universal-robot

The Universal Robot MCP Server provides a standardized MCP interface to securely connect to Universal Robots hardware, monitor status, and perform precise joint and Cartesian motions. It supports real-time status queries, safe connect/disconnect workflows, and motion commands with built-in safety checks. This server is designed to be used with popular MCP clients such as Claude Desktop, the Cursor/MCP ecosystem, and VS Code MCP integrations, enabling AI assistants and other applications to reason about and direct robot actions through a consistent API.

To get started, install the server with uvx and run it, then configure your MCP client to point at the universal-robot entry. The available tools expose robot connection management, status retrieval, and motion control. For example, you can establish a connection to a UR robot, request the current joint angles and pose, or issue joint and linear motion commands with safety limits enforced by the server.

Prerequisites:

• Python 3.8+ installed on your system
• Internet access to install dependencies
• Access to a Universal Robots device or a simulation environment if testing locally

Install steps:

1. Quick install (recommended):

uvx universal-robot-mcp

2. Install via pip (source will fetch from PyPI):

pip install universal-robot-mcp

3. Development installation (from source):

git clone https://github.com/RoversX/universal-robot-mcp
cd universal-robot-mcp
pip install -e .

4. Run the server (example):

# If using uvx via the quick start
uvx universal-robot-mcp

# Or, if installed as a Python module and you want to run directly
python -m universal_robot_mcp.server

Tips:

• Ensure the UR robot is reachable on the network and in Remote Control mode before connecting.
• Default robot IP is typically 192.168.1.100; adjust in your environment if needed.
• The server supports simulation mode for development without hardware; enable this in your config if available.
• When integrating with AI assistants, use the provided examples to format commands for connect, status, and motion operations.
• If you encounter connection timeouts, check network routing and firewall rules between the MCP client and the UR robot.

Environment variables (if applicable):

• UR_ROBOT_IP: IP address of the UR robot
• MCP_LOG_LEVEL: logging verbosity (e.g., INFO, DEBUG)

Configuration options: The server provides safety limits for movement speed and acceleration, automatic TCP/payload configurations, and emergency stop handling. Review these defaults and adjust based on your environment and safety policies.