NodeLLM 1.17: MCP Sampling, Concurrent Tool Execution, and Smarter ORM Control

Back when we introduced MCP support, we ended on a teaser: Phase 3 would tackle Sampling—letting servers request completions from the host instead of only exposing tools and resources to it. NodeLLM 1.17 delivers on that, and pairs it with a second, unrelated but overdue improvement: precise control over how tool calls execute, now available consistently in both core and the ORM persistence layer.

Sampling inverts the usual MCP direction. Instead of the client asking the server for tools, the server asks the client to run an LLM completion on its behalf. This lets an MCP server offer LLM-powered capabilities—summarization, classification, drafting—without needing its own API key or provider integration.

createLLMSamplingHandler answers those requests using a real NodeLLM instance, so a server's tool ends up powered by whatever model you configure client-side:

import { createLLM } from "@node-llm/core";

import { MCP, createLLMSamplingHandler } from "@node-llm/mcp";