow-0000 through flow-0050)' },
+          { page: 2, summary: 'HTTP request nodes and API integrations (flow-0051 through flow-0100)' },
+          { page: 3, summary: 'Inject/timer nodes and triggers (flow-0101 through flow-0150)' },
+          { page: 4, summary: 'Remaining nodes and wire connections (flow-0151 through flow-0199)' },
+        ]),
+      }));
+      const mockProvider: LlmProvider = {
+        name: 'test-paginator',
+        isAvailable: () => true,
+        complete: completeFn,
+      };
+      registry.register(mockProvider);
+
+      // Low threshold so our response triggers pagination
+      const paginator = new ResponsePaginator(registry, {
+        sizeThreshold: 1000,
+        pageSize: 8000,
+      });
+      router.setPaginator(paginator);
+
+      // Call the tool — should get pagination index, not raw data
+      const response = await router.route({
+        jsonrpc: '2.0',
+        id: 'paginate-1',
+        method: 'tools/call',
+        params: { name: 'node-red/get_flows', arguments: {} },
+      });
+
+      expect(response.error).toBeUndefined();
+      const result = response.result as { content: Array<{ type: string; text: string }> };
+      expect(result.content).toHaveLength(1);
+      const indexText = result.content[0]!.text;
+
+      // Verify smart index with AI summaries
+      expect(indexText).toContain('AI-generated summaries');
+      expect(indexText).toContain('Function nodes and data transforms');
+      expect(indexText).toContain('HTTP request nodes');
+      expect(indexText).toContain('_resultId');
+      expect(indexText).toContain('_page');
+
+      // LLM was called to generate summaries
+      expect(completeFn).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
+      const llmCall = completeFn.mock.calls[0]![0]!;
+      expect(llmCall.messages[0].role).toBe('system');
+      expect(llmCall.messages[1].content).toContain('node-red/get_flows');
+    });
+
+    it('retrieves specific pages after pagination via _resultId/_page', async () => {
+      const largeResult = makeLargeToolResult();
+
+      mockMcpd = await startMockMcpd({
+        servers: [{ id: 'srv-nodered', name: 'node-red', transport: 'stdio' }],
+        proxyResponses: new Map([
+          ['srv-nodered:tools/list', {
+            result: { tools: [{ name: 'get_flows', description: 'Get all flows' }] },
+          }],
+          ['srv-nodered:tools/call', {
+            result: largeResult,
+          }],
+        ]),
+      });
+
+      const client = new McpdClient(mockMcpd.baseUrl, mockMcpd.config.expectedToken);
+      router = new McpRouter();
+      await refreshUpstreams(router, client);
+      await router.discoverTools();
+
+      // Simple paginator (no LLM) for predictable behavior
+      const paginator = new ResponsePaginator(null, {
+        sizeThreshold: 1000,
+        pageSize: 8000,
+      });
+      router.setPaginator(paginator);
+
+      // First call — get the pagination index
+      const indexResponse = await router.route({
+        jsonrpc: '2.0',
+        id: 'idx-1',
+        method: 'tools/call',
+        params: { name: 'node-red/get_flows', arguments: {} },
+      });
+
+      expect(indexResponse.error).toBeUndefined();
+      const indexResult = indexResponse.result as { content: Array<{ text: string }> };
+      const indexText = indexResult.content[0]!.text;
+      const resultIdMatch = /"_resultId": "([^"]+)"/.exec(indexText);
+      expect(resultIdMatch).not.toBeNull();
+      const resultId = resultIdMatch![1]!;
+
+      // Second call — retrieve page 1 via _resultId/_page
+      const page1Response = await router.route({
+        jsonrpc: '2.0',
+        id: 'page-1',
+        method: 'tools/call',
+        params: {
+          name: 'node-red/get_flows',
+          arguments: { _resultId: resultId, _page: 1 },
+        },
+      });
+
+      expect(page1Response.error).toBeUndefined();
+      const page1Result = page1Response.result as { content: Array<{ text: string }> };
+      expect(page1Result.content[0]!.text).toContain('Page 1/');
+      // Page content should contain flow data
+      expect(page1Result.content[0]!.text).toContain('flow-');
+
+      // Third call — retrieve page 2
+      const page2Response = await router.route({
+        jsonrpc: '2.0',
+        id: 'page-2',
+        method: 'tools/call',
+        params: {
+          name: 'node-red/get_flows',
+          arguments: { _resultId: resultId, _page: 2 },
+        },
+      });
+
+      expect(page2Response.error).toBeUndefined();
+      const page2Result = page2Response.result as { content: Array<{ text: string }> };
+      expect(page2Result.content[0]!.text).toContain('Page 2/');
+    });
+
+    it('retrieves full content with _page=all', async () => {
+      const largeResult = makeLargeToolResult();
+
+      mockMcpd = await startMockMcpd({
+        servers: [{ id: 'srv-nodered', name: 'node-red', transport: 'stdio' }],
+        proxyResponses: new Map([
+          ['srv-nodered:tools/list', {
+            result: { tools: [{ name: 'get_flows', description: 'Get all flows' }] },
+          }],
+          ['srv-nodered:tools/call', {
+            result: largeResult,
+          }],
+        ]),
+      });
+
+      const client = new McpdClient(mockMcpd.baseUrl, mockMcpd.config.expectedToken);
+      router = new McpRouter();
+      await refreshUpstreams(router, client);
+      await router.discoverTools();
+
+      const paginator = new ResponsePaginator(null, {
+        sizeThreshold: 1000,
+        pageSize: 8000,
+      });
+      router.setPaginator(paginator);
+
+      // Get index
+      const indexResponse = await router.route({
+        jsonrpc: '2.0',
+        id: 'all-idx',
+        method: 'tools/call',
+        params: { name: 'node-red/get_flows', arguments: {} },
+      });
+      const indexText = (indexResponse.result as { content: Array<{ text: string }> }).content[0]!.text;
+      const resultId = /"_resultId": "([^"]+)"/.exec(indexText)![1]!;
+
+      // Request all pages
+      const allResponse = await router.route({
+        jsonrpc: '2.0',
+        id: 'all-1',
+        method: 'tools/call',
+        params: {
+          name: 'node-red/get_flows',
+          arguments: { _resultId: resultId, _page: 'all' },
+        },
+      });
+
+      expect(allResponse.error).toBeUndefined();
+      const allResult = allResponse.result as { content: Array<{ text: string }> };
+      // Full response should contain the original JSON
+      const fullText = allResult.content[0]!.text;
+      expect(fullText).toContain('flow-0000');
+      expect(fullText).toContain('flow-0199');
+      // Should be the full serialized result
+      expect(JSON.parse(fullText)).toEqual(largeResult);
+    });
+
+    it('falls back to simple index when LLM fails', async () => {
+      const largeResult = makeLargeToolResult();
+
+      mockMcpd = await startMockMcpd({
+        servers: [{ id: 'srv-nodered', name: 'node-red', transport: 'stdio' }],
+        proxyResponses: new Map([
+          ['srv-nodered:tools/list', {
+            result: { tools: [{ name: 'get_flows', description: 'Get all flows' }] },
+          }],
+          ['srv-nodered:tools/call', {
+            result: largeResult,
+          }],
+        ]),
+      });
+
+      const client = new McpdClient(mockMcpd.baseUrl, mockMcpd.config.expectedToken);
+      router = new McpRouter();
+      await refreshUpstreams(router, client);
+      await router.discoverTools();
+
+      // Set up paginator with a failing LLM
+      const registry = new ProviderRegistry();
+      registry.register(createFailingLlmProvider('broken-llm'));
+      const paginator = new ResponsePaginator(registry, {
+        sizeThreshold: 1000,
+        pageSize: 8000,
+      });
+      router.setPaginator(paginator);
+
+      const response = await router.route({
+        jsonrpc: '2.0',
+        id: 'fallback-idx',
+        method: 'tools/call',
+        params: { name: 'node-red/get_flows', arguments: {} },
+      });
+
+      expect(response.error).toBeUndefined();
+      const text = (response.result as { content: Array<{ text: string }> }).content[0]!.text;
+      // Should still paginate, just without AI summaries
+      expect(text).toContain('_resultId');
+      expect(text).not.toContain('AI-generated summaries');
+      expect(text).toContain('Page 1:');
+    });
+
+    it('returns expired cache message for stale _resultId', async () => {
+      router = new McpRouter();
+      const paginator = new ResponsePaginator(null, { sizeThreshold: 100, pageSize: 50 });
+      router.setPaginator(paginator);
+
+      // Try to retrieve a page with an unknown resultId
+      const response = await router.route({
+        jsonrpc: '2.0',
+        id: 'stale-1',
+        method: 'tools/call',
+        params: {
+          name: 'anything/tool',
+          arguments: { _resultId: 'nonexistent-id', _page: 1 },
+        },
+      });
+
+      expect(response.error).toBeUndefined();
+      const text = (response.result as { content: Array<{ text: string }> }).content[0]!.text;
+      expect(text).toContain('expired');
+      expect(text).toContain('re-call');
+    });
+
+    it('skips pagination for small responses', async () => {
+      mockMcpd = await startMockMcpd({
+        servers: [{ id: 'srv-small', name: 'smallserver', transport: 'stdio' }],
+        proxyResponses: new Map([
+          ['srv-small:tools/list', {
+            result: { tools: [{ name: 'get_status', description: 'Get status' }] },
+          }],
+          ['srv-small:tools/call', {
+            result: { status: 'ok', uptime: 12345 },
+          }],
+        ]),
+      });
+
+      const client = new McpdClient(mockMcpd.baseUrl, mockMcpd.config.expectedToken);
+      router = new McpRouter();
+      await refreshUpstreams(router, client);
+      await router.discoverTools();
+
+      const paginator = new ResponsePaginator(null, { sizeThreshold: 80000, pageSize: 40000 });
+      router.setPaginator(paginator);
+
+      const response = await router.route({
+        jsonrpc: '2.0',
+        id: 'small-1',
+        method: 'tools/call',
+        params: { name: 'smallserver/get_status', arguments: {} },
+      });
+
+      expect(response.error).toBeUndefined();
+      // Should return the raw result directly, not a pagination index
+      expect(response.result).toEqual({ status: 'ok', uptime: 12345 });
+    });
+
+    it('handles markdown-fenced LLM responses (Gemini quirk)', async () => {
+      const largeResult = makeLargeToolResult();
+
+      mockMcpd = await startMockMcpd({
+        servers: [{ id: 'srv-nodered', name: 'node-red', transport: 'stdio' }],
+        proxyResponses: new Map([
+          ['srv-nodered:tools/list', {
+            result: { tools: [{ name: 'get_flows', description: 'Get all flows' }] },
+          }],
+          ['srv-nodered:tools/call', {
+            result: largeResult,
+          }],
+        ]),
+      });
+
+      const client = new McpdClient(mockMcpd.baseUrl, mockMcpd.config.expectedToken);
+      router = new McpRouter();
+      await refreshUpstreams(router, client);
+      await router.discoverTools();
+
+      // Simulate Gemini wrapping JSON in ```json fences
+      const registry = new ProviderRegistry();
+      const mockProvider: LlmProvider = {
+        name: 'gemini-mock',
+        isAvailable: () => true,
+        complete: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({
+          content: '```json\n' + JSON.stringify([
+            { page: 1, summary: 'Climate automation flows' },
+            { page: 2, summary: 'Lighting control flows' },
+          ]) + '\n```',
+        }),
+      };
+      registry.register(mockProvider);
+
+      const paginator = new ResponsePaginator(registry, {
+        sizeThreshold: 1000,
+        pageSize: 8000,
+      });
+      router.setPaginator(paginator);
+
+      const response = await router.route({
+        jsonrpc: '2.0',
+        id: 'fence-1',
+        method: 'tools/call',
+        params: { name: 'node-red/get_flows', arguments: {} },
+      });
+
+      expect(response.error).toBeUndefined();
+      const text = (response.result as { content: Array<{ text: string }> }).content[0]!.text;
+      // Fences were stripped — smart summaries should appear
+      expect(text).toContain('AI-generated summaries');
+      expect(text).toContain('Climate automation flows');
+      expect(text).toContain('Lighting control flows');
+    });
+
+    it('passes model override to LLM when project has custom model', async () => {
+      const largeResult = makeLargeToolResult();
+
+      mockMcpd = await startMockMcpd({
+        servers: [{ id: 'srv-nodered', name: 'node-red', transport: 'stdio' }],
+        proxyResponses: new Map([
+          ['srv-nodered:tools/list', {
+            result: { tools: [{ name: 'get_flows', description: 'Get all flows' }] },
+          }],
+          ['srv-nodered:tools/call', {
+            result: largeResult,
+          }],
+        ]),
+      });
+
+      const client = new McpdClient(mockMcpd.baseUrl, mockMcpd.config.expectedToken);
+      router = new McpRouter();
+      await refreshUpstreams(router, client);
+      await router.discoverTools();
+
+      const registry = new ProviderRegistry();
+      const completeFn = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({
+        content: JSON.stringify([{ page: 1, summary: 'test' }]),
+      });
+      const mockProvider: LlmProvider = {
+        name: 'test-model-override',
+        isAvailable: () => true,
+        complete: completeFn,
+      };
+      registry.register(mockProvider);
+
+      // Paginator with per-project model override
+      const paginator = new ResponsePaginator(registry, {
+        sizeThreshold: 1000,
+        pageSize: 80000, // One big page so we get exactly 1 summary
+      }, 'gemini-2.5-pro');
+      router.setPaginator(paginator);
+
+      await router.route({
+        jsonrpc: '2.0',
+        id: 'model-1',
+        method: 'tools/call',
+        params: { name: 'node-red/get_flows', arguments: {} },
+      });
+
+      // Verify the model was passed through to the LLM call
+      expect(completeFn).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
+      const llmOpts = completeFn.mock.calls[0]![0]!;
+      expect(llmOpts.model).toBe('gemini-2.5-pro');
+    });
+  });
 });

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

@@ -0,0 +1,135 @@
+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 using ACP', 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');
+    // ACP provider has dispose method
+    expect(typeof registry.getActive()!.dispose).toBe('function');
+  });
+
+  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, wrapped with NamedProvider
+    expect(registry.getActive()).not.toBeNull();
+    expect(registry.getActive()!.name).toBe('vllm');
+  });
+
+  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();
+  });
+});

src/mcplocal/tests/pagination.test.ts

@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ function makeProvider(response: string): ProviderRegistry {
   };
   return {
     getActive: () => provider,
+    getProvider: () => provider,
     register: vi.fn(),
     setActive: vi.fn(),
     listProviders: () => [{ name: 'test', available: true, active: true }],
@@ -150,6 +151,25 @@ describe('ResponsePaginator', () => {
       expect(text).toContain('HTTP request nodes and API integrations');
     });
 
+    it('strips markdown code fences from LLM JSON response', async () => {
+      const summaries = [
+        { page: 1, summary: 'Config section' },
+        { page: 2, summary: 'Data section' },
+      ];
+      // Gemini often wraps JSON in ```json ... ``` fences
+      const fenced = '```json\n' + JSON.stringify(summaries) + '\n```';
+      const registry = makeProvider(fenced);
+      const paginator = new ResponsePaginator(registry, { sizeThreshold: 100, pageSize: 60 });
+      const raw = makeLargeStringWithNewlines(150);
+      const result = await paginator.paginate('test/tool', raw);
+
+      expect(result).not.toBeNull();
+      const text = result!.content[0]!.text;
+      expect(text).toContain('AI-generated summaries');
+      expect(text).toContain('Config section');
+      expect(text).toContain('Data section');
+    });
+
     it('falls back to simple index on LLM failure', async () => {
       const provider: LlmProvider = {
         name: 'test',
@@ -158,6 +178,7 @@ describe('ResponsePaginator', () => {
       };
       const registry = {
         getActive: () => provider,
+        getProvider: () => provider,
         register: vi.fn(),
         setActive: vi.fn(),
         listProviders: () => [{ name: 'test', available: true, active: true }],
@@ -189,6 +210,7 @@ describe('ResponsePaginator', () => {
       };
       const registry = {
         getActive: () => provider,
+        getProvider: () => provider,
         register: vi.fn(),
         setActive: vi.fn(),
         listProviders: () => [{ name: 'test', available: true, active: true }],
@@ -212,6 +234,7 @@ describe('ResponsePaginator', () => {
     it('falls back to simple when no active provider', async () => {
       const registry = {
         getActive: () => null,
+        getProvider: () => null,
         register: vi.fn(),
         setActive: vi.fn(),
         listProviders: () => [],
@@ -225,6 +248,58 @@ describe('ResponsePaginator', () => {
       const text = result!.content[0]!.text;
       expect(text).not.toContain('AI-generated summaries');
     });
+
+    it('passes modelOverride to provider.complete()', async () => {
+      const completeFn = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({
+        content: JSON.stringify([{ page: 1, summary: 'test' }, { page: 2, summary: 'test2' }]),
+      });
+      const provider: LlmProvider = {
+        name: 'test',
+        isAvailable: () => true,
+        complete: completeFn,
+      };
+      const registry = {
+        getActive: () => provider,
+        getProvider: () => provider,
+        register: vi.fn(),
+        setActive: vi.fn(),
+        listProviders: () => [{ name: 'test', available: true, active: true }],
+      } as unknown as ProviderRegistry;
+
+      const paginator = new ResponsePaginator(registry, { sizeThreshold: 100, pageSize: 60 }, 'gemini-2.5-pro');
+      const raw = makeLargeStringWithNewlines(150);
+      await paginator.paginate('test/tool', raw);
+
+      expect(completeFn).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
+      const call = completeFn.mock.calls[0]![0]!;
+      expect(call.model).toBe('gemini-2.5-pro');
+    });
+
+    it('omits model when no modelOverride set', async () => {
+      const completeFn = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({
+        content: JSON.stringify([{ page: 1, summary: 'test' }, { page: 2, summary: 'test2' }]),
+      });
+      const provider: LlmProvider = {
+        name: 'test',
+        isAvailable: () => true,
+        complete: completeFn,
+      };
+      const registry = {
+        getActive: () => provider,
+        getProvider: () => provider,
+        register: vi.fn(),
+        setActive: vi.fn(),
+        listProviders: () => [{ name: 'test', available: true, active: true }],
+      } as unknown as ProviderRegistry;
+
+      const paginator = new ResponsePaginator(registry, { sizeThreshold: 100, pageSize: 60 });
+      const raw = makeLargeStringWithNewlines(150);
+      await paginator.paginate('test/tool', raw);
+
+      expect(completeFn).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
+      const call = completeFn.mock.calls[0]![0]!;
+      expect(call.model).toBeUndefined();
+    });
   });
 
   // --- getPage ---

src/mcplocal/tests/project-mcp-endpoint.test.ts

@@ -6,8 +6,18 @@ import { registerProjectMcpEndpoint } from '../src/http/project-mcp-endpoint.js'
 // Mock discovery module — we don't want real HTTP calls
 vi.mock('../src/discovery.js', () => ({
   refreshProjectUpstreams: vi.fn(async () => ['mock-server']),
+  fetchProjectLlmConfig: vi.fn(async () => ({})),
 }));
 
+// Mock config module — don't read real config files
+vi.mock('../src/http/config.js', async () => {
+  const actual = await vi.importActual<typeof import('../src/http/config.js')>('../src/http/config.js');
+  return {
+    ...actual,
+    loadProjectLlmOverride: vi.fn(() => undefined),
+  };
+});
+
 import { refreshProjectUpstreams } from '../src/discovery.js';
 
 function mockMcpdClient() {

src/mcplocal/tests/providers.test.ts

@@ -115,4 +115,105 @@ describe('ProviderRegistry', () => {
 
     expect(models).toEqual(['anthropic-model-1', 'anthropic-model-2']);
   });
+
+  describe('tier management', () => {
+    it('assigns providers to tiers', () => {
+      registry.register(mockProvider('vllm'));
+      registry.register(mockProvider('gemini'));
+
+      registry.assignTier('vllm', 'fast');
+      registry.assignTier('gemini', 'heavy');
+
+      expect(registry.getTierProviders('fast')).toEqual(['vllm']);
+      expect(registry.getTierProviders('heavy')).toEqual(['gemini']);
+      expect(registry.hasTierConfig()).toBe(true);
+    });
+
+    it('getProvider returns tier-specific provider', () => {
+      const vllm = mockProvider('vllm');
+      const gemini = mockProvider('gemini');
+      registry.register(vllm);
+      registry.register(gemini);
+
+      registry.assignTier('vllm', 'fast');
+      registry.assignTier('gemini', 'heavy');
+
+      expect(registry.getProvider('fast')).toBe(vllm);
+      expect(registry.getProvider('heavy')).toBe(gemini);
+    });
+
+    it('getProvider falls back to other tier', () => {
+      const vllm = mockProvider('vllm');
+      registry.register(vllm);
+
+      registry.assignTier('vllm', 'fast');
+
+      // Requesting heavy but only fast exists → falls back to fast
+      expect(registry.getProvider('heavy')).toBe(vllm);
+    });
+
+    it('getProvider falls back to getActive when no tiers', () => {
+      const openai = mockProvider('openai');
+      registry.register(openai);
+
+      // No tier assignments → falls back to legacy getActive()
+      expect(registry.getProvider('fast')).toBe(openai);
+      expect(registry.getProvider('heavy')).toBe(openai);
+      expect(registry.hasTierConfig()).toBe(false);
+    });
+
+    it('unregister removes from tier assignments', () => {
+      registry.register(mockProvider('vllm'));
+      registry.register(mockProvider('gemini'));
+
+      registry.assignTier('vllm', 'fast');
+      registry.assignTier('gemini', 'heavy');
+
+      registry.unregister('vllm');
+
+      expect(registry.getTierProviders('fast')).toEqual([]);
+      expect(registry.getTierProviders('heavy')).toEqual(['gemini']);
+    });
+
+    it('assignTier throws for unregistered provider', () => {
+      expect(() => registry.assignTier('unknown', 'fast')).toThrow("Provider 'unknown' is not registered");
+    });
+
+    it('multiple providers in same tier uses first', () => {
+      const vllm = mockProvider('vllm');
+      const ollama = mockProvider('ollama');
+      registry.register(vllm);
+      registry.register(ollama);
+
+      registry.assignTier('vllm', 'fast');
+      registry.assignTier('ollama', 'fast');
+
+      expect(registry.getProvider('fast')).toBe(vllm);
+      expect(registry.getTierProviders('fast')).toEqual(['vllm', 'ollama']);
+    });
+
+    it('listProviders includes tier info', () => {
+      registry.register(mockProvider('vllm'));
+      registry.register(mockProvider('gemini'));
+
+      registry.assignTier('vllm', 'fast');
+      registry.assignTier('gemini', 'heavy');
+
+      const providers = registry.listProviders();
+      expect(providers).toEqual([
+        { name: 'vllm', tiers: ['fast'] },
+        { name: 'gemini', tiers: ['heavy'] },
+      ]);
+    });
+
+    it('disposeAll calls dispose on all providers', () => {
+      const disposeFn = vi.fn();
+      const provider = { ...mockProvider('test'), dispose: disposeFn };
+      registry.register(provider);
+
+      registry.disposeAll();
+
+      expect(disposeFn).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
+    });
+  });
 });

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';

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);
+  }
+}

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;
+    }
+  }
+}

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);
+}

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;
+}

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);
+  });
+});

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');
+  });
+});

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');
+  });
+});