siglent-sds-mcp

MCP server for controlling a SIGLENT SDS824X HD oscilloscope via SCPI.

The first engineering goal is to let an AI tool safely configure the oscilloscope, capture a 2 Mbps UART/RS485 waveform, fetch a screenshot and waveform samples, then return a quantitative signal-quality summary.

Target device

• SIGLENT SDS824X HD / SDS800X HD family

• Remote control through SCPI

• LAN/VXI-11, USBTMC, or compatible VISA backend

• Typical field use: UART, RS485, Modbus, SPI/I2C bring-up and waveform evidence collection

Related MCP server: Rigol DHO824 MCP Server

Architecture

AI / MCP Client
   |
   v
MCP Server: siglent-sds-mcp
   |
   v
Scope Driver Layer
   |
   v
Transport Layer: PyVISA / socket fallback
   |
   v
SIGLENT SDS824X HD oscilloscope

See docs/architecture.md for the detailed design.

MVP tool set

Safety model

This project intentionally exposes high-level tools first. Raw SCPI write access is disabled by default because an AI client could otherwise reset the instrument, overwrite settings, or change network configuration.

Default allowed operations:

• identity query

• run/stop/single acquisition

• temporary channel/timebase/trigger setup

• measurement query

• screenshot/waveform fetch

• offline waveform analysis

Default blocked operations:

• *RST

• factory reset

• firmware update

• network configuration changes

• file deletion/formatting

• arbitrary SCPI writes without explicit development mode

Quick start

python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -e '.[dev]'

Run tests:

pytest -q

Run the MCP server over stdio:

python -m siglent_sds_mcp.server

Run a simple identity check:

python examples/idn_test.py TCPIP0::192.168.1.100::INSTR

For USBTMC/VISA discovery, use PyVISA tooling or a vendor VISA implementation. For LAN/LXI debugging, lxi-tools is useful before connecting through MCP.

First field scenario: 2 Mbps UART

For 2 Mbps UART:

• 1 bit = 500 ns

• 8N1 byte frame = 10 bits = about 5 us

• recommended timebase: about 1 us/div

• recommended sample rate: at least hundreds of MS/s for waveform analysis

• TTL trigger level: about 1.5 V for 3.3 V UART, 2.5 V for 5 V UART

The initial scope_setup_uart tool is designed around this scenario.

Repository layout

src/siglent_sds_mcp/
  server.py          MCP tools
  scope_driver.py    SCPI driver scaffold
  transport.py       PyVISA transport wrapper
  uart_analyzer.py   Offline UART CSV analyzer

docs/
  architecture.md
  scpi-notes.md
  sds824x-hd-plan.md

examples/
  idn_test.py
  capture_uart_2mbps.py

tests/
  test_scope_driver_mock.py
  test_uart_analyzer.py

Project status

Early scaffold.

Important: the waveform and screenshot commands must be verified against the SDS800X HD Programming Guide and the actual instrument firmware revision before production use. The current waveform export method intentionally writes a placeholder CSV header so the MCP and analyzer layers can be developed safely before real instrument testing.