Rephrased MCP

Local Rephrased MCP is the required team toolkit for engineers. The canonical package lives in Rephrased-Games/Rephrased-Game/tools/rephrased-mcp/; the standalone Rephrased-Games/Rephrased-agent-toolkit repo is a reference copy synced outward. Your coding agent (Cursor, Claude Code, Codex, Antigravity, or another IDE that can run MCP) uses it so you can talk normally — you do not name tools.

After setup, the server runs your own code review, a pass on the team review server, wiki search, and devlog. Unreal MCP is a separate, suggested editor add-on.

Prerequisites

• [ ] You have cloned the Rephrased repo
• [ ] A coding agent is installed (Cursor, Claude Code, Codex, Antigravity, or another MCP-capable IDE)
• [ ] uv is installed (used to run the MCP server)

Setup (about 2 minutes)

1. Install the MCP toolkit

From the repo root:

uv tool install tools/rephrased-mcp

2. Point your IDE at the local server

Cursor — .cursor/mcp.json (create if missing):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "rephrased": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["--from", "tools/rephrased-mcp", "rephrased-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Claude Code — same JSON in .claude/mcp.json (this repo already ships one).

Codex / Antigravity / other MCP-capable IDEs — paste the same rephrased block into that product's MCP settings. Setup pages: Cursor, Claude Code, Codex, Antigravity.

Suggested — Unreal MCP (editor tools: maps, assets, PIE). Add this next to rephrased after you enable the 5.8 plugins. See Unreal MCP.

"unreal-mcp": {
  "url": "http://127.0.0.1:6388/mcp"
}

Port 6388 is the team pin so it does not collide with other MCP on 8000. It only answers while the UE 5.8 editor is running.

Restart the IDE (or reload MCP servers) after saving.

3. Register (onboard) — "onboard me" flow

Open the repo and say "onboard me". The flow has two phases:

Phase 1 (first session, MCP not installed/loaded): 1. Codex: the agent runs scripts/Onboard-Codex.ps1 for you — it adds the rephrased server to ~/.codex/config.toml and installs the /onboard prompt. Cursor / Claude Code: approve the project MCP (.cursor/mcp.json / .claude/mcp.json) when prompted. 2. You see the welcome message. 3. Fully restart your tool and open a new task in this repo. MCP tools only load when a session starts.

Phase 2 (after restart): 1. Say "onboard me" again. 2. The agent calls onboarding check. If you are not onboarded yet, provide: - Your review key (starts with rephr_, from your lead) - (Optional) your display name 3. The agent calls onboarding register with your key.

This writes ~/.rephrased/config.json, verifies the review server, and enables enforcing local branch guard hooks (core.hooksPath=scripts/git-hooks).

4. Verify

After onboarding, confirm the agent can see these tools: onboarding, create_branch, convention_check, request_review, wiki_query, devlog.

Ask:

What does convention_check do?

If the agent answers from the wiki and repo state, setup is done. If not, check that the rephrased MCP server is running and that you are onboarded.

What Rephrased MCP does

Six jobs: onboarding, branch creation, convention check, team review/request review, wiki search/query, and devlog. The agent runs them. You ask in normal language.

1. Start task branches (create_branch)

Use create_branch before editing a new assignment. It creates <category>/<area-or-level>-<short-task> from clean, up-to-date main. It refuses dirty worktrees and refuses to branch from another task branch unless you switch back to main first.

Categories: feature, fix, bugfix, docs, chore, refactor, test, experiment.

2. Your code review (convention_check)

Local scan of the current git diff against Rephrased UE conventions (AGENTS.md / Coding conventions):

• UE_LOG ASCII only — no emoji, no decorative banners, no empty logs
• No sectional banner comments
• Actor ids via GetActorNameOrLabel(), not GetName()
• Include order: own header → engine → project → third-party
• No speculative placeholder blocks (TODO/FIXME unused/placeholder)

The agent must run this after it edits Source/ C++, and again before commit. It fixes every error/warning it flags, then re-runs until clean. This is your review — it never leaves the machine. It does not replace the team review server or a human PR.

3. Team review (request_review)

After convention_check is clean and you have compiled, the agent sends the project diff to the team review server — a Rephrased-design review server with a separate, clean review LLM. It reads:

• Source/ C++ text
• Config/ text
• Content/ map and uasset paths (not binary guts)

It is a second pass for gameplay / systems mistakes convention check will not catch. If it returns issues, the agent fixes and sends again until pass or [WARN] No project diff. Your compile and PIE still happen. The review server does not replace a teammate on the PR, and it does not fill out the GitHub PR template for you. GitHub validates the PR body separately with a required-section check. When you open a PR, use the template sections: summary, linked ticket, what changed/why, verification evidence, review checklist, rollback notes, and video/screenshot when relevant.

Order before commit:

convention_check → you compile → team review (request_review) → you PIE → devlog → commit

Wiki search (wiki_query) and session devlog also go through this same MCP. They are not a fourth review.

Daily usage

Engineers talk normally ("fix the overlap", "help me commit"). The coding agent must call MCP tools from AGENTS.md / CLAUDE.md without being asked.

You say	Agent must call
How does camera / runes work?	wiki_query
Help me commit / done	convention_check → you compile → request_review → you PIE → devlog

Local Git hooks block commits and pushes on main/master, detached HEAD, and invalid branch names. They are local guardrails, not server-side protection; GitHub rulesets/branch protection are still needed later.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Likely cause	Fix
MCP tools missing	Server not configured / not reloaded	Check mcp.json, reinstall with uv tool install, reload MCP
Not onboarded	No ~/.rephrased/config.json	Run /onboard again
Review model error on non-C++	Droplet prompt still C++-only	Update droplet review prompt to accept asset path lists; client already sends them

Related

• Unreal MCP — suggested UE 5.8 editor tools (levels, assets, PIE). Not a substitute for wiki or review.
• First day (engineering)
• Self-review workflow
• Working without an AI agent
• Root AGENTS.md / CLAUDE.md

Change history

• 2026-08-27 - Gabriel Li - Added two-phase "onboard me" flow: auto-install via scripts/Onboard-Codex.ps1 (Codex) or repo MCP configs (Cursor/Claude Code), welcome message, restart, then key registration.
• 2026-08-27 - Gabriel Li - Added create_branch and local branch guard hooks for standard task branches; supersedes the earlier reminder-only wording.

• 2026-08-27 - Gabriel Li - Added note that GitHub validates PR template sections separately from MCP review.

• 2026-08-27 - Gabriel Li - Clarified that MCP review complements the GitHub PR template; it does not replace the PR body.

• 2026-08-26 — Gabriel Li — Clarified main repo as canonical MCP source, standalone toolkit as outward reference copy, and confirmed current five-tool MCP state.

• 2026-08-23 — Gabriel Li — Removed Accretion Engine (task system retired); onboarding is review-key only; task tools removed from toolkit.
• 2026-08-14 — Gabriel Li — Page titled Rephrased MCP; after setup, Accretion, local convention review, and the team review server are spelled out.
• 2026-08-13 — Gabriel Li — Linked Unreal MCP; shipped mcp.json example includes port 6388.
• 2026-08-10 — Gabriel Li — Added task_create/task_assign, timer hours, risk tier; Cursor mcp.json in repo.
• 2026-08-10 — Gabriel Li — Rewrote for local uvx MCP, onboarding register, review gate, English-only; removed obsolete remote URL + env-token flow.
• 2026-07-21 — Gabriel Li — Initial doc (remote MCP + ACCRETION_TOKEN env).