Kensaku MCP
Capped at 70: no passing tool call yet; the tests add up to 100. Why scores are capped
Test points add up to 100; the score is capped at 70 until a tool call passes. Not a quality or security rating. Methodology
Test points before the cap (100/100)
- Install20/20
- Handshake30/30
- Maintenance25/25
- Docs15/15
- License10/10
New / early find
New / early find: first tested 2026-10-31. Tested kensaku-cli 1.0.11 (Linux x86_64 release binary, SHA-256 checked against the release's own SHA256SUMS, so not an independent check). Its 6 tools listed without credentials; real searches need a local index built by the Kensaku desktop app (our run printed 'No Kensaku index found'), so no tool call was tested.
Transport (tested 2026-10-31): stdio
Score 70/100 · Tools 6 · Token cost ~807 · Compare · Last tested 2026-10-31 · Version tested 1.0.11 · Package yjid/kensaku-cli · Repo yjid/kensaku
Summary: Kensaku MCP completed an MCP handshake without credentials and exposed 6 tools.
Evidence summary
- Handshake
- pass
- Tools listed
- 6
- Context cost
- 807 model-visible tokens (name, description, inputSchema; tiktoken cl100k_base)
Extra payload (sent by the server, usually not read by the model): -5 tokens; raw tools/list total 802. Clients differ in what they forward. ranking · add up your servers' context cost - API key
- No key to connect (handshake passed)
- Tested
- 2026-10-31
Test results
| Test | Result | Points | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| install | pass | 20 | download kensaku-cli-linux-x86_64 from GitHub release v1.0.11 (yjid/kensaku, published 2026-10-30), sha256 35cc543079619550e7c55c1ab6848f8325f2df9031e2a38d69ef1d5db76ca3c2 matched the release SHA256SUMS, chmod +x (prebuilt binary, Linux) succeeded in 0s. |
| handshake | pass | 30 | MCP initialize + tools/list over stdio succeeded with no credentials; 6 tools listed in 0.0s. |
| maintenance | pass | 25 | Repo pushed 0 days before test; 307 GitHub stars. |
| docs | pass | 15 | README over 3,000 chars; install instructions present; mcpServers config example present. Automated check of the package's own README (README.md from repo yjid/kensaku master (raw.githubusercontent.com, 2026-10-31)). |
| license | pass | 10 | MIT (OSI-approved). |
Local-model readiness
Schema context cost: ~807 tokens for 6 tools (3,777 bytes) · about 10% of an 8k context. Method: tiktoken cl100k_base over compact JSON of name+description+inputSchema (approximate).
Small-model friendly (schema heuristic, not a model result): unknown.
Small-model task runs: Not yet tested.
What we tested and what we didn't
Tested on 2026-10-31
- Install from the registry
- We connected with no credentials and asked for its tool list: it listed 6 tools (Method details: MCP
initializethentools/list) - Maintenance signals (last push, archived/deprecated status)
- Docs (README length, install and config example)
- License (OSI-approved or not)
- Tool-schema token cost (estimate)
Not tested
- Security: not audited (no code review, no permission or data-flow analysis)
- Real tasks (no functional task runs yet)
- Behaviour with real credentials or a real account
- Performance, rate limits or load
- Correctness of results beyond the listed tasks
Methodology: how we test. A high score means it installs and responds, not that it is safe to give it access to your data.
Known security issues
Not yet checked.
Monthly roundup: MCP security issues, October 2026.
Tool list changes
Baseline recorded from the 2026-10-31 test run; changes appear after the next test.
Snapshot hash (fingerprint of the tool list)
857f20904557: SHA-256 of the canonical tool names, descriptions and input schemas. If it changes, the tool list changed.
Raw test record (JSON)
{
"name": "yjid/kensaku-cli",
"version": "1.0.11",
"registry": "github-release",
"status": "working",
"tested": "2026-10-31",
"tools_count": 6,
"tools_schema_tokens_est": 807,
"deprecated": false,
"archived": false,
"tests": {
"install": [
"pass",
20,
"`download kensaku-cli-linux-x86_64 from GitHub release v1.0.11 (yjid/kensaku, published 2026-10-30), sha256 35cc543079619550e7c55c1ab6848f8325f2df9031e2a38d69ef1d5db76ca3c2 matched the release SHA256SUMS, chmod +x` (prebuilt binary, Linux) succeeded in 0s."
],
"handshake": [
"pass",
30,
"MCP `initialize` + `tools/list` over stdio succeeded with no credentials; 6 tools listed in 0.0s."
],
"maintenance": [
"pass",
25,
"Repo pushed 0 days before test; 307 GitHub stars."
],
"docs": [
"pass",
15,
"README over 3,000 chars; install instructions present; `mcpServers` config example present. Automated check of the package's own README (README.md from repo yjid/kensaku master (raw.githubusercontent.com, 2026-10-31))."
],
"license": [
"pass",
10,
"MIT (OSI-approved)."
]
}
}Install
kensaku-cli mcp
Tools listed
health_check, search, read_snippet, index_state, regex_search, find_symbol
Quick config
{
"mcpServers": {
"kensaku-mcp": {
"command": "kensaku-cli",
"args": [
"mcp"
]
}
}
}Add to config Opens the config generator with this server selected.
Setup
- Install. Run
download kensaku-cli-linux-x86_64 from GitHub release v1.0.11 (yjid/kensaku, published 2026-10-30), sha256 35cc543079619550e7c55c1ab6848f8325f2df9031e2a38d69ef1d5db76ca3c2 matched the release SHA256SUMS, chmod +x(prebuilt binary). This is the exact command we ran on 2026-10-31. - Configure. Add the mcpServers entry below to your MCP client config.
- Verify. Restart the client and check that tools/list returns tools (6 in our test).
{
"mcpServers": {
"kensaku-mcp": {
"command": "kensaku-cli",
"args": [
"mcp"
]
}
}
}Test history
No dated events yet.
Related: Best web search MCP servers
FAQ
Is Kensaku MCP deprecated?
No. yjid/kensaku-cli was not deprecated or archived when we last tested it on 2026-10-31.
What replaces Kensaku MCP?
Nothing; Kensaku MCP is not deprecated as of 2026-10-31.
Does Kensaku MCP need an API key?
No. It completed an MCP handshake with no credentials and listed 6 tools.
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