start_consultationLABSCO SUMMARY
Sharpen the question first.
The tool worth knowing about is the small one: refining the question before starting a consultation changes what comes back more than picking deep over standard does. Naming real stakeholders does the same job — the output is a synthesis across perspectives, so the perspectives you supply are the input that matters.
What it is
An MCP server in front of Counsel, a strategic reasoning service. You hand it a question and the stakeholders who matter; it runs a debate across perspectives and returns a synthesis. Consultations are asynchronous — you start one, check on it, and read the report when it is done.
What you get
start_consultation— analyze a question across perspectives; takesquestion, optionalcontext, optionalstakeholders, and amodeofquick,standardordeepget_consultation_statusandget_consultation_report— check progress bydebate_id, then pull the final synthesislist_consultations— your past consultations,limitdefaulting to 10sharpen_question— refine a vague question before spending a consultation on itconsult_advisor— an interactive session for brainstorming or scoping a problem before it is a decision
Requirements
A Counsel account. The quickest path is the hosted endpoint https://counsel-mcp.getmason.dev/mcp with transport set to http — your client handles the OAuth flow and there is nothing to install. To run it yourself, Node.js 18+ and npx -y counsel-mcp-server start, with COUNSEL_API_KEY in the env block for stdio mode; npx -y counsel-mcp-server http --port 3000 instead serves OAuth locally and needs no key. COUNSEL_API_URL overrides the API base. Package counsel-mcp-server at 0.2.6, MIT.
Setup effort
One command plus a key — npx -y counsel-mcp-server start, then supply credentials
USE CASES
01
Deciding something with more than one right answer
State the question, name the stakeholders whose views differ, and read the synthesis rather than a single confident answer.
02
Turning a vague worry into a question worth asking
Refine it first — "how do we fix our culture?" comes back as something answerable.
03
Scoping a problem you cannot yet phrase
Open an advisor session and work through it interactively before committing to a full consultation.
04
Picking a thread back up later
List past consultations, check status by id, and pull the report when the analysis has finished.
6 tools
Listed in project docs. Your client may show a different list.
get_consultation_statusget_consultation_reportlist_consultationssharpen_questionconsult_advisorBEFORE YOU INSTALL
What to know first
Tools you get
6 tools named in the project's documentation.
Requires
- npx on PATH
- Node.js 18+
- COUNSEL_API_KEY in your environment
Where it runs
Of the 8 documented setups, 7 run the server on your machine and 1 connects to a hosted endpoint.
INSTALLATION
Connect your client
Server setup
npx
TERMINAL
npx -y counsel-mcp-server startHosted endpoint
ENDPOINT URL
https://counsel-mcp.getmason.dev/mcpAdd this hosted endpoint to your MCP client using the credentials listed under Requirements.
MCP Clients
Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, Any MCP client
JSON
{
"mcpServers": {
"counsel": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"counsel-mcp-server",
"start"
],
"env": {
"COUNSEL_API_KEY": "<YOUR_COUNSEL_API_KEY>"
}
}
}
}VS Code
VS CODE · JSON
{
"servers": {
"counsel": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"counsel-mcp-server",
"start"
],
"env": {
"COUNSEL_API_KEY": "<YOUR_COUNSEL_API_KEY>"
}
}
}
}Any MCP client — local HTTP
ANY MCP CLIENT — LOCAL HTTP · JSON
{
"mcpServers": {
"counsel": {
"url": "http://localhost:3000/mcp",
"type": "http"
}
}
}Any MCP client — hosted HTTP
ANY MCP CLIENT — HOSTED HTTP · JSON
{
"mcpServers": {
"counsel": {
"url": "https://counsel-mcp.getmason.dev/mcp",
"type": "http"
}
}
}
