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Instrument MCP Server

by zeng-andrew
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Instrument MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for controlling test instruments via SCPI commands.

Supports Keysight MXA/EXA spectrum analyzers, R&S CMW500 wireless testers, and Keysight DC power supplies.

Features

  • Natural language instrument control - Control instruments through conversational AI

  • Auto-discovery - Automatically identifies instrument models via *IDN?

  • YAML-driven commands - Easy to add new instruments without code changes

  • Multi-instrument sessions - Connect and control multiple instruments simultaneously

  • Error handling - Automatic error queue reading and diagnostics

  • AI self-learning - AI can explore, learn, and save new instrument commands

Related MCP server: Moku MCP Server

Prerequisites

Before installing, ensure you have:

Note: Without a VISA backend, the package will install but cannot communicate with instruments.

Supported Instruments

Instrument

Type

Connection

Keysight MXA N9020A / N9010A / EXA

Spectrum Analyzer

VISA (TCP/IP/GPIB/USB)

R&S CMW500

Wireless Communication Tester

VISA (TCP/IP)

Keysight 66311B / 66311

DC Power Supply

VISA (GPIB)

Generic SCPI instruments

Any

VISA

Installation

Using uv (recommended)

# 从 PyPI 安装
uv tool install instrument-mcp

# 或从本地源码安装
uv tool install .

# 或开发模式安装
uv tool install --editable .

Using pip

pip install instrument-mcp

From source

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/instrument-mcp.git
cd instrument-mcp
pip install -e .

Usage

As a standalone MCP Server

# 启动服务器（stdio 模式，用于 MCP 客户端）
instrument-mcp

# 或使用 Python 模块
python -m instrument_mcp.server

# 使用 uv 运行（无需全局安装）
uv run instrument-mcp

Configure in Claude Desktop

Add to your Claude Desktop config (claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "instrument": {
      "command": "instrument-mcp"
    }
  }
}

Or with uv (if not globally installed):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "instrument": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": ["run", "instrument-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Or with full path:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "instrument": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": ["-m", "instrument_mcp.server"]
    }
  }
}

Using with Claude Code

# Add to your project
claude mcp add instrument instrument-mcp

Example Commands

Once connected, you can use natural language:

"Connect to the MXA at 192.168.1.100"
"Set center frequency to 2.4 GHz with 100 MHz span"
"Run a peak search and read the marker"
"Configure harmonic measurement with 7 harmonics"
"Fetch the harmonic amplitude values"

Or with the CMW500:

"Connect to CMW500 at 172.22.1.3"
"Preset the instrument"
"Set LTE Band 7, 20MHz bandwidth"
"Turn on the cell"
"Check UE connection status"

Development

# Install in development mode
pip install -e ".[dev]"

# Run tests
pytest

# Lint
ruff check .

# Debug with MCP inspector
mcp dev src/instrument_mcp/server.py

Project Structure

instrument-mcp/
├── src/instrument_mcp/
│   ├── server.py          # MCP Server entry point
│   ├── instruments.py     # VISA communication layer
│   └── commands/
│       ├── __init__.py    # YAML command loader
│       ├── mxa.yaml       # MXA spectrum analyzer commands
│       ├── cmw.yaml       # CMW500 commands
│       ├── keysight_ps.yaml # Power supply commands
│       └── generic.yaml   # Generic SCPI commands
├── pyproject.toml
└── README.md

Adding New Instruments

  1. Create a new YAML file in src/instrument_mcp/commands/

  2. Define instrument_type, model_keywords, and commands

  3. Restart the server - commands are loaded automatically

Example YAML structure:

instrument_type: my_instrument
description: My Test Instrument
model_keywords:
  - "MYMODEL"
  - "MYBRAND"
commands:
  - name: my_command
    description: Does something useful
    params:
      - name: param1
        type: string
        description: A parameter
        default: "default_value"
    scpi_template:
      query: "MY:CMD? {param1}"

Troubleshooting

"No module named 'pyvisa'" or VISA errors

Install a VISA backend:

# Option 1: NI-VISA (recommended for Windows)
# Download from https://www.ni.com/en-us/support/downloads/drivers/download.ni-visa.html

# Option 2: pyvisa-py (pure Python, limited support)
pip install pyvisa-py

Connection timeout

  • Verify instrument is powered on and network reachable: ping 192.168.1.100

  • Check instrument is not locked by another software

  • Verify VISA address format: TCPIP::IP::INSTR, GPIB0::5::INSTR

Commands not found after saving

Restart the MCP Server to reload commands from .instrument_mcp/ directory.

Release Checklist (for maintainers)

Before publishing to PyPI:

  • Update version in pyproject.toml

  • Update CHANGELOG.md

  • Run tests: pytest

  • Run lint: ruff check .

  • Build package: python -m build

  • Test installation: pip install dist/*.whl

  • Upload to PyPI: twine upload dist/*

License

MIT License

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