Sideways

Shift perspective. Unlock creativity.

What if your certainty is the problem?

When your AI gets stuck thinking in straight lines, ask it to think sideways. An MCP server delivering unexpected questions and lateral thinking prompts to break through creative blocks.

Two words. That's it.

Once you install it in your AI tool, simply add "use sideways" to any AI prompt. Your AI will automatically pick the best category and will return a strategy with follow-up questions.

Which way are you stuck?

Your AI automatically picks from these strategy categories based on your context:

What does this actually look like?

Click to see sample responses:

Code Editor Context

"My test suite takes 10 minutes to run. Use sideways to help me think about performance."

AI selects Reduce category

🎴 "2 hours, not 2 weeks. What's different?"

If you only had 2 hours to halve the test runtime, what would you do differently than your current "proper" approach?
What shortcuts are you avoiding because they feel too hacky—but would actually solve 80% of the problem?
What if you optimized only the slowest 3 tests and ignored everything else?
Are you solving "test suite performance" or solving "I don't want to wait 10 minutes"? Those might have different solutions.
What assumption about "the right way" to test is making this take weeks instead of hours?

"I'm debugging and nothing makes sense anymore. Use sideways"

AI selects Pause category

🎴 "What's so obvious you forgot it exists?"

When did you last check the actual error message instead of debugging based on your theory?
Are you absolutely certain the code you're looking at is the code that's running?
What if the bug is in the setup/teardown, not in the actual test?
Have you restarted the dev server? (Yes, really.)
What obvious thing would you tell a junior developer to check first—have you checked it?

"Our database schema is a mess but we can't afford a big migration. Use sideways"

AI selects Reframe category

🎴 "What are you pretending not to know?"

You know exactly which 3 tables are causing 90% of the pain—what are they?
What if "we can't afford a migration" is code for "we're afraid of breaking things"?
Who actually uses the messy parts of the schema? Is it everyone or just legacy code no one wants to touch?
What would happen if you just... fixed one column this week? Do you actually need permission?
Are you pretending not to know that small, incremental changes are safer than waiting for the perfect moment?

AI Assistant Context

"I'm writing a short story but the protagonist feels flat. Use sideways"

AI selects Disrupt category

🎴 "What are you building: a prison, a playground, or a cathedral?"

Is this character trapped by the plot (prison), exploring possibilities (playground), or building something meaningful (cathedral)?
What if your protagonist sees the story world completely differently than you do?
Are you writing the character you find interesting, or the character the plot requires?
If your protagonist could change one rule of your story, what would they break?
Prison, playground, or cathedral—which one would make this character come alive?

"I want to plan a memorable vacation but I'm overwhelmed by options. Use sideways"

AI selects Embody category

🎴 "Excitement or obligation?"

When you think about each destination, do you feel a spark of excitement or a sense of "I should want to go there"?
Whose vacation are you planning—yours, or the one you think you're supposed to want?
What destination would you pick if no one ever asked you about it afterward?
Are you overwhelmed by options or by the fear of making the "wrong" choice?
What if you picked the place that feels easiest right now instead of the most impressive?

"I want to learn Spanish but I've tried and quit three times already. Use sideways"

AI selects Reframe category

🎴 "What lie are you telling yourself?"

Are you telling yourself "I want to learn Spanish" when you actually just want to feel capable of learning Spanish?
What if the lie is that you need to be consistent? What if you just need to enjoy it?
Are you pretending that THIS time will be different without changing anything about your approach?
What if you don't actually want to learn Spanish—you want what you think Spanish will give you?
What's the truth about why you quit each time that you're not admitting?

What data does the server see?

Privacy-preserving design using MCP Resources and Prompts. The server only receives category names (like 'reframe' or 'reduce'). Your creative challenges, work, and conversations stay on your device.

You say "use sideways" in your prompt
Your AI assistant reads available categories via MCP Resources
It selects the best category for your creative challenge
It invokes a category-specific MCP Prompt to get a random strategy
You receive an unexpected strategy card with 5 questions to apply it

Installation

Code Editors

Amp

Run this command in your terminal. See Amp MCP docs for more info.

Remote Server Connection

amp mcp add sideways https://sideways.aribadernatal.com/mcp

Claude Code

Run this command. See Claude Code MCP docs for more info.

Remote Server Connection

claude mcp add --transport http sideways https://sideways.aribadernatal.com/mcp

Cline

You can directly edit MCP servers configuration:

Open Cline
Click the hamburger menu icon (☰) to enter the MCP Servers section
Choose Remote Servers tab
Click the Edit Configuration button
Add sideways to mcpServers:

Remote Server Connection

{
	"mcpServers": {
		"sideways": {
		"url": "https://sideways.aribadernatal.com/mcp",
		"type": "streamableHttp"
		}
	}
}

Cursor

Paste this configuration into your Cursor ~/.cursor/mcp.json file. You may also install in a specific project by creating .cursor/mcp.json in your project folder. See Cursor MCP docs for more info.

Since Cursor 1.0, you can click the install button below for instant one-click installation.

Remote Server Connection

{
	"mcpServers": {
		"sideways": {
		"url": "https://sideways.aribadernatal.com/mcp"
		}
	}
}

Gemini CLI

Configure MCP servers for Gemini CLI tools.

Remote Server Connection

{
	"mcp_servers": {
		"sideways": {
		"url": "https://sideways.aribadernatal.com/mcp"
		}
	}
}

GitHub Copilot

Configure MCP servers in your GitHub Copilot settings (VS Code or compatible editor).

Remote Server Connection

"mcp": {
	"servers": {
		"sideways": {
		"type": "http",
		"url": "https://sideways.aribadernatal.com/mcp"
		}
	}
}

Opencode

Configure MCP servers in Opencode settings.

Remote Server Connection

{
	"mcpServers": {
		"sideways": {
		"url": "https://sideways.aribadernatal.com/mcp"
		}
	}
}

OpenAI Codex

Configure MCP servers for OpenAI Codex integration.

Remote Server Connection

{
	"mcp_servers": {
		"sideways": {
		"url": "https://sideways.aribadernatal.com/mcp"
		}
	}
}

Smithery

Install Sideways for any MCP client automatically via Smithery:

npx -y @smithery/cli install sideways --client <CLIENT_NAME>

→ Smithery.ai

VS Code

Add this to your VS Code MCP config file. See VS Code MCP docs for more info.

Remote Server Connection

"mcp": {
	"servers": {
		"sideways": {
		"type": "http",
		"url": "https://sideways.aribadernatal.com/mcp"
		}
	}
}

Warp

Configure Sideways in your Warp AI settings.

Remote Server Connection

{
	"mcp_servers": {
		"sideways": {
		"url": "https://sideways.aribadernatal.com/sse"
		}
	}
}

Windsurf

Add this to your Windsurf MCP config file. See Windsurf MCP docs for more info.

Remote Server Connection

{
	"mcpServers": {
		"sideways": {
		"serverUrl": "https://sideways.aribadernatal.com/mcp"
		}
	}
}

Zed

Add this to your Zed settings file (~/.config/zed/settings.json on Linux/macOS or %APPDATA%\Zed\settings.json on Windows).

Remote Server Connection

{
	"context_servers": {
		"sideways": {
		"settings": {
			"url": "https://sideways.aribadernatal.com/mcp"
		}
		}
	}
}

Other MCP Clients

SSE Transport (recommended for remote servers):

Install mcp-remote: npm install -g @anthropic-ai/mcp-remote
Run: npx mcp-remote https://sideways.aribadernatal.com/sse
Add to your MCP client configuration using the proxy

Standard MCP Transport (for clients with Streamable HTTP support):

Endpoint: https://sideways.aribadernatal.com/mcp
Use this endpoint if your MCP client supports Streamable HTTP connections

→ Model Context Protocol Documentation

AI Assistants

ChatGPT

Add Sideways as a custom MCP connector in ChatGPT.

Steps to Add Custom Connector

Navigate to Settings → Apps & Connectors → Advanced Settings
Enable Developer Mode
Go back a screen and click the "Create" button at the top
Fill in the form:
- Name: Sideways
- MCP Server URL: https://sideways.aribadernatal.com/mcp
- Authentication: No authentication

Claude.ai

Add Sideways as a custom connector in Claude.ai (requires Pro, Max, Team, or Enterprise plan). See Claude custom connectors docs for more info.

Steps to Add Custom Connector

Navigate to Settings → Connectors
Click "Add custom connector" at the bottom of the Connectors section
Enter the server URL: https://sideways.aribadernatal.com/sse
Click "Add" to complete the setup
Enable the connector from the "Search and tools" button in your chat interface

Note: Custom connectors allow Claude to access services that have not been verified by Anthropic. Only add custom connectors from trusted sources.

Cloudflare AI Playground

Visit playground.ai.cloudflare.com
Find the MCP Servers section in the left sidebar
Paste https://sideways.aribadernatal.com/sse into the URL input box
Click "Connect" to start using Sideways strategies

→ Documentation

LM Studio

Ensure you have LM Studio v0.3.17 or later
Edit mcp.json file (Settings → MCP Servers → Edit Config)

Add the server configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sideways": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-remote",
        "https://sideways.aribadernatal.com/sse"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Restart LM Studio to load the server

→ Documentation | → Release Notes

Logseq

Logseq MCP servers enable AI to interact with your knowledge graph. Requires Logseq's HTTP API to be enabled.

Enable Logseq HTTP API: Settings → Features → HTTP API server
Generate an API token in Logseq
Install an MCP server implementation (e.g., uvx mcp-server-logseq)
Configure in your MCP client (e.g., Claude Desktop) with your API token

Note: Multiple community implementations available with different features

→ mcp-logseq | → logseq-mcp-tools

Obsidian

Install a third-party MCP plugin (search for "MCP" in Community Plugins)
Or use obsidian-mcp-server with the Local REST API plugin
Configure the server URL: https://sideways.aribadernatal.com/sse

Note: MCP support in Obsidian is through third-party plugins currently under development

→ obsidian-mcp-plugin | → obsidian-mcp-server

Perplexity Desktop

Add this to your Perplexity Desktop MCP config file.

Remote Server Connection

{
	"mcpServers": {
		"sideways": {
		"command": "npx",
		"args": ["mcp-remote", "https://sideways.aribadernatal.com/sse"]
		}
	}
}

Other MCP Clients

SSE Transport (recommended for remote servers):

Install mcp-remote: npm install -g @anthropic-ai/mcp-remote
Run: npx mcp-remote https://sideways.aribadernatal.com/sse
Add to your MCP client configuration using the proxy

Standard MCP Transport (for clients with Streamable HTTP support):

Endpoint: https://sideways.aribadernatal.com/mcp
Use this endpoint if your MCP client supports Streamable HTTP connections

→ Model Context Protocol Documentation

Credits

Built by Ari Bader-Natal