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.

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

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.

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."

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

Configuration

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

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

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.

License

MIT — see LICENSE.

Support

Open an issue