mcp-pine

# mcp-pine [](https://www.npmjs.com/package/mcp-pine) [](https://www.npmjs.com/package/mcp-pine) [](https://github.com/dmang-dev/mcp-pine/actions/workflows/ci.yml) [](LICENSE) [](https://snyk.io/test/npm/mcp-pine) [](https://socket.dev/npm/package/mcp-pine) [](https://bundlephobia.com/package/mcp-pine) [](https://npmgraph.js.org/?q=mcp-pine) An [MCP](https://modelcontextprotocol.io) server for emulators that speak [PINE](https://github.com/GovanifY/pine) (Protocol for Instrumentation of Network Emulators) — first-class support for **PCSX2** (PS2) and **RPCS3** (PS3), with target-aware tool descriptions so the agent sees the right memory map for whichever emulator it's pointed at. Exposes memory read/write and savestate control. Driven from MCP-compatible clients (Claude Desktop, Claude Code, etc.). ## What you can do with it - **Read & write emulated memory** — 8/16/32/64-bit, anywhere in the emulator's address space (PS2 EE for PCSX2, PPU main memory for RPCS3) - **Trigger save / load state** to numbered slots - **Query game metadata** — title, serial, disc CRC, version - **Inspect emulator state** — running / paused / shutdown Tool descriptions, memory-map context, and setup help are rendered **per-target** at startup — set `PINE_TARGET=rpcs3` and every memory-tool description shows PS3 PPU addresses instead of PS2 EE addresses. What you **can't** do (because PINE itself doesn't expose these): - Send controller input - Take screenshots - Step / pause / reset the emulator This makes mcp-pine well-suited for **memory inspection, cheat / RAM hunting, savestate automation, and reverse engineering**, but not for "play games via Claude." For input + screenshot capability on Game Boy Advance, see the sister project [mcp-mgba](https://github.com/dmang-dev/mcp-mgba). ## How it works ``` +----------------+ stdio +----------------+ PINE socket +-----------------+ | MCP client | JSON-RPC | mcp-pine | (TCP or Unix) | Emulator | | (Claude etc.) | -----------> | (Node.js) | ---------------> | (PINE server) | +----------------+ +----------------+ +-----------------+ ``` `mcp-pine` opens a loopback connection to the emulator's PINE server (TCP on Windows, Unix domain socket on Linux/macOS) and translates each MCP tool call into a binary PINE message. ## Compatible emulators | Emulator | Platform | PINE built in? | Default slot | `PINE_TARGET` | |------------------|---------------|-------------------------------------------|--------------|---------------| | **PCSX2 ≥ 1.7** ([setup](#pcsx2)) | PlayStation 2 | ✅ Yes (toggle in settings) | 28011 | `pcsx2` (default) | | **RPCS3** ([setup](#rpcs3)) | PlayStation 3 | ⚠️ Has IPC with PINE-compatible opcodes — verify before relying on it | 28012 | `rpcs3` | Other emulators implementing the PINE spec should work out of the box once you point `mcp-pine` at the right slot — open an issue if you've tested one and it works. **Note on DuckStation (PS1)**: DuckStation had PINE support from May–September 2024 but [dropped it in commit 19698559](https://github.com/stenzek/duckstation/commit/19698559). Current builds have no PINE server. If upstream brings it back, `PINE_TARGET=duckstation` is reserved. Setting `PINE_TARGET` does two things: (1) selects the right Unix socket filename on Linux/macOS, and (2) renders all tool descriptions, memory maps, and setup help for that emulator's address space. Default is `pcsx2` for back-compat. ## Requirements - An emulator with PINE enabled (see setup below) - **Node.js 22+** ## Install ### Option A — install from npm (recommended) ```bash npm install -g mcp-pine ``` Verify with `mcp-pine` (it prints a startup line and waits for stdio — `Ctrl+C` to exit). ### Option B — `npx` (no install) ```bash npx -y mcp-pine ``` ### Option C — clone and develop ```bash git clone https://github.com/dmang-dev/mcp-pine cd mcp-pine npm install # also runs the build via the `prepare` hook ``` ## Emulator setup ### PCSX2 1. Launch PCSX2 (1.7.x Qt or newer). 2. **Settings → Advanced → Enable PINE Server** (the option may live under a different submenu in some builds — search the settings for "PINE"). 3. Default slot is **28011**. If you change it, set `PINE_SLOT` for `mcp-pine`. 4. Load any game. That's it — no scripts, no console commands. PINE is always-on once the toggle is set. ### RPCS3 RPCS3 has its own IPC implementation that mirrors PINE's opcode set, but the wire-level compatibility hasn't been thoroughly tested with this client. To try it: 1. **Configuration → Advanced → Enable IPC server** (or similar — check current RPCS3 docs). 2. Note the configured port. 3. Run with `PINE_TARGET=rpcs3 PINE_SLOT=<port> mcp-pine`. If something doesn't work, please file an issue with details. ## Register with your MCP client ### Claude Code (CLI) ```bash claude mcp add pine --scope user mcp-pine ``` Verify: ```bash claude mcp list # pine: mcp-pine - ✓ Connected ``` ### Claude Desktop Edit `claude_desktop_config.json`: | Platform | Path | |---|---| | macOS | `~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json` | | Windows | `%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json` | | Linux | `~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json` | ```json { "mcpServers": { "pine": { "command": "mcp-pine" } } } ``` Restart Claude Desktop after editing. ### Other MCP clients `mcp-pine` speaks standard MCP over stdio. Run it and connect any compatible client. ## Configuration | Env var | Default | Purpose | |---------------------|---------------|---------| | `PINE_TARGET` | `pcsx2` | Emulator name. Known values: `pcsx2`, `rpcs3`. Selects (1) the Unix socket file prefix on Linux/macOS (`<target>.sock.<slot>`), and (2) the memory map and setup help shown in tool descriptions. Unknown values pass through with a generic memory map. | | `PINE_SLOT` | target default | PINE slot — also the TCP port on Windows. Defaults: `pcsx2`=28011, `rpcs3`=28012. Set explicitly to override. | | `PINE_HOST` | `127.0.0.1` | Override the host (TCP only) | | `PINE_SOCKET_PATH` | (auto) | Override the full Unix socket path on Linux/macOS, bypassing automatic resolution | ## Tools | Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | `pine_ping` | Verify the connection by querying the emulator version | | `pine_get_info` | Title, serial (e.g. `SLUS-21274`), disc CRC, game version, status | | `pine_get_status` | Just the running/paused/shutdown state | | `pine_read8` / `pine_read16` / `pine_read32` / `pine_read64` | Read memory | | `pine_read_range` | Bulk read up to 4096 bytes (client-side pipelined PINE calls) | | `pine_write8` / `pine_write16` / `pine_write32` / `pine_write64` | Write memory (RAM only — ROM writes are silently dropped) | | `pine_save_state` | Trigger save state to a numbered slot (0-255) | | `pine_load_state` | Trigger load state from a numbered slot (0-255) | See [`docs/RECIPES.md`](docs/RECIPES.md) for end-to-end examples (RAM hunting, struct decoding, snapshot-experiment-restore). ### PlayStation 2 address space (PCSX2, default target) | Range | Region | |-------|--------| | `0x00100000-0x01FFFFFF` | EE main RAM (32 MiB) — **start here for game data** | | `0x10000000` | Hardware registers (DMA, GIF, VIF) | | `0x11000000` | VU0 / VU1 memory | | `0x12000000` | GS privileged registers | | `0x1C000000-0x1C1FFFFF` | IOP RAM (2 MiB) | | `0x1F800000` | IOP scratchpad | | `0x70000000` | EE scratchpad (16 KiB) | ## Troubleshooting | Symptom | Cause / Fix | |---|---| | `Cannot reach PINE server` | Emulator isn't running, PINE isn't enabled in its settings, or the slot/port doesn't match. Check `PINE_SLOT`. | | `PINE FAIL response` (0xFF) | The emulator rejected the request — most often because no game is loaded, or the address is unmapped. | | Reads return zeros | Address is in an unallocated region. Try `0x00100000` first (almost always inside loaded EE RAM). | | Tool calls work but values look corrupted | Check endianness expectations — PINE returns little-endian; if you're interpreting strings, use `read_range`-style byte reads. | | `PINE call timed out (10s)` from `pine_ping` after some heavy use | **PCSX2's PINE server can wedge.** Its request queue is fragile — if a third-party tool pipelines too aggressively (more than ~6 in-flight requests) it silently drops requests, and from then on every reply is mis-aligned with the wrong waiting client. Symptom: even a fresh `pine_ping` times out. **Fix: fully restart PCSX2.** Reconnecting alone won't help — the corruption is on the emulator side. | | `pine_read_range` slower than mGBA's `read_range` | Expected. PINE has no native bulk read, so we issue calls **serially** (pipelining can wedge PCSX2 — see above). Loopback TCP is fast enough that this isn't usually a problem: measured ~52 ms for a full 4096-byte read on PCSX2 v2.6.3. For workloads that need lower latency and can tolerate occasional emulator restarts, set `PINE_PIPELINE_BATCH=2`. | ## Development ```bash npm install npm run dev # tsc --watch ``` Quick smoke test against a running PCSX2: ```bash node .scratch/smoke.cjs ``` ## Debugging with the MCP Inspector Browse and call this server's tools interactively with the [MCP Inspector](https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector): ```bash PINE_TARGET=pcsx2 npm run inspector ``` Build first if you've edited `src/` since your last `npm install` (`npm run build`, or keep `npm run dev` running). Set `PINE_TARGET` (`pcsx2` default, or `rpcs3`) and `PINE_SLOT` to match your emulator — e.g. `PINE_TARGET=rpcs3 PINE_SLOT=28012 npm run inspector`. `tools/list` works even without an emulator connected; *calling* a tool needs PCSX2 (or RPCS3) running with PINE/IPC enabled. ## License [MIT](LICENSE) ## Related - [mcp-mgba](https://github.com/dmang-dev/mcp-mgba) — sister MCP server for the mGBA Game Boy Advance emulator (also includes button input + screenshot, which PINE doesn't expose) - [PINE protocol spec](https://github.com/GovanifY/pine) — the underlying IPC standard