Pare

What is Pare about?

Pare delivers a collection of MCP servers that encapsulate common development utilities (git, npm, Docker, testing frameworks, etc.). Each server emits both human‑readable text and a validated JSON payload, enabling AI agents to consume tool output directly without costly parsing.

How to use Pare?

1. Install the desired server with npm, preferring the npx -y <package> shortcut.

   npx -y @paretools/git   # git wrapper
   npx -y @paretools/test  # test runner wrapper
   

2. Register the server in your AI client configuration (Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code, etc.) using the MCP server JSON format.
3. Invoke the tool via the mcp__pare-<tool> prefix (e.g., mcp__pare-git status). The response contains content (human text) and structuredContent (JSON).

Key Features

• Token reduction: up to 95 % fewer tokens compared with raw CLI output.
• Structured output: schema‑validated JSON for every command.
• Broad coverage: 62 tools across git, npm, Docker, Python, Rust, Go, linting, building, testing, etc.
• Zero‑setup on most platforms: works with Node ≥ 20 and npx.
• Cross‑client compatibility: ready for Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code, Zed, OpenAI Codex, Continue.dev, and more.

Use Cases

• AI‑assisted development: agents can query git log or run tests and receive structured data for decision‑making.
• Automated code review: linting servers return exact issue locations in JSON.
• Continuous integration pipelines: parsers can directly ingest build and test results without regex.
• Tool‑agnostic assistants: a single MCP server list lets an agent switch between npm, Docker, or Cargo without custom adapters.

FAQ

Q: Do I need to install every Pare server? A: No. Install only the packages you need (@paretools/git, @paretools/npm, etc.).

Q: What Node version is required? A: Node.js 20 or higher.

Q: How does Windows handle npx? A: Wrap the command with cmd /c (e.g., { "command": "cmd", "args": ["/c", "npx", "-y", "@paretools/git"] }).

Q: Can I customize the output schema? A: Pare uses built‑in JSON schemas per tool; custom schemas are not currently exposed.

Q: What if I need more than one server in the same context? A: List each server under the mcpServers object in your client’s configuration file.

Pare

Dev tools, optimized for agents. Up to 95% fewer tokens, 100% structured output.

Pare is a collection of MCP servers that wrap popular developer tools with structured, token-efficient, schema-validated output optimized for AI coding agents.

The Problem

AI coding agents waste tokens on output designed for humans — ANSI colors, progress bars, download indicators, help suggestions, decorative formatting. This is expensive and error-prone to parse.

Tool Command	Raw Tokens	Pare Tokens	Reduction
docker build (multi-stage, 11 steps)	373	20	95%
git log --stat (5 commits, verbose)	4,992	382	92%
npm install (487 packages, warnings)	241	41	83%
vitest run (28 tests, all pass)	196	39	80%
cargo build (2 errors, help text)	436	138	68%
pip install (9 packages, progress bars)	288	101	65%
cargo test (12 tests, 2 failures)	351	190	46%
npm audit (4 vulnerabilities)	287	185	36%

Token counts estimated at ~4 chars/token. Savings are highest on verbose, human-formatted output — build logs, install progress, test runners, and detailed history. For compact diagnostic tools like eslint or tsc (one line per issue), Pare's value is structured reliability over token savings: agents get typed JSON they can consume directly instead of regex-parsing human text.

How It Works

Every Pare tool returns dual output:

• content — Human-readable text (for MCP clients that display it)
• structuredContent — Typed, schema-validated JSON (for agents)

Pare uses MCP's structuredContent + outputSchema spec features to deliver type-safe, validated structured output that agents can consume directly.

Available Servers (62 tools)

Package	Tools	Wraps
@paretools/git	status, log, diff, branch, show, add, commit, push, pull, checkout	git
@paretools/test	run, coverage	pytest, jest, vitest, mocha
@paretools/npm	install, audit, outdated, list, run, test, init	npm
@paretools/docker	ps, build, logs, images, run, exec, compose-up, compose-down, pull	docker, docker compose
@paretools/build	tsc, build, esbuild, vite-build, webpack	tsc, esbuild, vite, webpack
@paretools/lint	lint, format-check, prettier-format, biome-check, biome-format	eslint, prettier, biome
@paretools/python	pip-install, mypy, ruff-check, pip-audit, pytest, uv-install, uv-run, black	pip, mypy, ruff, pytest, uv, black
@paretools/cargo	build, test, clippy, run, add, remove, fmt, doc, check	cargo
@paretools/go	build, test, vet, run, mod-tidy, fmt, generate	go, gofmt

Quick Start

Claude Code (recommended):

claude mcp add --transport stdio pare-git -- npx -y @paretools/git
claude mcp add --transport stdio pare-test -- npx -y @paretools/test

Claude Code / Claude Desktop / Cursor / Windsurf / Cline / Roo Code / Gemini CLI (mcpServers format):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pare-git": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@paretools/git"]
    },
    "pare-test": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@paretools/test"]
    }
  }
}

{
  "servers": {
    "pare-git": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@paretools/git"]
    },
    "pare-test": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@paretools/test"]
    }
  }
}

{
  "context_servers": {
    "pare-git": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@paretools/git"],
      "env": {}
    }
  }
}

[mcp_servers.pare-git]
command = "npx"
args = ["-y", "@paretools/git"]

[mcp_servers.pare-test]
command = "npx"
args = ["-y", "@paretools/test"]

name: Pare Tools
version: 0.0.1
schema: v1
mcpServers:
  - name: pare-git
    type: stdio
    command: npx
    args: ["-y", "@paretools/git"]
  - name: pare-test
    type: stdio
    command: npx
    args: ["-y", "@paretools/test"]

On Windows, wrap npx with cmd /c:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pare-git": {
      "command": "cmd",
      "args": ["/c", "npx", "-y", "@paretools/git"]
    }
  }
}

Example: git status

Raw git output (~118 tokens):

On branch main
Your branch is ahead of 'origin/main' by 2 commits.
  (use "git push" to publish your local commits)

Changes to be committed:
  (use "git restore --staged <file>..." to unstage)
        modified:   src/index.ts
        new file:   src/utils.ts

Changes not staged for commit:
  (use "git add <file>..." to update what will be committed)
  (use "git restore <file>..." to discard changes in working directory)
        modified:   README.md

Untracked files:
  (use "git add <file>..." to include in what will be committed)
        temp.log

Pare structured output (~59 tokens):

{
  "branch": "main",
  "upstream": "origin/main",
  "ahead": 2,
  "staged": [
    { "file": "src/index.ts", "status": "modified" },
    { "file": "src/utils.ts", "status": "added" }
  ],
  "modified": ["README.md"],
  "deleted": [],
  "untracked": ["temp.log"],
  "conflicts": [],
  "clean": false
}

50% fewer tokens. Zero information lost. Fully typed. Savings scale with output verbosity — test runners and build logs see 80–92% reduction.

Telling Agents to Use Pare

Add a snippet to your project's agent instruction file so AI agents prefer Pare tools over raw CLI commands:

## MCP Tools

When Pare MCP tools are available (prefixed with mcp\_\_pare-\*), prefer them over
running raw CLI commands via Bash. Pare tools return structured JSON with ~85%
fewer tokens than CLI output.

- Git: mcp**pare-git**status, log, diff, branch, show, add, commit, push, pull, checkout
- Tests: mcp**pare-test**run, mcp**pare-test**coverage (pytest, jest, vitest, mocha)
- Builds: mcp**pare-build**tsc, build, esbuild, vite-build, webpack
- Linting: mcp**pare-lint**lint, format-check, prettier-format, biome-check, biome-format
- npm: mcp**pare-npm**install, audit, outdated, list, run, test, init
- Docker: mcp**pare-docker**ps, build, logs, images, run, exec, compose-up, compose-down, pull
- Python: mcp**pare-python**pip-install, mypy, ruff-check, pip-audit, pytest, uv-install, uv-run, black
- Cargo: mcp**pare-cargo**build, test, clippy, run, add, remove, fmt, doc, check
- Go: mcp**pare-go**build, test, vet, run, mod-tidy, fmt, generate

## MCP Servers

This project uses Pare MCP servers (62 tools) for structured, token-efficient dev tool output.
Prefer Pare MCP tools over raw CLI commands for git, testing, building, linting, npm, docker, python, cargo, and go.
Pare tools return typed JSON, saving tokens and preventing parsing errors.

---
description: Use Pare MCP tools for structured dev tool output
globs: ["**/*"]
alwaysApply: true
---

When Pare MCP tools are available, prefer them over running CLI commands in the
terminal. Pare tools (pare-git, pare-test, pare-build, pare-lint, pare-npm,
pare-docker, pare-python, pare-cargo, pare-go — 62 tools total) return
structured JSON with up to 95% fewer tokens than raw CLI output.

## Tool Preferences

This project uses Pare MCP servers (@paretools/\*) for structured dev tool output.
When available, prefer Pare tools (pare-git, pare-test, pare-build, pare-lint, pare-npm, pare-docker, pare-python, pare-cargo, pare-go) over raw CLI commands.

When Pare MCP tools are available, prefer them over raw CLI commands.
Pare tools return structured JSON with fewer tokens than CLI output.

- pare-git: status, log, diff, branch, show, add, commit, push, pull, checkout
- pare-test: run, coverage (pytest, jest, vitest, mocha)
- pare-build: tsc, build, esbuild, vite-build, webpack
- pare-lint: lint, format-check, prettier-format, biome-check, biome-format
- pare-npm: install, audit, outdated, list, run, test, init
- pare-docker: ps, build, logs, images, run, exec, compose-up, compose-down, pull
- pare-python: pip-install, mypy, ruff-check, pip-audit, pytest, uv-install, uv-run, black
- pare-cargo: build, test, clippy, run, add, remove, fmt, doc, check
- pare-go: build, test, vet, run, mod-tidy, fmt, generate

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
npx not found / ENOENT on Windows	Use cmd /c npx wrapper (see Windows config above)
Slow first start	Run npx -y @paretools/git once to cache, or install globally: npm i -g @paretools/git
Node.js version error	Pare requires Node.js >= 20
NVM/fnm PATH issues	Use absolute path to npx: e.g., ~/.nvm/versions/node/v22/bin/npx
MCP connection timeout	Set MCP_TIMEOUT=30000 for Claude Code, or increase initTimeout in client config
Too many tools filling context	Only install the Pare servers relevant to your project — you don't need all 9

Contributing

Each server is a self-contained package. See CONTRIBUTING.md for the full guide.

License

MIT