origin-pro-mcp 0.1.0

MCP server for controlling OriginLab Origin Pro via COM automation

Origin Pro MCP Server

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that enables AI assistants like Claude to control OriginLab Origin Pro via COM automation. All operations are reflected in Origin's GUI in real-time — you watch as the AI creates worksheets, plots graphs, and styles figures.

What Can It Do?

• Worksheet Management — Create workbooks, read/write data, import CSV files
• Graph Creation — Scatter, line, line+symbol, bar, histogram, box, contour, pie, bubble plots
• Plot Styling — Colors, symbols, line width, publication-ready formatting in one call
• Curve Fitting — Linear, polynomial, exponential, Gaussian, Lorentz, Voigt, and more
• Project Management — New/save/load projects, export all graphs
• LabTalk Scripting — Direct LabTalk execution for advanced operations

Quick Start

1. Prerequisites

• Windows with Origin Pro 2020+ installed and running
• Python 3.10+ (Windows Python, not WSL)

2. Install & Configure

Option A: uvx (recommended — zero setup)

No manual install needed. Just add to your Claude Code MCP settings:

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

uvx automatically downloads and runs the server in an isolated environment. Nothing else to install.

Option B: pip install from GitHub

pip install git+https://github.com/youngminsw/Origin-Pro-MCP.git

Then configure Claude Code:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "origin-pro": {
      "command": "origin-pro-mcp"
    }
  }
}

Option C: Clone and run directly

git clone https://github.com/youngminsw/Origin-Pro-MCP.git
cd Origin-Pro-MCP
pip install -e .

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "origin-pro": {
      "command": "origin-pro-mcp"
    }
  }
}

Note: If Claude Code runs in WSL, make sure the uvx or python command points to your Windows Python, not WSL Python. Origin COM only works from Windows.

4. Start Origin Pro

Open Origin Pro before starting the server. The server attaches to the running instance via Origin.ApplicationSI.

5. Use It

Just ask Claude to work with Origin:

"Create a scatter plot from this data: x=[1,2,3,4,5], y=[2.1,4.0,5.9,8.1,10.0]"
"Apply publication styling to Fig1 with axis labels Temperature (K) and Absorbance (a.u.)"
"Fit a Gaussian to the data in Book1"
"Export all graphs to C:\Users\me\figures\"

Architecture

Claude Code (WSL or Windows)
    |  stdio (MCP protocol)
    v
MCP Server (Windows Python + win32com)
    |  COM automation
    v
Origin Pro (GUI visible in real-time)

Available Tools (23 total)

Project Management

Tool	Description
new_project	Create new empty Origin project
save_project	Save project to .opju file
load_project	Open existing .opj/.opju file

Data

Tool	Description
create_worksheet	Create new workbook
set_worksheet_data	Write column data (JSON arrays)
get_worksheet_data	Read worksheet data as JSON
import_csv_to_worksheet	Import CSV/text file
list_worksheets	List all open workbooks and graphs

Graphing

Tool	Description
create_graph	Create graph (scatter, line, line+symbol, bar, etc.)
add_plot_to_graph	Add another dataset to existing graph
set_axis_labels	Set X/Y axis labels and title
set_axis_range	Set axis min/max values
export_graph	Export graph to PNG/JPG image
export_all_graphs	Export every graph in the project

Styling

Tool	Description
apply_publication_style	One-call publication formatting (recommended)
set_plot_style	Set color, symbol, line width per plot
set_graph_font	Set font family and size
set_legend	Configure legend text and position
set_tick_style	Set tick direction and length

Analysis

Tool	Description
curve_fit	Curve fitting with R², SSR statistics
list_fitting_functions	Show available fit functions

Advanced

Tool	Description
run_labtalk	Execute any LabTalk script directly
get_labtalk_variable	Read a LabTalk variable value

Example: Publication-Quality Figure

# 1. Start fresh
new_project()

# 2. Create data
create_worksheet(book_name="Data")
set_worksheet_data(
    book_name="Data", sheet_name="Sheet1",
    columns="[[300,350,400,450,500,550,600],[0.12,0.35,0.89,1.62,1.95,1.92,1.25],[0.08,0.22,0.62,1.35,1.88,1.90,1.12]]",
    column_names="Temperature,Pristine,Annealed"
)

# 3. Create line+symbol graph
create_graph(graph_name="Fig1", data_book="Data", data_sheet="Sheet1",
             x_col=1, y_col=2, plot_type="line+symbol")
add_plot_to_graph(graph_name="Fig1", data_book="Data", data_sheet="Sheet1",
                  x_col=1, y_col=3, plot_type="line+symbol")

# 4. One call does everything: colors, fonts, ticks, frame, legend
apply_publication_style(
    graph_name="Fig1",
    x_label="Temperature (K)",
    y_label="Absorbance (a.u.)",
    x_min=280, x_max=620, y_min=0, y_max=2.2,
    legend_entries="Pristine,Annealed",
    legend_position="top-right"
)

# 5. Export
export_graph(graph_name="Fig1", file_path="C:\\Users\\me\\fig1.png")

Result: A publication-ready figure with bold Arial labels, colorblind-safe colors (blue circles + red triangles), filled symbols, solid lines, inward ticks, closed frame, and positioned legend.

Claude Code Skill: Publication Figure

This repo includes a skill file (skills/publication-figure.md) that teaches Claude how to create journal-quality figures step by step. To use it:

1. Copy skills/publication-figure.md to your Claude Code skills directory
2. When you ask Claude to "make a publication figure", it will automatically follow the skill's workflow:
   • Ask about data source, figure type, target journal
   • Use colorblind-safe color palette (blue → red → green → orange → purple → cyan)
   • Apply proper typography (Arial, bold, correct sizes)
   • Follow a pre-export checklist

The skill also documents Origin 2020 COM quirks — what works, what doesn't, and tested workarounds. This is invaluable if you need to customize beyond apply_publication_style.

Customizing the Skill for Your Style

The included skill is a starting template. You should customize it to match your lab's or journal's requirements:

• Font: Change from Arial to your journal's preferred font (e.g., Helvetica, Times New Roman)
• Font sizes: Adjust axis title/tick label/legend sizes to match your journal's figure guidelines
• Color palette: Replace the default colorblind-safe palette with your group's standard colors
• Default export path: Set to your working directory
• Figure recipes: Add templates for your common figure types (XRD patterns, IV curves, etc.)
• Journal presets: Add specific formatting rules for your target journals (Nature, ACS, RSC, etc.)

Copy skills/publication-figure.md to your project and edit freely — it's meant to be a starting point, not a rigid template.

Key Origin 2020 COM Quirks (documented in skill)

Issue	Workaround
Bold axis titles (xb.bold) doesn't exist	Use \b(text) markup in xb.text$
legend.text$ doesn't support multiline via COM	Set column Long Names, then legend -r
legend.x/y uses data coordinates, not %	Calculate from layer.x.from/to
%C notation fails via COM	Use actual plot names from DataPlots
expGraph doesn't produce files via COM	Use CopyPage + Pillow clipboard
nlr.r2 returns 0 after nlend	Read statistics BEFORE nlend
Plot styling commands can conflict	Add 0.2s delay between set commands

Supported Plot Types

Type	Description
scatter	Scatter plot (symbols only)
line	Line plot (no symbols)
line+symbol	Line with symbols (recommended for publications)
column	Vertical bar chart
bar	Horizontal bar chart
area	Area plot
histogram	Histogram
box	Box plot
contour	Contour plot
pie	Pie chart
bubble	Bubble chart

Supported Fitting Functions

Category	Functions
Linear	line
Polynomial	poly2, poly3, poly4, poly5
Exponential	exp1, exp2, expgrow1, expdecay1
Peak	gauss, lorentz, voigt
Growth/Sigmoidal	boltzmann, hill, logistic, lognormal
Other	power, sine

Color Palette

Default colorblind-safe order used by apply_publication_style:

Order	Color	Best for
1st	Blue	Primary dataset
2nd	Red	Comparison dataset
3rd	Green	Third dataset
4th	Orange	Fourth dataset
5th	Purple	Fifth dataset
6th	Cyan	Sixth dataset

Tip: Never use red + green as the only two colors — colorblind users cannot distinguish them. Use blue + red or blue + orange instead.

Troubleshooting

Problem	Solution
"Origin.ApplicationSI" error	Make sure Origin Pro is running before starting the server
Tools timeout	Origin may be showing a dialog — check the Origin window
Export returns empty	Increase the clipboard wait time; check if Origin window is minimized
Legend missing after styling	Legend uses data coordinates — verify axis range is set before positioning
Symbols appear hollow	Do NOT use set -d flag (it's for dash patterns, not fill)

License

MIT