Processing MCP Server

🎨 Create visual art and games with AI - An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that enables AI assistants to create and run Processing sketches directly through natural language commands.

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🎥 Demo Video

Watch the demo video here - See it in action!

🚀 Quick Setup

1. Clone this repository:

   git clone https://github.com/twelve2five/processing-mcp-server.git
   cd processing-mcp-server

2. Install dependencies:

   uv pip install fastmcp
   # or
   pip install fastmcp

3. Configure Claude Desktop (see Configuration section below)

4. Restart Claude and start creating!

Features

• 🚀 Create and run Processing sketches from AI conversations
• 💾 Automatically saves sketches with timestamps
• ⚙️ Configurable Processing executable path and save location
• 🤖 Simple tool interface for AI assistants
• 🎮 Includes 6 ready-to-run demos (particles, 3D art, games, and more!)

Installation

Prerequisites

• Python 3.8+
• Processing installed on your system
• uv package manager (or use pip)
• Claude Desktop app

Step 1: Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/twelve2five/processing-mcp-server.git
cd processing-mcp-server

Step 2: Install Dependencies

Install via uv

uv pip install fastmcp

Install via pip

pip install fastmcp

Step 3: Configure Claude Desktop

See the Configuration section below to add the server to your Claude Desktop config.

Configuration

The server can be configured in two ways:

1. Environment Variables

Set these environment variables before running the server:

• PROCESSING_PATH: Path to your Processing executable
• PROCESSING_SAVE_LOCATION: Directory where sketches will be saved

2. Claude Desktop Configuration

Add this to your Claude Desktop config file:

Windows (%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "processing": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "C:\\path\\to\\processing-mcp-server\\processing_mcp_server.py"
      ],
      "env": {
        "PROCESSING_PATH": "C:\\Program Files\\Processing\\Processing.exe",
        "PROCESSING_SAVE_LOCATION": "C:\\Users\\YourUsername\\Documents\\Processing\\sketches"
      }
    }
  }
}

macOS (~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "processing": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "/path/to/processing-mcp-server/processing_mcp_server.py"
      ],
      "env": {
        "PROCESSING_PATH": "/Applications/Processing.app/Contents/MacOS/Processing",
        "PROCESSING_SAVE_LOCATION": "~/Documents/Processing/sketches"
      }
    }
  }
}

Linux (~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "processing": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "/path/to/processing-mcp-server/processing_mcp_server.py"
      ],
      "env": {
        "PROCESSING_PATH": "/usr/bin/processing",
        "PROCESSING_SAVE_LOCATION": "~/Documents/Processing/sketches"
      }
    }
  }
}

Note: Replace /path/to/processing-mcp-server/ with the actual path where you cloned the repository.

3. Restart Claude Desktop

After updating the configuration file, restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect.

Usage Examples

Once configured, you can ask your AI assistant to:

🎯 Simple Animations

• "Create a Processing sketch that draws a bouncing ball"
• "Make a colorful spiral animation"
• "Draw a clock that shows the current time"

✨ Particle Effects

• "Create a particle system that follows my mouse"
• "Make fireworks that explode when I click"
• "Generate a starfield simulation"

🎮 Games

• "Build a Snake game"
• "Create a Pong clone"
• "Make a simple maze game"

🎨 Generative Art

• "Create a generative art piece with flowing waves"
• "Make a 3D rotating geometric shape"
• "Generate the Matrix digital rain effect"

Included Examples

Check out the /examples folder for ready-to-run demos:

1. bouncing_ball.pde - Classic animation with trail effects
2. particle_system.pde - Interactive particles following your mouse
3. 3d_geometric_art.pde - Mesmerizing 3D shapes with rainbow colors
4. matrix_rain.pde - The iconic Matrix digital rain effect
5. wave_art.pde - Beautiful animated wave patterns
6. snake_game.pde - Fully playable Snake game

The AI will use the run_processing_java_cli tool to create and launch your sketch.

Available Tools

run_processing_java_cli

Creates and runs a Processing sketch.

Parameters:

• java_code (required): The Processing sketch code
• processing_path (optional): Override the default Processing executable path
• save_location (optional): Override the default save location

get_processing_config

Returns the current server configuration.

Default Paths

If no configuration is provided, the server uses these defaults:

• Processing Path: processing (assumes Processing is in your system PATH)
• Save Location: ~/Documents/Processing/sketches

Troubleshooting

Server not showing up in Claude

Make sure to restart Claude Desktop after updating the configuration file.

Processing not found

If you get a "Processing executable not found" error:

1. Ensure Processing is installed
2. Check that the path in your configuration is correct
3. On Windows, use double backslashes (\\) in the path
4. On macOS, the path should point to the executable inside the .app bundle

Permission errors

Make sure the save location directory exists and is writable by your user.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details