pi-minimax-mcp

Web search and image understanding for Pi via MiniMax MCP.

Quick Start

1. Get a MiniMax API key at platform.minimax.io/subscribe/coding-plan

2. Install uvx (required to run the MiniMax MCP server):

curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

powershell -ExecutionPolicy ByPass -c "irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | iex"

3. Install the extension:

pi install npm:@jayjanii/pi-minimax-mcp

4. Set your API key:

export MINIMAX_API_KEY="your-api-key"

To persist across sessions, add to ~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc.

$env:MINIMAX_API_KEY = "your-api-key"

To persist, add to your PowerShell profile or set via System > Environment Variables.

That's it. Start Pi and the web_search and understand_image tools are available automatically.

Usage in Pi

Search for the latest TypeScript release notes

🖼️ understand ./error.png

Dropping an image path (.png, .jpg, .jpeg, .gif, .webp) into the prompt attaches it automatically.

CLI

# Web search
pi-minimax-mcp search "quantum computing breakthroughs"
pi-minimax-mcp search "Rust async patterns" --num-results 10 --recency-days 30

# Image analysis
pi-minimax-mcp understand ./diagram.png
pi-minimax-mcp understand ./chart.png --prompt "What trends does this show?"

# Utilities
pi-minimax-mcp config   # show active config (API key redacted)
pi-minimax-mcp init     # create default config file
pi-minimax-mcp tools    # list tools from the MiniMax MCP server

Configuration

Priority order: CLI flags > env vars > config file > defaults

Environment variables

Variable	Required	Default
MINIMAX_API_KEY	Yes	—
MINIMAX_API_HOST	No	https://api.minimax.io
MINIMAX_MCP_BASE_PATH	No	—
MINIMAX_API_RESOURCE_MODE	No	url
MINIMAX_MCP_UV_PATH	No	uvx
MINIMAX_MCP_TIMEOUT_MS	No	60000
MINIMAX_MCP_MAX_BYTES	No	51200
MINIMAX_MCP_MAX_LINES	No	2000

Config file

Global: ~/.pi/agent/extensions/minimax-mcp.json
Project: .pi/extensions/minimax-mcp.json

Global: %USERPROFILE%\.pi\agent\extensions\minimax-mcp.json
Project: .pi\extensions\minimax-mcp.json

{
  "apiKey": "your-api-key",
  "apiHost": "https://api.minimax.io",
  "resourceMode": "url",
  "timeoutMs": 60000,
  "maxBytes": 51200,
  "maxLines": 2000
}

Run pi-minimax-mcp init to create this file automatically.

Pi flags

pi --minimax-api-key=<key> --minimax-api-host=<host> --minimax-mcp-config=<path>

Troubleshooting

uvx: command not found

curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh
# Restart your shell, then verify:
which uvx

powershell -ExecutionPolicy ByPass -c "irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | iex"
# Open a new terminal, then verify:
where.exe uvx

If uvx is installed but not on PATH, point directly to it:

export MINIMAX_MCP_UV_PATH="$HOME/.local/bin/uvx"

$env:MINIMAX_MCP_UV_PATH = "$env:USERPROFILE\.local\bin\uvx.exe"

MiniMax API key is required

# Or run: pi-minimax-mcp init  (then edit the generated file)
export MINIMAX_API_KEY="your-key"   # macOS / Linux

$env:MINIMAX_API_KEY = "your-key"   # Windows

Programmatic usage

import { MiniMaxMcpClient } from "@jayjanii/pi-minimax-mcp";

const client = new MiniMaxMcpClient({ apiKey: process.env.MINIMAX_API_KEY! });

const search = await client.webSearch({ query: "TypeScript 5.5 features", numResults: 5 });
const image  = await client.understandImage({ imagePath: "./diagram.png", prompt: "Explain this" });

client.disconnect();

License

MIT