ROS 2 Robot Control MCP server for AI agents

The ROS 2 MCP Server is a Python-based tool that integrates the Model Context Protocol (MCP) with ROS 2, allowing AI assistants like Claude to control robots by publishing movement commands to the /cmd_vel topic. It processes natural language instructions and converts them into precise robot movement commands.

Installation

Prerequisites

ROS 2 Humble distribution
Python 3.10
uv package manager

Setup Steps

Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/kakimochi/ros2-mcp-server.git
cd ros2-mcp-server

Create and activate Python environment:

uv venv --python /usr/bin/python3.10
source .venv/bin/activate

Install dependencies:
```
uv pip install -e .
```

MCP Server Configuration

For Claude Desktop

Open Claude Desktop settings and navigate to the MCP servers section

Add a new MCP server with this configuration:

"ros2-mcp-server": {
  "autoApprove": [],
  "disabled": false,
  "timeout": 60,
  "command": "uv",
  "args": [
    "--directory",
    "/path/to/ros2-mcp-server",
    "run",
    "bash",
    "-c",
    "export ROS_LOG_DIR=/tmp && source /opt/ros/humble/setup.bash && python3 /path/to/ros2-mcp-server/ros2-mcp-server.py"
  ],
  "transportType": "stdio"
}

Replace /path/to/ros2-mcp-server with your actual repository path
Save and restart Claude

For Cline (VSCode Extension)

Open the Cline extension settings
Add a new MCP server with the same configuration as above
Toggle the server on to verify connection

Usage

Sending Commands via Claude

You can send natural language commands to control the robot:

Please make the robot move forward at 0.2 m/s for 5 seconds.

Using the move_robot Tool Directly

You can also use the move_robot tool with direct parameters:

{
  "linear": [0.2, 0.0, 0.0],
  "angular": [0.0, 0.0, 0.0],
  "duration": 5.0
}

Monitoring Robot Movement

To verify the commands are being sent properly:

ros2 topic echo /cmd_vel

Testing

With a Simulator

Launch a ROS 2-compatible simulator:

export TURTLEBOT3_MODEL=burger
ros2 launch turtlebot3_gazebo turtlebot3_world.launch.py

Send commands through Claude
Observe the robot moving in the simulator

With a Real Robot

Ensure your robot is configured to subscribe to the /cmd_vel topic
Send commands through Claude
The physical robot should move according to the commands

Troubleshooting

ROS 2 Logging Errors: Set ROS_LOG_DIR to a writable directory (e.g., /tmp)
Python Version Issues: Ensure you're using Python 3.10 for ROS 2 Humble compatibility
Connection Problems: Verify MCP server configuration and dependency installation

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 "ros2-mcp-server" '{"autoApprove":[],"disabled":false,"timeout":60,"command":"uv","args":["--directory","/path/to/ros2-mcp-server","run","bash","-c","export ROS_LOG_DIR=/tmp && source /opt/ros/humble/setup.bash && python3 /path/to/ros2-mcp-server/ros2-mcp-server.py"],"transportType":"stdio"}'

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": {
        "ros2-mcp-server": {
            "autoApprove": [],
            "disabled": false,
            "timeout": 60,
            "command": "uv",
            "args": [
                "--directory",
                "/path/to/ros2-mcp-server",
                "run",
                "bash",
                "-c",
                "export ROS_LOG_DIR=/tmp && source /opt/ros/humble/setup.bash && python3 /path/to/ros2-mcp-server/ros2-mcp-server.py"
            ],
            "transportType": "stdio"
        }
    }
}

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": {
        "ros2-mcp-server": {
            "autoApprove": [],
            "disabled": false,
            "timeout": 60,
            "command": "uv",
            "args": [
                "--directory",
                "/path/to/ros2-mcp-server",
                "run",
                "bash",
                "-c",
                "export ROS_LOG_DIR=/tmp && source /opt/ros/humble/setup.bash && python3 /path/to/ros2-mcp-server/ros2-mcp-server.py"
            ],
            "transportType": "stdio"
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect