LMStudio-MCP
A Model Control Protocol (MCP) server that allows Claude to communicate with locally running LLM models via LM Studio.
Overview
LMStudio-MCP creates a bridge between Claude (with MCP capabilities) and your locally running LM Studio instance. This allows Claude to:
- Check the health of your LM Studio API
- List available models
- Get the currently loaded model
- Generate completions using your local models
This enables you to leverage your own locally running models through Claude's interface, combining Claude's capabilities with your private models.
Prerequisites
- Python 3.7+
- LM Studio installed and running locally with a model loaded
- Claude with MCP access
- Required Python packages (see Installation)
Installation
Clone this repository:
git clone https://github.com/infinitimeless/LMStudio-MCP.git
cd LMStudio-MCP
Install the required packages:
pip install requests "mcp[cli]" openai
MCP Configuration
For Claude to connect to this bridge, you need to configure the MCP settings properly. You can either:
Use directly from GitHub :
{
"lmstudio-mcp": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"https://github.com/infinitimeless/LMStudio-MCP"
]
}
}
Use local installation :
{
"lmstudio-mcp": {
"command": "/bin/bash",
"args": [
"-c",
"cd /path/to/LMStudio-MCP && source venv/bin/activate && python lmstudio_bridge.py"
]
}
}
For detailed MCP configuration instructions, see MCP_CONFIGURATION.md.
Usage
Start your LM Studio application and ensure it's running on port 1234 (the default)
Load a model in LM Studio
If running locally (not using uvx
), run the LMStudio-MCP server:
python lmstudio_bridge.py
In Claude, connect to the MCP server when prompted by selecting "lmstudio-mcp"
Available Functions
The bridge provides the following functions:
health_check()
: Verify if LM Studio API is accessible
list_models()
: Get a list of all available models in LM Studio
get_current_model()
: Identify which model is currently loaded
chat_completion(prompt, system_prompt, temperature, max_tokens)
: Generate text from your local model
Known Limitations
- Some models (e.g., phi-3.5-mini-instruct_uncensored) may have compatibility issues
- The bridge currently uses only the OpenAI-compatible API endpoints of LM Studio
- Model responses will be limited by the capabilities of your locally loaded model
Troubleshooting
API Connection Issues
If Claude reports 404 errors when trying to connect to LM Studio:
- Ensure LM Studio is running and has a model loaded
- Check that LM Studio's server is running on port 1234
- Verify your firewall isn't blocking the connection
- Try using "127.0.0.1" instead of "localhost" in the API URL if issues persist
Model Compatibility
If certain models don't work correctly:
- Some models might not fully support the OpenAI chat completions API format
- Try different parameter values (temperature, max_tokens) for problematic models
- Consider switching to a more compatible model if problems persist
For more detailed troubleshooting help, see TROUBLESHOOTING.md.
License
MIT
Acknowledgements
This project was originally developed as "Claude-LMStudio-Bridge_V2" and has been renamed and open-sourced as "LMStudio-MCP".