ugs-mcp: MCP server for AI assistant control of UGS

[zackpeters93]

Hi UGS community,

I built an open source MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that wraps the UGS Pendant REST API, letting AI assistants like Claude control a CNC machine via conversation.

GitHub: https://github.com/zackpeters93/ugs-mcp

What it does

• Connect/disconnect UGS to the CNC
• Read machine state, position, feed rate, spindle speed
• Jog axes, home, return to work zero, run G-code files and macros
• Inspect G-code: safety check, cycle time estimate, translate to plain English

Safety

Every motion command uses a mandatory two-step token protocol. The AI generates a random token and shows it to the user. The machine only moves when the user reads the token back. The AI cannot fabricate or reuse tokens — they are generated and validated server-side.

Full safety documentation is included in the repo: https://github.com/zackpeters93/ugs-mcp/blob/main/SAFETY.md

Tested with

• SainSmart Genmitsu 3018 Pro (GRBL)
• UGS 2.x with Pendant plugin
• macOS / Python 3.11+

Install

pip install ugs-mcp
claude mcp add ugs-cnc ugs-mcp

Would love feedback from the community — especially anyone running TinyG, FluidNC, or Smoothieware who can test compatibility.