Unity MCP server

The Unity MCP Server is a powerful bridge that connects Model Context Protocol (MCP) clients with the Unity game engine, enabling AI-powered game development assistance. It allows you to interact with Unity through natural language commands processed by large language models (LLMs).

Installation and Setup

To get started with the Unity MCP Server, you need to follow these steps:

Installing the MCP Server

The most convenient way to use the Unity MCP Server is through Docker:

docker run -p 8080:8080 ivanmurzakdev/unity-mcp-server

For STDIO transport (when your MCP client launches the server directly):

docker run -t -e UNITY_MCP_CLIENT_TRANSPORT=stdio -p 8080:8080 ivanmurzakdev/unity-mcp-server

If you need to use a custom port:

docker run -e UNITY_MCP_PORT=123 -p 123:123 ivanmurzakdev/unity-mcp-server

Binary Installation Option

You can also run the server directly from a binary executable:

./unity-mcp-server --port 8080 --plugin-timeout 10000 --client-transport stdio

Pre-compiled binaries for different CPU architectures are available on the GitHub Release Page.

Configuration

The server supports both environment variables and command line arguments:

Environment Variable	Command Line Arg	Description
UNITY_MCP_PORT	--port	Client → Server ← Plugin connection port (default: 8080)
UNITY_MCP_PLUGIN_TIMEOUT	--plugin-timeout	Plugin → Server connection timeout in ms (default: 10000)
UNITY_MCP_CLIENT_TRANSPORT	--client-transport	Transport type: stdio or http (default: http)

MCP Client Configuration

For HTTP transport, configure your MCP client with:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "Unity-MCP": {
      "url": "http://localhost:8080"
    }
  }
}

For STDIO transport (client launches the server):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "Unity-MCP": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "-t",
        "-e",
        "UNITY_MCP_CLIENT_TRANSPORT=stdio",
        "-p",
        "8080:8080",
        "ivanmurzakdev/unity-mcp-server"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Using With Custom Binary

When using a custom binary, your MCP client configuration might look like:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "Unity-MCP": {
      "command": "/path/to/unity-mcp-server",
      "args": [
        "--port=8080",
        "--plugin-timeout=10000",
        "--client-transport=stdio"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Key Features

• Supports both HTTP and STDIO transport protocols
• Configurable connection timeout and port settings
• Docker deployment support for easy setup
• Pre-compiled binaries for multiple platforms and architectures
• Compatible with various MCP clients like Claude, Cursor, and more
• Extensible with custom MCP Tools for specialized functionality

Understanding Server Communication

The MCP server acts as a bridge in the following communication chain:

• LLM/MCP Client → MCP Server → Unity Plugin → Unity Engine

This architecture allows AI-powered tools to interact with Unity through a standardized protocol, making game development more accessible through natural language commands.

How to install this MCP server

For Claude Code

To add this MCP server to Claude Code, run this command in your terminal:

claude mcp add-json "unity-mcp" '{"command":"dotnet","args":["run","--project","path/to/unity-mcp"]}'

See the official Claude Code MCP documentation for more details.

For Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > Tools & Integrations and click "New MCP Server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "unity-mcp": {
            "command": "dotnet",
            "args": [
                "run",
                "--project",
                "path/to/unity-mcp"
            ]
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explicitly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.

For Claude Desktop

To add this MCP server to Claude Desktop:

1. Find your configuration file:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add this to your configuration file:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "unity-mcp": {
            "command": "dotnet",
            "args": [
                "run",
                "--project",
                "path/to/unity-mcp"
            ]
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect