Siglent SDS800X HD – HTTP MCP Server

MCP server (Streamable HTTP) for Siglent SDS800X HD oscilloscopes (SDS804X HD / SDS814X HD / SDS824X HD). It talks SCPI over a VISA socket (TCPIP0::<ip>::5025::SOCKET) using PyVISA. A small web UI sets the connection parameters and stores them persistently.

Based on the idea of MagnusJohansson/siglent-sds-mcp. The commands have been ported to the new SCPI command set of the SDS800X HD (:CHANnel<n>:SCALe, :TRIGger:EDGE:*, :MEASure:ADVanced:*, :WAVeform:*, :PRINt?).

Installation

python -m venv .venv
.venv\Scripts\activate        # Linux/macOS: source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -e .

By default PyVISA-py is used, so no VISA driver is required. If NI-VISA (or another VISA implementation) is installed, "System VISA" can be selected in the web UI.

Related MCP server: rigol-dho-mcp

Running

sds800xhd-mcp                       # or: python -m sds800xhd_mcp

• Web UI: http://localhost:8800/

• MCP endpoint: http://localhost:8800/mcp

Docker (Linux)

Slim image based on python:3.13-alpine (multi-stage, no pip, runs as a non-root user). PyVISA-py needs no drivers, so the image contains only Python and the packages.

docker compose up -d --build

or without Compose:

docker build -t sds800xhd-mcp .
docker run -d --name sds800xhd-mcp --restart unless-stopped -p 8800:8800 -v sds-data:/data sds800xhd-mcp

• Web UI: http://<docker-host>:8800/, MCP: http://<docker-host>:8800/mcp

• The configuration lives in the /data volume (config.json) and survives container updates.

• Inside the container the server listens on 0.0.0.0. To make it reachable only locally, map the port with -p 127.0.0.1:8800:8800.

• The scope must be reachable from the Docker host (TCP 5025). The default bridge network is sufficient.

• If a host directory is mounted instead of the volume, it must be writable for UID 10001: sudo chown 10001 ./data.

• Append options such as --log-level DEBUG: docker run ... sds800xhd-mcp --log-level DEBUG.

Web UI

Enter IP/hostname and port (the VISA string is built from them but can also be entered directly), choose VISA backend, timeout and auto-connect, then click Save & connect. The settings are stored in data/config.json and loaded on server start. With auto-connect enabled, the server connects on startup and re-establishes the connection on the next tool call after a drop (e.g. a scope restart). The Screenshot button verifies the connection with an image of the display.

MCP client setup

Claude Code: copy examples/mcp.json to .mcp.json in your project folder and adjust the URL (the local .mcp.json is listed in .gitignore):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "siglent-sds800xhd": { "type": "http", "url": "http://localhost:8800/mcp" }
  }
}

or via the CLI:

claude mcp add --transport http siglent-sds800xhd http://localhost:8800/mcp

Tools

Development and tests

sds800xhd_mcp/        Package: server, tools, VISA connection, web UI (static/index.html)
scripts/mock_scope.py SCPI simulator of an SDS824X HD (for tests without hardware)
scripts/smoke_http.py Calls all tools against a running server
tests/                pytest: unit tests and an end-to-end test with the simulator
examples/mcp.json     Template for the MCP client configuration

pip install -e ".[dev]"
pytest                                            # starts simulator and server itself

Manually without hardware:

python scripts/mock_scope.py                      # simulates an SDS824X HD on 127.0.0.1:5025
sds800xhd-mcp                                     # enter 127.0.0.1 in the web UI
python scripts/smoke_http.py                      # calls all tools over HTTP

scripts/smoke_http.py also works against a real scope, but changes channel 1, timebase and trigger there.

Security

The web UI and MCP endpoint have no authentication and allow arbitrary SCPI commands. By default the server listens only on 127.0.0.1. Use --host 0.0.0.0 only in a trusted lab network.

Note

The tools are tested with the included simulator. Connecting to a real SDS824X HD (firmware 3.8.12.1.1.6.5) works; the individual tools have not yet been systematically verified on the device. If the firmware differs for individual commands, they can be checked via scpi_query / scpi_command and adjusted in sds800xhd_mcp/tools.py.

License

MIT