About Ros Mcp Server
ROS MCP Server connects LLMs such as Claude, GPT and Gemini to ROS-based robots for two-way communication. It requires no changes to existing robot source code, only adding a rosbridge node to the ROS setup. It is aimed at robotics developers and researchers.
Key features
- 01No changes to robot source code required
- 02Publish, subscribe, call services and actions
- 03Discovers ROS topics, services and their types
- 04Supports ROS 2 and ROS 1 distributions
- 05Works with Claude Code, Gemini CLI and Cursor
Use cases
- 01Controlling a robot with natural language commands
- 02Letting an LLM read sensor data and monitor robot state
- 03Testing robot commands in simulators such as Isaac Sim
MCP support
This project is an MCP server that exposes ROS topics, services, actions and parameters to MCP clients. This lets an LLM observe and control the robot.
Configuration
Local server config is the same for every client. Copy it into your client’s MCP config file.
We haven’t collected a package or remote endpoint for this server. Follow the instructions in the project README.
Tools
Local servers expose tools only once running on your machine, and the maintainer has not provided a tool list.
Details
From the project READMEROS MCP Server 🧠⇄🤖
ROS-MCP-Server connects large language models (such as Claude, GPT, and Gemini) to robots, enabling bidirectional communication with no changes to existing robot source code.
Why ROS-MCP?
- No robot source code changes → just add the
rosbridgenode to your existing ROS setup. - True two-way communication → LLMs can both control robots and observe everything happening on the Robot.
- Full context → publish & subscribe to topics, call services & actions, set parameters, read sensor data, and monitor robot state in real time.
- Deep ROS understanding → guides the LLM to discover available topics, services, actions, and their types (including custom ones) — enabling it to use them with the right syntax without manual configuration.
- Works with any MCP client → built on the open MCP standard, supporting Claude Code, Codex CLI, Gemini CLI, Claude Desktop, ChatGPT, Cursor, and more.
- Works across ROS versions → compatible across ROS 2 (Jazzy, Humble, and others) and ROS 1 distros.
🎥 Examples in Action
🏭 Example - AI Agent diagnosis of Industrial Robot End Effector (Video)
- The MCP server connects Claude to a production industrial robot, with only the technician manuals as reference.
- Claude discovers the robot's custom topic and service types and their syntax on its own.
- From a single prompt to test the gripper, it reads the manuals, runs its own tests, finds an anomaly, and reports the root cause.
🤖 Example - Controlling "Wilson" with natural language (video)
From a single prompt — "Grab a Coke from the fridge & go to the living room." — Google Gemini uses the MCP server to navigate and manipulate autonomously. Built on ROS 2 with Nav2 (SLAM) for mapping and navigation, and MoveIt to command the manipulator.
🐕 Example - Controlling Unitree Go2 in NVIDIA Isaac Sim (video)
The MCP server connects Claude to a simulated Unitree Go2 quadruped in NVIDIA Isaac Sim, interpreting natural language commands to navigate and control the robot.
🛠 Getting Started
Follow the installation guide to get started.
ROS-MCP works with Claude Code, Codex CLI, Gemini CLI, Claude Desktop, ChatGPT, Cursor, or any MCP-compatible client.
📚 More Examples & Tutorials
Browse our examples to see the server in action.
We welcome community PRs with new examples and integrations!
🤝 Contributing
We love contributions of all kinds:
- Bug fixes and documentation updates
- New features (e.g., Action support, permissions)
- Additional examples and tutorials
Check out the contributing guidelines and see issues tagged good first issue to get started.
📜 License
This project is licensed under the Apache License 2.0.
Comments
New to MCP?
From what the protocol is to installing your first server, these answers cover most first questions.
An open protocol that defines how AI applications connect to external tools and data in a uniform way. Clients talk to the model; MCP servers provide tools, resources and prompt templates. They exchange standard messages, so one server can be reused by many clients.