playdate-mcp

MCP server for Playdate SDK development — gives AI agents the ability to build games, run the Playdate Simulator, execute Lua tests, and read project metadata.

No equivalent exists in the Playdate ecosystem. This is the first MCP server for Playdate.

Tools

Tool	Description
build_game	Compile a Playdate Lua project using pdc
run_simulator	Launch the Playdate Simulator with a .pdx bundle
run_lua_tests	Execute desktop Lua unit tests (no simulator required)
get_build_errors	Re-run build and return structured compiler errors
read_pdxinfo	Read and parse a pdxinfo metadata file

Requirements

• Node.js 18+
• Playdate SDK installed
• PLAYDATE_SDK_PATH environment variable set:

  export PLAYDATE_SDK_PATH="${HOME}/Developer/PlaydateSDK"

Installation

VS Code (.vscode/mcp.json)

{
  "servers": {
    "playdate": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@wintermuted/playdate-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "PLAYDATE_SDK_PATH": "/Users/Shared/Playdate SDK"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop (claude_desktop_config.json)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "playdate": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@wintermuted/playdate-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "PLAYDATE_SDK_PATH": "/Users/Shared/Playdate SDK"
      }
    }
  }
}

Development

npm install
npm run build
node dist/index.js   # starts the stdio MCP server

Inspect with MCP Inspector:

npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector node dist/index.js

License

MIT

Related

• playdate-skills — Static agent skills for Playdate SDK conventions