openroad-mcp 0.5.2

The OpenROAD MCP server

OpenROAD MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides tools for interacting with OpenROAD and ORFS (OpenROAD Flow Scripts).

Demo

Watch full demo video

Features

• Interactive OpenROAD sessions - Execute commands in persistent OpenROAD sessions with PTY support
• Session management - Create, list, inspect, and terminate multiple sessions
• Command history - Access full command history for any session
• Performance metrics - Get comprehensive metrics across all sessions
• Report visualization - List and read report images from ORFS runs

Requirements

• OpenROAD installed and available in your PATH
  • Installation guide
• OpenROAD-flow-scripts (ORFS) for complete RTL-to-GDS flows (optional but recommended)
  • ORFS installation guide
• Python 3.13+ or higher
• uv package manager
  • Install: curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

Support Matrix

MCP Client	Supported	Transport Mode(s)	Config file
Claude Code	✅	STDIO	.claude/settings.json
Claude Desktop	✅	STDIO	~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS)
Cursor	✅	STDIO	.cursor/mcp.json
GitHub Copilot (VS Code)	✅	STDIO	.vscode/mcp.json
Gemini CLI	✅	STDIO	~/.gemini/settings.json
Windsurf	✅	STDIO	~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json
Cline	✅	STDIO	VS Code globalStorage (see below)
Roo Code	✅	STDIO	.roo/mcp.json
Continue	✅	STDIO	~/.continue/config.json
Zed	✅	STDIO	~/.config/zed/settings.json
JetBrains AI Assistant	✅	STDIO	Settings UI
Amazon Q Developer CLI	✅	STDIO	~/.aws/amazonq/mcp.json
Augment Code	✅	STDIO	VS Code settings.json
Warp	✅	STDIO	Settings UI
Amp	✅	STDIO	CLI-managed
Trae	✅	STDIO	User config
Opencode	✅	STDIO	opencode.json
Kiro	✅	STDIO	Settings UI
Kilo Code	✅	STDIO	.kilocode/mcp.json
Other MCP clients	⚠️	STDIO	Should work with standard STDIO transport

Getting Started

New to OpenROAD MCP? Check out our Quick Start guide.

For platform-specific setup instructions, see the Cross-Platform Guide.

Standard Configuration

The basic configuration for all MCP clients:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "openroad-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "--from",
        "git+https://github.com/luarss/openroad-mcp",
        "openroad-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

For local development, use:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "openroad-mcp": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": [
        "--directory",
        "/path/to/openroad-mcp",
        "run",
        "openroad-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Installation

Claude Code

claude mcp add --transport stdio openroad-mcp -- uvx --from git+https://github.com/luarss/openroad-mcp openroad-mcp

Or add the standard configuration to .claude/settings.json.

Claude Desktop

Add the standard configuration to:

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

Cursor

Add the standard configuration to .cursor/mcp.json.

GitHub Copilot (VS Code)

Add to .vscode/mcp.json (VS Code 1.99+). Note the different schema — servers key and "type": "stdio" required:

{
  "servers": {
    "openroad-mcp": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "--from",
        "git+https://github.com/luarss/openroad-mcp",
        "openroad-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Gemini CLI

Follow the Gemini MCP install guide, using the standard configuration above.

Windsurf

Add the standard configuration to ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json.

Cline

Add to the Cline MCP settings file:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Code/User/globalStorage/saoudrizwan.claude-dev/settings/cline_mcp_settings.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Code\User\globalStorage\saoudrizwan.claude-dev\settings\cline_mcp_settings.json
• Linux: ~/.config/Code/User/globalStorage/saoudrizwan.claude-dev/settings/cline_mcp_settings.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "openroad-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "--from",
        "git+https://github.com/luarss/openroad-mcp",
        "openroad-mcp"
      ],
      "disabled": false,
      "autoApprove": []
    }
  }
}

Roo Code

Add to .roo/mcp.json in your project root (or the equivalent user-level settings file via the Roo Code UI):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "openroad-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "--from",
        "git+https://github.com/luarss/openroad-mcp",
        "openroad-mcp"
      ],
      "disabled": false,
      "autoApprove": []
    }
  }
}

Continue

Add to ~/.continue/config.json:

{
  "experimental": {
    "modelContextProtocolServers": [
      {
        "transport": {
          "type": "stdio",
          "command": "uvx",
          "args": [
            "--from",
            "git+https://github.com/luarss/openroad-mcp",
            "openroad-mcp"
          ]
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

Zed

Add to ~/.config/zed/settings.json:

{
  "context_servers": {
    "openroad-mcp": {
      "command": {
        "path": "uvx",
        "args": [
          "--from",
          "git+https://github.com/luarss/openroad-mcp",
          "openroad-mcp"
        ]
      },
      "settings": {}
    }
  }
}

JetBrains AI Assistant

Open Settings → Tools → AI Assistant → Model Context Protocol (MCP) and add a new server entry using the standard configuration.

Amazon Q Developer CLI

Add the standard configuration to ~/.aws/amazonq/mcp.json.

Augment Code

Add to your VS Code settings.json (User or Workspace scope):

{
  "augment.advanced": {
    "mcpServers": [
      {
        "name": "openroad-mcp",
        "command": "uvx",
        "args": [
          "--from",
          "git+https://github.com/luarss/openroad-mcp",
          "openroad-mcp"
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

Warp

Open Settings → AI → MCP Servers → Add New MCP Server and enter:

• Name: openroad-mcp
• Command: uvx
• Args: --from git+https://github.com/luarss/openroad-mcp openroad-mcp

Amp

amp mcp add openroad-mcp uvx --from git+https://github.com/luarss/openroad-mcp openroad-mcp

Trae

Add the standard configuration to the MCP section of Trae's user settings (accessible via Settings → MCP).

Opencode

Add to opencode.json in your project root:

{
  "mcp": {
    "openroad-mcp": {
      "type": "local",
      "command": [
        "uvx",
        "--from",
        "git+https://github.com/luarss/openroad-mcp",
        "openroad-mcp"
      ],
      "enabled": true
    }
  }
}

Kiro

Open the MCP configuration panel in Kiro and add a new server entry using the standard configuration.

Kilo Code

Add to .kilocode/mcp.json in your project root:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "openroad-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "--from",
        "git+https://github.com/luarss/openroad-mcp",
        "openroad-mcp"
      ],
      "alwaysAllow": [],
      "disabled": false
    }
  }
}

Docker

🚧 Work in Progress: Docker deployment via GitHub Container Registry (GHCR) is coming soon.

MCP Registry

Once published to the MCP Registry, clients can discover and install directly:

uvx openroad-mcp

Verification

After configuration, restart your MCP client and verify the MCP server is running:

1. The server should automatically start when your MCP client launches
2. You can use OpenROAD tools through the MCP interface
3. Check logs for any startup errors if tools are not available

Available Tools

Once configured, the following tools are available:

• interactive_openroad - Execute commands in an interactive OpenROAD session
• create_interactive_session - Create a new OpenROAD session
• list_interactive_sessions - List all active sessions
• terminate_interactive_session - Terminate a session
• inspect_interactive_session - Get detailed session information
• get_session_history - View command history
• get_session_metrics - Get performance metrics
• list_report_images - List ORFS report directory images
• read_report_image - Read a ORFS report image

Troubleshooting

If the MCP server fails to start:

1. Ensure uv is installed and available in your PATH
2. Verify the path to openroad-mcp is correct
3. Check that all dependencies are installed: make sync
4. Review your MCP client logs for specific error messages

Development

Setup

# Install environment
uv venv
make sync

Testing

# Run core tests (recommended - excludes PTY tests that may fail in some environments)
make test

# Run interactive PTY tests separately (may have file descriptor issues in CI)
make test-interactive

# Run all tests including potentially problematic PTY tests
make test-all

# Format and check code
make format
make check

Note: Interactive PTY tests are separated because they may experience file descriptor issues in certain environments (containers, CI systems). The core functionality tests (make test) provide comprehensive coverage of the MCP integration without these environment-specific issues.

MCP Inspector

# Launch MCP inspector for debugging
# For STDIO transport: Set Command as "uv", Arguments as "run openroad-mcp"
make inspect

Contributing

We welcome contributions to OpenROAD MCP! Please see CONTRIBUTING.md for detailed instructions on how to get started, our development workflow, and code standards.

Support

If you encounter any issues or have questions, please open an issue on our GitHub issue tracker.

License

BSD 3-Clause License. See LICENSE file.

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