using-the-mcp-server

Use when calling LLM APIs through the liter-llm MCP server's 22 tools, and to decide when MCP beats the CLI or SDK. Covers the tool surface, the auto-installing launcher, and authentication.

Jump to install

Repository: xberg-io/liter-llm
Last source activity: August 4, 2026 at 19:07
Detected SKILL.md language: English
Stars: 247
Forks: 20

Install options

The review-first prompt is selected by default. You can switch to a direct command or download a local copy.

Install with Codex or Claude Copy this prompt, paste it into Codex, Claude, or another assistant, and let it review the skill page and install it for you.

A direct command skips the review prompt. Inspect the source before running it.

npx skills add https://github.com/xberg-io/liter-llm --skill using-the-mcp-server

The command stays on one line. Scroll horizontally to inspect it before copying.

Prefer a local copy? Download the files currently available to SkillsMP.

Review the source files

Read SKILL.md and any companion files shown by SkillsMP before deciding whether to install.

SKILL.md

Source instructions · Read-only preview

Back to search Back to installation

calling-llms

Use when sending chat completions through liter-llm and routing to a specific provider via the `provider/model` prefix. Covers the chat call shape, provider routing, model_hint, message roles, and error categories.

2026-08-04

embeddings-and-search

Use when generating embeddings, calling the 12 web-search providers, or running OCR over documents with the 4 OCR providers through liter-llm. Covers embed, search, and ocr methods plus reranking.

2026-08-04

liter-llm

Universal LLM API client for 165 providers with native bindings for 14 languages. Use when writing code that calls LLM APIs via liter-llm in Python, TypeScript, Rust, Go, Java, C#, Ruby, PHP, Elixir, WASM, or C, when running the OpenAI-compatible proxy, or when calling LLMs through the MCP server. Covers chat, streaming, tool calling, embeddings, image generation, speech, transcription, moderation, web search, OCR, reranking, provider routing, middleware, and configuration.

2026-08-04

View all from this repository

Using the MCP Server

The liter-llm MCP server exposes 22 tools that mirror the proxy's REST endpoints, so an MCP-compatible client (Claude Code, Claude Desktop) can call 165 LLM providers as tools with no glue code.

How it runs in this plugin

The plugin auto-registers the server. Its command is the bundled launcher scripts/mcp-launch.sh, which execs liter-llm mcp --transport stdio. On first run the launcher resolves a liter-llm binary: it reuses one on PATH, then tries npx/uvx, then Homebrew, then downloads a checksum-verified prebuilt from the tool's latest GitHub release. Override with LITER_LLM_LAUNCHER=auto|npx|uvx|brew|download.

To run it manually:

liter-llm mcp --transport stdio # for Claude Code / Claude Desktop liter-llm mcp --transport http --port 3001

The 22 tools

Modality tools: chat, embed, generate_image, speech, transcribe, moderate, rerank, search, ocr.

Model listing: list_models.

File operations: create_file, list_files, retrieve_file, delete_file, file_content.

Batch operations: create_batch, list_batches, retrieve_batch, cancel_batch.

Responses API: create_response, retrieve_response, cancel_response.

Authentication

stdio has no per-request auth headers, so the server binds auth once at startup via [mcp] config: set mcp.stdio_key_id to bind a specific virtual key, or mcp.stdio_trust_local = true for fully trusted local environments. Provider keys still come from env vars.

When to prefer MCP over the CLI or SDK

Prefer MCP inside an agent session: the agent invokes tools directly, with no code to write or process to manage.

Prefer the SDK when building application software in a specific language.

Prefer the proxy when many apps or teams need a shared OpenAI-compatible endpoint with keys, budgets, and rate limits.

name	using-the-mcp-server
description	Use when calling LLM APIs through the liter-llm MCP server's 22 tools, and to decide when MCP beats the CLI or SDK. Covers the tool surface, the auto-installing launcher, and authentication.