MCP Ideas - Model Context Protocol Servers

Collection of MCP servers for integrating Claude with hardware devices and home automation.

Available MCP Servers

1. Home Assistant Server (server_home_assistant.py)

Control your smart home devices through Claude with full Home Assistant integration.

Features:

• Lights: Control Philips Hue bulbs and other lights (on/off, brightness, RGB color)
• Climate: Read temperatures, control thermostats
• Locks: Lock/unlock smart locks
• Cameras: View snapshots, send to Telegram
• Switches: Control smart plugs (Tapo, etc.)
• Covers: Open/close garage doors, blinds
• Sensors: Read all sensor data (motion, air quality, etc.)
• Media Players: Text-to-speech announcements
• Telegram: Send messages and camera snapshots

2. Tello Drone Server (server_tello.py)

Fly and control DJI Tello drones through Claude commands.

Features:

• Flight controls (takeoff, land, move, rotate, flip)
• Camera snapshot capture
• Battery and sensor monitoring
• Video streaming (Windows compatible with OpenCV)

Quick Setup

1. Install Dependencies

# Create virtual environment
python -m venv .venv

# Activate virtual environment
# Windows:
.venv\Scripts\activate
# macOS/Linux:
source .venv/bin/activate

# Install requirements
pip install -r requirements.txt

2. Configure Environment Variables

Create a .env file with your credentials:

# Home Assistant Configuration
HA_URL=http://localhost:8123
HA_TOKEN=your_long_lived_access_token_here
TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID=your_telegram_chat_id

# Future: Weather Station (optional)
# WEATHER_STATION_URL=http://192.168.1.100

3. Configure Claude Desktop

Add to your claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "homeassistant": {
      "command": "C:\\Users\\YourName\\Documents\\FAC\\MCP_Ideas\\.venv\\Scripts\\python.exe",
      "args": ["server_home_assistant.py"]
    },
    "tello": {
      "command": "C:\\Users\\YourName\\Documents\\FAC\\MCP_Ideas\\.venv\\Scripts\\python.exe",
      "args": ["server_tello.py"]
    }
  }
}

4. Restart Claude Desktop

After configuration, restart Claude Desktop to load the MCP servers.

Test with MCP Inspector

Launch Inspector for local testing:

# Windows - Test Home Assistant Server
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector .venv\Scripts\python.exe server_home_assistant.py

# Windows - Test Tello Server
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector .venv\Scripts\python.exe server_tello.py

Inspector opens at http://localhost:5173

Inspector stuck?

# Windows
Get-Process | Where-Object { $_.Path -like "*@modelcontextprotocol*" } | Stop-Process

Usage Examples

Home Assistant Examples

Control Lights:

"Turn on the living room light"
"Set the Hue bulb to 50% brightness"
"Change the bedroom light to blue" (RGB: 0, 0, 255)
"Turn off all lights in the kitchen"

Climate Control:

"What's the current temperature?"
"Set the thermostat to 22 degrees"
"Show me all climate device status"

Security & Monitoring:

"Lock the front door"
"Show me the front door camera"
"Send a camera snapshot to Telegram"
"What's the status of all locks?"

Smart Home Automation:

"Turn on the Tapo plug"
"Open the garage door"
"Read all sensor values"
"Make an announcement on the speaker: 'Dinner is ready'"

Tello Drone Examples

Basic Flight:

"Take off"
"Move forward 50 cm"
"Rotate clockwise 90 degrees"
"Land"

Camera & Sensors:

"Show me what the drone sees"
"What's the battery level?"
"Get current height"
"Read all sensor data"

Advanced Maneuvers:

"Do a flip forward"
"Fly in a square pattern"
"Return to takeoff position"

Project Structure

MCP_Ideas/
├── server_home_assistant.py    # Home Assistant MCP server
├── server_tello.py              # Tello drone MCP server
├── requirements.txt             # Python dependencies
├── .env                         # Environment variables (create this)
├── claude_desktop_config.json   # Claude Desktop configuration
├── test_udp_receive.py         # Tello UDP connection test
├── add_firewall_rule.ps1       # Windows firewall setup for Tello
└── README.md                    # This file

Troubleshooting

Home Assistant Connection Issues

Server not connecting:

• Verify Home Assistant is running and accessible
• Check HA_URL and HA_TOKEN in .env file
• Ensure long-lived access token is valid
• Restart Claude Desktop after configuration changes

Devices not responding:

• Use get_lights, get_switches, etc. to find correct entity IDs
• Check device is online in Home Assistant
• Verify entity ID matches exactly (case-sensitive)

Tello Drone - Windows Video Streaming

The Solution:

The Tello MCP server now uses OpenCV VideoCapture instead of PyAV on Windows, which properly handles UDP video streams.

PyAV's av.open() throws Error 10014 on Windows with UDP URLs, but OpenCV works perfectly!

What Was Done

1. Test Script Confirmed: Raw UDP sockets work and receive Tello video data
2. Root Cause Found: PyAV's FFmpeg wrapper can't open UDP streams on Windows
3. Fix Applied: Automatic patch uses OpenCV VideoCapture for Windows
4. Firewall Rule: Optional but recommended (run add_firewall_rule.ps1)

Testing Your Setup

Run the UDP test to verify your network:

.venv\Scripts\python.exe test_udp_receive.py

If this shows [SUCCESS] RECEIVED DATA, your setup is good!

Firewall Rule (Optional but Recommended)

While the OpenCV fix should work, adding a firewall rule is still recommended:

1. Open PowerShell as Administrator
2. Navigate to project directory:

   cd C:\Users\Alexander\Documents\FAC\MCP_Ideas

3. Run the firewall rule script:

   .\add_firewall_rule.ps1

How It Works Now

• Windows: Automatically uses OpenCV VideoCapture (UDP compatible)
• Linux/Mac: Uses PyAV as normal
• Both: 30 retry attempts to grab first frame (handles initialization delay)

If Video Still Doesn't Work

Try these additional steps:

Check your WiFi connection:

• Make sure you're connected to the Tello's WiFi network (TELLO-XXXXXX)
• The drone must be powered on

Disable VPN/Security Software:

• Some VPN or security software may block local UDP traffic
• Temporarily disable to test

Alternative Solutions:

1. Use WSL2 (if firewall fix doesn't work):

   # In WSL2
   python server_tello.py

2. Fly without camera (all commands work):

   • takeoff, land, move, rotate, flip, get_battery, etc.
   • Camera is optional for drone control