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PinViz MCP Server

The PinViz MCP Server brings natural language diagram generation to PinViz through the Model Context Protocol. Generate Raspberry Pi GPIO wiring diagrams using conversational prompts with Claude.

What is an MCP Server?

Model Context Protocol (MCP) is a standard that allows AI assistants like Claude to interact with external tools and data sources. The PinViz MCP Server enables Claude to:

  • Parse natural language requests for GPIO connections
  • Intelligently assign pins based on device requirements
  • Generate complete wiring diagrams in SVG format
  • Manage a database of 25+ popular Raspberry Pi components

Features

🤖 Natural Language Processing

Generate diagrams from simple prompts like: - "Connect a BME280 sensor and BH1750 light sensor to my Raspberry Pi" - "Wire an OLED display and a temperature sensor" - "I need a weather station with BME280, BH1750, and a DHT22"

🧠 Intelligent Pin Assignment

  • Automatic I2C bus sharing for multiple sensors
  • SPI chip select allocation
  • Power rail distribution (3.3V vs 5V)
  • GPIO conflict detection and resolution
  • Pull-up resistor insertion for I2C

📚 Device Database

  • 25+ pre-configured devices (sensors, displays, HATs, components)
  • Add custom devices via URL parsing (Adafruit, SparkFun, Waveshare)
  • User device database for personal collections
  • Fuzzy device name matching

🎨 Output Formats

  • SVG diagrams with automatic wire routing
  • YAML configuration files
  • JSON structured data
  • Summary reports

Quick Start

Get started with the MCP server in minutes:

# Install PinViz (using uv recommended, or pip)
uv tool install pinviz
# OR: pip install pinviz

# Configure Claude Desktop automatically
claude mcp add pinviz pinviz-mcp

# Restart Claude Desktop and start creating diagrams!

Then in Claude Desktop, simply ask:

"Connect a BME280 sensor to my Raspberry Pi 5"

For manual configuration or other MCP clients, see the Installation Guide.

Documentation

Example Workflow

  1. Ask Claude: "I want to connect a BME280 and an OLED display"
  2. Claude uses MCP tools to:
  3. Parse your request
  4. Look up device specifications
  5. Assign pins intelligently
  6. Generate the diagram
  7. Get results: SVG diagram, YAML config, or summary

Technical Details

  • Protocol: MCP (Model Context Protocol) via stdio transport
  • Language: Python 3.12+
  • Dependencies: anthropic, mcp, beautifulsoup4, httpx
  • Database: JSON-based device catalog with JSON schema validation
  • Pin Assignment: Constraint-solving algorithm with conflict detection

Support

Next Steps

Ready to get started? Head to the Installation Guide to set up the MCP server.