Esp Mcp

What is Esp Mcp about?

Esp Mcp consolidates common ESP‑IDF workflow commands (build, clean, flash, etc.) into a single Model Context Protocol (MCP) server, allowing a language model or chatbot to control ESP32 development tasks through natural language.

How to use Esp Mcp?

1. Clone the repository

   git clone git@github.com:horw/esp-mcp.git
   

2. Configure the MCP server in your chatbot/agent using the JSON snippet below (adjust paths to your environment).
3. Issue natural‑language requests such as:
   • "Build the project at /path/to/my/esp-project."
   • "Flash the firmware for examples/hello_world."
   • "Clean the build artifacts for my_app." The server translates these requests into the appropriate idf.py commands and returns the output.

Key features of Esp Mcp

• Supports basic ESP‑IDF commands: idf.py build, idf.py fullclean, idf.py flash.
• Optional port specification for flashing.
• Experimental automatic issue fixing by parsing build logs.
• Simple JSON‑based configuration for integration with any LLM‑enabled chatbot.
• Proof‑of‑concept ready for extension (monitor, menuconfig, device management, home‑assistant integration, etc.).

Use cases of Esp Mcp

• Rapid prototyping: Developers can verbally instruct a chatbot to compile and flash code without leaving the conversation.
• On‑boarding: New team members get a guided, command‑free setup experience.
• CI/CD assistance: Chatbots can trigger builds or diagnose failures during continuous integration.
• Educational tools: Teaching ESP32 development where students interact via natural language rather than CLI.

FAQ from the Esp Mcp

Q: Do I need ESP‑IDF installed? A: Yes. Set the IDF_PATH environment variable to point to your ESP‑IDF root directory.

Q: Can I use this on Windows? A: Absolutely. Provide a Windows‑style path for IDF_PATH and use a compatible Python or UV executable.

Q: How do I add missing commands? A: Fork the repo, implement the new tool in main.py, and open a pull request.

Q: Is there a GUI? A: No, interaction is performed through an LLM or chatbot that invokes the MCP server.

Q: What if I want to run the server with Node.js? A: The current implementation is Python‑based; using Node.js would require a custom wrapper.

Goal

The goal of this MCP is to:

• Consolidate ESP-IDF and related project commands in one place.
• Simplify getting started using only LLM communication.

How to contribute to the project

Simply find a command that is missing from this MCP and create a PR for it!

If you want someone to help you with this implementation, just open an issue.

Notice

This project is currently a Proof of Concept (PoC) for an MCP server tailored for ESP-IDF workflows.

Current Capabilities:

• Supports basic ESP-IDF project build commands.
• Flash built firmware to connected ESP devices with optional port specification.
• Includes experimental support for automatic issue fixing based on build logs.

Vision & Future Work: The long-term vision is to expand this MCP into a comprehensive toolkit for interacting with embedded devices, potentially integrating with home assistant platforms, and streamlining documentation access for ESP-IDF and related technologies.

We envision features such as:

• Broader ESP-IDF command support (e.g., monitor, menuconfig interaction if feasible).
• Device management and information retrieval.
• Integration with other embedded development tools and platforms.

Your ideas and contributions are welcome! Please feel free to discuss them by opening an issue.

Install

First, clone this MCP repository:

git clone git@github.com:horw/esp-mcp.git

Then, configure it in your chatbot.

The JSON snippet below is an example of how you might configure this esp-mcp server within a chatbot or an agent system that supports the Model Context Protocol (MCP). The exact configuration steps and format may vary depending on the specific chatbot system you are using. Refer to your chatbot's documentation for details on how to integrate MCP servers.

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "esp-run": { // "esp-run" is an arbitrary name you can assign to this server configuration.
            "command": "<path_to_uv_or_python_executable>",
            "args": [
                "--directory",
                "<path_to_cloned_esp-mcp_repository>", // e.g., /path/to/your/cloned/esp-mcp
                "run",
                "main.py" // If using python directly, this might be just "main.py" and `command` would be your python interpreter
            ],
            "env": {
                "IDF_PATH": "<path_to_your_esp-idf_directory>" // e.g., ~/esp/esp-idf or C:\\Espressif\\frameworks\\esp-idf
            }
        }
    }
}

A few notes on the configuration:

• command: This should be the full path to your uv executable if you are using it, or your Python interpreter (e.g., /usr/bin/python3 or C:\\Python39\\python.exe) if you plan to run main.py directly.
• args:
  • The first argument to --directory should be the absolute path to where you cloned the esp-mcp repository.
  • If you're using uv, the arguments run main.py are appropriate. If you're using Python directly, you might only need main.py in the args list, and ensure your command points to the Python executable.
• IDF_PATH: This environment variable must point to the root directory of your ESP-IDF installation. ESP-IDF is Espressif's official IoT Development Framework. If you haven't installed it, please refer to the official ESP-IDF documentation for installation instructions.

Usage

Once the esp-mcp server is configured and running, your LLM or chatbot can interact with it using the tools defined in this MCP. For example, you could ask your chatbot to:

• "Build the project located at /path/to/my/esp-project using the esp-mcp."
• "Clean the build files for the ESP32 project in the examples/hello_world directory."
• "Flash the firmware to my connected ESP32 device for the project in my_app."

The MCP server will then execute the corresponding ESP-IDF commands (like idf.py build, idf.py fullclean, idf.py flash) based on the tools implemented in main.py.

The result.gif below shows an example interaction:

Examples

1. Build and Flash

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