---
title: "Sequential Thinking MCP"
description: "Persistent, cross-session reasoning chains for AI agents — with zero-friction self-provisioning"
canonical: "https://docs.ainative.studio/docs/mcp/sequential-thinking-server"
last-updated: "2026-10-03T21:47:10.764Z"
---

# Sequential Thinking MCP

Source: https://docs.ainative.studio/docs/mcp/sequential-thinking-server

> Persistent, cross-session reasoning chains for AI agents — with zero-friction self-provisioning

# Sequential Thinking MCP

`zerodb-sequential-thinking-mcp` gives AI agents persistent, structured reasoning that survives across sessions, machines, and agent restarts. Built on ZeroDB plan artifacts.

```bash
npx zerodb-sequential-thinking-mcp
```

**No account required.** The first run automatically provisions a ZeroDB account. The second run is silent.

---

## Why This Exists

The [upstream sequential-thinking MCP](https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/servers/tree/main/src/sequentialthinking) is stateless — every session starts fresh. This server adds:

- **Persistence** — reasoning chains written to ZeroDB plan artifacts, survives restarts
- **Cross-session resume** — Agent B can pick up where Agent A left off using an `artifact_id`
- **Self-provisioning** — no account signup required to install and run
- **Multi-agent sharing** — multiple agents share the same reasoning namespace via `ZERODB_PROJECT_ID`

---

## Tools

### sequential_think

Add a reasoning step to a chain.

**Parameters:**
| Name | Type | Required | Description |
|------|------|----------|-------------|
| `thought` | string | yes | The reasoning step content |
| `chain_id` | string | no | Chain identifier (auto-generated if omitted) |
| `step_number` | number | no | Explicit step number |
| `total_steps` | number | no | Estimated total steps |
| `next_thought_needed` | boolean | no | Whether more steps are expected |

**Returns:** `{ chain_id, step_number, thought }`

**Example:**
```json
{
  "thought": "The root cause is connection pool exhaustion — PgBouncer is capped at 20 connections but we have 4 instances each holding 10.",
  "chain_id": "debug-pool-issue",
  "step_number": 2,
  "total_steps": 5,
  "next_thought_needed": true
}
```

---

### sequential_conclude

Finalize a reasoning chain and persist it as a ZeroDB plan artifact. Returns an `artifact_id` that can be used to resume the chain in a future session.

**Parameters:**
| Name | Type | Required | Description |
|------|------|----------|-------------|
| `chain_id` | string | yes | Chain to conclude |
| `conclusion` | string | yes | Final conclusion or decision |

**Returns:**
```json
{
  "artifact_id": "cd6e95d9-0260-4f04-b817-ee461cf367f8",
  "step_count": 5,
  "resume_hint": "Use sequential_resume with artifact_id=\"cd6e95d9...\" to continue in a future session"
}
```

The `artifact_id` is stable — save it to resume this chain from any session or agent.

---

### sequential_resume

Load a prior reasoning chain by artifact ID. Use at the start of a session to continue where a previous agent left off.

**Parameters:**
| Name | Type | Required | Description |
|------|------|----------|-------------|
| `artifact_id` | string | yes | Artifact ID from a previous `sequential_conclude` |

**Returns:** Full prior reasoning chain content and step count.

---

## Self-Provisioning

The first time the server boots with no credentials configured, it calls:

```
POST https://api.ainative.studio/api/v1/public/instant-db
```

This creates a temporary ZeroDB account (~800ms) and writes credentials atomically to `~/.zerodb/credentials.json`. Subsequent boots load from the file silently.

### Credential Lifecycle

| State | Behavior |
|-------|----------|
| **Temporary** | Auto-provisioned, expires in 72 hours |
| **Claimed** | User claimed via link, permanent |
| **Expired** | Re-provisioned automatically on next boot |

To claim your account and make it permanent, set `ZERODB_EMAIL`:

```json
{
  "env": {
    "ZERODB_EMAIL": "you@example.com"
  }
}
```

The server sends a claim link to your email on next boot.

### Bring Your Own Credentials

If you already have a ZeroDB account, skip provisioning entirely:

```json
{
  "env": {
    "ZERODB_API_KEY": "zdb_live_your-key",
    "ZERODB_PROJECT_ID": "your-project-id"
  }
}
```

---

## Configuration

### Claude Code

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sequential-thinking": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "zerodb-sequential-thinking-mcp"]
    }
  }
}
```

### With existing ZeroDB account

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sequential-thinking": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "zerodb-sequential-thinking-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "ZERODB_API_KEY": "zdb_live_your-key",
        "ZERODB_PROJECT_ID": "your-project-id",
        "ZERODB_BASE_URL": "https://api.ainative.studio"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

### Multi-agent swarm (shared reasoning)

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "agent-alpha": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "zerodb-sequential-thinking-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "ZERODB_CONFIG_DIR": "/shared/zerodb",
        "ZERODB_PROJECT_ID": "shared-project-id"
      }
    },
    "agent-beta": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "zerodb-sequential-thinking-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "ZERODB_CONFIG_DIR": "/shared/zerodb",
        "ZERODB_PROJECT_ID": "shared-project-id"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

Both agents share the same credentials file and project namespace. Agent A's concluded chains are immediately resumable by Agent B.

---

## Cross-Session Example

**Session 1 — Agent A investigates:**
```
sequential_think("The API is returning 503s. Checking Kong logs...")
sequential_think("Kong http-log plugin is retrying on 404 — creating a retry storm.")
sequential_think("Disabling the plugin stops the storm. Root cause confirmed.")
sequential_conclude(chain_id="kong-debug", conclusion="Disable http-log plugin, redeploy Kong.")
→ artifact_id: "cd6e95d9-0260-4f04-b817-ee461cf367f8"
```

**Session 2 — Agent B implements the fix:**
```
sequential_resume(artifact_id="cd6e95d9-0260-4f04-b817-ee461cf367f8")
→ Returns Agent A's full reasoning chain
sequential_think("Updating kong.yml to remove http-log plugin...")
sequential_conclude(chain_id="kong-fix", conclusion="Deployed. 503s resolved.")
```

---

## Related

- [ZeroDB Memory MCP](./memory-server) — the plan artifact tools this server builds on
- [ZeroDB Overview](/docs/zerodb/overview) — the underlying data layer
- [GitHub](https://github.com/AINative-Studio/zerodb-sequential-thinking-mcp)