Provides tools for interacting with Arduino boards via arduino-cli, including board/port detection, core and library management, sketch compilation, firmware upload, and serial communication.
Click on "Deploy Server".
Wait a few minutes for the server to deploy. Once ready, it will show a "Started" state.
In the chat, type @ followed by the MCP server name and your instructions, e.g., "@arduino-mcp compile examples/Blink for arduino:avr:uno and upload it to COM3"
That's it! The server will respond to your query, and you can continue using it as needed.
Here is a step-by-step guide with screenshots.
Local stdio MCP server that wraps arduino-cli so agents can detect boards, manage cores/libraries, compile/upload sketches, and talk serial — without shell gymnastics.
Built as a standalone package (reuse across projects). Designed with Ratchet (a companion robotics project) in mind — Uno + Portenta, 115200 UART — but not coupled to that firmware tree.
Node.js 20+
Arduino CLI on your machine:
Standalone arduino-cli on PATH, or
Arduino IDE 2.x (this server auto-detects the IDE-bundled arduino-cli.exe on Windows), or
Set ARDUINO_CLI_PATH to the executable
Optional boards for Ratchet:
Board | Core to install | FQBN |
Arduino Uno |
|
|
Portenta H7 |
|
|
Portenta note: OpenMV firmware and the Arduino Mbed core overwrite each other. Switching is deliberate — use MCP
uploadonly when you intend to be on the Arduino core.
Related MCP server: Arduino MCP Server (Simple)
cd arduino-mcp
npm install
npm run buildTool | Purpose |
| Health check + resolved CLI path |
| Detect connected boards / ports |
| List/install platforms |
| Library Manager |
| Build a sketch for an FQBN |
| Flash a board on a port |
| Serial I/O (default baud 115200) |
Serial buffers are capped (~64KB). Prefer hex encoding for binary UART frames.
Do not add this to Cursor until you have run a local smoke test and explicitly approve the MCP config (local serial + upload access).
Example Cursor MCP entry (user-level or project .cursor/mcp.json):
{
"mcpServers": {
"arduino": {
"command": "node",
"args": ["C:/Users/YOU/CursorProjects/arduino-mcp/dist/index.js"],
"env": {
"ARDUINO_CLI_PATH": "C:/Users/YOU/Downloads/arduino-cli_1.5.2-rc.1_Windows_64bit/arduino-cli.exe"
}
}
}
}Omit ARDUINO_CLI_PATH if the IDE-bundled CLI is enough or arduino-cli is on PATH.
Dev without build:
{
"command": "npx",
"args": ["tsx", "C:/Users/YOU/CursorProjects/arduino-mcp/src/index.ts"]
}npm run smokeWith a board plugged in:
$env:SMOKE_UPLOAD_PORT = "COM3" # your port from board list
npm run smokeThe smoke script compiles examples/Blink for arduino:avr:uno (installs the AVR core if missing). Upload is optional.
arduino_cli_version
core_install → arduino:avr (once)
board_list → note COMx
compile → sketch examples/Blink, fqbn arduino:avr:uno
upload → same sketch/fqbn + port
serial_open → port, baud 115200
serial_read → expect blink-high / blink-low lines
serial_close
All arduino-cli invocations use spawn with an argv array (no shell interpolation).
This server can flash firmware and open serial ports on your machine — treat it as a privileged local tool.
Prefer absolute sketch paths from trusted projects.
Apache-2.0
Confirm arduino-cli is available and report its version. Call this first to verify the toolchain before compile/upload.
Inputs: no named parameters.
List connected boards with detected FQBN when possible. Alias-friendly companion to list_ports.
Inputs: discoveryTimeout.
Compile a sketch for a board FQBN without uploading. Use arduino:avr:uno for Uno or arduino:mbed_portenta:envie_m7 for Portenta H7.
Inputs: fqbn (required), sketchPath (required), clean, verbose, +2 more.
Install an Arduino core/platform by id. Examples: arduino:avr (Uno), arduino:mbed_portenta (Portenta H7).
Inputs: platformId (required).
List installed Arduino cores (platform packages), e.g. arduino:avr or arduino:mbed_portenta.
Inputs: no named parameters.
Install one or more Arduino libraries by name from Library Manager.
Inputs: libraries (required).
Search the Arduino Library Manager by query string.
Inputs: query (required).
List serial ports detected by arduino-cli (USB adapters, Uno, Portenta, etc.).
Inputs: no named parameters.
Verify host-side CRC-8/MAXIM matches firmware RattusUart (expect check vector 0xA1).
Inputs: no named parameters.
Send CMD_TWIST heartbeats at ~20 Hz for durationMs (Phase 2.7 soak / link-up). Uses open serial port.
Inputs: vMmS, periodMs, durationMs, omegaMradS.
Phase 2.7 PC-masquerade: pack a CMD_TWIST frame (CRC-8/MAXIM) and write it to the open serial port (Uno USB). Requires serial_open first.
Inputs: vMmS (required), omegaMradS (required), seq.
Close the currently open serial port session.
Inputs: no named parameters.
Open a serial port exclusively for read/write. Default baud is 115200 (Ratchet UART). Close any previous session first.
Inputs: path (required), baudRate.
Read buffered bytes from the open serial port. Buffer is capped (~64KB) to protect agent context.
Inputs: encoding, maxBytes.
Report whether a serial session is open and how many bytes are buffered.
Inputs: no named parameters.
Write data to the open serial port. Use hex/base64 for binary UART frames (e.g. Ratchet Phase 2.7).
Inputs: data (required), encoding.
Upload a sketch to a board on a serial port. Prefer compile first with libraries/buildPath, then pass the same buildPath as inputDir (upload does not accept --libraries).
Inputs: fqbn (required), port (required), sketchPath (required), verify, +2 more.
Recent tool additions, removals, and schema changes observed during successful MCP inspections.
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Scored across 17 tools
Tools are grouped into clear functional areas (arduino-cli, serial, Ratchet), with distinct purposes. Only board_list and list_ports overlap somewhat, but their descriptions clarify the difference.
Most tools use snake_case with action-first naming (list_ports, serial_open, core_install), but some are noun-first (board_list, core_list, lib_search) creating minor inconsistency. Prefixes also vary by domain, though the pattern is still readable.
17 tools is on the higher end but each serves a distinct purpose across three subdomains (toolchain, serial I/O, Ratchet protocol). The count feels justified for the scope.
Core workflows are covered: toolchain verification, board/core/library management, compile/upload, serial session lifecycle, and Ratchet-specific helpers. Minor gaps like library uninstall or board details exist but are not critical.
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