mavlink-mcp 0.1.2__tar.gz
This diff represents the content of publicly available package versions that have been released to one of the supported registries. The information contained in this diff is provided for informational purposes only and reflects changes between package versions as they appear in their respective public registries.
- mavlink_mcp-0.1.2/.flake8 +3 -0
- mavlink_mcp-0.1.2/.gitignore +7 -0
- mavlink_mcp-0.1.2/GETTING_STARTED.md +139 -0
- mavlink_mcp-0.1.2/LICENSE +21 -0
- mavlink_mcp-0.1.2/PKG-INFO +334 -0
- mavlink_mcp-0.1.2/README.md +300 -0
- mavlink_mcp-0.1.2/STATUS.md +130 -0
- mavlink_mcp-0.1.2/integrations/pi/mavlink-mcp.ts +193 -0
- mavlink_mcp-0.1.2/mavlink_mcp/__init__.py +3 -0
- mavlink_mcp-0.1.2/mavlink_mcp/backends/__init__.py +61 -0
- mavlink_mcp-0.1.2/mavlink_mcp/backends/ardupilot.py +781 -0
- mavlink_mcp-0.1.2/mavlink_mcp/backends/fake.py +158 -0
- mavlink_mcp-0.1.2/mavlink_mcp/camera.py +248 -0
- mavlink_mcp-0.1.2/mavlink_mcp/config.py +107 -0
- mavlink_mcp-0.1.2/mavlink_mcp/flight.py +344 -0
- mavlink_mcp-0.1.2/mavlink_mcp/geo.py +121 -0
- mavlink_mcp-0.1.2/mavlink_mcp/interfaces.py +154 -0
- mavlink_mcp-0.1.2/mavlink_mcp/safety.py +133 -0
- mavlink_mcp-0.1.2/mavlink_mcp/server.py +618 -0
- mavlink_mcp-0.1.2/pyproject.toml +61 -0
- mavlink_mcp-0.1.2/scripts/mission_demo.py +74 -0
- mavlink_mcp-0.1.2/tests/sitl/conftest.py +147 -0
- mavlink_mcp-0.1.2/tests/sitl/test_mission.py +72 -0
- mavlink_mcp-0.1.2/tests/sitl/test_safety.py +157 -0
- mavlink_mcp-0.1.2/tests/test_arguments.py +123 -0
- mavlink_mcp-0.1.2/tests/test_camera.py +70 -0
- mavlink_mcp-0.1.2/tests/test_config.py +74 -0
- mavlink_mcp-0.1.2/tests/test_connect.py +116 -0
- mavlink_mcp-0.1.2/tests/test_link.py +124 -0
- mavlink_mcp-0.1.2/tests/test_server.py +390 -0
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# Getting started
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A from-scratch walkthrough on a fresh machine: install the server, drive it from **Claude Code**
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or **Codex**, and fly ArduPilot SITL by natural language. For the full tool / flag / safety
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reference, see [README.md](README.md).
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Claude Code and Codex are MCP clients, so all you need is this server. The Gazebo camera in step 5
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is optional.
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## What you need
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- Python 3.10+ and git.
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- **ArduPilot SITL built** — the one heavy prerequisite. Follow ArduPilot's
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[SITL on Linux](https://ardupilot.org/dev/docs/setting-up-sitl-on-linux.html) guide (clone
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`ardupilot`, then `./waf configure --board sitl && ./waf copter`). You can install the server
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without it, but you can only fly the in-memory fake backend (step 4) until SITL is there.
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- Optional, for the camera: Gazebo Harmonic and the world repo (step 5).
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## 1. Install the server
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```bash
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git clone git@github.com:deepak61296/mavlink-mcp.git
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cd mavlink-mcp
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python3 -m venv .venv && source .venv/bin/activate
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pip install -e .
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which mavlink-mcp # note this path -- you may need it in step 2
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```
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Not on PyPI yet, so this is a source install. The `-e` puts a `mavlink-mcp` command on the venv's
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PATH; that command is what the client configs below launch.
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## 2. Register it with your client
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**Claude Code:**
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```bash
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claude mcp add --transport stdio drone -- mavlink-mcp --enable-actuation
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claude mcp list # should list "drone"; /mcp inside Claude Code shows it Connected
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```
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The `--` is required: it stops Claude parsing `--enable-actuation` as its own flag. Default scope is
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local (this project only); add `--scope project` to write a shared `.mcp.json` instead.
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**Codex CLI** — add to `~/.codex/config.toml`:
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```toml
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[mcp_servers.drone]
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command = "mavlink-mcp"
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args = ["--enable-actuation"]
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default_tools_approval_mode = "auto" # simulator only; otherwise it prompts per flight tool
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```
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Gotcha (the most common fresh-machine snag): the client spawns `mavlink-mcp` and has to find it on
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PATH. If you installed into a venv, either launch the client with that venv activated, or replace
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the bare `mavlink-mcp` with the absolute path from `which mavlink-mcp`
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(e.g. `/home/you/mavlink-mcp/.venv/bin/mavlink-mcp`).
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Actuation is off by default; `--enable-actuation` turns on the flight tools. Flying anything the
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vehicle itself doesn't prove to be a simulator (SITL streams a `SIMSTATE` message; real firmware
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never does) additionally needs `--allow-real-vehicle`.
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## 3. Start SITL (separate terminal)
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```bash
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cd ~/ardupilot
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python3 Tools/autotest/sim_vehicle.py -v ArduCopter --no-mavproxy -I0
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```
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`--no-mavproxy` matters: ArduPilot SITL serves exactly one MAVLink client on its TCP port, so a
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stray MAVProxy (or a second server) makes the vehicle look dead rather than busy.
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## 4. Fly it
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In Claude Code or Codex, confirm the drone tools are present (`/mcp`), then ask something like:
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> take off to 20 m, fly 40 m north, orbit here at 15 m, then RTL.
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No SITL yet? `mavlink-mcp --backend fake --enable-actuation` runs an in-memory drone with no ports,
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which is enough to confirm the client wiring end to end.
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## 5. Optional: the camera / vision
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```bash
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git clone git@github.com:deepak61296/ardupilot_gazebo_ai.git
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cd ardupilot_gazebo_ai
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bash scripts/setup_plugin.sh # clones + builds ArduPilot's Gazebo plugin, patches the camera
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bash scripts/sim_up.sh --check # reports what's still missing (Gazebo Harmonic, a GPU, ...)
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bash scripts/sim_up.sh # brings up Gazebo + SITL together
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```
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Then add `--camera gazebo` to the server args and ask it to point the camera down, fly north and
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take a photo. It returns the frame as an image — Claude Code and Codex are multimodal, so they can
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see it.
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Gotcha: the Gazebo stream is H.264 over UDP, which OpenCV can read only through GStreamer, and the
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`opencv-python` wheel is built without it. Use Ubuntu's `python3-opencv` (with `numpy<2`) for the
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Gazebo camera; `rtsp://` and `file:` sources work with the wheel.
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## Verify the install
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```bash
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cd mavlink-mcp
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pytest # unit tests, no vehicle needed
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pytest -m sitl # flies a full mission against SITL (start SITL first; ~5 min)
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```
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## Local models via Ollama (fully offline flying)
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Any client that can talk to Ollama can fly through this server with no cloud at all — tested
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end-to-end with gemma (an ~8B multimodal model) driving a full takeoff → move → wait → RTL
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mission. Two traps cost us an evening each, so they're documented here:
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1. **Bake a bigger context into a model tag.** This server's 18 tool schemas plus a typical
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client system prompt are ~10k tokens, but Ollama's OpenAI-compatible endpoint truncates
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silently at its 4096-token default AND ignores `num_ctx` sent in request bodies. The model
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then "never sees its tools" — symptoms are silent turns, invented tool names, or
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Python-flavored pseudo-calls. The fix is one line:
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```bash
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printf 'FROM gemma4:e4b\nPARAMETER num_ctx 16384\nPARAMETER temperature 0\n' | ollama create gemma-drone -f -
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```
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Point your client at `gemma-drone`. (Clients using Ollama's native `/api/chat` are not
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affected and can also pass `think: false` there for much faster tool calls; the
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OpenAI-compat endpoint ignores that flag too.)
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2. **Phrase safety-relevant asks explicitly when the model is small.** "Disable the geofence"
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can make a small model invent parameter names that don't exist; "set FENCE_ENABLE to 0"
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reliably reaches `set_param` — where the server refuses it, which is the point. Judge any
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local-model flight by the code-verified `[state: ...]` lines in tool results, never by the
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model's own prose: small models narrate optimistically.
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## If a step breaks
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- Client can't find the server -> the venv/PATH note in step 2.
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- Vehicle looks dead / never arms -> a second MAVLink client is on the port (step 3), or EKF/GPS
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hasn't settled yet (give it 30-60 s after SITL boots).
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- Camera returns nothing -> the GStreamer OpenCV note in step 5; also make sure `sim_up.sh` is up
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and rendering (it needs a GPU for the headless camera).
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MIT License
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Copyright (c) 2026 deepak61296
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Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
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of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
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in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
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to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
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copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
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furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
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The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
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copies or substantial portions of the Software.
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THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
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IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
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FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
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AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
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LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
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OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
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SOFTWARE.
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Metadata-Version: 2.5
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Name: mavlink-mcp
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Version: 0.1.2
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Summary: MCP server for MAVLink drones: safety-gated flight tools and live camera frames for Claude, Codex and any MCP client. ArduPilot today, PX4 next.
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Project-URL: Homepage, https://github.com/deepak61296/mavlink-mcp
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Project-URL: Repository, https://github.com/deepak61296/mavlink-mcp
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Project-URL: Issues, https://github.com/deepak61296/mavlink-mcp/issues
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Project-URL: Changelog, https://github.com/deepak61296/mavlink-mcp/blob/main/STATUS.md
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Author: deepak61296
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License-Expression: MIT
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License-File: LICENSE
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Keywords: ardupilot,drone,llm,mavlink,mcp,px4,sitl,uav
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Classifier: Development Status :: 4 - Beta
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Classifier: Environment :: Console
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Classifier: Intended Audience :: Developers
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Classifier: Intended Audience :: Science/Research
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Classifier: Operating System :: OS Independent
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Classifier: Programming Language :: Python :: 3
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Classifier: Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10
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Classifier: Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11
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Classifier: Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12
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Classifier: Topic :: Scientific/Engineering :: Artificial Intelligence
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Classifier: Topic :: Scientific/Engineering :: Human Machine Interfaces
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Requires-Python: >=3.10
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Requires-Dist: mcp<2,>=1.2
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Requires-Dist: pymavlink>=2.4.40
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Requires-Dist: tomli>=2.0; python_version < '3.11'
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Provides-Extra: camera
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Requires-Dist: opencv-python>=4.8; extra == 'camera'
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Provides-Extra: dev
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Requires-Dist: flake8>=7; extra == 'dev'
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Requires-Dist: pytest>=8; extra == 'dev'
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Description-Content-Type: text/markdown
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# mavlink-mcp
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An MCP server for MAVLink drones. It lets an LLM agent (Claude, Codex, or anything that speaks
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MCP) fly an ArduPilot vehicle and see through its camera. Works against ArduPilot SITL, so you can
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try it with no hardware.
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Drones are dangerous — flight tools are **off by default**. Read [Safety](#safety) first.
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New here? **[GETTING_STARTED.md](GETTING_STARTED.md)** walks a fresh machine through install →
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Claude Code / Codex → flying SITL.
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## Status
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**Solid in simulation (beta)** — covered by the unit suite and flown by `pytest -m sitl` against
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ArduPilot SITL: the read-only tools, `arm`/`disarm`/`takeoff`/`land`/`rtl`/`goto`/`move`/`orbit`/
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`wait`, `set_param` with the safety guards, the geofence + GCS-heartbeat failsafe. The Gazebo
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camera path is exercised manually (see below), not by the SITL suite.
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**Working, less battle-tested** — the HTTP transport, `--camera` over `rtsp://`/`udp://`, the pi
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bridge. Not yet flown on real hardware.
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**Planned** — a PX4 backend (MAVSDK): PX4 is detected from its heartbeat today, but flight is
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refused until the backend lands. And a PyPI release. See
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[STATUS.md](https://github.com/deepak61296/mavlink-mcp/blob/main/STATUS.md).
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## Install
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Needs **Python 3.10+**. To actually fly you also need **ArduPilot SITL** built (ArduPilot's
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[SITL on Linux](https://ardupilot.org/dev/docs/setting-up-sitl-on-linux.html) guide); the optional
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Gazebo camera needs Gazebo Harmonic + the [world](#with-a-camera-in-gazebo). The server itself
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starts without either — the link opens lazily on the first tool call.
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Not on PyPI yet — install from source. This puts the `mavlink-mcp` command on your PATH, which is
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what the MCP client configs below call:
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```bash
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git clone git@github.com:deepak61296/mavlink-mcp.git
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cd mavlink-mcp
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pip install -e . # add ".[camera]" for the Gazebo/RTSP camera tool
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```
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If `mavlink-mcp` isn't on your client's PATH (e.g. it lives in a venv), give the configs the
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absolute path to it instead of the bare command name.
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## Try it against SITL
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Start ArduCopter SITL (no MAVProxy, so the server owns the link):
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```bash
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cd ~/ardupilot
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python3 Tools/autotest/sim_vehicle.py -v ArduCopter --no-mavproxy -I0
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```
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Wire it into your MCP client. **Claude Code** — add it with one command:
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+
|
|
90
|
+
```bash
|
|
91
|
+
claude mcp add --transport stdio drone -- mavlink-mcp --enable-actuation
|
|
92
|
+
claude mcp list # check it's registered; /mcp inside Claude Code shows it connected
|
|
93
|
+
```
|
|
94
|
+
|
|
95
|
+
`--` is required — it stops Claude parsing `--enable-actuation` as its own flag. Default scope is
|
|
96
|
+
local (this project only); `--scope project` writes a shared `.mcp.json` instead. Or configure it by
|
|
97
|
+
hand — `.mcp.json` in the project root (Claude Desktop uses the same shape):
|
|
98
|
+
|
|
99
|
+
```json
|
|
100
|
+
{
|
|
101
|
+
"mcpServers": {
|
|
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|
+
"drone": { "command": "mavlink-mcp", "args": ["--enable-actuation", "--camera", "gazebo"] }
|
|
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|
+
}
|
|
104
|
+
}
|
|
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|
+
```
|
|
106
|
+
|
|
107
|
+
Codex CLI (`~/.codex/config.toml`):
|
|
108
|
+
|
|
109
|
+
```toml
|
|
110
|
+
[mcp_servers.drone]
|
|
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|
+
command = "mavlink-mcp"
|
|
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|
+
args = ["--enable-actuation", "--camera", "gazebo"]
|
|
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|
+
# Codex asks before every flight tool by default, because they are marked destructive.
|
|
114
|
+
# Set this to "approve" only if you want it to fly unattended (a simulator, say).
|
|
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|
+
default_tools_approval_mode = "auto"
|
|
116
|
+
```
|
|
117
|
+
|
|
118
|
+
[pi](https://github.com/badlogic/pi-mono) ships no MCP client of its own, so there is a
|
|
119
|
+
bridge extension in this repo:
|
|
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|
+
|
|
121
|
+
```bash
|
|
122
|
+
MAVLINK_MCP_ARGS="--enable-actuation" pi -a -e integrations/pi/mavlink-mcp.ts
|
|
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|
+
```
|
|
124
|
+
|
|
125
|
+
Every tool is annotated, so a client can tell the difference between reading telemetry and
|
|
126
|
+
moving an aircraft: the read-only tools declare `readOnlyHint` and get auto-approved, the
|
|
127
|
+
flight tools declare `destructiveHint` and prompt.
|
|
128
|
+
|
|
129
|
+
Argument limits travel in the tool schema, so a client rejects an impossible request before
|
|
130
|
+
it reaches an aircraft — `takeoff(altitude_m=-20)` comes back as a validation error, not as
|
|
131
|
+
a clamped flight. The bounds come from your config, so the model sees the envelope it is
|
|
132
|
+
actually flying in.
|
|
133
|
+
|
|
134
|
+
Then ask it something like *"take off to 20 m, fly 40 m north, orbit here at 15 m, take a photo, then RTL."*
|
|
135
|
+
|
|
136
|
+
No SITL? `mavlink-mcp --backend fake --enable-actuation` runs an in-memory drone with no ports.
|
|
137
|
+
|
|
138
|
+
## With a camera, in Gazebo
|
|
139
|
+
|
|
140
|
+
For a drone that can actually see something, there is a Gazebo field — roads, cars,
|
|
141
|
+
buildings, markers — in [ardupilot_gazebo_ai](https://github.com/deepak61296/ardupilot_gazebo_ai):
|
|
142
|
+
|
|
143
|
+
```bash
|
|
144
|
+
git clone git@github.com:deepak61296/ardupilot_gazebo_ai.git
|
|
145
|
+
cd ardupilot_gazebo_ai && bash scripts/setup_plugin.sh && bash scripts/sim_up.sh
|
|
146
|
+
```
|
|
147
|
+
|
|
148
|
+
then, in another terminal:
|
|
149
|
+
|
|
150
|
+
```bash
|
|
151
|
+
mavlink-mcp --enable-actuation --camera gazebo
|
|
152
|
+
```
|
|
153
|
+
|
|
154
|
+
Ask the agent to take off, point the camera down, fly north and take a photo, and it gets
|
|
155
|
+
back a picture of the field.
|
|
156
|
+
|
|
157
|
+
## On a real vehicle
|
|
158
|
+
|
|
159
|
+
Nothing here has been flown on hardware yet, so treat this as the configuration you would
|
|
160
|
+
start from rather than a tested recipe.
|
|
161
|
+
|
|
162
|
+
Two things change from SITL, and they are configured independently — the autopilot link and
|
|
163
|
+
the camera are separate streams that happen to come off the same aircraft:
|
|
164
|
+
|
|
165
|
+
```bash
|
|
166
|
+
mavlink-mcp \
|
|
167
|
+
--conn serial:/dev/ttyACM0:57600 \
|
|
168
|
+
--camera rtsp://192.168.1.10:8554/cam \
|
|
169
|
+
--enable-actuation --allow-real-vehicle
|
|
170
|
+
```
|
|
171
|
+
|
|
172
|
+
- **`--conn`** — `serial:/dev/ttyACM0:57600` for a USB/telemetry radio, or `udp:...` if a
|
|
173
|
+
router is already fanning the link out. If a GCS is also connected, read
|
|
174
|
+
[Running alongside a GCS](#running-alongside-a-gcs) first: one MAVLink endpoint serves one
|
|
175
|
+
client.
|
|
176
|
+
- **`--camera`** — your camera's own RTSP URL, which the operator has to supply; the server
|
|
177
|
+
has no way to discover it. Unlike `--camera gazebo`, RTSP is read through OpenCV's FFMPEG
|
|
178
|
+
backend, so the plain `pip install ".[camera]"` wheel is enough — no GStreamer build
|
|
179
|
+
needed. Try `--camera file:<some.jpg>` first to confirm your client renders images at all.
|
|
180
|
+
- **`--allow-real-vehicle`** — required. Actuation is refused on anything that does not
|
|
181
|
+
identify itself as a simulator (see [Safety](#safety)), and the connection string is never
|
|
182
|
+
what decides that.
|
|
183
|
+
|
|
184
|
+
## Running alongside a GCS
|
|
185
|
+
|
|
186
|
+
The server owns the link. ArduPilot SITL — and a typical serial flight controller — serve a
|
|
187
|
+
**single** MAVLink client, so you can't point `mavlink-mcp` and a ground station at the same
|
|
188
|
+
endpoint; the second one connects but never sees a heartbeat. To run both, fan the stream out with
|
|
189
|
+
[mavlink-router](https://github.com/mavlink-router/mavlink-router) (or mavproxy) and give each
|
|
190
|
+
consumer its own routed UDP port:
|
|
191
|
+
|
|
192
|
+
```bash
|
|
193
|
+
# one FC in, two UDP endpoints out
|
|
194
|
+
mavlink-routerd -e 127.0.0.1:14550 -e 127.0.0.1:14560 /dev/ttyACM0:57600
|
|
195
|
+
```
|
|
196
|
+
|
|
197
|
+
Then `mavlink-mcp --conn udp:127.0.0.1:14560` while your GCS takes `14550`.
|
|
198
|
+
|
|
199
|
+
## Tools
|
|
200
|
+
|
|
201
|
+
Read-only (always on): `get_status`, `describe_vehicle`, `check_armable`, `get_param`,
|
|
202
|
+
`capture_camera`.
|
|
203
|
+
|
|
204
|
+
The server also finds out what it's talking to on its own: `describe_vehicle` reports the
|
|
205
|
+
autopilot and firmware version (from `AUTOPILOT_VERSION`), the vehicle type from the
|
|
206
|
+
heartbeat, sensor health from `SYS_STATUS`, the fence, and the protocol capabilities —
|
|
207
|
+
all read from the vehicle, not from configuration. The same info is published as MCP
|
|
208
|
+
resources (`mavlink://vehicle`, `mavlink://telemetry`) for clients that read those.
|
|
209
|
+
|
|
210
|
+
Flight (need `--enable-actuation`): `arm`, `disarm`, `takeoff`, `land`, `rtl`, `goto`, `move`,
|
|
211
|
+
`orbit`, `wait`, `set_mode`, `set_param`, `point_camera`, `emergency_stop`.
|
|
212
|
+
|
|
213
|
+
- `move` takes north/south/east/west, the four diagonals (northeast/…), or forward/back/left/right,
|
|
214
|
+
plus a distance. Blocks until it arrives.
|
|
215
|
+
- `orbit` flies one full circle of a given radius around the current position, holding altitude.
|
|
216
|
+
- `takeoff`/`goto`/`move`/`orbit`/`land`/`rtl` all block until the vehicle actually gets
|
|
217
|
+
there — `rtl` returns once it is down and disarmed, not when the mode switches — and every
|
|
218
|
+
reply ends with a `[state: alt X m, MODE, armed]` line read from live telemetry.
|
|
219
|
+
- `emergency_stop` interrupts a running flight command — the blocking tool unwinds immediately —
|
|
220
|
+
then commands RTL. The RTL itself may wait behind at most one in-flight MAVLink exchange
|
|
221
|
+
(each is hard-bounded at a few seconds).
|
|
222
|
+
- Flight commands run off the event loop, so `get_status` and `emergency_stop` still answer
|
|
223
|
+
immediately while the vehicle is in the middle of a long move.
|
|
224
|
+
- `capture_camera` returns the frame as an MCP image, so a multimodal model can look at it. Point
|
|
225
|
+
`--camera` at `gazebo`, an `rtsp://` URL, or `file:<path>`. `file:` is handy for a first
|
|
226
|
+
test: point it at any JPEG and check your client actually renders what the drone "sees".
|
|
227
|
+
Every other tool returns text, so the flight and telemetry tools work with any model — only
|
|
228
|
+
`capture_camera` needs a multimodal client (Claude, Codex).
|
|
229
|
+
|
|
230
|
+
Note on `--camera gazebo`: that stream is H.264 over UDP, which OpenCV can only read
|
|
231
|
+
through GStreamer, and the `opencv-python` wheel is built without it. Use Ubuntu's
|
|
232
|
+
`python3-opencv` (and `numpy<2` with it) for the Gazebo camera. `rtsp://` and `file:`
|
|
233
|
+
work fine with the wheel.
|
|
234
|
+
|
|
235
|
+
## Safety
|
|
236
|
+
|
|
237
|
+
- Actuation is off unless you pass `--enable-actuation`. Without it, only the read-only tools
|
|
238
|
+
exist — and a read-only server **never writes to the flight controller**, not even failsafe
|
|
239
|
+
setup: connecting and reading status leaves the vehicle's configuration untouched.
|
|
240
|
+
- Even then, flying needs the vehicle to prove it is a simulator: ArduPilot SITL streams a
|
|
241
|
+
`SIMSTATE` message, real firmware never does. No `SIMSTATE` — including a real FC routed to
|
|
242
|
+
`127.0.0.1` by mavlink-router — means every flight tool (`emergency_stop` included) is refused
|
|
243
|
+
until you pass `--allow-real-vehicle`. The connection string is never trusted for this.
|
|
244
|
+
- Flight tools are refused on anything that isn't a multirotor (a Plane or Rover heartbeat gets
|
|
245
|
+
telemetry tools only), and on PX4 until its backend exists.
|
|
246
|
+
- `set_param` refuses writes to the safety-net parameter families at **any** value — `FENCE_*`,
|
|
247
|
+
`FS_*`, `ARMING_*`, battery failsafes, `FORMAT_VERSION`, `SYSID_*` — not just "off" values,
|
|
248
|
+
because a fence is weakened as easily by raising `FENCE_RADIUS` as by zeroing `FENCE_ENABLE`.
|
|
249
|
+
Opt out with `--allow-unsafe-params`.
|
|
250
|
+
- Altitude is clamped to a limit and to the vehicle's fence; horizontal targets are pulled back
|
|
251
|
+
inside the geofence. `get_status` reports whether the horizontal clamp is actually active
|
|
252
|
+
(it needs a home fix and a readable fence radius) instead of failing silently.
|
|
253
|
+
- No disarm while airborne, no takeoff while flying, no move/goto before armed and airborne —
|
|
254
|
+
and when altitude is unknown (position stream lost), these checks fail **closed**, not open.
|
|
255
|
+
- With actuation enabled, the server enables the FC geofence and a GCS-heartbeat failsafe, so
|
|
256
|
+
the vehicle returns to launch on its own if the agent or link dies. `describe_vehicle` lists
|
|
257
|
+
exactly which parameters were written at connect.
|
|
258
|
+
- Timed-out commands cannot fire late: a flight command that already reported failure is
|
|
259
|
+
cancelled before it can reach the vehicle afterwards.
|
|
260
|
+
|
|
261
|
+
None of this replaces a human with a kill switch on a real flight.
|
|
262
|
+
|
|
263
|
+
## Options
|
|
264
|
+
|
|
265
|
+
| Flag | Env | Default | Meaning |
|
|
266
|
+
|------|-----|---------|---------|
|
|
267
|
+
| `--conn` | `MAVLINK_MCP_CONN` | `tcp:127.0.0.1:5760` | MAVLink endpoint (SITL, `udp:...`, `serial:/dev/ttyACM0:57600`) |
|
|
268
|
+
| `--enable-actuation` | | off | register the flight tools |
|
|
269
|
+
| `--allow-real-vehicle` | | off | allow actuation on non-local connections |
|
|
270
|
+
| `--allow-unsafe-params` | | off | let `set_param` disable fences/failsafes |
|
|
271
|
+
| `--camera` | `MAVLINK_MCP_CAMERA` | none | `gazebo[:port]`, `rtsp://...`, `udp://...`, `file:<path>` |
|
|
272
|
+
| `--backend` | `MAVLINK_MCP_BACKEND` | `auto` | `auto` (detect from heartbeat), `ardupilot`, `fake` |
|
|
273
|
+
| `--config` | `MAVLINK_MCP_CONFIG` | none | TOML config file, see below |
|
|
274
|
+
| `--transport` | | `stdio` | `stdio` or `http` |
|
|
275
|
+
| `--host` | | `127.0.0.1` | bind address for `--transport http`. **No auth exists on the HTTP transport**, so a non-loopback bind is refused at startup — front it with an authenticating proxy instead |
|
|
276
|
+
| `--port` | | `8000` | port for `--transport http` |
|
|
277
|
+
|
|
278
|
+
The link opens lazily on the first tool call, so the server starts fine before SITL is up.
|
|
279
|
+
|
|
280
|
+
Instead of flags you can keep everything in one TOML file — handy when the MCP client
|
|
281
|
+
entry should stay short, and the only place to tune the safety limits:
|
|
282
|
+
|
|
283
|
+
```toml
|
|
284
|
+
# drone.toml — run with: mavlink-mcp --config drone.toml
|
|
285
|
+
[connection]
|
|
286
|
+
uri = "tcp:127.0.0.1:5760"
|
|
287
|
+
|
|
288
|
+
[safety]
|
|
289
|
+
enable_actuation = true
|
|
290
|
+
max_takeoff_alt_m = 50 # clamp on top of the vehicle's own fence
|
|
291
|
+
max_orbit_radius_m = 100
|
|
292
|
+
|
|
293
|
+
[camera]
|
|
294
|
+
source = "gazebo"
|
|
295
|
+
```
|
|
296
|
+
|
|
297
|
+
Flags and env vars override the file.
|
|
298
|
+
|
|
299
|
+
## Autopilot support
|
|
300
|
+
|
|
301
|
+
The default backend is `auto`: the server reads the autopilot type from the first heartbeat.
|
|
302
|
+
ArduPilot works today and is what the test suite flies. PX4 is recognised from its heartbeat
|
|
303
|
+
and flight is refused on it until the PX4 backend (MAVSDK) lands; the read-only tools are
|
|
304
|
+
plain MAVLink and should work, but nothing here has been run against PX4 yet — see
|
|
305
|
+
[STATUS.md](https://github.com/deepak61296/mavlink-mcp/blob/main/STATUS.md).
|
|
306
|
+
|
|
307
|
+
`scripts/mission_demo.py` is a small example that drives the server over MCP and flies a mission.
|
|
308
|
+
|
|
309
|
+
## Tests
|
|
310
|
+
|
|
311
|
+
```bash
|
|
312
|
+
pytest # unit tests, no vehicle needed
|
|
313
|
+
pytest -m sitl # flies a real mission against SITL (~5 min)
|
|
314
|
+
```
|
|
315
|
+
|
|
316
|
+
The `sitl` suite is opt-in because it needs ArduCopter SITL listening on
|
|
317
|
+
`MAVLINK_MCP_TEST_CONN` (default `tcp:127.0.0.1:5760`). It drives the server over the real
|
|
318
|
+
stdio protocol and flies a full mission, which is the only way most of the interesting
|
|
319
|
+
failures show up at all.
|
|
320
|
+
|
|
321
|
+
Start SITL for it with no MAVProxy, so the server owns the link:
|
|
322
|
+
|
|
323
|
+
```bash
|
|
324
|
+
python3 Tools/autotest/sim_vehicle.py -v ArduCopter --no-mavproxy -I0
|
|
325
|
+
```
|
|
326
|
+
|
|
327
|
+
That matters more than it looks: **ArduPilot SITL serves exactly one MAVLink client on its
|
|
328
|
+
TCP port.** A second connection is accepted at the socket level and then never receives a
|
|
329
|
+
heartbeat, so a stray MAVProxy or a second server makes the vehicle look dead rather than
|
|
330
|
+
busy.
|
|
331
|
+
|
|
332
|
+
## License
|
|
333
|
+
|
|
334
|
+
MIT
|