zcash-mcp

Zcash MCP server. Connects AI agents to shielded Zcash operations. First privacy chain on the MCP registry.

MCP (Model Context Protocol) is the standard way for AI models to call external tools. This server exposes 12 Zcash tools that any MCP client can use - Claude Desktop, ChatGPT, OpenClaw, or anything that speaks the protocol.

Tools

Tool	What it does
get_balance	ZAP1 lifecycle events and anchor status for a wallet hash
send_shielded	Generate a zcash: payment URI (ZIP 321)
decode_memo	Decode shielded memos - ZAP1 typed, ZIP 302, text, binary
attest_event	Write a ZAP1 attestation to the Zcash blockchain
verify_proof	Verify a ZAP1 Merkle proof
get_stats	ZAP1 protocol stats (leaves, anchors, types)
get_block_height	Current chain height from Zebra
lookup_transaction	Raw transaction data by txid
get_anchor_history	All ZAP1 Merkle root anchors with txids and block heights
get_anchor_status	Current Merkle tree state: root, unanchored leaves, recommendation
get_events	Recent ZAP1 attestation events with type, wallet hash, leaf hash
get_agent_status	Attestation summary for a ZAP1 agent ID

Install

npx @frontiercompute/zcash-mcp

Or install globally:

npm install -g @frontiercompute/zcash-mcp

Configuration

Environment variables:

Variable	Default	Description
ZEBRA_RPC_URL	http://127.0.0.1:8232	Zebra node JSON-RPC endpoint
ZAP1_API_URL	https://pay.frontiercompute.io	ZAP1 attestation API
ZAP1_API_KEY	none	API key for attest_event

Claude Desktop

Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "zcash": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@frontiercompute/zcash-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "ZEBRA_RPC_URL": "http://127.0.0.1:8232",
        "ZAP1_API_KEY": "your-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Any MCP client

The server communicates over stdio using JSON-RPC. Point your MCP client at the zcash-mcp binary.

Build from source

git clone https://github.com/Frontier-Compute/zcash-mcp.git
cd zcash-mcp
npm ci
npm run build
node dist/index.js

Testing

Offline verification covers the built stdio server and a clean-room install from the packed npm tarball:

npm run test:offline

Live verification hits a real Zebra RPC and ZAP1 API:

ZEBRA_RPC_URL=http://127.0.0.1:8232 \
ZAP1_API_URL=http://127.0.0.1:3080 \
ZAP1_API_KEY=your-key-here \
npm run test:live

test:live drives the MCP server over stdio and exercises the live tool surface, not just the underlying HTTP endpoints. Set ZAP1_AGENT_ID if you want the get_agent_status check to target a specific deployed agent.

GitHub Actions mirrors that split:

• .github/workflows/offline-ci.yml runs deterministic packaging and MCP handshake checks on every push and pull request.
• .github/workflows/live-e2e.yml runs secret-backed live checks on main, on a schedule, and by manual dispatch.

Dependencies

• A running Zebra node for chain queries (get_block_height, lookup_transaction)
• The ZAP1 API at pay.frontiercompute.io for attestation tools (get_balance, attest_event, verify_proof, get_stats, get_anchor_history, get_anchor_status, get_events, get_agent_status)
• Memo decoding works locally with no external dependencies

License

MIT