Drive SolidCraft with MCP (Claude & Cursor)

Primary source: docs/mcp.md / official MCP guide. Official client examples cover Claude Code and Claude Desktop. Cursor uses the standard MCP stdio config from Cursor’s MCP docs with the same command.

On this page What MCP does Start the server Claude Code Claude Desktop Cursor Tools File access Example session

What the MCP server does

solidcraft-cli mcp is a Model Context Protocol server on stdio. Agents run the same engine commands as the toolbar, scripts, and CLI — create sketches, features, set parameters, measure, screenshot, export STEP/STL, undo/redo — without opening dialogs.

Headless: in-process design session (screenshots on GPU / software / CPU fallback).
Bridged: drive a running desktop app started with solidcraft --control PORT so you can watch.

Start it

# Headless
solidcraft-cli mcp

# Headless from a design or script
solidcraft-cli mcp --in part.solidcraft

# Bridged to the running app
solidcraft --control 7878 &
solidcraft-cli mcp --connect 127.0.0.1:7878

On Snap installs the CLI is solidcraft.cli.

Prefer SOLIDCRAFT_CONTROL_TOKEN over --token when bridging — command-line args are visible in the process list (official docs).

Claude Code

From the official MCP doc:

claude mcp add solidcraft -- solidcraft-cli mcp

Or project .mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "solidcraft": { "command": "solidcraft-cli", "args": ["mcp"] }
  }
}

Claude Desktop (bridged)

Official example for claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "solidcraft": {
      "command": "/path/to/solidcraft-cli",
      "args": ["mcp", "--connect", "127.0.0.1:7878"]
    }
  }
}

Start the app with solidcraft --control 7878 first.

Cursor

Not in SolidCraft’s official client list. The server speaks standard MCP over stdio, so Cursor should work with the same command. Config shape below follows Cursor documentation (.cursor/mcp.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json). Verify tools appear in Cursor’s MCP settings after reload.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "solidcraft": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "solidcraft-cli",
      "args": ["mcp", "--allow-path", "/absolute/path/to/your/designs"]
    }
  }
}

Use a full path to the binary if Cursor cannot find solidcraft-cli on PATH. For Snap: solidcraft.cli.

Tools (from official docs)

Tool	Role
`list_commands`	Command catalog
`execute` / `batch`	Run modelling commands (batch can roll back on error)
`inspect_design` / `measure` / `body_topology`	Read geometry and timeline
`set_parameter`	Create/change parameters and recompute
`screenshot`	PNG of the model or window
`export`	STEP, 3MF, STL, OBJ, URDF, …
`open` / `save` / `new_design`	Document lifecycle
`undo` / `redo`	History

Optional agent skills live under skills/ in the repo (solidcraft-modeling, solidcraft-editing, etc.).

Which files the agent can reach

By default, tools only touch:

the open design’s folder (only if strictly inside your home or temp, not home itself, not hidden folders),
SolidCraft’s recovery folder,
a private scratch folder for screenshots,
any --allow-path DIR you add.

solidcraft-cli mcp --allow-path ~/designs --allow-path ~/exports

--allow-any-path removes the limit (previous behaviour) — use carefully.

Minimal modelling session

Conceptual flow from the official doc’s example session:

batch a sketch rectangle → extrude → fillet → cut a hole
measure volume / area
screenshot with view: "iso"
export to a path inside an allowed folder

Demo scripts: examples/demo/enclosure_mcp.py builds an enclosure over MCP.

Also see: install guide · examples.