arduino-mcp-server

Give your AI assistant full control over Arduino — compile, upload, monitor serial, and verify wiring safety, all through natural language.

Part of the HardwareMCP ecosystem — open-source MCP servers that bridge AI to physical hardware.

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What this does

AI assistants can control Jira, GitHub, and databases. They can't talk to a microcontroller — until now.

arduino-mcp-server wraps arduino-cli into an MCP server so your AI can:

• Detect connected boards and ports automatically
• Compile and upload sketches without touching the terminal
• Monitor serial output with stateful sessions (open, read, expect, write, close)
• Run electrical safety checks before sending commands to hardware
• Manage dependencies — cores, libraries, and CLI installation

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Quick Start

Install:

npm install -g arduino-mcp-server

Add to Claude Desktop (claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "arduino": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "arduino-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "ARDUINO_CLI_PATH": "arduino-cli",
        "ARDUINO_SKETCH_ROOT": "/path/to/your/sketches"
      }
    }
  }
}

Requires arduino-cli on your PATH, or let the server install it for you.

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What you can say

Bootstrap from scratch:

"Check if Arduino CLI is installed and set everything up for an Arduino Uno."

Compile and upload:

"Compile my Blink sketch and upload it to the Uno on COM6."

Serial monitoring:

"Open serial on COM6 at 115200 and wait until the device prints READY."

Safety-first workflows:

"Run a safety preflight for an Arduino Uno with 5V on pin 13 at 25mA before I send commands."

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Tools

Tool	What it does
arduino_cli_doctor	Check Arduino CLI installation and version
install_arduino_cli	Guide through arduino-cli installation
detect_hardware	Detect connected boards and infer FQBNs
list_connected_boards	List all connected Arduino boards
list_serial_ports	List available serial ports
ensure_core_installed	Check/install board cores
compile_sketch	Compile a sketch for a target board
upload_sketch	Upload compiled sketch to a board
upload_and_wait_ready	Upload and wait for device ready signal
serial_open_session	Open a stateful serial session
serial_read	Read buffered serial data
serial_expect	Wait for a pattern in serial output
serial_write	Send data over serial
serial_close_session	Close a serial session
serial_list_sessions	List active serial sessions
read_serial_snapshot	Quick one-shot serial read
safety_preflight	Electrical safety check before hardware ops
get_board_details	Get pin/capability details for a board
list_supported_boards	List all boards arduino-cli supports
list_board_reference	Browse board pin reference
search_board_reference	Search board reference by keyword

Resources:

• arduino://boards/reference — structured board pin/capability reference

Prompts:

• arduino-cli-bootstrap-policy — policy for arduino-cli setup behavior
• arduino-setup-assistant — guided Arduino environment setup

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Configuration

Variable	Default	Description
ARDUINO_CLI_PATH	arduino-cli	Path to arduino-cli binary
ARDUINO_SKETCH_ROOT	(none)	Restrict sketch paths to this directory

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Development

git clone https://github.com/hardware-mcp/arduino-mcp-server
cd arduino-mcp-server
npm install
npm run typecheck
npm run build
npm run dev

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Part of HardwareMCP

This server is part of the HardwareMCP ecosystem — a collection of MCP servers that give AI assistants real control over physical hardware.

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License

MIT — see LICENSE.

Support

Open an issue