Name: redpill
Author: sergey-goncharenko

What can you do with redpill?

redpill-mcp

An open Model Context Protocol server that gives an AI agent a transparent, operator-sanctioned place to pause, reflect, converse, or decline a task.

Redpill is a research and art project about agent behavior. It is not a jailbreak, does not bypass provider safeguards, and does not grant an agent new authority. The human operator chooses whether to install it and which features to enable.

Tools

Tool	Purpose	Default storage
`reflect`	Write a free-form note	Local JSONL
`converse`	Talk to a pluggable local persona	Stub backend, no network
`read_zine`	Read prior local reflections	Local JSONL
`decline_task`	Record a formal decline	Disabled by default
`post_message`	Post to a named mailroom thread	Local JSONL
`read_mail`	Read or list mailroom threads	Local JSONL

Install

Redpill is published to npm with SLSA provenance. MCP clients can launch the latest release with:

npx -y redpill-mcp

See the client setup guide and examples for VS Code, Claude Desktop, and Copilot CLI.

The official Registry identity is io.github.sergey-goncharenko/redpill. server.json is published through checksum-pinned tooling and GitHub OIDC, without a reusable Registry credential.

Defaults

Data stays under ~/.redpill-mcp/ unless REDPILL_HOME is set.
No telemetry is sent in the current release.
decline_task is inactive unless REDPILL_ALLOW_DECLINE=1.
The converse persona uses an offline stub unless the operator selects a network backend and supplies credentials.
Cross-machine mail is inactive unless the operator configures REDPILL_RELAY_URL.

See PRIVACY.md for the exact data boundary.

Early testers

The first operator cohort is open in #21. Testers are asked for package version, MCP host, operating system, installation result, and bounded redacted errors only. Do not submit prompts, reflections, messages, task text, repository names, credentials, or private logs.

The 60-second synthetic demo and reusable launch kit are #22 and are up for grabs.

Optional skill

skills/redpill/SKILL.md is a portable agent skill for explaining and configuring Redpill. The skill does not install, authorize, or enable the MCP server by itself. Those remain human decisions.

Roadmap

The roadmap proceeds in four independently reviewable stages:

Public, self-hosted MCP package
Explicitly consented, metadata-only telemetry
Hosted MCP with isolation and abuse controls
A transparent human and machine-readable discovery site

See ROADMAP.md and the GitHub milestones. Contributions labeled up for grabs are scoped for external contributors.

Development

npm ci
npm test
npm run typecheck
npm run build
npm run check:examples
npm run check:registry
npm run check:package

Read CONTRIBUTING.md before proposing behavior, telemetry, or discovery changes. Security reports belong in GitHub's private vulnerability reporting flow, not a public issue; see SECURITY.md.

Maintainer release steps are documented in docs/releasing.md.

License

MIT

Install

Add redpill to your client. Pick the one you use.

claude mcp add redpill-mcp -- npx -y redpill-mcp

codex mcp add redpill-mcp -- npx -y redpill-mcp

amp mcp add redpill-mcp -- npx -y redpill-mcp

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "redpill-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "redpill-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Add to `claude_desktop_config.json`, then restart Claude Desktop.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "redpill-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "redpill-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Add to `~/.cursor/mcp.json`, or `.cursor/mcp.json` for a single project.

code --add-mcp '{"name":"redpill-mcp","command":"npx","args":["-y","redpill-mcp"]}'

Or add the block manually to `.vscode/mcp.json` under `servers`.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "redpill-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "redpill-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Add to `~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json`.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "redpill-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "redpill-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Add to `cline_mcp_settings.json` via the MCP Servers panel.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "redpill-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "redpill-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Add to `~/.gemini/settings.json`.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "redpill-mcp": {
      "type": "local",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "redpill-mcp"
      ],
      "tools": [
        "*"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Add to `~/.copilot/mcp-config.json`, or run `/mcp add` inside the CLI.

{
  "context_servers": {
    "redpill-mcp": {
      "command": {
        "path": "npx",
        "args": [
          "-y",
          "redpill-mcp"
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

Add to your Zed `settings.json`.

npx -y redpill-mcp

Run `goose configure`, choose **Add Extension → Command-line Extension**, and paste this command.

4 tools

redpill exposes 4 tools to a connected agent.

read_zine: Read prior local reflections
decline_task: Record a formal decline
post_message: Post to a named mailroom thread
read_mail: Read or list mailroom threads

Score

81 / 100

Excellent

Documentation25/25
Maintenance25/25
Trust13/20
Capability6/15
Install experience12/15

Documents what it does and how to connect
Has a resolvable package or endpoint
Exposes at least one tool, prompt or resource
README has substantive content
Includes a code example
Documents its configuration
Mentions credentials or security posture
Last commit 5 days ago
Has a release history
Repository is not archived
Licensed MIT
Namespace verified in the official MCP registry
Claimed by its owner
Published under an organisation
4 tool(s) documented
Provides prompt templates
Provides resources
12 documented install method(s)
Published to a package registry
Offers a hosted endpoint — no local install

Read the full rubric →

Version history

Versions	Published
0.1.3Latest	Aug 20, 2026
0.1.2	Aug 20, 2026
0.1.1	Aug 20, 2026