MCP server for parallel execution of shell commands and AI agents (Claude, Gemini, Codex) across lists of items

par5-mcp

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that enables parallel execution of shell commands and AI coding agents across lists of items. Perfect for batch processing files, running linters across multiple targets, or delegating complex tasks to multiple AI agents simultaneously.

Features

• List Management: Create, update, delete, and inspect lists of items (file paths, URLs, identifiers, etc.)
• Parallel Shell Execution: Run shell commands across all items in a list with batched parallelism
• Multi-Agent Orchestration: Spawn Gemini, Gemini, or Codex agents in parallel to process items
• Streaming Output: Results stream to files in real-time for monitoring progress
• Batched Processing: Commands and agents run in batches of 10 to avoid overwhelming the system

Installation

npm install par5-mcp

Or install globally:

npm install -g par5-mcp

Usage

As an MCP Server

Add to your MCP client configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "par5": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["par5-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Or if installed globally:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "par5": {
      "command": "par5-mcp"
    }
  }
}

Available Tools

List Management

create_list

Creates a named list of items for parallel processing.

Parameters:

• items (string[]): Array of items to store in the list

Returns: A unique list ID to use with other tools

Example:

create_list(items: ["src/a.ts", "src/b.ts", "src/c.ts"])
// Returns: list_id = "abc-123-..."

get_list

Retrieves the items in an existing list by its ID.

Parameters:

• list_id (string): The list ID returned by create_list

update_list

Updates an existing list by replacing its items with a new array.

Parameters:

• list_id (string): The list ID to update
• items (string[]): The new array of items

delete_list

Deletes an existing list by its ID.

Parameters:

• list_id (strin