Claude-LMStudio Bridge

An MCP server that bridges Claude with local LLMs running in LM Studio.

Overview

This tool allows Claude to interact with your local LLMs running in LM Studio, providing:

Access to list all available models in LM Studio
The ability to generate text using your local LLMs
Support for chat completions through your local models
A health check tool to verify connectivity with LM Studio

Prerequisites

Claude Desktop with MCP support
LM Studio installed and running locally with API server enabled
Python 3.8+ installed

Quick Start (Recommended)

For macOS/Linux:

Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/infinitimeless/claude-lmstudio-bridge.git
cd claude-lmstudio-bridge

Run the setup script

chmod +x setup.sh
./setup.sh

Follow the setup script's instructions to configure Claude Desktop

For Windows:

Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/infinitimeless/claude-lmstudio-bridge.git
cd claude-lmstudio-bridge

Run the setup script

setup.bat

Follow the setup script's instructions to configure Claude Desktop

Manual Setup

If you prefer to set things up manually:

Create a virtual environment (optional but recommended)

python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: venv\Scripts\activate

Install the required packages

pip install -r requirements.txt

Configure Claude Desktop:
- Open Claude Desktop preferences
- Navigate to the 'MCP Servers' section
- Add a new MCP server with the following configuration:
  - Name: lmstudio-bridge
  - Command: /bin/bash (on macOS/Linux) or cmd.exe (on Windows)
  - Arguments:
    - macOS/Linux: /path/to/claude-lmstudio-bridge/run_server.sh
    - Windows: /c C:\path\to\claude-lmstudio-bridge\run_server.bat

Usage with Claude

After setting up the bridge, you can use the following commands in Claude:

Check the connection to LM Studio:

Can you check if my LM Studio server is running?

List available models:

List the available models in my local LM Studio

Generate text with a local model:

Generate a short poem about spring using my local LLM

Send a chat completion:

Ask my local LLM: "What are the main features of transformers in machine learning?"

Troubleshooting

Diagnosing LM Studio Connection Issues

Use the included debugging tool to check your LM Studio connection:

python debug_lmstudio.py

For more detailed tests:

python debug_lmstudio.py --test-chat --verbose

Common Issues

"Cannot connect to LM Studio API"

Make sure LM Studio is running
Verify the API server is enabled in LM Studio (Settings > API Server)
Check that the port (default: 1234) matches what's in your .env file

"No models are loaded"

Open LM Studio and load a model
Verify the model is running successfully

"MCP package not found"

Try reinstalling: pip install "mcp[cli]" httpx python-dotenv
Make sure you're using Python 3.8 or later

"Claude can't find the bridge"

Check Claude Desktop configuration
Make sure the path to run_server.sh or run_server.bat is correct and absolute
Verify the server script is executable: chmod +x run_server.sh (on macOS/Linux)

Advanced Configuration

You can customize the bridge behavior by creating a .env file with these settings:

LMSTUDIO_HOST=127.0.0.1
LMSTUDIO_PORT=1234
DEBUG=false

Set DEBUG=true to enable verbose logging for troubleshooting.

License

MIT