feat!: breaking change - OpenRouter models are now read from conf/openrouter_models.json while Custom / Self-hosted models are read from conf/custom_models.json

feat: Azure OpenAI / Azure AI Foundry support. Models should be defined in conf/azure_models.json (or a custom path). See .env.example for environment variables or see readme. https://github.com/BeehiveInnovations/zen-mcp-server/issues/265

feat: OpenRouter / Custom Models / Azure can separately also use custom config paths now (see .env.example )

refactor: Model registry class made abstract, OpenRouter / Custom Provider / Azure OpenAI now subclass these

refactor: breaking change: `is_custom` property has been removed from model_capabilities.py (and thus custom_models.json) given each models are now read from separate configuration files

tools/listmodels.py

@@ -11,6 +11,8 @@ from typing import Any, Optional
 
 from mcp.types import TextContent
 
+from providers.custom_registry import CustomEndpointModelRegistry
+from providers.openrouter_registry import OpenRouterModelRegistry
 from tools.models import ToolModelCategory, ToolOutput
 from tools.shared.base_models import ToolRequest
 from tools.shared.base_tool import BaseTool
@@ -80,7 +82,6 @@ class ListModelsTool(BaseTool):
         Returns:
             Formatted list of models by provider
         """
-        from providers.openrouter_registry import OpenRouterModelRegistry
         from providers.registry import ModelProviderRegistry
         from providers.shared import ProviderType
         from utils.model_restrictions import get_restriction_service
@@ -99,6 +100,7 @@ class ListModelsTool(BaseTool):
         provider_info = {
             ProviderType.GOOGLE: {"name": "Google Gemini", "env_key": "GEMINI_API_KEY"},
             ProviderType.OPENAI: {"name": "OpenAI", "env_key": "OPENAI_API_KEY"},
+            ProviderType.AZURE: {"name": "Azure OpenAI", "env_key": "AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY"},
             ProviderType.XAI: {"name": "X.AI (Grok)", "env_key": "XAI_API_KEY"},
             ProviderType.DIAL: {"name": "AI DIAL", "env_key": "DIAL_API_KEY"},
         }
@@ -317,12 +319,12 @@ class ListModelsTool(BaseTool):
             output_lines.append("**Description**: Local models via Ollama, vLLM, LM Studio, etc.")
 
             try:
-                registry = OpenRouterModelRegistry()
+                registry = CustomEndpointModelRegistry()
                 custom_models = []
 
                 for alias in registry.list_aliases():
                     config = registry.resolve(alias)
-                    if config and config.is_custom:
+                    if config:
                         custom_models.append((alias, config))
 
                 if custom_models:

tools/shared/base_tool.py

@@ -82,6 +82,7 @@ class BaseTool(ABC):
 
     # Class-level cache for OpenRouter registry to avoid multiple loads
     _openrouter_registry_cache = None
+    _custom_registry_cache = None
 
     @classmethod
     def _get_openrouter_registry(cls):
@@ -94,6 +95,16 @@ class BaseTool(ABC):
             logger.debug("Created cached OpenRouter registry instance")
         return BaseTool._openrouter_registry_cache
 
+    @classmethod
+    def _get_custom_registry(cls):
+        """Get cached custom-endpoint registry instance."""
+        if BaseTool._custom_registry_cache is None:
+            from providers.custom_registry import CustomEndpointModelRegistry
+
+            BaseTool._custom_registry_cache = CustomEndpointModelRegistry()
+            logger.debug("Created cached Custom registry instance")
+        return BaseTool._custom_registry_cache
+
     def __init__(self):
         # Cache tool metadata at initialization to avoid repeated calls
         self.name = self.get_name()
@@ -266,14 +277,10 @@ class BaseTool(ABC):
         custom_url = get_env("CUSTOM_API_URL")
         if custom_url:
             try:
-                registry = self._get_openrouter_registry()
-                # Find all custom models (is_custom=true)
+                registry = self._get_custom_registry()
                 for alias in registry.list_aliases():
-                    config = registry.resolve(alias)
-                    # Check if this is a custom model that requires custom endpoints
-                    if config and config.is_custom:
-                        if alias not in all_models:
-                            all_models.append(alias)
+                    if alias not in all_models:
+                        all_models.append(alias)
             except Exception as e:
                 import logging
 
@@ -1282,12 +1289,7 @@ When recommending searches, be specific about what information you need and why
             try:
                 registry = self._get_openrouter_registry()
 
-                # Include every known alias so MCP enum matches registry capabilities
                 for alias in registry.list_aliases():
-                    config = registry.resolve(alias)
-                    if config and config.is_custom:
-                        # Custom-only models require CUSTOM_API_URL; defer to custom block
-                        continue
                     if alias not in all_models:
                         all_models.append(alias)
             except Exception as exc:  # pragma: no cover - logged for observability
@@ -1299,10 +1301,9 @@ When recommending searches, be specific about what information you need and why
         custom_url = get_env("CUSTOM_API_URL")
         if custom_url:
             try:
-                registry = self._get_openrouter_registry()
+                registry = self._get_custom_registry()
                 for alias in registry.list_aliases():
-                    config = registry.resolve(alias)
-                    if config and config.is_custom and alias not in all_models:
+                    if alias not in all_models:
                         all_models.append(alias)
             except Exception as exc:  # pragma: no cover - logged for observability
                 import logging