ratel-local

Ratel Local

Model

Ratel Local sits between a host agent and upstream MCP servers:

Codex / Claude Code -> Ratel gateway -> upstream MCP servers

Keep the plugin MCP definition limited to starting the Ratel gateway. Put upstream MCP definitions in Ratel config files, not in the plugin .mcp.json.

Plugin Runtime

The plugin .mcp.json starts Ratel over stdio through npx with @ratel-ai/[email protected] and serve --auto-config. Do not duplicate upstream MCP definitions into the plugin .mcp.json.

For human CLI work, install the package globally and use the ratel-local bin:

pnpm add -g @ratel-ai/ratel-local@latest
ratel-local --version

Node 20 or newer is required.

Config Scopes

Ratel config is layered from broad to narrow:

• user: ~/.ratel/config.json
• project: <project>/.ratel/config.json
• local: <project>/.ratel/config.local.json

Prefer project for team-shared tools, local for machine-specific tools or secrets, and user for personal tools used across projects.

serve --auto-config loads the user config and, when a project root is discoverable, project and local configs too. If project tools are missing inside a host, check whether the host exposed the expected working directory; set RATEL_PROJECT_ROOT when needed.

Config Editing Rule

When adding, removing, or changing upstream MCP server entries, use the ratel-local mcp CLI by default. Do not edit Ratel config JSON files directly unless one of these is true:

• the user explicitly asks for a direct file edit;
• the CLI is unavailable or fails;
• the requested change cannot be expressed through the CLI.

If falling back to direct JSON edits, state why the CLI was not used, preserve the existing config shape, and validate the JSON afterwards.

CLI Map

Top-level commands:

• ratel-local serve starts the MCP gateway over stdio.
• ratel-local import migrates agent MCP entries and native skills into Ratel.
• ratel-local link points an agent at the Ratel gateway without removing native MCP entries.
• ratel-local mcp manages upstream MCP server entries.
• ratel-local backup manages backup snapshots.
• ratel-local skill manages Claude Code and Codex skills through Ratel.
• ratel-local ui launches the local browser UI.
• ratel-local statusline renders or manages the Claude Code Ratel statusline.
• ratel-local --version or ratel-local version prints the CLI version.
• ratel-local help prints top-level usage.

ratel-local mcp verbs:

• add adds an upstream MCP server entry.
• remove removes an upstream from a Ratel scope.
• list lists configured upstreams across Ratel scopes.
• get shows one entry's resolved details.
• edit edits fields on an existing entry; it is interactive when no edit flags are supplied.
• auth runs OAuth for HTTP/SSE upstreams or checks stored auth state.

ratel-local skill verbs:

• activate links native Claude Code and Codex skills into Ratel as invoke-only without moving their folders.
• deactivate removes Ratel-managed links and restores Ratel-owned metadata edits.
• list shows the skills Ratel currently manages.
• suggest ranks skills for a prompt.
• preload-hook is the UserPromptSubmit hook entrypoint.
• install-hook registers the preload hook in settings.json.
• uninstall-hook removes the preload hook from settings.json.

ratel-local statusline verbs:

• no verb renders the Claude Code statusline from stdin.
• install writes the user-scope Claude Code ~/.claude/settings.json statusLine.
• uninstall removes only a Ratel-owned statusLine.
• install --force replaces another configured statusLine.

Common Workflows

Inspect configured upstreams:

ratel-local mcp list

Run the gateway from the current project:

ratel-local serve --auto-config

Open the local UI:

ratel-local ui
ratel-local ui --port 7331 --no-open

Required workflow for adding a stdio upstream:

ratel-local mcp add --scope project github -- npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-github

Required workflow for adding a stdio upstream with local secrets:

ratel-local mcp add --scope local github --env GITHUB_TOKEN=... -- npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-github

Required workflow for adding an HTTP or SSE upstream:

ratel-local mcp add --scope project docs https://example.com/mcp --transport http
ratel-local mcp add --scope project docs https://example.com/sse --transport sse

Required workflow for adding headers to an HTTP/SSE upstream:

ratel-local mcp add --scope local docs https://example.com/mcp --header "Authorization: Bearer ..."

Import existing host MCP servers into Ratel:

ratel-local import --agent codex
ratel-local import --agent claude-code

If the selected agent is not linked, interactive import first offers to link and continue, continue without linking, or cancel. Import then resolves selected MCP entries against the matching Ratel scopes: the conflict strategy decides whether to add the incoming definition, replace the Ratel definition, or keep the existing Ratel definition. Entries covered by the resulting plan are removed from the source agent, and selected native skills are managed as invoke-only.

Preview or automate an import:

ratel-local import --agent codex --dry-run
ratel-local import --agent codex --yes --conflict-strategy add-missing-only

Supported conflict strategies are add-missing-only, replace-selected, and replace-from-agent. --dry-run performs no writes. --yes accepts the non-interactive defaults; do not combine replace-selected with --yes or --dry-run because per-conflict choices require interaction.

Link a host to the Ratel gateway without importing or removing native MCP entries:

ratel-local link --agent codex
ratel-local link --agent claude-code

ratel-local link changes only the gateway configuration; it never installs the Claude Code statusline. After a successful Claude Code import, import offers a separate, skippable statusline step when the Ratel statusline is not already installed. With --yes, import installs a missing statusline automatically but leaves an existing non-Ratel statusline unchanged. Manage it directly with:

ratel-local statusline install
ratel-local statusline install --force
ratel-local statusline uninstall

Claude Code plugins cannot currently set top-level statusLine defaults directly; use the standalone statusline CLI, the optional import step, or the Claude Code agent page in ratel-local ui. The statusline reports Ratel as on when Claude Code starts Ratel via a linked MCP entry or an enabled ratel-local@... plugin.

Authorize HTTP/SSE upstreams:

ratel-local mcp auth
ratel-local mcp auth <name>
ratel-local mcp auth --check

Inspect backups:

ratel-local backup list

Debug Checklist

1. Confirm Node and npx are available.
2. Confirm the plugin .mcp.json starts @ratel-ai/[email protected] with serve --auto-config.
3. Run ratel-local mcp list to verify Ratel config has upstreams.
4. Run ratel-local serve --auto-config from the relevant project to reproduce startup outside the host.
5. For HTTP/SSE upstreams, run ratel-local mcp auth --check or ratel-local mcp auth <name>.
6. In Claude Code, run /mcp and /reload-plugins after plugin changes.
7. In Codex, restart the thread after plugin install or manifest changes.

Common findings:

• Empty catalog: no Ratel configs were found or all configs have empty mcpServers.
• Missing project tools: the host did not expose a useful project root; set RATEL_PROJECT_ROOT or run from the project directory.
• First startup failure: npx may need network access to resolve the pinned npm package.
• Auth needed: an upstream returned 401 or 403; complete the Ratel auth flow and retry.