OpticMCP

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides camera/vision tools for AI assistants. Connect to cameras and capture images for use with LLMs.

Vision

OpticMCP aims to be a universal camera interface for AI assistants, supporting any camera type:

• USB Cameras (Current)
• IP/Network Cameras (Planned) - RTSP, ONVIF, HTTP streams
• Raspberry Pi Cameras (Planned) - CSI camera modules
• Screen Capture (Planned) - Desktop/window capture
• Mobile Cameras (Planned) - Phone camera integration
• Cloud Cameras (Planned) - Integration with cloud camera services

Current Features (v0.1.0 - USB Cameras)

• list_cameras - Scan and list all available USB cameras
• capture_image - Capture a frame and return as base64-encoded JPEG
• save_image - Capture a frame and save directly to a file

Requirements

• Python 3.10+
• USB camera connected to your system

Installation

From PyPI (Recommended)

pip install optic-mcp

Or with uv:

uv pip install optic-mcp

From Source

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/Timorleiderman/OpticMCP.git
cd OpticMCP

# Install dependencies with uv
uv sync

Usage

Running the MCP Server

If installed from PyPI:

optic-mcp

Or with uvx (no installation required):

uvx optic-mcp

Testing with the Client (from source)

uv run python client.py

Direct Camera Test (from source)

uv run python test_camera.py

MCP Configuration

Claude Desktop

Add to your Claude Desktop configuration file:

macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "optic-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["optic-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

OpenCode

Add to your opencode.json (in ~/.opencode/ or your project directory):

{
  "mcp": {
    "servers": {
      "optic-mcp": {
        "type": "local",
        "command": ["uvx", "optic-mcp"]
      }
    }
  }
}

Other MCP Clients

Using uvx (recommended - no installation required):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "optic-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["optic-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Using pip installation:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "optic-mcp": {
      "command": "optic-mcp"
    }
  }
}

From source:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "optic-mcp": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": ["run", "--directory", "/path/to/OpticMCP", "python", "-m", "optic_mcp.server"]
    }
  }
}

Tools

list_cameras

Scans for available USB cameras (indices 0-9) and returns their status.

[
  {
    "index": 0,
    "status": "available",
    "backend": "AVFOUNDATION",
    "description": "Camera 0 (AVFOUNDATION)"
  }
]

capture_image

Captures a single frame from the specified camera.

Parameters:

• camera_index (int, default: 0) - Camera index to capture from

Returns: Base64-encoded JPEG string

save_image

Captures a frame and saves it to disk.

Parameters:

• file_path (str) - Path where the image will be saved
• camera_index (int, default: 0) - Camera index to capture from

Returns: Success message with file path

Technical Notes

OpenCV + MCP Compatibility

OpenCV prints debug messages to stderr which corrupts MCP's stdio communication. This server suppresses stderr at the file descriptor level before importing cv2 to prevent this issue.

Roadmap

• v0.1.0 - USB camera support via OpenCV
• v0.2.0 - IP camera support (RTSP streams)
• v0.3.0 - Camera configuration (resolution, format, etc.)
• v0.4.0 - Video recording capabilities
• v0.5.0 - Multi-camera simultaneous capture

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

License

MIT