Tlon Urbit Messenger MCP server

This MCP server from Tlon provides tools for interacting with Tlon agents, allowing you to send direct messages, read message history, and manage contacts through natural language commands.

Features

• send-dm tool: Send direct messages to other users by ship ID or nickname
• read-dm-history tool: Retrieve recent messages from a direct-message channel
• list-contacts tool: Get contacts with their nicknames and ship IDs
• Natural language support: Reference people by their nicknames ("Send a message to Brian")

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v16+)
• A running Urbit ship

Installation

1. Clone the repository
2. Navigate to the project directory
3. Install dependencies:

npm install

Important: Always run npm install manually in the terminal before using with Claude Desktop or any other MCP client. This prevents installation output from interfering with the MCP protocol.

Configuration

Configure the server using environment variables:

Variable	Description	Default
URBIT_SHIP	Your Urbit ship name (without ~)	zod
URBIT_CODE	Your Urbit +code	lidlut-tabwed-pillex-ridrup
URBIT_HOST	Urbit host	localhost
URBIT_PORT	Urbit port	8080
PORT	MCP server port (HTTP mode only)	3001
MCP_TRANSPORT	Transport type (http or stdio)	stdio

Usage

Starting the Server

# Start with default stdio transport
npm start

# Start with HTTP transport
export MCP_TRANSPORT=http && npm start

# Development mode with auto-reload
npm run dev

Setting up with Claude Desktop

The default stdio mode works seamlessly with Claude Desktop. Create or edit the Claude Desktop configuration file at:

~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

With the following content:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tlon-mcp": {
      "command": "/bin/sh",
      "args": ["-c", "cd /path/to/server && node index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Important: Be sure to run npm install in the server directory first before configuring Claude Desktop.

Using Natural Language Commands

Once configured, you can use natural language commands:

Send a message to Brian

Show me my recent DM history with ~sampel-palnet

Who are my contacts?

Available Tools

send-dm

Sends a direct message to another ship.

Parameters:

• recipient: The recipient's ship name (with ~) or nickname
• message: The message text to send

Example usage:

Send a message to Brian saying "Let's meet tomorrow"

read-dm-history

Fetches the latest messages from a direct-message channel between your ship and another.

Parameters:

• correspondent: The other ship's name (with ~) or nickname
• count (optional): How many messages to return (default 100, max 500)
• format (optional): Output format - "raw" or "formatted" (default "formatted")

Example usage:

Show me my last 50 messages with Dad

list-contacts

Retrieves your contacts list with ship IDs and nicknames.

Parameters:

• format (optional): Output format - "raw" or "formatted" (default "formatted")

Example usage:

List all my contacts

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 "tlon-mcp" '{"command":"/bin/sh","args":["-c","cd /path/to/server && node index.js"]}'

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": {
        "tlon-mcp": {
            "command": "/bin/sh",
            "args": [
                "-c",
                "cd /path/to/server && node index.js"
            ]
        }
    }
}

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": {
        "tlon-mcp": {
            "command": "/bin/sh",
            "args": [
                "-c",
                "cd /path/to/server && node index.js"
            ]
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect