vivado-mcp-native 0.2.0

Native cross-platform MCP server for AMD/Xilinx Vivado FPGA development

Vivado MCP Native

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A cross-platform Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for AMD/Xilinx Vivado. It lets MCP-compatible AI clients start and manage Vivado, open projects, run synthesis and implementation, inspect timing and utilization, control simulation, and execute Tcl commands.

This project uses a persistent subprocess Tcl session that works natively on Windows and Linux. It does not depend on the Unix-only pexpect transport.

[!IMPORTANT] Vivado is not included. Device support, licensed features, and available FPGA families are determined by the Vivado installation on the host machine.

[!WARNING] The name vivado-mcp on PyPI belongs to a different project. Install this project as vivado-mcp-native.

Highlights

• Native launch of Windows vivado.bat and vivado.cmd files.
• Direct Linux executable launch without an intermediate shell.
• One persistent Vivado Tcl process reused across MCP calls.
• UUID-framed command protocol that separates stdout, Tcl return values, return codes, and error stacks.
• UTF-8 hex transport for quotes, braces, backslashes, multiline Tcl, Unicode, and Windows paths.
• Full process-tree cleanup after command timeouts.
• Vivado discovery through VIVADO_PATH, PATH, and common installation directories.
• A vivado-mcp-native-doctor command for checking the local Python-to-Vivado connection.

Requirements

Component	Requirement
Operating system	Windows 10/11 or Linux
Python	3.10–3.12
Vivado	Local AMD/Xilinx Vivado installation
License	Appropriate for the operations and FPGA devices you use

Installation

From PyPI — recommended

Install the isolated command-line application with pipx:

py -m pip install --user --upgrade pipx
py -m pipx ensurepath
py -m pipx install vivado-mcp-native

Linux:

python3 -m pip install --user --upgrade pipx
python3 -m pipx ensurepath
python3 -m pipx install vivado-mcp-native

Installed commands:

• vivado-mcp-native — start the MCP server;
• vivado-mcp-native-doctor — check the local Vivado connection;
• vivado-mcp-win and vivado-mcp-win-doctor — compatibility aliases.

Install the latest source from GitHub

py -m pipx install --force "https://github.com/Arthurzxy/vivado_mcp_native/archive/refs/heads/master.zip"

Dedicated virtual environment

$venv = "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\vivado-mcp-native"
py -3.11 -m venv $venv
& "$venv\Scripts\python.exe" -m pip install --upgrade pip
& "$venv\Scripts\python.exe" -m pip install --upgrade vivado-mcp-native

Select the Vivado installation

VIVADO_PATH and the start_session tool's vivado_path argument may point to:

• the complete vivado.bat, vivado.cmd, vivado.exe, or Linux vivado launcher;
• the Vivado bin directory;
• the Vivado version directory.

Example:

$env:VIVADO_PATH = "D:\Xilinx\Vivado\2025.2\bin\vivado.bat"

Without an explicit path, the server checks PATH and common Windows locations such as:

C:\Xilinx\Vivado\*\bin\vivado.bat
C:\AMD\Vivado\*\bin\vivado.bat
C:\Program Files\AMD\Vivado\*\bin\vivado.bat

Check the Vivado connection

vivado-mcp-native-doctor --vivado-path "D:\Xilinx\Vivado\2025.2\bin\vivado.bat"

The path may also be a Vivado bin directory or version directory. Machine-readable output is available with --json:

vivado-mcp-native-doctor --vivado-path "D:\Xilinx\Vivado\2025.2" --json

The diagnostic command resolves the launcher, starts a persistent Tcl session, queries Vivado and Tcl versions, checks Tcl command transport and Unicode handling, verifies session health, and closes Vivado cleanly. It does not open or modify a user project.

Configure an MCP client

Find the installed executable:

(Get-Command vivado-mcp-native).Source

Example configuration for a pipx installation:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "vivado": {
      "command": "C:\\Users\\you\\.local\\bin\\vivado-mcp-native.exe",
      "env": {
        "VIVADO_PATH": "D:\\Xilinx\\Vivado\\2025.2\\bin\\vivado.bat"
      }
    }
  }
}

Example configuration for a virtual environment:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "vivado": {
      "command": "C:\\Users\\you\\AppData\\Local\\vivado-mcp-native\\Scripts\\python.exe",
      "args": ["-m", "vivado_mcp"],
      "env": {
        "VIVADO_PATH": "D:\\Xilinx\\Vivado\\2025.2\\bin\\vivado.bat"
      }
    }
  }
}

Using an absolute executable or Python path avoids depending on the MCP client's PATH environment.

Capabilities

Category	Representative tools	Purpose
Session management	start_session, stop_session, session_status, get_host_status	Start or stop Vivado and inspect session or host state
Project management	open_project, close_project, get_project_info	Open .xpr projects and read project information
Design flow	run_synthesis, run_implementation, generate_bitstream	Run synthesis, place-and-route, and bitstream generation
Reports	get_timing_summary, get_timing_paths, get_utilization, get_clocks, get_messages	Read timing, resource, clock, and message reports
Design queries	get_design_hierarchy, get_ports, get_nets, get_cells	Inspect hierarchy, ports, nets, and cells
Simulation	launch_simulation, run_simulation, restart_simulation, get_signal_value	Control xsim and inspect signals
Advanced	run_tcl, generate_full_report, read_report_section	Execute Tcl and read large reports

Architecture

MCP-compatible client
        │ MCP / stdio
        ▼
Vivado MCP server
        │ persistent subprocess Tcl session
        ▼
AMD/Xilinx Vivado -mode tcl

Each command is transported as UTF-8 hex and wrapped with unique markers. The server extracts stdout, the Tcl result, return code, and error stack without relying on the localized Vivado% prompt.

Troubleshooting

Vivado does not start

Verify the launcher directly:

& "D:\Xilinx\Vivado\2025.2\bin\vivado.bat" -mode tcl

Then run vivado-mcp-native-doctor and check the path, installation, permissions, environment, and license configuration.

Chinese output is corrupted

Override the Windows output decoder when necessary:

$env:VIVADO_MCP_OUTPUT_ENCODING = "gbk"

Use utf-8, gbk, or the encoding that matches the Vivado Tcl console.

A command times out

The server terminates the Vivado process tree after a timeout to avoid a desynchronized session. Start a new session and use a larger timeout for long synthesis or implementation runs.

More Windows guidance is available in WINDOWS_INSTALL.md.

Security

run_tcl can execute arbitrary Tcl with the current user's permissions, including file operations and external process launches. Expose this server only to trusted MCP clients and review high-impact commands and paths.

License

This project is available under the MIT License.

Acknowledgments

• Original project created by Corey Hahn.
• Built on the Model Context Protocol.
• Integrates with AMD/Xilinx Vivado.