ABB RobotStudio MCP Server — LiskinLabs Edition

v2.0.0 — Fork of eliasbitsch/abb-robotstudio-mcp with TcpListener transport, 55 MCP tools, AutoLoad, and security hardening.

Model Context Protocol server for ABB RobotStudio and ABB robot controllers.

Exposes 55 tools across two transports:

• rs_* (31 tools) — RobotStudio SDK via TcpListener Add-In. Inspect/edit stations, targets, paths, modules, variables, IO, configs. Drive simulation. Capture screenshots.
• rws_* (24 tools) — Robot Web Services REST API direct to controller. Motors, program control, IO, files, mastership, event log.

Tested: ABB RobotStudio 2025 + IRB 4600 Virtual Controller (IRC5).

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✨ Improvements over original v1.0.0

Feature	Original	LiskinLabs v2.0.0
HTTP Transport	HttpListener — needs netsh http add urlacl (admin)	TcpListener — zero admin rights
Tools	50	55 (+5 new)
Add-In startup	Manual "Load Add-In" each session	AutoLoad
Screenshot	❌	✅ rs_get_screenshot
Event Log (SDK)	❌	✅ rs_get_execution_errors
Variable listing	❌	✅ rs_list_variables (type/module filter)
Bounding Box	❌	✅ rs_get_station_objects?bbox=true
IO Signals (SDK)	Stubs → "not implemented"	✅ Real API
RAPID upload	Raw UTF-8	✅ BOM-free + CRLF
Simulation reset	Stop only	✅ Stop + PP reset
Request timeout	None	✅ 15-30s AbortController
Path validation	N/A	✅ Screenshot sandboxed
CORS	N/A	✅ Removed (not a browser API)

New MCP Tools in v2.0.0

Tool	Description
rs_get_screenshot	Capture 3D view → base64 PNG (width/height params)
rs_get_execution_errors	Controller event log via SDK (count param)
rs_list_variables	RAPID variables with type/module filters
rs_get_station_objects	Now supports bbox=true for position + dimensions

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Quick Start

1. Build

git clone https://github.com/LiskinLabs/abb-robotstudio-mcp.git
cd abb-robotstudio-mcp

# TypeScript MCP Server
cd src && npm install && npm run build && cd ..

# C# Add-In
cd addin && dotnet build ClaudeBridge.csproj && cd ..

2. Install Add-In

# As Administrator (copies to Program Files)
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File install-addin.ps1

# Or specify RobotStudio version:
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File install-addin.ps1 -RobotStudioVersion "2024"

3. Configure Claude Code

Add to .mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "abb-robotstudio": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["C:/path/to/abb-robotstudio-mcp/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "ABB_BRIDGE_URL": "http://localhost:58080",
        "ABB_RWS_URL": "http://localhost:80",
        "ABB_RWS_USER": "Default User",
        "ABB_RWS_PASS": "robotics"
      }
    }
  }
}

4. Launch RobotStudio

1. Open a station with Virtual Controller
2. Add-In loads automatically (AutoLoad)
3. Verify: curl http://localhost:58080/ping

No admin rights needed — TcpListener binds to 127.0.0.1 natively.

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Architecture

AI Assistant ←→ MCP stdio ←→ TypeScript Server ←→ HTTP ←→ C# Add-In (TcpListener :58080)
                                                     ←→ REST → Controller RWS (:80)

• C# Add-In (.NET 4.8): TcpListener(IPAddress.Loopback, 58080), manual HTTP parsing, 32+ endpoints, UI thread marshaling
• TypeScript (Node.js 18+): 55 MCP tools, AbortController timeouts, structured error handling

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All 55 Tools

SDK (rs_*) — 31 tools

rs_ping rs_get_station rs_get_station_objects rs_save_station rs_get_tasks rs_get_modules rs_read_module rs_write_module rs_read_variable rs_write_variable rs_list_variables rs_get_execution_errors rs_get_screenshot rs_controller_status rs_start_simulation rs_stop_simulation rs_pause_simulation rs_reset_simulation rs_simulation_status rs_set_sim_speed rs_get_paths rs_get_path_targets rs_create_path rs_create_target rs_read_config rs_write_config rs_check_collisions rs_get_position rs_get_io_signals

RWS (rws_*) — 24 tools

rws_controller_status rws_set_motors rws_start_program rws_stop_program rws_reset_pp rws_execution_state rws_get_tasks rws_get_modules rws_read_module rws_write_module rws_read_variable rws_write_variable rws_get_position rws_get_io_signals rws_read_io rws_write_io rws_get_speed_override rws_set_speed_override rws_event_log rws_list_files rws_read_file rws_write_file rws_request_mastership rws_release_mastership

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Environment Variables

Variable	Default	Purpose
ABB_BRIDGE_URL	http://localhost:58080	Add-In TcpListener endpoint
ABB_RWS_URL	http://localhost:80	Controller RWS (IP for real robots)
ABB_RWS_USER	Default User	RWS auth user
ABB_RWS_PASS	robotics	RWS auth password

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Safety

⚠️ These tools can move real hardware (rws_set_motors, rws_start_program, rws_write_*). Use a virtual controller for development. Point ABB_RWS_URL at a physical robot only when you fully understand the risks.

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Credits & Attribution

• Original author: Elias Bitsch — abb-robotstudio-mcp (MIT License). The 50-tool foundation, SDK/RWS dual-transport architecture, and ClaudeBridge Add-In concept.
• Improvements: LiskinLabs — Silvestr Liskin & Claude Code
  • TcpListener transport (eliminates admin rights requirement)
  • 5 new MCP tools (screenshot, event log, variable listing, bounding box, IO signals)
  • RAPID upload fixes (BOM-free UTF-8, CRLF normalization, module cleanup)
  • AutoLoad manifest, security hardening, request timeouts
• Inspiration: zhou-zhichao/robotstudio-mcp — pioneered the TcpListener approach for Windows permission handling.

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License

MIT — see LICENSE