Sequential Thinking

Add to your client

Copy the config for your MCP client and paste it into its config file.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sequential-thinking": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-sequential-thinking"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Before you start

• Node.js with npx (for the npm package), OR
• Docker installed and running (to use the mcp/sequentialthinking image)
• No API key or network access required

About Sequential Thinking

Tools & capabilities (1)

When to use it

• Use it when a task needs multi-step planning and you want the model to lay out steps explicitly
• Use it when the model may need to revise an earlier assumption partway through a problem
• Use it when exploring alternative approaches via branching before committing to one
• Use it when the scope is unclear up front and the number of reasoning steps may change
• Use it when you want a visible, auditable chain of reasoning rather than a single opaque answer

Quick setup

1. 1Add the server to your MCP client config using command `npx` with args `["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-sequential-thinking"]` (or use the Docker image `mcp/sequentialthinking`)
2. 2On Windows, wrap the npx call with `cmd /c` if needed
3. 3Optionally set DISABLE_THOUGHT_LOGGING=true to suppress thought logging to stderr
4. 4Restart your MCP client so it launches the server
5. 5Verify by asking the model to reason through a multi-step problem and confirm it calls the sequentialthinking tool

Sequential Thinking FAQ