What is Adaptive metacognitive oversight for autonomous AI agents.?
VibeCheck MCP is a lightweight server implementing Anthropic's Model Context Protocol. It acts as an AI meta-mentor for your agents, interrupting pattern inertia with Critical Path Interrupts to prevent Reasoning Lock-In, improving reliability and safety.
Documentation
🧠 VibeCheck MCP v2.2
Adaptive metacognitive oversight for autonomous AI agents – a research-backed MCP server keeping LLMs aligned, reflective and safe.
The Most Widely-Deployed Feedback Layer in the MCP Ecosystem
~10k+ downloads on PulseMCP and counting.
Over 1k monthly tool calls via Smithery.
Listed on 12+ orchestration platforms.
Security rating 4.3 on MSEEP.ai.
VibeCheck MCP is a lightweight server implementing Anthropic's Model Context Protocol. It acts as an AI meta-mentor for your agents, interrupting pattern inertia with Critical Path Interrupts (CPI) to prevent Reasoning Lock-In (RLI). Think of it as a rubber-duck debugger for LLMs – a quick sanity check before your agent goes down the wrong path.
The Problem: Pattern Inertia & Reasoning Lock-In
Large language models can confidently follow flawed plans. Without an external nudge they may spiral into overengineering or misalignment. VibeCheck provides that nudge through short reflective pauses, improving reliability and safety.
Key Features
Feature
Description
Benefits
CPI Adaptive Interrupts
Phase-aware prompts that challenge assumptions
alignment, robustness
Multi-provider LLM
Gemini, OpenAI and OpenRouter support
flexibility
History Continuity
Summarizes prior advice when sessionId is supplied
context retention
Optional vibe_learn
Log mistakes and fixes for future reflection
self-improvement
What's New in v2.2
CPI-driven adaptive interrupts for smarter interventions
git clone https://github.com/PV-Bhat/vibe-check-mcp-server.git
cd vibe-check-mcp-server
npm install
npm run build
This project targets Node 20+. If you see a TypeScript error about a duplicate require declaration when building with Node 20.19.3, ensure your dependencies are up to date (npm install) or use the Docker setup below which handles the build automatically.
Create a .env file with the API keys you plan to use:
The repository includes a helper script for one-command setup. It builds the image, saves your GEMINI_API_KEY and configures the container to start automatically whenever you log in:
bash scripts/docker-setup.sh
This script:
Creates ~/vibe-check-mcp for persistent data
Builds the Docker image and sets up docker-compose.yml
Prompts for your API key and writes ~/vibe-check-mcp/.env
Installs a systemd service (Linux) or LaunchAgent (macOS) so the container starts at login
Generates vibe-check-tcp-wrapper.sh which proxies Cursor IDE to the server
After running it, open Cursor IDE → Settings → MCP and add a new server of type Command pointing to:
~/vibe-check-mcp/vibe-check-tcp-wrapper.sh
See Automatic Docker Setup for full details.
If you prefer to run the commands manually:
import { vibe_check } from 'vibe-check-mcp';
const result = await vibe_check({
goal: 'Write unit tests',
plan: 'Use vitest for coverage',
sessionId: 'demo1'
});
console.log(result.questions);
flowchart TD
A[Agent Phase] --> B{Monitor Progress}
B -- high risk --> C[CPI Interrupt]
C --> D[Reflect & Adjust]
B -- smooth --> E[Continue]
Adaptive Metacognitive Interrupts (CPI)
Agent Prompting Essentials
In your agent's system prompt, make it clear that vibe_check is a mandatory tool for reflection. Always pass the full user request and other relevant context. After correcting a mistake, you can optionally log it with vibe_learn to build a history for future analysis.
Example snippet:
As an autonomous agent you will:
1. Call vibe_check after planning and before major actions.
2. Provide the full user request and your current plan.
3. Optionally, record resolved issues with vibe_learn.
See docs/philosophy.md for the alignment research behind VibeCheck. The approach draws inspiration from Reflexion, Constitutional AI and other high-trust frameworks.
Security
This repository includes a CI-based security scan that runs on every pull request. It checks dependencies with npm audit and scans the source for risky patterns. See SECURITY.md for details and how to report issues.
Roadmap
Benchmarks and latency profiling
Adaptive tuning based on agent performance
Multi-agent cooperation support
Optional human-in-the-loop review
Contributing & Community
Contributions are welcome! See CONTRIBUTING.md and join our Discord for discussion.
FAQ
Does it increase latency? A single CPI call typically adds ~1 second depending on the provider.
Can I disable logging? Yes, vibe_learn is optional.