Maya MCP server

This Python-based MCP server allows AI assistants like Claude Desktop to control Autodesk Maya through natural language commands using the Model Context Protocol. It enables interactions with Maya without requiring any plugins or installations within Maya itself.

Installation Requirements

• Python 3.10 or higher
• Autodesk Maya (tested with versions 2023 and 2025)

Getting Started

Setting Up the MCP Server

1. Download the Maya MCP project
2. Create a virtual environment in the project directory:

   python -m venv .venv
   

3. Activate the virtual environment:
   • On Windows:

   .venv\Scripts\activate.bat

   * On Mac/Linux:
   ```bash
   source .venv\bin\activate.sh
   

4. Install the required dependencies:

   pip install -r requirements.txt
   

Configuring Claude Desktop

1. Open Claude Desktop and navigate to File → Settings → Developer Tab
2. Click the "Edit Config" button
3. Edit the JSON configuration file with a text editor, using full file paths:

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "MayaMCP": {
         "command": "[FULL PATH TO MayaMCP PROJECT]/.venv/Scripts/python.exe",
         "args": [
           "[FULL PATH TO MayaMCP PROJECT]/src/maya_mcp_server.py"
         ]
       }
     }
   }
   

4. Save the file and restart Claude Desktop (use the Exit menu item)
5. In the Developers Tab, you should now see the Maya MCP server listed

Connecting to Maya

When the Maya MCP server first attempts to communicate with Maya, you'll receive a security popup in Maya. Click "Allow All" to permit communication between the MCP server and Maya. This will need to be done for each Maya session.

Available Tools

Basic Tools

Maya MCP provides these fundamental tools:

• list_objects_by_type: Get a list of objects in the scene, with optional filtering for cameras, lights, materials, or shapes
• create_object: Create basic objects like cubes, cones, spheres, cylinders, cameras, and various lights
• get_object_attributes: Retrieve attributes for Maya objects
• set_object_attributes: Modify an object's attributes
• scene_new: Create a new scene (with force option for unsaved changes)
• scene_open: Load an existing scene
• scene_save: Save the current scene
• select_object: Select an object in the scene

Advanced Modeling Tools

For more complex operations, Maya MCP offers:

• create_advanced_model: Generate detailed 3D models like cars, trees, buildings, and furniture
• mesh_operations: Perform modeling operations including extrude, bevel, subdivide, boolean, combine, bridge, and split
• create_material: Create and assign various material types (lambert, phong, wood, marble, chrome, glass, etc.)
• create_curve: Generate NURBS curves for various shapes
• curve_modeling: Create geometry using curve-based modeling techniques
• organize_objects: Group, parent, layout, align, and distribute objects
• generate_scene: Create complete 3D scenes with multiple objects

Usage Examples

To verify Maya MCP tools are available in Claude Desktop, click the tools availability button to see a detailed popup of all available tools and their parameters.

When using the tools through Claude, you can ask for operations like:

• "Create a red sphere in Maya"
• "List all camera objects in the scene"
• "Save the current Maya scene as my_project.ma"
• "Create a car model at position (0, 2, 0)"

The AI will translate these requests into the appropriate MCP tool calls to control Maya.

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 "MayaMCP" '{"command":"[FULL PATH TO MayaMCP PROJECT]/.venv/Scripts/python.exe","args":["[FULL PATH TO MayaMCP PROJECT]/src/maya_mcp_server.py"]}'

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": {
        "MayaMCP": {
            "command": "[FULL PATH TO MayaMCP PROJECT]/.venv/Scripts/python.exe",
            "args": [
                "[FULL PATH TO MayaMCP PROJECT]/src/maya_mcp_server.py"
            ]
        }
    }
}

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": {
        "MayaMCP": {
            "command": "[FULL PATH TO MayaMCP PROJECT]/.venv/Scripts/python.exe",
            "args": [
                "[FULL PATH TO MayaMCP PROJECT]/src/maya_mcp_server.py"
            ]
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect