agent-can

Agent-first CAN bus session frontend for MCP clients. Runtime access goes through python-can; DBC decode/encode goes through cantools.

The server runs over stdio MCP and exposes tools for adapter discovery, connect/disconnect, status, DBC schema discovery, message list/read/send/stop, periodic sends, and python-can trace export.

MCP configuration

Use uvx agent-can as a stdio MCP server:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "agent-can": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["agent-can"]
    }
  }
}

For development from this repository:

uv run agent-can

Hardware mode

Real hardware uses the installed python-can backend and host drivers. PEAK PCAN on Windows and SocketCAN on Linux are the intended hardware paths:

{ "interface": "pcan", "channel": "PCAN_USBBUS1", "bitrate": 500000 }

Message operations

Raw sends use target: "0x123" and a hex string payload. Standard 11-bit classic CAN is the default.

{ "target": "0x123", "data": "01020304" }

Use extended: true for extended 29-bit IDs and fd: true for CAN FD payloads.

{ "target": "0x18DAF110", "data": "0102030405060708090A0B0C", "extended": true, "fd": true }

Semantic sends use target: "alias.MessageName" and a signal map:

{
  "target": "vehicle.PowertrainStatus",
  "data": {
    "vehicle_speed": 12.3,
    "engine_rpm": 1200,
    "throttle": 20,
    "coolant_temp": 82
  }
}

Send and read targets accept raw arbitration IDs such as 0x123 or exact semantic names such as alias.MessageName. Schema and message-list filters also accept partial or glob-style semantic names. DBC paths and trace paths must be absolute.

Periodic sends require periodicity_ms of at least 1.

Trace export

Trace export uses python-can logger suffix dispatch. The trace path must be absolute and the parent directory must exist. Use .asc for ASCII logs; other python-can-supported suffixes select their corresponding writer.

Development

uv run ruff check .
uv run pytest
uv build --no-sources