Mcp2cli
One CLI for every API, 96-99% fewer tokens than native MCP
Get picks like this daily. Today's launch numbers, the top launches, AI and tech news, and a daily opportunity pick, straight to your inbox.
Want to reach these readers? Sponsor an issue.
Every MCP server injects its full tool schemas into context on every turn — 30 tools costs ~3,600 tokens/turn whether the model uses them or not. Over 25 turns with 120 tools, that's 362,000 tokens just for schemas.mcp2cli turns any MCP server or OpenAPI spec into a CLI at runtime. The LLM discovers tools on demand: mcp2cli --mcp https://mcp.example.com/sse --list # ~16 tokens/tool mcp2cli --mcp https://mcp.example.com/sse create-task --help # ~120 tokens, once mcp2cli --mcp https://mcp.example.com/sse create-task --title "Fix bug" No codegen, no rebuild when the server changes. Works with any LLM — it's just a CLI the model shells out to. Also handles OpenAPI specs (JSON/YAML, local or remote) with the same interface.Token savings are real, measured with cl100k_base: 96% for 30 tools over 15 turns, 99% for 120 tools over 25 turns.It also ships as an installable skill for AI coding agents (Claude Code, Cursor, Codex): `npx skills add knowsuchagency/mcp2cli --skill mcp2cli`Inspired by Kagan Yilmaz's CLI vs MCP analysis and CLIHub.https://github.com/knowsuchagency/mcp2cli
HN · launched Mar 9, 2026 · 146 upvotes (top 6%) · 0 views
Niche: model context protocol tools · 465 launches, 13 in the last 7 days ▼ -24% · Explore this niche →
Category and tags
- Horizontal
- Dev tools
- Developer
- AI feature
- Hobby / open-source project
Visit website ↗ Source listing ↗
More like this: all 465 launches in model context protocol tools →
Could you build this?
Yes Converting MCP or OpenAPI JSON schemas into CLI subcommands and generating dynamic documentation or CLI wrapper scripts is a clean data transformation task ideal for vibe coding.
Discussion
20 comments analyzed.
Competitors mentioned: MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers, OpenAPI spec extensions, Skills-based approaches, Direct REST API integration
Concerns raised: Token reduction incomplete without showing tool call accuracy holds up, Cache invalidation story unclear when tool schema changes between discovery and invocation, Misleading 'per turn' context claims without showing context removal, Pagination handling for large API responses unclear, Why make this a product rather than just doing it internally
Feature requests: Support for skills encapsulation, Handle platform-specific CLI differences (macOS vs Linux), OpenAPI support with dynamic CLI generation without recompilation, Agent skill functionality
Competitors
Other products that read as similar to this one : 235 launches clear the similarity bar, closest 8 shown.
Attention rank: #19 of 236 (itself plus its competitors, highest first, normalized so YC and Product Hunt are compared fairly).
Launched 117 days after the earliest competitor.
- CLI-use · hn · 2026-04-21 · 7 upvotes · similarity 0.62
- Awsmux · hn · 2026-07-25 · 10 upvotes · similarity 0.53
- MCPlexor · hn · 2026-02-09 · 6 upvotes · similarity 0.51
- Clify · hn · 2026-04-07 · 5 upvotes · similarity 0.49
- Model Tools Protocol (MTP) · hn · 2026-02-10 · 9 upvotes · similarity 0.47
- openapi-mcp · ph · 2026-10-29 · 1 upvotes · similarity 0.47
- I built a tool that turns any API into a CLI for agents · hn · 2026-03-01 · 6 upvotes · similarity 0.47
- Cost.dev (YC W21) · hn · 2026-06-04 · 48 upvotes · similarity 0.46
The niche, labels, vibe code rating and competitor comparison on this page are analysis by Nicheloom. If you use them, please credit nicheloom.com. How you may use our data.