BC Calculator MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides numerical computation capabilities by integrating with the Unix bc (Basic Calculator) command-line tool. This server exposes arbitrary precision arithmetic operations, mathematical functions, and complex expressions through the MCP protocol.

Features

• ✨ Arbitrary Precision Arithmetic: Support for calculations with configurable decimal precision (0-100 digits)
• 🧮 Advanced Math Functions: Access to bc's math library including sqrt, sin, cos, arctan, natural log, exponential
• 🔄 Concurrent Processing: Process pool management for handling multiple calculations simultaneously
• 🛡️ Security First: Input validation and sanitization to prevent command injection
• ⚡ Performance Optimized: Process pooling for fast response times
• 🎯 MCP Compliant: Full MCP protocol implementation with tool discovery and JSON-RPC communication

Installation

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v18 or higher)
• TypeScript (v5.3 or higher)
• bc calculator (standard on most Unix systems)

Verify bc is installed:

which bc
bc --version

If not installed:

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt-get install bc

# macOS
brew install bc

# Fedora/RHEL
sudo dnf install bc

Setup

1. Navigate to MCP servers directory:

cd /home/travis/.local/share/Roo-Code/MCP

2. Bootstrap the project (if using create-server):

npx @modelcontextprotocol/create-server bc-calculator
cd bc-calculator

Or manually create the project structure:

mkdir -p bc-calculator/src
cd bc-calculator

3. Install dependencies:

npm install

4. Build the server:

npm run build

5. Configure MCP settings:

Add to ~/.config/Code/User/globalStorage/rooveterinaryinc.roo-cline/settings/mcp_settings.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "bc-calculator": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/home/travis/.local/share/Roo-Code/MCP/bc-calculator/build/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Usage

Available Tools

1. calculate

Evaluate basic mathematical expressions with configurable precision.

Parameters:

• expression (string, required): Mathematical expression to evaluate
• precision (number, optional): Decimal places for the result (default: 20, range: 0-100)

Examples:

// Basic arithmetic
calculate({ expression: "2 + 2" })
// → { result: "4", expression: "2 + 2", precision: 20 }

// Division with precision
calculate({ expression: "355/113", precision: 15 })
// → { result: "3.141592920353982", expression: "355/113", precision: 15 }

// Powers and roots
calculate({ expression: "2^10" })
// → { result: "1024", expression: "2^10", precision: 20 }

calculate({ expression: "sqrt(2)", precision: 10 })
// → { result: "1.4142135623", expression: "sqrt(2)", precision: 10 }

2. calculate_advanced

Execute advanced BC scripts with variables, functions, and control flow.

Parameters:

• script (string, required): Multi-line BC script
• precision (number, optional): Decimal places for results (default: 20)

Examples:

// Variables
calculate_advanced({
  script: `
    a = 5
    b = 10
    a * b + sqrt(a)
  `,
  precision: 5
})

// Computing pi
calculate_advanced({
  script: `
    scale=15
    pi = 4*a(1)
    pi
  `
})
// → { result: "3.141592653589793", ... }

// Fibonacci sequence
calculate_advanced({
  script: `
    a = 0
    b = 1
    for (i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
      c = a + b
      a = b
      b = c
    }
    b
  `
})

3. set_precision

Set the default precision for subsequent calculations.

Parameters:

• precision (number, required): Number of decimal places (0-100)

Example:

set_precision({ precision: 50 })
// All subsequent calculations will use 50 decimal places

Mathematical Functions (with -l flag)

When using the math library, these functions are available:

Function	Description	Example
sqrt(x)	Square root	sqrt(2) → 1.41421...
s(x)	Sine (radians)	s(3.14159/2) → 1.0
c(x)	Cosine (radians)	c(0) → 1.0
a(x)	Arctangent (radians)	a(1) → 0.78539...
l(x)	Natural logarithm	l(2.71828) → 1.0
e(x)	Exponential (e^x)	e(1) → 2.71828...

Supported Operators

• Arithmetic: +, -, *, /, ^ (power), % (modulo)
• Comparison: <, >, <=, >=, ==, !=
• Logical: &&, ||, !
• Assignment: =
• Increment/Decrement: ++, --

BC Language Features

• Variables: a = 5; b = 10; a + b
• Arrays: a[0] = 1; a[1] = 2
• Conditionals: if (x > 0) { ... }
• Loops: while (i < 10) { ... }, for (i=0; i<10; i++) { ... }
• Functions: Define custom functions with define

Architecture

Process Pool

The server maintains a pool of 3 BC processes to handle concurrent requests:

┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│     BC Calculator MCP Server         │
├─────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Process Pool Manager                │
│  ┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐│
│  │ BC #1   │ │ BC #2   │ │ BC #3   ││
│  │ (ready) │ │ (busy)  │ │ (ready) ││
│  └─────────┘ └─────────┘ └─────────┘│
├─────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Request Queue                       │
│  • Validation                        │
│  • Sanitization                      │
│  • Timeout Management                │
└─────────────────────────────────────┘

Security Features

1. Input Validation

   • Character whitelist enforcement
   • Maximum expression length (10KB)
   • Dangerous pattern detection

2. Command Injection Prevention

   • No shell execution (spawn with shell: false)
   • Input sanitization before BC
   • Blocked patterns: system(), exec(), backticks, file redirects

3. Resource Protection

   • 30-second timeout per calculation
   • Process pool size limit (3 processes)
   • Automatic process recovery on failures

Error Handling

The server provides detailed error messages for common issues:

Validation Errors

{
  "isError": true,
  "content": [{
    "type": "text",
    "text": "Validation error: Expression contains invalid characters"
  }]
}

BC Runtime Errors

{
  "isError": true,
  "content": [{
    "type": "text", 
    "text": "BC error: divide by zero"
  }]
}

Timeout Errors

{
  "isError": true,
  "content": [{
    "type": "text",
    "text": "Calculation timeout after 30000ms"
  }]
}

Configuration

Default Settings

• Process Pool Size: 3 concurrent BC processes
• Default Precision: 20 decimal places
• Calculation Timeout: 30 seconds
• Max Expression Length: 10,000 characters

Environment Variables

None required - bc is a standard system utility.

Optional: Custom Pool Size

Edit src/index.ts to adjust pool configuration:

const pool = new BCProcessPool({
  poolSize: 5,          // Increase for more concurrency
  defaultPrecision: 20,
  defaultTimeout: 60000 // Increase for longer calculations
});

Development

Project Structure

bc-calculator/
├── package.json
├── tsconfig.json
├── README.md
├── src/
│   ├── index.ts              # MCP server entry point
│   ├── types.ts              # TypeScript definitions
│   ├── bc-process.ts         # BC process wrapper
│   ├── bc-process-pool.ts    # Process pool manager
│   ├── input-validator.ts    # Security validation
│   └── request-queue.ts      # Request management
└── build/                     # Compiled JavaScript
    └── index.js

Build Commands

# Build once
npm run build

# Watch mode (rebuild on changes)
npm run watch

# Clean build
rm -rf build && npm run build

Testing

# Manual testing via MCP client
# Use the Roo-Code interface to invoke tools

# Example test cases:
# 1. Basic: calculate("2+2")
# 2. Precision: calculate("22/7", precision=10)
# 3. Math: calculate("sqrt(2)*sqrt(2)", precision=15)
# 4. Error: calculate("2/0")
# 5. Advanced: calculate_advanced("a=5; b=10; a+b")

Troubleshooting

BC Not Found

Error: spawn bc ENOENT

Solution: Install bc calculator

sudo apt-get install bc  # Ubuntu/Debian
brew install bc          # macOS

Permission Denied

Error: Cannot execute build/index.js

Solution:

chmod +x build/index.js

Module Import Errors

Error: Cannot find module

Solution: Ensure "type": "module" is in package.json

Timeout on Complex Calculations

Symptom: Long-running calculations fail

Solution: Increase timeout in tool parameters or pool config

Process Pool Exhausted

Symptom: Delayed responses under heavy load

Solution: Increase poolSize in BCProcessPool configuration

Performance

Benchmarks

• Simple arithmetic: <10ms
• Math functions: <50ms
• Complex scripts: <200ms
• Concurrent requests: 3 parallel calculations

Optimization Tips

1. Reuse connections: The process pool automatically optimizes this
2. Batch operations: Use calculate_advanced for multiple related calculations
3. Adjust precision: Lower precision = faster calculations
4. Increase pool: For heavy concurrent use, increase pool size

Contributing

Contributions welcome! Please:

1. Maintain TypeScript strict mode compliance
2. Add tests for new features
3. Update documentation
4. Follow existing code style
5. Ensure security validations remain intact

License

MIT License - See LICENSE file for details

Acknowledgments

• Built on the Model Context Protocol SDK
• Uses the standard GNU bc calculator
• Inspired by the need for arbitrary precision arithmetic in AI applications

Support

For issues, questions, or feature requests:

1. Check the troubleshooting section
2. Review the implementation guide (IMPLEMENTATION_GUIDE.md)
3. Examine the architecture documentation (ARCHITECTURE.md)

Version History

1.0.0 (Initial Release)

• Basic calculation support
• Advanced scripting support
• Process pool management
• Security validation
• MCP protocol compliance