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Electron Terminal MCP Server

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# Electron Terminal MCP Server In an ideal world vendors would provide their own MCP integration for the terminal, but in the meantime this project provides a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that allows clients to interact with a system terminal running within an Electron application. It enables executing commands, managing terminal sessions, and retrieving output programmatically. <a href="https://glama.ai/mcp/servers/@nexon33/console-terminal-mcp-server"> <img width="380" height="200" src="https://glama.ai/mcp/servers/@nexon33/console-terminal-mcp-server/badge" alt="Electron Terminal Server MCP server" /> </a> The system consists of two main parts: * **MCP Server (`index.js`):** A Node.js script that listens for MCP requests via standard input/output (stdio). It uses the `@modelcontextprotocol/sdk` and acts as a bridge to the Electron backend. It automatically starts the Electron backend if it's not already running. It requires [`mcp-package.json`](mcp-package.json:1) to specify `"type": "module"`. * **Electron Backend (`main.js`):** The main process for the Electron application. It runs an Express HTTP server (defaulting to port 3000) that the MCP server (`index.js`) communicates with for health checks and API calls. This backend manages the actual terminal processes using `node-pty` within hidden `BrowserWindow` instances loading [`terminal.html`](terminal.html:0). ## 2. Screenshots Here's how the terminal interaction looks within a client like Claude Desktop: **Claude Desktop Window with Terminal Output:** ![Claude Desktop Window with Terminal Output](claude-desktop-window.png) **Individual Electron Terminal Window:** ![Electron Terminal Window](terminal-window.png) ## 3. Installation 1. **Prerequisites:** Ensure you have Node.js and npm installed. 2. **Clone:** Clone the repository if you haven't already. ```bash git clone <your-repository-url> cd command-terminal-electron # Or your repository directory name ``` 3. **Install Dependencies:** Install Node modules for both the MCP server and the Electron app. ```bash npm install ``` 4. **Rebuild Native Modules:** Rebuild native modules (like `node-pty`) for Electron. ```bash node rebuild.js ``` *(See [`rebuild.js`](rebuild.js:1) for details)* ## 3. Usage 1. **Start the MCP Server:** Run the `index.js` script using Node.js. This will listen for MCP commands on stdio and automatically attempt to start the Electron backend process (`main.js`) if it's not already running and listening on the expected HTTP port. ```bash node index.js ``` *Note: The Electron process runs hidden in the background and automatically gets (re)started whenever its needed and will always be reused if possible.* 2. **Interacting via MCP:** Clients connect to the `node index.js` process via stdio and use the `use_mcp_tool` command. The server name is defined in [`index.js`](index.js:182) as "Electron Terminal". **Available Tools:** * **`terminal_start`**: Creates a new terminal session and executes an initial command. * **Input:** `{ "command": "string" }` * **Output:** `{ "content": [...], "sessionId": "string" }` ```xml <use_mcp_tool> <server_name>Electron Terminal</server_name> <tool_name>terminal_start</tool_name> <arguments> { "command": "ls -l" } </arguments> </use_mcp_tool> ``` * **`terminal_execute`**: Executes a command in an existing session. * **Input:** `{ "command": "string", "sessionId": "string" }` * **Output:** `{ "content": [...] }` (Session ID is included in the text content) ```xml <use_mcp_tool> <server_name>Electron Terminal</server_name> <tool_name>terminal_execute</tool_name> <arguments> { "sessionId": "session_id_from_start", "command": "pwd" } </arguments> </use_mcp_tool> ``` * **`terminal_get_output`**: Retrieves the accumulated output for a session. * **Input:** `{ "sessionId": "string" }` * **Output:** `{ "content": [...] }` ```xml <use_mcp_tool> <server_name>Electron Terminal</server_name> <tool_name>terminal_get_output</tool_name> <arguments> { "sessionId": "session_id_from_start" } </arguments> </use_mcp_tool> ``` * **`terminal_stop`**: Terminates a specific terminal session process. * **Input:** `{ "sessionId": "string" }` * **Output:** `{ "content": [...] }` ```xml <use_mcp_tool> <server_name>Electron Terminal</server_name> <tool_name>terminal_stop</tool_name> <arguments> { "sessionId": "session_id_from_start" } </arguments> </use_mcp_tool> ``` * **`terminal_get_sessions`**: Lists all currently active sessions managed by the Electron backend. * **Input:** `{}` * **Output:** `{ "content": [...] }` (Content contains a JSON string of active sessions) ```xml <use_mcp_tool> <server_name>Electron Terminal</server_name> <tool_name>terminal_get_sessions</tool_name> <arguments> {} </arguments> </use_mcp_tool> ``` ## 5. Synergy with Filesystem MCP Server This Electron Terminal MCP server works very effectively in conjunction with the [Filesystem MCP Server](https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/servers/tree/main/src/filesystem). You can use the Filesystem server to browse directories, read/write files, and then use this terminal server to execute commands within those directories or related to those files, providing a comprehensive remote development and interaction experience that works seamlessly together with for example the internet search function built into claude desktop. ## 6. Requirements * Node.js (v20 or later recommended, I use node 22) * npm * Operating System compatible with Electron (Windows, macOS, Linux) ## 7. Configuration ### Claude Desktop MCP Server Configuration #### Location The `claude_desktop_config.json` file should be placed in your user's AppData directory: - **Windows:** `C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json` This file is used by Claude Desktop to discover and configure external MCP servers. #### Purpose and Structure The configuration file defines MCP servers that Claude Desktop can launch and connect to. Each server entry specifies how to start the server process. - **`mcpServers`**: An object where each key is a server name and the value is its launch configuration. - **Server Configuration Example (`command-terminal`)**: - **`command`**: The executable to run (e.g., `node` for Node.js servers). - **`args`**: An array of arguments passed to the command (e.g., the path to your MCP server script). #### Example ```json { "mcpServers": { "command-terminal": { "command": "node", "args": [ "C:\\Path\\to\\index.js" ] } } } ``` #### Field Explanations - **`mcpServers`**: Top-level object mapping server names to their configurations. - **`command-terminal`**: Example server name. You can define multiple servers in this object. - **`command`**: The executable used to launch the MCP server. - **`args`**: Arguments passed to the command, such as the path to your server script. ## 8. License This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.

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