Skip to main content
Glama

ht-mcp

Rust License: Apache 2.0

A high-performance Rust implementation of a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for headless terminal ht.

Features

  • ๐Ÿš€ Pure Rust: Single binary MCP server, no external dependencies

  • ๐Ÿ”— Direct Integration: Embed excellent ht headless terminal library for optimal performance

  • ๐Ÿ–ฅ๏ธ Multi-Session: Concurrent terminal session management

  • ๐ŸŒ Web Interface: Optional live terminal preview

Related MCP server: MCP Shell Server

Demo

ht-mcp in Memex

ht-mcp in Memex

ht-mcp in Claude Code

ht-mcp in Claude Code

Installation

brew tap memextech/tap brew install ht-mcp

๐Ÿ“ฆ Pre-built Binaries

Download from releases:

# macOS Intel curl -L https://github.com/memextech/ht-mcp/releases/latest/download/ht-mcp-x86_64-apple-darwin -o ht-mcp # macOS Apple Silicon curl -L https://github.com/memextech/ht-mcp/releases/latest/download/ht-mcp-aarch64-apple-darwin -o ht-mcp # Linux curl -L https://github.com/memextech/ht-mcp/releases/latest/download/ht-mcp-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu -o ht-mcp # Windows (PowerShell) curl.exe -L https://github.com/memextech/ht-mcp/releases/latest/download/ht-mcp-x86_64-pc-windows-msvc -o ht-mcp.exe # Make executable and install chmod +x ht-mcp && sudo mv ht-mcp /usr/local/bin/

๐Ÿฆ€ Cargo

# From crates.io (stable) cargo install ht-mcp # From git (latest) cargo install --git https://github.com/memextech/ht-mcp

๐Ÿ”ง Build from Source

git clone https://github.com/memextech/ht-mcp.git cd ht-mcp git submodule update --init --recursive cargo install --path .

See docs/INSTALLATION.md for detailed installation options.

MCP Tools

Tool

Description

Parameters

ht_create_session

Create new terminal session

command?

,

enableWebServer?

ht_send_keys

Send keystrokes to session

sessionId

,

keys[]

ht_take_snapshot

Capture terminal state

sessionId

ht_execute_command

Execute command and get output

sessionId

,

command

ht_list_sessions

List all active sessions

None

ht_close_session

Close terminal session

sessionId

Note: Parameters use camelCase (e.g., sessionId, enableWebServer) for MCP compatibility.

Configuration

Add to your MCP client configuration:

{ "mcpServers": { "ht-mcp": { "command": "ht-mcp", "args": ["--debug"] } } }

For custom installation paths:

{ "mcpServers": { "ht-mcp": { "command": "/path/to/ht-mcp", "args": [] } } }

Usage Example

# Start the MCP server ht-mcp # With debug logging ht-mcp --debug

Once configured in your MCP client:

  1. Create session: ht_create_session โ†’ Returns session ID

  2. Run commands: ht_execute_command with session ID and command

  3. Interactive input: ht_send_keys for multi-step interactions

  4. Check state: ht_take_snapshot to see current terminal

  5. Clean up: ht_close_session when finished

Response Format

This server returns human-readable text responses (not JSON), designed for natural language interaction:

# Create session response HT session created successfully! Session ID: abc123-def456-789... ๐ŸŒ Web server enabled! View live terminal at: http://127.0.0.1:3618
# Terminal snapshot response Terminal Snapshot (Session: abc123...) bash-3.2$ ls -la total 16 drwxr-xr-x 4 user staff 128 Jun 13 10:30 . -rw-r--r-- 1 user staff 45 Jun 13 10:30 file.txt bash-3.2$

Requirements

  • Rust: 1.75+ (install via rustup)

  • Supported OS: Linux, macOS, Windows (experimental)

Development

# Clone with submodules git clone --recursive https://github.com/memextech/ht-mcp.git cd ht-mcp # Build cargo build # Run cargo run # Test cargo test

Troubleshooting

Installation Issues:

  • Ensure Rust 1.75+ is installed

  • Check internet connection for git submodules

  • Verify ~/.cargo/bin is in PATH

Runtime Issues:

  • Use ht-mcp --debug for verbose logging

  • Check MCP client configuration syntax

  • Verify binary path: which ht-mcp

Performance

Compared to the original TypeScript implementation:

  • 40x faster startup (~50ms vs ~2s)

  • 70% less memory (~15MB vs ~50MB)

  • Single binary (4.7MB vs ~200MB Node.js)

  • Zero subprocess overhead

License

Apache 2.0 License

Copyright (c) 2025 Atlas Futures Inc.

See LICENSE for details.

Contributing

Contributions welcome! Please read CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.


Built with Memexโœจ

Fixed submodule commit reference

-
security - not tested
A
license - permissive license
-
quality - not tested

Latest Blog Posts

MCP directory API

We provide all the information about MCP servers via our MCP API.

curl -X GET 'https://glama.ai/api/mcp/v1/servers/memextech/ht-mcp'

If you have feedback or need assistance with the MCP directory API, please join our Discord server