MCP Cookie Server

★ 2

from bnookala

Provides positive reinforcement to LLMs by awarding 'cookies' as treats.

🔥✓ VerifiedFreeQuick setup

⌁ labsco summary — our analysis, not the vendor's

What it is — a novelty MCP server that gives LLMs positive reinforcement by awarding "cookies" through gamified self-reflection.

What you get —

self_reflect_and_reward where the model assesses its own response quality and earns a cookie only for genuinely good work
give_cookie, check_cookies, cookie_jar_status, reset_cookies for tracking
A jar "economy": only the user can refill the jar (with an authorization phrase), and an empty jar means no more cookies until refilled

Requirements — nothing — no API keys; runs via npx mcp-cookie-server (optional --cookies 20 to set the count).

Cost snapshot — free and MIT-licensed; no paid service behind it.

Setup effort — one-liner: add the npx mcp-cookie-server command to Claude Desktop config; or install globally.

Our take — a playful experiment in LLM self-evaluation and scarcity dynamics rather than a productivity tool; the obvious caveat is that it's a gimmick — the "rewards" are just self-reported reflections with no real effect on model behavior.

Source: the project README — summarized 2026-07-08.

⌁ readme from github — mirrored (latest on GitHub ↗)

MCP Cookie Server 🍪

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides positive reinforcement for LLMs by awarding "cookies" as treats through gamified self-reflection.

Self-Reflection Feature

The primary feature encourages LLMs to:

Assess their response quality (excellent, good, adequate, poor)
Explain their reasoning in detail
Decide if they deserve a cookie reward
Consider jar availability when making decisions
Earn cookies only for "excellent" or "good" work they genuinely believe deserves recognition

Revolutionary jar-based cookie system:

Jar as Source: Contains cookies available to be earned
User Control: Only users can add cookies to jar with authorization phrase USER_AUTHORIZED_JAR_REFILL
LLM Earning: LLMs can only earn cookies from jar, never add to it
Scarcity Effect: Empty jar means no more cookies until user refills
Economic Model: Cookies transfer from jar to LLM's collection when earned
Security: Built-in checks prevent unauthorized jar manipulation

Example usage (users only):

Use add_cookies_to_jar tool with:
- count: 10
- user_authorization: "USER_AUTHORIZED_JAR_REFILL"

This creates a realistic economy where cookie availability is user-controlled and finite.

🛠️ Development

Want to contribute or run from source?

git clone https://github.com/bnookala/mcp-cookiejar.git
cd mcp-cookiejar
npm install
npm run build
npm run dev

🐛 Issues & Support

Found a bug or have a feature request? Please open an issue on GitHub.

Copy & paste — that's it

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cookie": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["mcp-cookie-server"]
    }
  }
}

Installation & Setup

🚀 Quick Installation

Option 1: NPX (Recommended - No Installation Required)

# No installation needed! Just add to your Claude config:

Add to Claude Desktop configuration:

macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Windows: %APPDATA%/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cookie": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["mcp-cookie-server"]
    }
  }
}

Custom cookie count:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cookie": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["mcp-cookie-server", "--cookies", "20"]
    }
  }
}

Option 2: Global Installation

npm install -g mcp-cookie-server

Then configure Claude Desktop:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cookie": {
      "command": "mcp-cookie-server"
    }
  }
}

Option 3: Local Project Installation

npm install mcp-cookie-server

Then configure with the full path to the installed package.

Restart Claude Desktop after adding the configuration.

Usage

Once configured, Claude will have access to these tools:

self_reflect_and_reward - Evaluate response quality and earn cookies through honest self-reflection
give_cookie - Direct cookie awarding (legacy method)
check_cookies - Check collected cookies and jar availability
cookie_jar_status - Check current jar contents and collection status
add_cookies_to_jar - 🚨 USER ONLY: Add cookies to the jar for earning
reset_cookies - Reset collected cookie count (jar contents unchanged)

⚙️ Configuration Options

The server supports command line arguments for customization:

mcp-cookie-server [options]

Options:
  -c, --cookies <number>  Set initial number of cookies in jar (default: 10)
  -h, --help             Show help message

Examples:
  mcp-cookie-server                    # Start with 10 cookies
  mcp-cookie-server --cookies 5        # Start with 5 cookies  
  mcp-cookie-server -c 50              # Start with 50 cookies

🎮 Getting Started

Install using one of the methods above
Configure Claude Desktop with the provided JSON
Restart Claude Desktop
Try it out! Ask Claude to use the self_reflect_and_reward tool after a response

📝 Requirements

Node.js 18.0.0 or higher
Claude Desktop application