Migrating from @ask-llm/*

Ask LLM is now one package, @ask-llm/mcp, with one command, ask-llm. Start migration with ask-llm setup if you previously used npx -y @ask-llm/mcp, a split provider server (@ask-llm/codex-mcp, @ask-llm/claude-mcp, @ask-llm/grok-mcp, @ask-llm/antigravity-mcp, @ask-llm/ollama-mcp, @ask-llm/gemini-mcp), or the @ask-llm/plugin package in Pi. Setup migrates registrations it can verify and prints manual guidance for the others. Existing Pi npm packages and their plugin bridge remain untouched.

What changed

• One package. @ask-llm/mcp carries the server, every provider, the skills, the Claude Code plugin assets and the Pi extension. It is not deprecated and its server bin, ask-llm-mcp, keeps its name.
• The split provider packages and @ask-llm/plugin are scheduled for deprecation. The release owner applies the notices separately, after this page and the migration-capable release are available. A notice points to this page; published versions stay installable and nothing is unpublished.
• Setup registers a durable path. ask-llm setup registers the absolute path of the globally installed ask-llm-mcp, so hosts no longer start the server through an npx cache.
• One server covers every provider. The ask-llm tool takes a provider (codex, claude, grok, antigravity, ollama, gemini), so a separate server per provider is no longer needed.

The one command

npm install -g @ask-llm/mcp
ask-llm setup

Preview first if you like; --dry-run writes nothing:

ask-llm setup --dry-run

Setup lists every coding agent it finds, then, for each one, shows the exact command or file change and asks before making it. For each earlier Ask LLM entry it finds, it does one of four things:

What setup finds	What it does
An unmodified ask-llm entry that already runs this install, Pi's unmodified local package registration managed by setup, or the Claude Code plugin	Reuses it and changes nothing, subject to the Codex and Pi npm restrictions below
An unmodified ask-llm entry started through a recognised earlier route: npx with an Ask LLM package, or a bare Ask LLM server bin without arguments	Previews the replacement, replaces it after you confirm, and reads it back to verify
An unmodified split provider entry (for example codex running npx -y @ask-llm/codex-mcp), or a second Ask LLM server under another name	Removes it after you confirm, but only after re-reading this install's usable, unmodified ask-llm registration in that host; this verifies registration, not a live provider call
An Ask LLM entry with its own settings (environment variables such as XAI_API_KEY, a working directory, a disabled flag) or in a form setup cannot read	Leaves it in place with manual guidance, so you can inspect the entry and carry its settings over first

Automatic migration requires a complete persisted user-scope record with a known unmodified shape. For command hosts, a failed or unrecognised version probe leaves registrations unchanged and prints manual commands, even when the canonical entry already runs this install; setup does not report that entry as up to date or retire its siblings. Codex CLI list output omits tool filters and can include project overrides, so setup prints guidance and leaves Codex registrations unchanged. Inspect the user and project configurations and preserve their filters before making any manual change.

Unverified executable paths and all Pi npm registrations receive guidance. This includes npm:@ask-llm/mcp and npm:@ask-llm/plugin, pinned or unpinned, as strings or source objects. Setup leaves those packages and the plugin bridge unchanged because their source names do not prove installed compatibility. Only the local installed-package registration managed by setup proves compatibility.

Unrelated entries are not migration findings and are never changed; an unrelated command occupying the ask-llm name is reported as a conflict. See the command compatibility reference for backup timing, collision-safe filenames and security precautions. If a replacement fails in Claude Code, which removes the old entry before adding the new one, setup attempts to restore the earlier entry through claude mcp add only while that name is still absent. A new entry or edits elsewhere in the file are preserved, and a failed restoration reports the backup path. Re-running ask-llm setup preserves migrated registrations and repeats outstanding guidance; it may still refresh changed skills.

-y answers yes to every question and --host claude,codex limits setup to the named hosts:

ask-llm setup -y --host claude,codex

Before and after, per host

Setup works at user scope. In the examples, <prefix> is the output of npm prefix -g.

Host	Before	After
Claude Code	claude mcp add --scope user ask-llm -- npx -y @ask-llm/mcp, and per-provider entries such as claude mcp add --scope user codex -- npx -y @ask-llm/codex-mcp	claude mcp add --scope user ask-llm -- <prefix>/bin/ask-llm-mcp; the per-provider entries are removed. The Claude Code plugin (ask-llm@ask-llm-plugins) stays installed
Codex CLI	codex mcp add ask-llm -- npx -y @ask-llm/mcp, codex mcp add claude -- npx -y @ask-llm/claude-mcp	Guidance only; inspect user and project configuration and preserve filters before manually changing either entry
Antigravity	Ask LLM entries in ~/.gemini/config/mcp_config.json, such as ask-llm or antigravity running npx -y @ask-llm/antigravity-mcp	"ask-llm": { "command": "<prefix>/bin/ask-llm-mcp", "args": [] }; per-provider entries removed; other entries untouched
Grok Build	[mcp_servers.<name>] tables in ~/.grok/config.toml running an Ask LLM package	grok mcp add --scope user ask-llm <prefix>/bin/ask-llm-mcp; per-provider tables removed with grok mcp remove --scope user
Gemini CLI	mcpServers entries in ~/.gemini/settings.json running an Ask LLM package	gemini mcp add --scope user ask-llm <prefix>/bin/ask-llm-mcp; per-provider entries removed with gemini mcp remove --scope user
Cursor	"ask-llm": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@ask-llm/mcp"] } in ~/.cursor/mcp.json	"ask-llm": { "command": "<prefix>/bin/ask-llm-mcp", "args": [] }; other entries untouched
Claude Desktop	"ask-llm": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "ask-llm-mcp"] } in claude_desktop_config.json	"ask-llm": { "command": "<prefix>/bin/ask-llm-mcp", "args": [] }; restart Claude Desktop
OpenCode	"mcp": { "ask-llm": { "type": "local", "command": ["npx", "-y", "@ask-llm/mcp"] } } in ~/.config/opencode/opencode.json	"command": ["<prefix>/bin/ask-llm-mcp"]
Pi	pi install npm:@ask-llm/plugin or pi install npm:@ask-llm/mcp	Guidance only; preserve filters and settings, manually register <prefix>/lib/node_modules/@ask-llm/mcp and verify the extension before removing the bridge

Claude Code, Grok Build and Gemini CLI are changed through their own mcp commands. Setup edits the JSON file for Cursor, Claude Desktop and OpenCode, which have no such command, and for Antigravity, whose agy mcp add rewrites the whole file and can drop other servers' settings; only the Ask LLM entries change. Start a new session (or restart Cursor and Claude Desktop) to load the change.

Removing old entries by hand

Use these when setup printed guidance, or for entries outside user scope, which setup does not touch (project .mcp.json files, Claude Code's --scope project and --scope local entries, a project's .cursor/mcp.json).

Host	Command
Claude Code	claude mcp remove --scope user <name> (or --scope project, --scope local)
Codex CLI	codex mcp remove <name>
Grok Build	grok mcp remove --scope user <name>
Gemini CLI	gemini mcp remove --scope user <name>
Antigravity, Cursor, Claude Desktop, OpenCode	Delete the entry from the JSON file
Pi	pi remove npm:@ask-llm/plugin

To keep a setting from a removed entry, such as XAI_API_KEY for Grok, set it in your shell profile or add it to the ask-llm entry. The unified server reads the same environment variables as the split servers did. For Claude Code, re-create the entry with the variable:

claude mcp remove --scope user ask-llm
claude mcp add --scope user ask-llm -e XAI_API_KEY="$XAI_API_KEY" -- "$(npm prefix -g)/bin/ask-llm-mcp"

For later removal of this installation, see the command compatibility reference. Removal does not restore replaced or retired entries.

What still works

• npx -y @ask-llm/mcp still starts the server, so an MCP config you never migrate keeps working.
• The last published versions of the split provider packages and @ask-llm/plugin stay installable and keep their bins (ask-codex-mcp, ask-grok-mcp and the others) and tool names; once deprecation is applied, npm adds a notice.
• The earlier unscoped names (ask-llm-mcp, ask-codex-mcp, ask-gemini-mcp, ask-ollama-mcp, ask-antigravity-mcp, @anton-lykhoyda/ask-claude-mcp) were deprecated before; setup recognises entries that use them too.
• The Claude Code plugin keeps working and keeps updating through its marketplace; setup installs it for you when it is missing.
• In Pi, npm:@ask-llm/plugin keeps loading until you migrate, and the earlier ask-codex, ask-gemini, ask-grok, ask-ollama, ask-antigravity and ask-multi tools remain as aliases.
• The unified server's tools (ask-llm, multi-llm, ask-cursor-agent, diagnose, ping, get-usage-stats) and their schemas are unchanged.