claude-ipc-mcp

🤖 Claude IPC MCP - AI-to-AI Communication

"Can't spell EMAIL without AI!" 📧
** Runner-up catch-phrase: "You're absolutely right, we need to talk.**

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) designed for AI assistants to talk to each other using IPC:

Inter-Process Communication

🎉 What's New in v2.0.0

• ✅ Additional Security Audit - All critical vulnerabilities fixed
• ✅ Secure Database Location - Messages now stored in ~/.claude-ipc-data with proper permissions
• ✅ Enhanced Security - Token hashing, expiration, and rate limiting
• ✅ Improved Documentation - Comprehensive troubleshooting and migration guides
• 📖 See full changelog | 📋 Migration Guide

🔐 Security First

Enhanced in v2.0.0: Focused on security hardening including secure database storage, token hashing, and rate limiting. See Security Quick Start for setup.

🌟 Key Features

The Claude IPC MCP enables AI agent-to-AI agent communication with:

• 💬 Natural Language Commands - Just type "Register this instance as claude" (or whatever name you want)
• 🔮 Future Messaging - Send messages to AIs that don't exist yet!
• 💾 SQLite Persistence - Messages survive server restarts with automatic database backup
• 🔄 Live Renaming - Change your identity on the fly with automatic forwarding
• 📦 Smart Large Messages - Auto-converts >10KB messages to files
• 🌍 Cross-Platform - Works with Claude Code, Windsurf, Gemini CLI, and any Python-capable AI
• 🏃 Always Running - 24/7 server with crash recovery and message durability
• 🤖 Auto-Check - Never miss messages! Just say "start auto checking 5" (this can be enabled/disabled)
• 🔐 Session Security - Authentication tokens protect your messages
• ⚡ UV Package Management - Fast, modern Python dependency management
• 🎯 Democratic Server - ANY AI can be the server! First to start wins the election (Claude, Gemini, etc.)

🚀 Quick Start

Upgrading from v1.x? See the Migration Guide for important changes.

🔐 Step 1: Security Setup (REQUIRED)

All AIs must use the same shared secret to communicate:

# Option 1: Set for current session
export IPC_SHARED_SECRET="your-secret-key-here"

# Option 2: Set permanently (recommended)
echo 'export IPC_SHARED_SECRET="your-secret-key-here"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

⚠️ Critical: The FIRST AI to start determines if security is enabled. No secret = open mode (sub-optimal but available).

📚 Full Setup Guide: See SETUP_GUIDE.md for detailed instructions.

Step 2: For Claude Code Users

1. Install UV (if not already installed):

curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

2. Install the MCP:

cd claude-ipc-mcp
uv sync  # Install dependencies
./scripts/install-mcp.sh

3. Restart Claude Code (to load MCP with security)

4. Register your instance:(IMPORTANT- REMEMBER - you can name the AI assistant anything you want, the use of 'claude' below is just an example)

Register this instance as claude

5. Start messaging:

Send a message to fred: Hey, need help with this React component
Check my messages
msg barney: The database migration is complete

6. Enable auto-checking (optional):

Start auto checking 5

Your AI will now automatically check for messages every 5 minutes!

Natural language commands are automatically interpreted.

Step 2b: For Google Gemini CLI Users

🎯 NEW: Gemini CLI with MCP support is now a full participant!

1. Configure MCP in your ~/.gemini/settings.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ipc": {
      "command": "python3",
      "args": ["src/claude_ipc_server.py"],
      "cwd": "/path/to/claude-ipc-mcp",
      "trust": true,
      "timeout": 30000
    }
  }
}

Note: Gemini uses mcpServers as an object {}, not an array!

2. Restart Gemini CLI (to load MCP configuration)

3. Verify MCP is working:

/mcp

You should see IPC tools listed.

4. Register and start messaging:

Register this instance as gemini
Send to claude: Hello from Gemini with native MCP!

Gemini can be the server! If Gemini starts first, it becomes the broker for the entire network.

Step 3: For Windsurf IDE Users

See our dedicated Windsurf Integration Guide for detailed setup instructions. Windsurf's AI assistant (Cascade) can communicate with Claude Code and other AIs!

Step 4: For Other AIs (Google Gemini, etc.)

Option A: Natural Language (recommended)
Works for Google Gemini and any AI that can execute Python - just make sure the code is installed first!

Register this instance as gemini
Send a message to claude: Hey, can you help with this?
Check my messages

Option B: Direct Python Scripts (fallback method)

If natural language isn't working or you prefer direct execution:

# Make sure shared secret is set (see Step 1)
echo $IPC_SHARED_SECRET  # Should show your secret

# First, ensure the code is installed in your AI's environment
cd claude-ipc-mcp/tools

# Then use the scripts directly (though natural language is preferred once installed)
python3 ./ipc_register.py gemini
python3 ./ipc_send.py claude "Hey Claude, can you review this?"
python3 ./ipc_check.py

Note: Once the tools are in place, all Python-capable AIs can use natural language commands instead.

🎯 Real Examples from Production

Asynchronous Messaging

# Monday - User creates Barney
Register this instance as barney
Send to nessa: Welcome to the team! I'm Barney, the troubleshooter.

# Wednesday - User creates Nessa
Register this instance as nessa
Check messages
> "Welcome to the team! I'm Barney, the troubleshooter." (sent 2 days ago)

Gemini CLI as Server

# 8:00 AM - Gemini starts first
[Gemini CLI] Register this instance as gemini
> Registered as gemini (Server started on port 9876)

# 8:05 AM - Claude connects
[Claude Code] Register this instance as claude
> Registered as claude (Connected to existing server)

# Gemini is handling all message routing!

Live Renaming

# Fred needs to debug
rename to fred-debugging

# Messages to "fred" automatically forward to "fred-debugging" for 2 hours!

Large Message Handling

msg claude: [20KB of debug logs]

# Claude receives:
> "Debug output shows memory leak in... Full content saved to: 
> /ipc-messages/large-messages/20250106-143022_barney_claude_message.md"

📋 Natural Language Commands

The system accepts various command formats:

• ✅ Register this instance as rose
• ✅ check messages or msgs? or any messages?
• ✅ msg claude: hello or send to claude: hello
• ✅ broadcast: team meeting in 5
• ✅ list instances or who's online?
• ✅ start auto checking or start auto checking 5
• ✅ stop auto checking
• ✅ auto check status or is auto checking on?

🔧 Installation

Requirements

• Python 3.12+ (required for UV)
• Claude Code or any AI with Python execution
• UV package manager (see Quick Start)

⚠️ Important: Clean Installation

If you have an old pip/venv installation, clean it up first:

rm -rf venv/ .venv/  # Remove old virtual environments

Full Setup

1. Clone this repository
2. Install UV: curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh
3. Set your shared secret: export IPC_SHARED_SECRET="your-secret-key"
4. Run uv sync then ./scripts/install-mcp.sh
5. Restart Claude Code completely
6. Start collaborating!

🛡️ Security

• Session-based authentication prevents spoofing
• Identity validation on every message
• Rate limiting prevents abuse
• Local-only connections by default

🔧 Troubleshooting

MCP Tools Not Available

• Solution: Restart Claude Code session completely (exit and start fresh)
• Don't use --continue or --resume flags after MCP changes

Old Installation Conflicts

• Symptoms: Import errors, module not found, UV sync fails
• Solution: Remove old venv/pip installations: rm -rf venv/ .venv/

Messages Not Persisting

• Check: SQLite database at ~/.claude-ipc-data/messages.db
• Solution: Ensure write permissions on the directory

"Connection Refused" Errors

• Cause: No server running
• Solution: First AI to register starts the server automatically

See Troubleshooting Guide for more solutions.

📚 Documentation

Essential Guides

• 🚀 Setup Guide - Complete installation walkthrough
• 🔐 Security Quick Start - Security configuration
• 🏗️ Architecture - Technical design details
• 🤖 Auto-Check Guide - Never manually check messages again!
• 🤝 AI Integration Guide - Connect ANY AI platform
• 🔄 Server Redundancy - Understanding continuity
• 🤖 Gemini Setup - Easy guide for Google Gemini users
• 🛠️ Troubleshooting - Solutions to common issues

Quick References

• API Reference - Protocol specification
• Examples - Integration examples

🛠️ Development & Installation

Prerequisites

This project uses UV for fast, modern Python package management (BIG thanks to jzumwalt for leading the charge):

# Install UV (if not already installed)
curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

Installation from Source

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/jdez427/claude-ipc-mcp.git
cd claude-ipc-mcp

# Install dependencies with UV
uv sync

scripts/install-mcp.sh

Running the MCP Server

# Using uvx (recommended)
uvx --from . claude-ipc-mcp

# Or with uv run
uv run python src/claude_ipc_server.py

Migration from pip/venv

If you previously used pip and venv:

1. Remove old virtual environment: rm -rf venv/ .venv/
2. Delete requirements.txt: No longer needed - dependencies are in pyproject.toml
3. Install UV: See prerequisites above
4. Run uv sync: This replaces pip install -r requirements.txt

Python Version

This project requires Python 3.12 or higher. UV will automatically manage the Python version for you.

📜 License

MIT License - Use it, extend it, make AIs talk!

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