MCP server · Developer tools

OpenBaud MCP server

Let your AI talk to serial hardware devices safely, with typed commands, checksums, and replayable captures.

OpenBaud is a helper that lets your AI work with serial hardware, the kind of device you plug into a USB port and talk to byte by byte. It is made for people who test or debug embedded boards, sensors, and other small devices, and who want the AI to do it in a careful, repeatable way instead of guessing. If you have ever stared at a serial terminal wondering what a device just said, this is for you.

What is an MCP server? The 30-second version

On its own, your AI can only chat. An MCP server is a small helper program that gives your AI a new skill or a connection to something outside the chat. OpenBaud is that helper for serial hardware: it sits between your AI and the device plugged into your computer. When you ask your AI to identify a board or read a sensor, the AI uses OpenBaud to actually send and receive the bytes, and OpenBaud keeps a record of what happened.

What this MCP server does

You ask your AI something like identify this serial device or read the radar scan. The AI calls OpenBaud, which opens the serial port, sends the right bytes, and reads the reply. OpenBaud checks the checksum, decodes the response into readable fields like angle and distance, and hands that back to the AI. The AI then explains the result to you in plain words. Every byte sent and received can be saved, so you can replay the exact same exchange later without the hardware.

What you can do with it

Identify a serial device by its USB details before sending anything
Send typed commands defined in YAML instead of raw byte dumps
Validate checksums and decode responses into structured fields
Record every byte sent and received into a capture file
Replay a capture later without the physical device attached
Refuse commands that need a device state you have not set up yet
Keep an audit log of every write and command

Try asking your AI

“Use OpenBaud to identify this serial device. Start read-only and preserve a capture.”
“Read the radar scan from the board and tell me the angle and distance of each point.”
“Turn this verified exchange into a reusable command I can run again later.”
“Replay the capture obp1-radar-seq42.obcap and show me the decoded points.”

What it gives back to you

You get structured answers in the chat, not raw byte dumps. For example, a scan might come back as a list of points with angle, distance, and intensity, plus a note that the checksum passed. If something is refused, OpenBaud tells you why, such as a missing precondition. Captures and audit logs are saved as files you can look at or replay later.

Before you start

What you need

The Codex app, since OpenBaud installs as a Codex plugin
Node.js 18 or newer for the portable launcher
A serial device connected by USB, or a capture file if you want to try without hardware
macOS ARM64 or Intel, Linux x64 or ARM64, or Windows x64

Good to know

Serial writes can reconfigure or move real hardware, so start unknown devices read-only and keep a way to recover before changing anything.

Install it with your AI

Add OpenBaud MCP server to your AI, no technical skills needed

You don't install anything by hand. You copy one prompt, paste it into an AI that can work on your computer, and it checks, installs and connects the server for you, asking you when it needs something.

Sign in to get the install prompt

Members get a ready-made prompt that lets the Claude desktop app check OpenBaud MCP server, install it and connect it for them, step by step. You don't need any technical skills: you copy, paste and answer a few questions. Your connected AI can also find and install any of the 4,609 MCP servers here for you.