Content
# qsys-mcp
> Let an AI agent inspect and control a **Q-SYS** audio/video system over QSC's published **QRC** protocol — against a real Core or Q-SYS Designer's built-in emulator.
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[](https://www.npmjs.com/package/q-sys-mcp)
[](https://nodejs.org)
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`qsys-mcp` is an [MCP](https://modelcontextprotocol.io) server. It speaks QSC's **QRC** external-control protocol (JSON-RPC 2.0 over TCP) — the same interface third-party control systems like Crestron and AMX use — and exposes it to an LLM agent as a set of tools. Point it at a physical Q-SYS Core *or* at Q-SYS Designer running in **Emulate mode** and the agent can read meters, flip mutes, ramp gains, and watch controls for changes.
It's a pure wire-protocol client: **zero QSC code**, no SDK, no hardware required for development. That makes it a clean, sanctioned layer QSC ships on no platform — AI-native control — and it runs anywhere Node does.
## Highlights
- **18 tools** covering connect, status, discovery, read, write (with ramps), snapshots, the full change-group lifecycle (add/poll/remove/clear/invalidate/destroy), and disconnect.
- **No hardware needed** — develop entirely against Designer's Emulate-mode soft-core on `localhost`.
- **Cross-platform** — `node:net` only; CI proves it on Linux, macOS, and Windows × Node 18 & 20.
- **Context-friendly** — list/get tools take `filter` / `names_only` / `type` so large designs don't flood the agent's context.
- **Safe by default** — write tools warn when they're hitting a live Core (not an emulator); a 30 s `NoOp` keepalive holds the socket open through QRC's 60 s idle close.
- **Self-healing** — on a dropped socket (Core restart, leaving Emulate, a network blip) the client auto-reconnects and replays your change-group registrations, so polling resumes without re-calling `qsys_connect`. Opt out with `reconnect: false`.
## Quick start
Run it straight from npm (no install):
```bash
npx -y q-sys-mcp # MCP server on stdio
```
> Published on npm as **`q-sys-mcp`**; the installed command is **`qsys-mcp`**.
Or from source:
```bash
git clone https://github.com/reowens/qsys-mcp.git
cd qsys-mcp
npm install # builds dist/ via the prepare hook
node dist/index.js
```
### Connect it to your agent
Add it to your MCP client config (Claude Desktop, etc.):
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"q-sys": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "q-sys-mcp"]
}
}
}
```
From a local checkout instead, use `"command": "node"` with `"args": ["/absolute/path/to/qsys-mcp/dist/index.js"]`.
Always call `qsys_connect` first (host `127.0.0.1`, port `1710` for a local emulator) before any other tool.
## What it can do
Once connected, just ask in natural language — the agent picks the tools.
> **You:** *"Connect to my Q-SYS emulator and bring the main gain down to −20 dB over 2 seconds."*
The agent runs:
1. `qsys_connect` → `{ host: "127.0.0.1", port: 1710 }`
2. `qsys_list_components` → `{ type: "gain" }` — finds the `Levels` gain block
3. `qsys_set_component` → `{ name: "Levels", controls: [{ name: "gain", value: -20, ramp: 2 }] }`
Or, if you've exposed that fader as a **Named Control** in Designer:
```
qsys_set_control → { name: "MainGain", value: -20, ramp: 2 }
```
To watch a control live (meters, button states), create a change group and poll it:
```
qsys_create_change_group → { id: "meters", controls: ["MainGain"] }
qsys_poll_change_group → { id: "meters" } // returns only what changed since the last poll
```
## Tools
| Tool | QRC method | Purpose |
|------|------------|---------|
| `qsys_connect` | (socket) + `Logon`/`StatusGet` | Connect to a Core/emulator |
| `qsys_status` | `StatusGet` | Engine status (platform, design, run state) |
| `qsys_list_components` | `Component.GetComponents` | List named components |
| `qsys_get_component_controls` | `Component.GetControls` | A component's controls + values |
| `qsys_get_control` | `Control.Get` | Get Named Control values |
| `qsys_get_component` | `Component.Get` | Get specific component control values |
| `qsys_set_control` | `Control.Set` | Set a Named Control (with optional ramp) |
| `qsys_set_component` | `Component.Set` | Set component controls (with optional ramps) |
| `qsys_load_snapshot` | `Snapshot.Load` | Recall a saved snapshot (with optional ramp) |
| `qsys_save_snapshot` | `Snapshot.Save` | Capture current settings into a snapshot |
| `qsys_create_change_group` | `ChangeGroup.AddControl` | Watch Named Controls for changes |
| `qsys_change_group_add_component` | `ChangeGroup.AddComponentControl` | Watch a component's controls |
| `qsys_poll_change_group` | `ChangeGroup.Poll` | Get changes since last poll |
| `qsys_change_group_remove` | `ChangeGroup.Remove` | Stop watching specific Named Controls |
| `qsys_change_group_clear` | `ChangeGroup.Clear` | Remove all controls, keep the group |
| `qsys_change_group_invalidate` | `ChangeGroup.Invalidate` | Force the next poll to resend everything |
| `qsys_destroy_change_group` | `ChangeGroup.Destroy` | Free a change group's server-side state |
| `qsys_disconnect` | (socket) | Close the connection |
`qsys_list_components` and `qsys_get_component_controls` accept optional `filter` (case-insensitive name substring), `names_only`, and — for components — `type`, to trim large designs before they reach the agent's context.
### Named Controls vs. components
Q-SYS exposes controls two ways, and the tools mirror that split:
- **Named Controls** (`qsys_get_control` / `qsys_set_control`) reach a control only if it's been *explicitly exposed* — dragged into the **Named Controls** pane in Designer with a unique name. Flat namespace, addressed by that one name.
- **Component controls** (`qsys_get_component_controls` / `qsys_get_component` / `qsys_set_component`) reach any control on a component whose parent has a **Code Name** with **Script Access** enabled — no per-control naming needed.
If `qsys_get_control` can't find a name, it almost always means the control hasn't been added to the Named Controls pane.
## Requirements
- **Node.js ≥ 18.**
- **A control target on port 1710:**
- a real **Q-SYS Core** with a design loaded and in **Run** mode, or
- **Q-SYS Designer in Emulate mode** — open a design and press **F6** (*Save to Design & Run*; **not** F5, which deploys to a physical Core). Connect to `127.0.0.1:1710`.
QRC is fully functional in Emulate mode, so you can build and test without any hardware.
> Writes mutate the running/emulated system. On an emulator, nothing persists unless you save the design in Designer.
## Develop & verify
```bash
npm test # offline: QRC integration + MCP-over-mock (no hardware)
npm run smoke -- 127.0.0.1 1710 # read-only smoke against a live emulator/Core
npm run smoke:mcp -- 127.0.0.1 1710 # full MCP-over-stdio smoke against a live target
npm run smoke:write -- 127.0.0.1 1710 # live WRITE round-trip: set a gain, verify, restore
npm run smoke:named -- MainGain # live Named-Control read/set + change-group poll
npm run smoke:keepalive # idle >60s, prove the socket survives QRC's idle close
```
`npm test` needs no hardware; every `smoke:*` script needs a live target (a real Core, or Designer in Emulate mode, on port 1710).
**CI** runs `npm ci && npm run build && npm run typecheck && npm test` on Linux, macOS, and Windows × Node 18 & 20 ([`.github/workflows/ci.yml`](.github/workflows/ci.yml)). The whole suite is hardware-free — a mock QRC server plus an in-memory MCP transport — so the full matrix runs without a Core.
## Roadmap / out of scope
- **WebSocket transport** via `@q-sys/qrwc` — a convenience adapter for real Cores. Raw QRC is the primary transport today; the lib is still beta.
- **Real-Core validation** — every test so far runs against Designer's emulator; a physical Core run is the honest trigger to graduate to `1.0.0`.
- **Design authoring** (reading/writing `.qsys` files) — out of scope: `.qsys` is a compressed .NET `BinaryFormatter` graph type-coupled to QSC's assemblies.
## Changelog
See [CHANGELOG.md](CHANGELOG.md) for release notes, or the [GitHub releases](https://github.com/reowens/qsys-mcp/releases) page.
## License
MIT — see [LICENSE](LICENSE). Q-SYS and QRC are trademarks/protocols of QSC, LLC; this project is an independent client and is not affiliated with or endorsed by QSC.
