scpi-mcp

LabLink gives agents a SCPI wire; scpi-mcp gives agents oscilloscope expertise.

scpi-mcp is a Model Context Protocol server that lets an agent operate an oscilloscope — not just push SCPI strings at one. It exposes goal-level tools (capture this signal, measure that, characterize a channel) backed by a clean, instrument-agnostic interface. All vendor SCPI lives in the underlying instrument library; the MCP layer stays a thin, uniform wrapper with no raw-SCPI escape hatch.

        .-"""-.
       / .===. \      Skippi
       \/ 6 6 \/      your bench-buddy scope gremlin
       ( \___/ )      "probe first, ask questions later"
    ___ooo___ooo___

Skippi is the mascot — the little gremlin who lives in the scope and knows where all the signals hide.

Scope

First instrument: Rigol DS1054Z (unlocked to DS1104Z base) — 4 analog channels, 100 MHz. No :SOURce (function generator) or :LA (logic analyzer) support. Reachable over USB or LAN (TCPIP::<ip>::INSTR).

Related MCP server: rigol-mcp

Architecture

• transport/ — owns discovery. Enumerates USB, falls back to best-effort LAN auto-discovery, then to an IP prompt; resolves a single VISA resource string and hands it to the instrument layer. Discovery never leaks upward.

• instruments/ — vendor-specific backends behind one abstract base.py interface. rigol_ds1000z.py is a thin wrapper over the (complete) library; mock.py implements the same interface with zero hardware. Adding an instrument is one new file here and zero changes to tools/.

• tools/ — instrument-agnostic MCP tools that call only base.py.

• config.py — permission tiers (read_only / read_config / full), enforced at the tool layer. The server refuses; the model never decides.

Status

Part 1 (this scaffold) runs entirely against a MockInstrument — no hardware, no live VISA. Library completion (Part 2) and hardware-in-the-loop wiring (Part 3) are bench tasks. See SCAFFOLD_TASK.md.

Quickstart

uv sync
uv run pytest          # all green against the mock, zero hardware
uv run scpi-mcp        # start the MCP server (mock backend by default)

License

MIT