xsdb-mcp

MCP server for Xilinx XSDB/XSCT — hardware debugging, FPGA programming, and TCL scripting from AI assistants.

Install

cargo install --path .

Configure

Add to your MCP client settings (e.g. ~/.claude/settings.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "xsdb": {
      "command": "xsdb-mcp",
      "args": ["--xsdb-path", "/opt/Xilinx/2025.2/Vivado_Lab/bin/xsdb"]
    }
  }
}

The XSDB path can also be set via the XSDB_PATH environment variable or passed per-call in xsdb_connect.

Tools

| Tool | Description | |-|-| | xsdb_connect | Spawn XSDB and connect to its TCP server | | xsdb_eval | Send a TCL command and return the result | | xsdb_status | Report connection state, PID, and port | | xsdb_disconnect | Close connection and kill the process |

Usage

xsdb_connect          → connects using configured path
xsdb_eval "pid"       → returns XSDB process ID
xsdb_eval "targets"   → list available debug targets
xsdb_eval "fpga -f design.bit" → program FPGA
xsdb_disconnect       → clean shutdown

How it works

The server spawns XSDB with xsdbserver start in interactive mode, connects via TCP, and exchanges TCL commands using the XSDB wire protocol (okay <result>\r\n / error <msg>\r\n). Communication with the MCP client uses JSON-RPC over stdio.

License

MIT