Origin MCP

An OriginLab Origin app that lets AI clients drive your running Origin instance.

Install the app, click it once, and Origin starts a small background server (an MCP server). Point any MCP-capable AI client at it and the AI can now work inside this Origin: run LabTalk, read and write worksheets, run fits, create projects, and read results back.

This is a standalone app — it is not part of Batalyse.

What the AI can do

Once connected, the client has tools to:

• Run LabTalk — any script, with or without reading values back (run_labtalk, run_labtalk_with_readback)
• Read/write worksheet data (get_worksheet_data, set_worksheet_data, add_worksheet)
• Read/write LabTalk variables and the project tree (get_labtalk_value, set_labtalk_var, get_labtalk_tree)
• Manage projects (create_project, save_project)

Quick start

1. Install the OriginMCP.opx (double-click it, or drag it onto Origin). On install, Origin downloads the server's Python dependencies in the background — the first install takes a minute.
2. Click the "Origin MCP" app in the Apps Gallery to start the server. A message box confirms it's running. Click again to stop. The server listens on http://127.0.0.1:8000/mcp.
3. Point your MCP client at the URL (see below) and have it call connect_origin.

That's it — the server runs in the background while Origin is open and shuts itself down when Origin closes.

Connect your AI client

The app starts the server for you, so the client just connects to the URL:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "origin-mcp": { "type": "http", "url": "http://localhost:8000/mcp" }
  }
}

Auto-start at Origin launch (optional)

Clicking the app starts the server. To start it automatically every time Origin launches, add this to your Origin startup script:

run.section("%@A%@X\launch.ogs", autostart);

It's safe to call repeatedly — it does nothing if the server is already running.

Connecting from WSL

A WSL2 client can't reach Windows localhost, so the app binds the server in a way WSL can reach (it is not exposed to your LAN — Windows Firewall still blocks inbound on your physical network adapters).

1. Connect to http://host.docker.internal:8000/mcp (transport: http).
2. Allow the WSL subnet to reach the port. In an elevated PowerShell:

   New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Origin MCP (WSL->host 8000)" -Direction Inbound `
     -Action Allow -Protocol TCP -LocalPort 8000 -RemoteAddress 172.16.0.0/12
   

   (172.16.0.0/12 is the private WSL/Hyper-V range — not your Wi-Fi/LAN.)

⚠️ The server runs arbitrary LabTalk, so keep the firewall scope tight.

How it works

Clicking the app runs a small lifecycle manager inside Origin's embedded Python, which launches a separate, hidden sidecar process for the actual server. The sidecar attaches back to this Origin over COM and serves the MCP tools:

Origin (this instance)
  │  click "Origin MCP"  →  launch.ogs  →  manage.py   (start / stop / toggle)
  ▼
manage.py  ── launches (hidden) ──►  sidecar: mcp_bootstrap.py → origin_mcp_server.py
  │  records host PID + a token             │  attaches back to THIS Origin (COM)
  ▼                                         ▼
                              AI client ──► http://127.0.0.1:8000/mcp

The sidecar runs off Origin's UI thread, so the server never freezes Origin, and it exits on its own when Origin closes — no orphaned processes left behind.

Implementation details (the three-process design, COM lifecycle, and packaging) live in CLAUDE.md.

Files

File	Role
launch.ogs	App entry: click = toggle; [start]/[stop]/[status]/[setup]/[autostart]
manage.py	Lifecycle manager (runs in Origin's embedded Python)
mcp_bootstrap.py	Sidecar entry: attaches to the right Origin, then runs the server
origin_mcp_server.py	The MCP server and its tools
AfterInstall.ogs	Installs the server's Python dependencies on install
BeforeUninstall.ogs	Stops the sidecar before the app is removed

Notes

• AppIcon.png is a placeholder — replace with Origin MCP branding before public distribution.
• Single instance: the OS port :8000 acts as the lock. A second Origin instance that tries to start a server will fail to bind and exit quietly; the first instance keeps serving.