robotmcp--ros-mcp-server/docs/install/clients/claude-code.md

Step 1: Claude Code Setup

Claude Code is Anthropic's CLI tool for working with Claude. It supports MCP servers natively. If you don't have it yet, see the installation instructions.

1. Install uv

uv is needed to run the MCP server via uvx.

curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

See the uv installation docs for other platforms or troubleshooting.

2. Add the MCP Server

Add the ROS-MCP server to Claude Code:

claude mcp add ros-mcp -- uvx ros-mcp --transport=stdio

This registers the server so that Claude Code will launch it automatically when needed.

3. Verify the Setup

Verify the server was added:

claude mcp list

You should see ros-mcp in the output.

Now start Claude Code and ask it to connect to a robot:

claude

Connect to the robot on localhost using the ros-mcp server

The MCP server will attempt to reach a robot on the same machine. It should report that the IP is reachable but the rosbridge port is closed — this confirms the MCP server is set up correctly.

Tip: If your AI assistant can't find the ros-mcp server, exit and restart Claude Code so it picks up the new configuration.

To complete the connection, set up rosbridge on your robot.

Next Step

Set up rosbridge on the machine where ROS is running: Step 2: Rosbridge Setup

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Advanced

• HTTP transport — run the MCP server as a standalone HTTP service using the MCP http transport instead of default stdio transport.
• Alternate installation methods:
  • Install via pip — traditional pip install or install from source with pip
  • Install from source — for developers who need to modify the server code

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