GNU Radio MCP server

GR-MCP is a modern Machine Control Protocol (MCP) server for GNURadio that enables programmatic, automated, and AI-driven creation of GNURadio flowgraphs. It allows seamless integration with Large Language Models (LLMs), automation frameworks, and custom clients to generate .grc files and control SDR workflows at scale.

Installation Requirements

Before installing GR-MCP, ensure you have:

• Python 3.13 or newer
• GNURadio (tested with GNURadio Companion v3.10.12.0)
• UV package manager

Installation Steps

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/yoelbassin/gr-mcp

2. Install GNURadio

Follow the official GNURadio installation guide at: https://wiki.gnuradio.org/index.php/InstallingGR

3. Set Up a UV Environment

Navigate to the cloned repository and create a virtual environment:

cd gr-mcp
uv venv --system-site-packages

The --system-site-packages flag is required because GNURadio installs the gnuradio Python package globally.

Configuration

To use the MCP server with compatible clients like Claude Desktop or Cursor, you need to add the MCP server configuration to your client configuration:

"mcpServers": {
    "gr-mcp": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": [
        "--directory",
        "/path/to/gr-mcp",
        "run",
        "main.py"
      ]
    }
  }

Make sure to replace /path/to/gr-mcp with the actual path to your cloned repository.

Usage

Once installed and configured, you can use the GR-MCP server to:

• Automate SDR workflows and flowgraph generation
• Integrate with LLMs, bots, and custom tools
• Build, modify, and validate flowgraphs programmatically
• Create and save .grc files from code or automation

The server provides an MCP interface that allows you to programmatically interact with GNURadio to create and manipulate flowgraphs without manual intervention.

Features

Programmatic Flowgraph Creation

Create, edit, and save .grc files using code or automation tools:

• Build signal processing chains programmatically
• Modify existing flowgraphs without opening GNURadio Companion
• Validate flowgraphs before execution

LLM & Automation Integration

The server is designed to work seamlessly with:

• Large Language Models for natural language processing of SDR requirements
• Automation frameworks for batch processing
• Custom clients for specialized workflows

Example Flowgraphs

The repository includes ready-to-use .grc examples in the misc/ directory that you can use as templates or starting points for your own projects.

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 "gr-mcp" '{"command":"uv","args":["--directory","/path/to/gr-mcp","run","main.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": {
        "gr-mcp": {
            "command": "uv",
            "args": [
                "--directory",
                "/path/to/gr-mcp",
                "run",
                "main.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": {
        "gr-mcp": {
            "command": "uv",
            "args": [
                "--directory",
                "/path/to/gr-mcp",
                "run",
                "main.py"
            ]
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect