Claude-LMStudio Bridge

An MCP server that bridges Claude with local LLMs running in LM Studio.

Overview

This tool allows Claude to interact with your local LLMs running in LM Studio, providing:

• Access to list all available models in LM Studio
• The ability to generate text using your local LLMs
• Support for chat completions through your local models
• A health check tool to verify connectivity with LM Studio

Prerequisites

• Claude Desktop with MCP support
• LM Studio installed and running locally with API server enabled
• Python 3.8+ installed

Quick Start (Recommended)

For macOS/Linux:

1. Clone the repository

2. Run the setup script

3. Follow the setup script's instructions to configure Claude Desktop

For Windows:

1. Clone the repository

2. Run the setup script

3. Follow the setup script's instructions to configure Claude Desktop

Manual Setup

If you prefer to set things up manually:

1. Create a virtual environment (optional but recommended)

2. Install the required packages

3. Configure Claude Desktop:
   • Open Claude Desktop preferences
   • Navigate to the 'MCP Servers' section
   • Add a new MCP server with the following configuration:
     • Name: lmstudio-bridge
     • Command: /bin/bash (on macOS/Linux) or cmd.exe (on Windows)
     • Arguments:
       • macOS/Linux: /path/to/claude-lmstudio-bridge/run_server.sh
       • Windows: /c C:\path\to\claude-lmstudio-bridge\run_server.bat

Usage with Claude

After setting up the bridge, you can use the following commands in Claude:

1. Check the connection to LM Studio:

2. List available models:

3. Generate text with a local model:

4. Send a chat completion:

Troubleshooting

Diagnosing LM Studio Connection Issues

Use the included debugging tool to check your LM Studio connection:

For more detailed tests:

Common Issues

"Cannot connect to LM Studio API"

• Make sure LM Studio is running
• Verify the API server is enabled in LM Studio (Settings > API Server)
• Check that the port (default: 1234) matches what's in your .env file

"No models are loaded"

• Open LM Studio and load a model
• Verify the model is running successfully

"MCP package not found"

• Try reinstalling: pip install "mcp[cli]" httpx python-dotenv
• Make sure you're using Python 3.8 or later

"Claude can't find the bridge"

• Check Claude Desktop configuration
• Make sure the path to run_server.sh or run_server.bat is correct and absolute
• Verify the server script is executable: chmod +x run_server.sh (on macOS/Linux)

Advanced Configuration

You can customize the bridge behavior by creating a .env file with these settings:

Set DEBUG=true to enable verbose logging for troubleshooting.

License

MIT