MCP Server for CST Studio Suite

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server providing AI-driven access to CST Studio Suite for antenna design, RF/microwave simulation, and PCB layout.

Features

• 170 tools across 20 categories: geometry, materials, ports, boundaries, mesh, solvers, simulation, results, parameters, antenna templates, arrays, matching networks, diagnostics, optimization, PCB, and more
• Dual-mode operation: Connected mode (direct CST execution on Windows) and Offline mode (VBA script generation on any OS)
• 13 parametric antenna templates: Patch, dipole, monopole, horn, Yagi, helix, Vivaldi, slot, IFA, PIFA, spiral, bowtie — with automatic dimension calculations from target frequency
• PCB/SI tools: Stackup creation, trace routing with impedance calculation, via modeling, ground planes
• Material database: 30+ metals, dielectrics, and RF substrates with accurate electromagnetic properties
• VBA injection prevention: All generated VBA passes through security validation
• CST VBA reference: Built-in help system for CST VBA objects and methods

Installation

pip install mcp-cst-studio

Or from source:

git clone https://github.com/RFingAdam/mcp-cst-studio.git
cd mcp-cst-studio
pip install -e ".[dev]"

Configuration

Claude Code (.mcp.json)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cst-studio": {
      "command": "mcp-cst-studio",
      "env": {
        "CST_PATH": "C:\\Program Files\\CST Studio Suite 2026",
        "CST_WORK_DIR": "C:\\cst_projects"
      }
    }
  }
}

Environment Variables

Variable	Description	Default
CST_PATH	CST installation directory	Auto-detected on Windows
CST_WORK_DIR	Project working directory	~/cst_projects
CST_VERSION	CST version year	2026

Usage

Offline Mode (Any OS)

Works without CST installed. Tools generate VBA scripts that can be executed in CST Studio Suite.

"Design a 2.4 GHz rectangular patch antenna on FR-4 substrate"
→ Returns calculated dimensions + complete VBA script for CST

Connected Mode (Windows with CST)

When the CST Python library is available, tools execute directly:

"Create the antenna, run the time-domain simulation, and show me the S-parameters"
→ Builds geometry, configures solver, runs simulation, extracts results

Tool Categories

Category	Tools	Description
Project	8	Create, open, save, close, export projects
Geometry	13	Brick, cylinder, sphere, cone, torus, extrude, loft, wire, polygon
Boolean	4	Add, subtract, intersect, insert operations
Transforms	4	Translate, rotate, mirror, scale
Materials	15	Create, load, assign materials; built-in material database; lossy metals; anisotropic
Ports	8	Waveguide, discrete, lumped, plane wave, Floquet ports
Boundaries	6	Boundary conditions, background, symmetry, frequency range
Mesh	8	Mesh type, density, refinement, adaptive meshing, hex/tet controls
Solvers	8	Time domain, frequency domain, eigenmode, integral equation, asymptotic
Simulation	6	Run, status, pause, resume, stop simulations
Results	22	S-parameters, far-field, near-field, impedance, VSWR, gain, efficiency, Smith chart
Import/Export	5	CAD import/export, Touchstone, far-field export
Parameters	11	Parametric design, sweeps, expressions, dependencies
Antenna Templates	13	Parametric antenna designs with RF calculations
Arrays	8	Linear / planar / circular array synthesis, element factors, beamforming
Matching	8	L / Pi / T networks, Smith-chart matching, stub matching
PCB	12	Stackup, traces, vias, ground planes, Gerber import, differential pairs
Diagnostics	5	Connection status, model integrity, mesh quality, solver convergence
Optimization	3	Goal-driven sweeps, genetic / gradient optimizers
VBA	3	Raw VBA execution, help reference, object listing

Antenna Templates

Each template calculates dimensions from target frequency and generates a complete, simulatable CST model:

Template	Type	Typical Gain	Bandwidth
Patch	Planar	5-8 dBi	1-5%
Dipole	Wire	2.15 dBi	10-20%
Monopole	Wire	2-5 dBi	10-20%
Horn	Aperture	10-25 dBi	50%+
Yagi	Array	7-15 dBi	3-5%
Helix	Wire	8-15 dBi	50%+
Vivaldi	Planar	5-12 dBi	100%+
IFA/PIFA	Planar	1-3 dBi	5-10%

Connected Mode Setup (Windows)

To use with a live CST Studio installation:

Prerequisites

• Windows 10/11 with CST Studio Suite 2024+ installed
• CST Python libraries on your Python path (typically C:\Program Files\CST Studio Suite 20XX\LinuxAMD64\python_cst_libraries)
• Python 3.10+

Setup

# 1. Clone and install
git clone https://github.com/RFingAdam/mcp-cst-studio.git
cd mcp-cst-studio
pip install -e .

# 2. Set environment (or let auto-detect find CST)
set CST_PATH=C:\Program Files\CST Studio Suite 2026
set CST_WORK_DIR=C:\cst_projects

# 3. Add CST Python libs to PYTHONPATH
set PYTHONPATH=%CST_PATH%\LinuxAMD64\python_cst_libraries;%PYTHONPATH%

# 4. Verify
python -c "import cst.interface; print('CST available')"
mcp-cst-studio  # starts stdio server

Claude Code / Claude Desktop

Add to your .mcp.json or Claude Desktop config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cst-studio": {
      "command": "mcp-cst-studio",
      "env": {
        "CST_PATH": "C:\\Program Files\\CST Studio Suite 2026",
        "CST_WORK_DIR": "C:\\cst_projects",
        "PYTHONPATH": "C:\\Program Files\\CST Studio Suite 2026\\LinuxAMD64\\python_cst_libraries"
      }
    }
  }
}

Validation Checklist

Once connected, verify with these prompts:

1. Connection: "What is the CST connection status?" — should show connected mode
2. Geometry: "Create a brick from (0,0,0) to (10,10,5) in component1" — should appear in CST
3. Antenna: "Design a 2.4 GHz patch antenna on FR-4" — should build full model
4. Simulation: "Run a time-domain simulation" — should start solver
5. Results: "Show me the S-parameters" — should extract S11 data

Development

pip install -e ".[dev]"
pytest tests/ -v          # 215 tests, all offline
ruff check src/ tests/    # linting
mypy src/mcp_cst_studio/  # type checking

License

AGPL-3.0-or-later. Relicensed from Apache-2.0 in v0.2.0 to align with the eng-mcp-suite toolkit-wide AGPL move. CST Studio Suite itself (Dassault Systèmes) is a separate commercial product invoked at runtime; this wrapper does not bundle or redistribute it.