HDHomeRun MCP

CLI or API | MCP | Agent

Version: 0.1.0

Documentation — Installation, deployment, usage across the API, CLI, and MCP interfaces, the integrated A2A agent server, and guidance for provisioning the backing platform are maintained in the official documentation.

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Table of Contents

• Overview
• Key Features
• Available MCP Tools
• Installation
• Usage
• MCP
• Documentation

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Overview

HDHomeRun MCP MCP Server + A2A Agent

A complete client + MCP server + A2A agent for SiliconDust HDHomeRun network TV tuners, covering all four of SiliconDust's documented interfaces: the HTTP JSON API (device discovery, channel lineup, scan control), the DVR API (SiliconDust cloud recording rules + local record-engine operations), the Discovery API (local UDP broadcast on port 65001 + the cloud discovery endpoint), and the binary hdhomerun_config control protocol (TCP port 65001 — a different wire protocol from the HTTP API, used for per-tuner status/vstatus/streaminfo/tuning/filters). Also ships a doctor diagnostic tool matching this fleet's cm_doctor convention.

This repository is actively maintained - Contributions are welcome!

Key Features

• All four HDHomeRun interfaces, one package — HTTP JSON API, DVR API, Discovery API (local UDP + cloud), and the binary hdhomerun_config control protocol, each its own action-routed tool domain.
• doctor diagnostics — one call checks device reachability, firmware/model, tuner count vs. a paired Jellyfin instance, per-channel signal strength, DeviceAuth presence/validity, and discovery-cache freshness — pass/fail with an actionable next step per check.
• Action-routed MCP tools — each domain is exposed as a single MCP tool that routes to many underlying operations via an action argument, keeping the tool surface small.
• Three interfaces, one package — use it as a Python API client, an MCP server (stdio / streamable-http / sse), or a Pydantic-AI A2A agent.
• agent-utilities native — built on the shared framework (auth, action router, telemetry, governance) for fleet consistency.
• Per-tool toggles — enable or disable each tool domain with environment switches.
• Enterprise-ready — OTEL/Langfuse telemetry and optional Eunomia access governance.

Available MCP Tools

Each tool is action-routed: pass an action and a JSON params_json payload. Tool domains can be toggled on or off with the listed environment variable. The table below is auto-generated from the live server by the mcp-readme-table pre-commit hook (python -m agent_utilities.mcp.readme_tools) — do not edit it by hand.

<!-- MCP-TOOLS-TABLE:START -->

Condensed action-routed tools (MCP_TOOL_MODE=condensed)

MCP Tool	Toggle Env Var	Description
config_operations	CONFIGTOOL	Query/control a tuner via the binary hdhomerun_config TCP control
discovery_operations	DISCOVERYTOOL	Discover HDHomeRun devices on the network — local UDP broadcast
doctor_operations	DOCTORTOOL	Diagnose an HDHomeRun deployment: device reachability, firmware/model,
dvr_operations	DVRTOOL	Manage the SiliconDust cloud DVR recording-rules API and the local
http_operations	HTTPTOOL	Query the HDHomeRun device HTTP JSON API — discover.json, channel

Verbose 1:1 API-mapped tools (MCP_TOOL_MODE=verbose or both)

<details> <summary>57 per-operation tools — one per public API method (click to expand)</summary>

MCP Tool	Toggle Env Var	Description
hdhomerun_abort_scan	GRANULARTOOL	POST /lineup.post?scan=abort — cancel an in-progress channel scan.
hdhomerun_add_datetime_rule	DVRTOOL	Add a DateTimeOnly-ChannelOnly rule (record one specific airing).
hdhomerun_add_series_rule	DVRTOOL	Add a Series (or Movie) recording rule for a SeriesID.
hdhomerun_build_live_tv_url	DVRTOOL	Build a record-engine buffered Live TV URL.
hdhomerun_build_stream_url	GRANULARTOOL	Build a live-stream URL: /{auto|tuner<n>}/{v<channel>|ch<freq>[-<program>]}.
hdhomerun_change_rule	DVRTOOL	Modify a rule, or reprioritize it via after_recording_rule_id.
hdhomerun_check_device_auth	DOCTORTOOL	Invoke the check_device_auth operation.
hdhomerun_check_device_reachable	DOCTORTOOL	Invoke the check_device_reachable operation.
hdhomerun_check_discovery_cache_freshness	DOCTORTOOL	Invoke the check_discovery_cache_freshness operation.
hdhomerun_check_firmware_model	DOCTORTOOL	Invoke the check_firmware_model operation.
hdhomerun_check_signal_strength	DOCTORTOOL	Briefly tune each channel and sample ss/snq/seq, then release the tuner.
hdhomerun_check_tuner_count_vs_jellyfin	DOCTORTOOL	Invoke the check_tuner_count_vs_jellyfin operation.
hdhomerun_delete_recording	DVRTOOL	POST <CmdURL from recorded_files.json> cmd=delete[&rerecord=1].
hdhomerun_delete_rule	DVRTOOL	Delete a Series/Movie rule (by RecordingRuleID or SeriesID) or a
hdhomerun_disable_lineup_location	CONFIGTOOL	Disable the lineup-server connection (/lineup/location disabled).
hdhomerun_discover_cloud	DISCOVERYTOOL	GET http://ipv4-api.hdhomerun.com/discover[?DeviceID=<id>].
hdhomerun_discover_local_broadcast	DISCOVERYTOOL	Broadcast a DISCOVER_REQ on UDP port 65001 and collect DISCOVER_RPY replies.
hdhomerun_discover_local_targeted	DISCOVERYTOOL	Send a DISCOVER_REQ directly to a known IP (works across VLANs).
hdhomerun_get_channel	CONFIGTOOL	/tuner<n>/channel — current <modulation>:<frequency> or none.
hdhomerun_get_channelmap	CONFIGTOOL	/tuner<n>/channelmap — the configured channel-to-frequency map.
hdhomerun_get_discover	GRANULARTOOL	GET /discover.json — FriendlyName/ModelNumber/FirmwareVersion/DeviceID/
hdhomerun_get_filter	CONFIGTOOL	/tuner<n>/filter — the current PID filter (default 0x0000-0x1FFF).
hdhomerun_get_help	CONFIGTOOL	get help — the list of get/set item paths this device supports.
hdhomerun_get_ir_target	CONFIGTOOL	/ir/target — the configured IR-blaster target IP:port.
hdhomerun_get_item	CONFIGTOOL	hdhomerun_config <id> get <item> — raw get of any supported item path.
hdhomerun_get_lineup	GRANULARTOOL	GET /lineup.{json,xml,m3u} — the channel list.
hdhomerun_get_lineup_status	GRANULARTOOL	GET /lineup_status.json — scan state.
hdhomerun_get_lockkey	CONFIGTOOL	/tuner<n>/lockkey — current tuner lock owner (none if unlocked).
hdhomerun_get_program	CONFIGTOOL	/tuner<n>/program — the current MPEG program (sub-channel) filter.
hdhomerun_get_record_engine_status	DVRTOOL	GET <storage engine BaseURL>/discover.json — FriendlyName/Version/
hdhomerun_get_recorded_files	DVRTOOL	GET <StorageURL> (recorded_files.json) — the list of recordings
hdhomerun_get_sys_copyright	CONFIGTOOL	/sys/copyright — the firmware copyright notice.
hdhomerun_get_sys_debug	CONFIGTOOL	/sys/debug — device-wide debug info.
hdhomerun_get_sys_features	CONFIGTOOL	/sys/features — supported channelmaps/modulations for this device.
hdhomerun_get_sys_model	CONFIGTOOL	/sys/model — the device model name.
hdhomerun_get_sys_version	CONFIGTOOL	/sys/version — the firmware version string.
hdhomerun_get_target	CONFIGTOOL	/tuner<n>/target — the current UDP/RTP streaming target.
hdhomerun_get_tuner_debug	CONFIGTOOL	/tuner<n>/debug — extended tun/dev/ts/flt/net diagnostic counters.
hdhomerun_get_tuner_status	CONFIGTOOL	/tuner<n>/status — ch=... lock=... ss=... snq=... seq=... bps=... pps=....
hdhomerun_get_tuner_streaminfo	CONFIGTOOL	/tuner<n>/streaminfo — detected programs: <num>: <major>.<minor> [name].
hdhomerun_get_tuner_vstatus	CONFIGTOOL	/tuner<n>/vstatus — virtual-channel auth/CCI/CGMS status (model/firmware
hdhomerun_list_recording_rules	DVRTOOL	List all recording rules for the household's DeviceAuth(s).
hdhomerun_parse_tuner_status	CONFIGTOOL	Parse a ch=... lock=... ss=... snq=... seq=... bps=... pps=... status line.
hdhomerun_poke_record_engine	DVRTOOL	POST <storage engine BaseURL>/recording_events.post?sync.
hdhomerun_restart_device	CONFIGTOOL	/sys/restart self — reboot the HDHomeRun. Destructive; use with care.
hdhomerun_run_doctor	DOCTORTOOL	Run every check and return the aggregate report.
hdhomerun_set_channel	CONFIGTOOL	/tuner<n>/channel set — e.g. auto:651000000 or auto:60; none to stop.
hdhomerun_set_channelmap	CONFIGTOOL	/tuner<n>/channelmap set — e.g. us-bcast/us-cable/us-hrc/us-irc.
hdhomerun_set_filter	CONFIGTOOL	/tuner<n>/filter set — e.g. 0x0000-0x1FFF or a space-separated PID list.
hdhomerun_set_ir_target	CONFIGTOOL	/ir/target set — <ip>:<port>.
hdhomerun_set_item	CONFIGTOOL	hdhomerun_config <id> set <item> <value> — raw set (implicit get-back).
hdhomerun_set_lineup_location	CONFIGTOOL	/lineup/location set — <countrycode>:<postcode> (or set to "disabled").
hdhomerun_set_lockkey	CONFIGTOOL	/tuner<n>/lockkey set/clear — pass lock=False to release.
hdhomerun_set_program	CONFIGTOOL	/tuner<n>/program set — filter to a single program (sub-channel) number.
hdhomerun_set_target	CONFIGTOOL	/tuner<n>/target set — e.g. udp://192.168.1.100:5000 or rtp://....
hdhomerun_start_scan	GRANULARTOOL	POST /lineup.post?scan=start[&source=<Source>] — begin a channel scan.
hdhomerun_stop_tuner	CONFIGTOOL	Set /tuner<n>/channel none — release the tuner.

</details>

5 action-routed tool(s) · 57 verbose 1:1 tool(s). Each is enabled unless its <DOMAIN>TOOL toggle is set false; MCP_TOOL_MODE selects the surface (intent default — the six verb-tools, granular set loaded on demand · condensed action-routed · verbose 1:1 · both). Auto-generated — do not edit. <!-- MCP-TOOLS-TABLE:END -->

Installation

Install with uvx (no install — run on demand)

uvx --from "hdhomerun-mcp[mcp]" hdhomerun-mcp      # MCP server (slim deps)
uvx --from "hdhomerun-mcp[agent]" hdhomerun-agent  # A2A agent server (full runtime)

The [mcp] extra installs only the FastMCP/FastAPI MCP-server tooling (agent-utilities[mcp]) — it excludes the heavy agent runtime (the epistemic-graph engine, pydantic-ai, dspy, llama-index), so it is far smaller. Use [agent] only when you run the integrated agent.

Install with pip

python -m pip install hdhomerun-mcp            # core (API client)
python -m pip install "hdhomerun-mcp[all]"     # + MCP server + A2A agent + telemetry

Console scripts

After installation the following entry points are available on your PATH:

Command	Description
hdhomerun-mcp	Launch the MCP server
hdhomerun-agent	Launch the A2A agent server

Usage

As a Python API client

from hdhomerun_mcp.auth import get_client

client = get_client()  # reads HDHOMERUN_URL / HDHOMERUN_DEVICE_AUTH
info = client.get_discover()          # device identity + tuner count
lineup = client.get_lineup()          # channel list
stream_url = client.build_stream_url("24.1")  # http://<device>:5004/auto/v24.1
report = client.run_doctor()          # full health-check sweep

As an MCP server (CLI)

# Local stdio (for IDEs)
hdhomerun-mcp

# Networked streamable-http
hdhomerun-mcp --transport streamable-http --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8000

Calling an MCP tool

Tools are action-routed — pass an action plus a JSON params_json string:

{
  "tool": "http_operations",
  "arguments": {
    "action": "discover",
    "params_json": "{}"
  }
}

MCP

Using as an MCP Server

The MCP Server can be run in stdio (local), streamable-http (networked), or sse mode.

Environment Variables

<!-- ENV-VARS-TABLE:START -->

Package environment variables

Variable	Example	Description
HOST	0.0.0.0
PORT	8000
TRANSPORT	stdio	options: stdio, streamable-http, sse
ENABLE_OTEL	True
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT	http://localhost:8080/api/public/otel
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_PUBLIC_KEY	pk-...
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_SECRET_KEY	sk-...
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_PROTOCOL	http/protobuf
EUNOMIA_TYPE	none	options: none, embedded, remote
EUNOMIA_POLICY_FILE	mcp_policies.json
EUNOMIA_REMOTE_URL	http://eunomia-server:8000
HDHOMERUN_URL	http://hdhomerun.local
HDHOMERUN_DEVICE_AUTH	your_device_auth_here
HDHOMERUN_SSL_VERIFY	True
MCP_TOOL_MODE	condensed
HTTPTOOL	True
DISCOVERYTOOL	True
DVRTOOL	True
CONFIGTOOL	True
DOCTORTOOL	True

Inherited agent-utilities variables (apply to every connector)

Variable	Example	Description
MCP_ENABLED_TOOLS	—	Comma-separated tool allow-list
MCP_DISABLED_TOOLS	—	Comma-separated tool deny-list
MCP_ENABLED_TAGS	—	Comma-separated tag allow-list
MCP_DISABLED_TAGS	—	Comma-separated tag deny-list
MCP_CLIENT_AUTH	—	Outbound MCP child auth: oidc-client-credentials
OIDC_CLIENT_ID	—	OIDC client id (service-account auth)
OIDC_CLIENT_SECRET	—	OIDC client secret (service-account auth)
MCP_BASIC_AUTH_USERNAME	—	HTTP Basic username (MCP_CLIENT_AUTH=basic)
MCP_BASIC_AUTH_PASSWORD	—	HTTP Basic password (MCP_CLIENT_AUTH=basic)
DEBUG	False	Verbose logging
PYTHONUNBUFFERED	1	Unbuffered stdout (recommended in containers)
MCP_URL	http://localhost:8000/mcp	URL of the MCP server the agent connects to
PROVIDER	openai	LLM provider for the agent
MODEL_ID	gpt-4o	Model id for the agent
ENABLE_WEB_UI	True	Serve the AG-UI web interface

20 package + 15 inherited variable(s). Auto-generated from .env.example + the shared agent-utilities set — do not edit. <!-- ENV-VARS-TABLE:END -->

• HDHOMERUN_URL: The HDHomeRun device base URL (e.g. http://10.0.132.114 or http://hdhomerun.arpa).
• HDHOMERUN_DEVICE_AUTH: The device's DeviceAuth token (only needed for SiliconDust cloud DVR calls; rotates on reboot/firmware update — do not hardcode).

MCP Configuration Examples

<!-- MCP-CONFIG-EXAMPLES:START -->

Install the slim [mcp] extra. All examples install hdhomerun-mcp[mcp] — the MCP-server extra that pulls only the FastMCP / FastAPI tooling (agent-utilities[mcp]). It deliberately excludes the heavy agent runtime (pydantic-ai, the epistemic-graph engine, dspy, llama-index), so uvx / container installs are far smaller. Use the full [agent] extra only when you need the integrated Pydantic AI agent.

stdio Transport (local IDEs — Cursor, Claude Desktop, VS Code)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "hdhomerun-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "--from",
        "hdhomerun-mcp[mcp]",
        "hdhomerun-mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "MCP_TOOL_MODE": "intent",
        "CONFIGTOOL": "True",
        "DISCOVERYTOOL": "True",
        "DOCTORTOOL": "True",
        "DVRTOOL": "True",
        "HDHOMERUN_DEVICE_AUTH": "your_device_auth_here",
        "HDHOMERUN_URL": "http://hdhomerun.local",
        "HTTPTOOL": "True"
      }
    }
  }
}

Streamable-HTTP Transport (networked / production)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "hdhomerun-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "--from",
        "hdhomerun-mcp[mcp]",
        "hdhomerun-mcp",
        "--transport",
        "streamable-http",
        "--port",
        "8000"
      ],
      "env": {
        "TRANSPORT": "streamable-http",
        "HOST": "0.0.0.0",
        "PORT": "8000",
        "MCP_TOOL_MODE": "intent",
        "CONFIGTOOL": "True",
        "DISCOVERYTOOL": "True",
        "DOCTORTOOL": "True",
        "DVRTOOL": "True",
        "HDHOMERUN_DEVICE_AUTH": "your_device_auth_here",
        "HDHOMERUN_URL": "http://hdhomerun.local",
        "HTTPTOOL": "True"
      }
    }
  }
}

Alternatively, connect to a pre-deployed Streamable-HTTP instance by url:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "hdhomerun-mcp": {
      "url": "http://localhost:8000/hdhomerun-mcp/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Deploying the Streamable-HTTP server via Docker:

docker run -d \
  --name hdhomerun-mcp-mcp \
  -p 8000:8000 \
  -e TRANSPORT=streamable-http \
  -e HOST=0.0.0.0 \
  -e PORT=8000 \
  -e MCP_TOOL_MODE=intent \
  -e CONFIGTOOL=True \
  -e DISCOVERYTOOL=True \
  -e DOCTORTOOL=True \
  -e DVRTOOL=True \
  -e HDHOMERUN_DEVICE_AUTH=your_device_auth_here \
  -e HDHOMERUN_URL=http://hdhomerun.local \
  -e HTTPTOOL=True \
  knucklessg1/hdhomerun-mcp:mcp

Auto-generated from the code-read env surface (MCP_TOOL_MODE + package vars) — do not edit. <!-- MCP-CONFIG-EXAMPLES:END -->

<!-- BEGIN GENERATED: additional-deployment-options -->

Additional Deployment Options

hdhomerun-mcp can also run as a local container (Docker / Podman / uv) or be consumed from a remote deployment. The Deployment guide has full, copy-paste mcp_config.json for all four transports — stdio, streamable-http, local container / uv, and remote URL:

• Local container / uv — launch the server from mcp_config.json via uvx, docker run, or podman run, or point at a local streamable-http container by url.
• Remote URL — connect to a server deployed behind Caddy at http://hdhomerun-mcp.arpa/mcp using the "url" key. <!-- END GENERATED: additional-deployment-options -->

Container images (:mcp vs :agent)

One multi-stage docker/Dockerfile builds two right-sized images, selected by --target:

Image tag	Build target	Contents	Entrypoint
knucklessg1/hdhomerun-mcp:mcp	--target mcp	hdhomerun-mcp[mcp] — slim, no engine/pydantic-ai/dspy/llama-index	hdhomerun-mcp
knucklessg1/hdhomerun-mcp:latest	--target agent (default)	hdhomerun-mcp[agent] — full agent runtime + epistemic-graph engine	hdhomerun-agent

docker build --target mcp   -t knucklessg1/hdhomerun-mcp:mcp    docker/   # slim MCP server
docker build --target agent -t knucklessg1/hdhomerun-mcp:latest docker/   # full agent

Knowledge-graph database (epistemic-graph)

The full agent ([agent] / :latest) embeds the epistemic-graph engine (pulled in via agent-utilities[agent]). For production — or to share one knowledge graph across multiple agents — run epistemic-graph as its own database container and point the agent at it. Deployment recipes (single-node + Raft HA), connection config, and the full database architecture (with diagrams) are in the epistemic-graph deployment guide. The slim [mcp] server does not require the database.

Documentation

Full documentation is published to the GitHub Pages site and mirrored under docs/:

• Documentation site
• Overview
• Installation
• Usage
• Deployment
• Platform
• Concept Registry