cortivium

Cortivium is a Python-based MCP server that registers Ghost Skills as real, enforceable tools rather than mere prompts. It runs locally (or on your server) and exposes an HTTP API you can integrate with Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, or any MCP-compatible client. After starting the server, you’ll access an admin UI at /admin/ to manage API keys and view usage, and you can connect your MCP client by supplying the server URL and an API key to authorize requests. Ghost Skills you create become persistent, reusable tools that the AI consults before taking actions, providing a reliable contract-like behavior during decision making. The server also supports automatic trigger phrase generation for skills, making it practical to invoke specific capabilities from natural language prompts.

To use Cortivium with your MCP client, first generate an API key in the admin panel. Then configure your MCP client to point at your server URL and include the X-API-Key header as shown in the documentation. The client can access features like creating and listing skills, enabling triggers, and invoking registered tools during conversations. The system is designed to work with Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, and any MCP-compatible client, enabling consistent, auditable behavior across tools and sessions.

Prerequisites:

• Python 3.12+ installed on the host
• Git installed (optional for cloning)

Step-by-step installation:

1. Clone the repository or download the Cortivium project files
2. Navigate to the Cortivium directory: cd cortivium
3. Install Python dependencies: pip install -r requirements.txt
4. Run the Cortivium server: python server.py
5. Open the admin panel in your browser: http://localhost:8080/admin/ The server will create the database, run migrations, generate a secret key, and print admin credentials on first run. Save these credentials securely and use them to log in.

Connecting an MCP client:

• Create an API key in the admin panel.
• Configure your MCP client to point to https://your-server:8080/ with the header 'X-API-Key: YOUR_KEY'.
• You can also manually edit the MCP client configuration to include the cortivium server as shown in the documentation.

Tips and common considerations:

• The Cortivium server runs with SQLite by default and aims to be self-contained with TLS and per-key plugin isolation.
• On first run, admin credentials are printed; store them securely to log in to the admin panel.
• You can create and manage Ghost Skills via the admin interface or through the client using ghost_create_skill and related commands.
• Ensure your server is reachable by your MCP clients (consider TLS termination and firewall rules in production).
• If you encounter connectivity issues, verify the API Key header is correctly configured in both the server and client, and check server logs for authentication errors or migrations pending.
• Cortivium emphasizes that Ghost Skills are real API contracts read by the model before each action, so design skills with clear purpose and deterministic behavior to maximize reliability.