mcpc-apify

mcpc (Apify MCP CLI Client)

Repository: https://github.com/apify/mcp-cli Package: @apify/mcpc

A universal CLI client for MCP with persistent sessions, OAuth 2.1 authentication, and interactive shell mode. Configure once, reuse across multiple AI coding agents and environments.

Installation

# Via npm
npm install -g @apify/mcpc

# Via Bun
bun install -g @apify/mcpc

On Linux, uses the Secret Service API for secure credential storage with automatic fallback to file-based storage on headless systems.

Core Concepts

Named Sessions

mcpc maintains persistent named sessions — long-lived connections to MCP servers that survive across commands:

# Create a persistent session
mcpc connect mcp.apify.com @apify

# Use the session for any command
mcpc @apify tools-list
mcpc @apify tools-call search-actors keywords:="web scraper"

# List all active sessions
mcpc

# Close/restart a session
mcpc @apify close
mcpc @apify restart

Authentication

# Interactive OAuth 2.1 login (tokens stored in OS keychain)
mcpc login mcp.apify.com

# Logout
mcpc logout mcp.apify.com

# Use specific auth profile
mcpc --profile my-profile @session tools-list

Commands

Tools

# List available tools
mcpc @session tools-list

# Get tool details
mcpc @session tools-get <tool-name>

# Call a tool with typed arguments (key:=value syntax)
mcpc @session tools-call search-actors keywords:="website crawler" count:=10

Arguments use key:=value syntax with automatic JSON type parsing.

Resources and Prompts

# Resources
mcpc @session resources-list
mcpc @session resources-read <uri>

# Prompts
mcpc @session prompts-list
mcpc @session prompts-get <prompt-name> arg1:=value1

Discovery and Exploration

# Search across tools, resources, prompts
mcpc grep <pattern>

# Interactive shell mode
mcpc @session shell

Output Modes

# JSON output for scripting
mcpc --json @session tools-list
mcpc --json @session tools-call tool-name arg:=value | jq '.result'

# Default: human-readable with colors
mcpc @session tools-list

Configuration

Storage Locations

• Session metadata: ~/.mcpc/sessions.json
• Auth tokens: OS keychain (fallback: ~/.mcpc/credentials mode 0600)

Server Configuration Examples

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apify": {
      "url": "https://mcp.apify.com"
    }
  }
}

With bearer token:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apify": {
      "url": "https://mcp.apify.com",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer <APIFY_TOKEN>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Custom Tool Selection

# Via URL parameters
# https://mcp.apify.com?tools=actors,docs,apify/rag-web-browser

# Via CLI
npx @apify/actors-mcp-server --tools actors,docs,apify/web-scraper

Key Differences from philschmid/mcp-cli

Feature	mcpc (Apify)	mcp-cli (philschmid)
Sessions	Persistent named sessions	Stateless per-command
Authentication	Full OAuth 2.1 + keychain	Environment variables only
Transport	Streamable HTTP + stdio	stdio + HTTP
Interactive mode	Shell mode (mcpc @s shell)	No interactive mode
Connection model	Session-based (connect once)	Per-invocation
Runtime	Node.js	Bun

Practical Workflow

# 1. Connect and authenticate
mcpc connect https://mcp.apify.com @apify
mcpc login https://mcp.apify.com

# 2. Discover tools
mcpc @apify tools-list

# 3. Call tools
mcpc @apify tools-call search-actors keywords:="web scraper" count:=10

# 4. Script with JSON output
mcpc --json @apify tools-list | jq '.tools[] | .name'

# 5. Manage session
mcpc @apify close