dSPACE SystemDesk MCP Server

This MCP server automates dSPACE SystemDesk through its COM automation interface. It covers the SystemDesk lifecycle, project operations, and AUTOSAR file import/validation.

SystemDesk acts as a strong partner for AI-driven AUTOSAR generation, where AI agents create comprehensive architecture descriptions and SystemDesk ensures correctness, consistency, and compliance through its robust validation capabilities.

Prerequisites

• Installed dSPACE SystemDesk with a valid license
• Python 3.10 or newer
• uv, the Python package and project manager used to create the environment, install dependencies, and run the server from this checkout. Install it from the official Astral documentation: https://docs.astral.sh/uv/getting-started/installation/
• An MCP client (e.g. VS Code, Cursor, Claude Desktop)

Installation

1. Open the repository/folder.
2. Create the project environment and install dependencies from pyproject.toml using the following command:

uv sync

Using with an MCP Client

1. In your MCP client (e.g. VS Code, Claude Code, Cursor, Claude Desktop), add a new MCP server.

2. Configure it as a stdio MCP server using the following command:

    path\to\this\cloned\repo\SystemDeskMCP.cmd

   For example, as a .vscode/mcp.json entry:

   {
    "servers": {
     "SystemDeskMCP": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "path\\to\\this\\cloned\\repo\\SystemDeskMCP.cmd",
      "args": []
     }
    }
   }

3. Reconnect/reload MCP servers in your client.

4. Run a quick check prompt, for example: "Call start_systemdesk() and report the result."

Usage (Tool Order)

Recommended flow:

1. start_systemdesk()
2. create_project(project_path, project_name) or open an existing project
3. import_autosar_file(file_path)
4. validate_autosar(output_format="markdown" | "json")
5. close_project(save_project=True)
6. close_systemdesk(save_project=True)

Important:

• start_systemdesk() must be called before any other SystemDesk tool.
• import_autosar_file only supports files with the .arxml extension.
• If SystemDesk shows blocking dialogs, startup/COM access may fail transiently.

Development Setup

Create the project environment and install the development dependencies from pyproject.toml using the following command:

uv sync --extra dev

Running Tests

uv run pytest

To also collect coverage:

uv run pytest --cov=systemdesk_mcp

For an end-to-end smoke test against an existing SystemDesk installation, use the prompt in .github/prompts/smoke-test.prompt.md.

Available MCP Tools

• start_systemdesk()
• get_systemdesk_status()
• close_systemdesk(save_project=True)
• create_project(project_path, project_name)
• close_project(save_project=True)
• import_autosar_file(file_path)
• validate_autosar(output_format="markdown" | "json")

Extending the Server

Add a new tool by defining a function decorated with @mcp.tool() in src/systemdesk_mcp/server.py:

@mcp.tool()
def my_new_tool(param: str) -> str:
    """Description shown to the MCP client."""
    app = _get_app()  # retrieve the active COM connection
    # ... call app.* COM methods ...
    return "result"

Use _get_app() to access the live SystemDesk COM object.

Troubleshooting

• win32com is not installed: run uv sync to install pywin32
• class not registered / invalid class string: check SystemDesk installation/COM registration
• blocked / rejected: close open dialogs in SystemDesk and try again
• access denied: start the MCP server with elevated privileges if needed

File Overview

• src/systemdesk_mcp/server.py: MCP server and tools
• tests/: unit tests and ARXML test fixtures
• pyproject.toml: project metadata and Python dependencies (managed with uv)
• SystemDeskMCP.cmd: Convenience launcher used by MCP clients
• .github/prompts/smoke-test.prompt.md: end-to-end smoke test prompt