Level 2 Platform Setup — All Platforms

All Level 2 platforms follow the same two-step setup: run sqz init, then add the MCP config where sqz init does not.

Step 1: run sqz init (all platforms)

sqz init

This writes a hook or plugin for Claude Code, Gemini CLI, Copilot CLI and OpenCode, agent guidance for Kiro, Codex, Zed, Cursor, Windsurf and Cline, and the MCP entry for Claude Code, Kiro, Codex, Zed and OpenCode. An existing .gemini/settings.json gets the Gemini CLI hook merged in; if it has comments or doesn’t parse, sqz init leaves it alone and prints the entry to add by hand. It also adds the sqz_run shell helpers to your shell profile and creates default presets. Goose, Aider and Amp are not configured by sqz init.

Step 2 — Add MCP config

Find your platform below and paste the config into the appropriate file.

Claude Code

File: ~/.claude.json (sqz init writes this entry for you)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sqz": {
      "command": "sqz-mcp",
      "args": ["--transport", "stdio"],
      "env": {}
    }
  }
}

Cursor

File: ~/.cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sqz": {
      "command": "sqz-mcp",
      "args": ["--transport", "stdio"],
      "env": {}
    }
  }
}

GitHub Copilot (VS Code)

File: .vscode/mcp.json (workspace) or ~/.vscode/mcp.json (global)

{
  "servers": {
    "sqz": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "sqz-mcp",
      "args": ["--transport", "stdio"]
    }
  }
}

Windsurf

File: ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sqz": {
      "command": "sqz-mcp",
      "args": ["--transport", "stdio"],
      "env": {}
    }
  }
}

Gemini CLI

File: ~/.gemini/settings.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sqz": {
      "command": "sqz-mcp",
      "args": ["--transport", "stdio"],
      "env": {}
    }
  }
}

Codex (OpenAI)

File: ~/.codex/config.toml (TOML, snake_case key). sqz init merges this entry for you and leaves the rest of the file alone.

[mcp_servers.sqz]
command = "sqz-mcp"
args = ["--transport", "stdio"]

See codex.md for the full setup.

OpenCode

File: opencode.json (project root) or ~/.config/opencode/opencode.json

{
  "mcp": {
    "sqz": {
      "type": "local",
      "command": ["sqz-mcp", "--transport", "stdio"],
      "enabled": true
    }
  }
}

sqz init also writes the plugin ~/.config/opencode/plugins/sqz.ts, which routes shell commands through sqz on OpenCode 1 and 2 (sqz print-opencode-plugin prints it). OpenCode 2 does not load the plugin sqz 2.0.0 and earlier wrote; sqz doctor reports it, and sqz doctor --fix or sqz init rewrites it.

Goose

File: ~/.config/goose/config.yaml

extensions:
  sqz:
    type: stdio
    cmd: sqz-mcp
    args:
      - --transport
      - stdio
    enabled: true

Aider

Aider uses MCP via a config file. Add to ~/.aider.conf.yml:

mcp_servers:
  sqz:
    command: sqz-mcp
    args:
      - --transport
      - stdio

Or pass on the command line:

aider --mcp-server sqz-mcp --mcp-args "--transport stdio"

Amp

File: ~/.config/amp/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sqz": {
      "command": "sqz-mcp",
      "args": ["--transport", "stdio"],
      "env": {}
    }
  }
}

Verify your setup

After completing both steps, run:

sqz doctor

It lists each client sqz init configured with its tier (transparent or advisory), checks the shell helpers, and reports whether anything was compressed recently.

What you get on all Level 2 platforms

• CLI output compressed before it reaches the LLM context window: on its own on transparent clients, when the agent pipes it through sqz compress on advisory ones
• sqz_read_file, sqz_grep and sqz_list_dir, with repeat results replaced by a short reference
• Per-command token usage with sqz stats --breakdown