MCP Pine README
The full upstream README, mirrored here for reference. Install config, tool schemas, adoption signals, and an original overview live on the MCP Pine listing page.
mcp-pine
An MCP server for emulators that speak 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.
How it works
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) | PlayStation 2 | ✅ Yes (toggle in settings) | 28011 | pcsx2 (default) |
| RPCS3 (setup) | 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. 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)
Verify with mcp-pine (it prints a startup line and waits for stdio — Ctrl+C to exit).
Option B — npx (no install)
Option C — clone and develop
Emulator setup
PCSX2
- Launch PCSX2 (1.7.x Qt or newer).
- Settings → Advanced → Enable PINE Server (the option may live under a different submenu in some builds — search the settings for "PINE").
- Default slot is 28011. If you change it, set
PINE_SLOTformcp-pine. - 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:
- Configuration → Advanced → Enable IPC server (or similar — check current RPCS3 docs).
- Note the configured port.
- 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)
Verify:
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 |
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 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
Quick smoke test against a running PCSX2:
Debugging with the MCP Inspector
Browse and call this server's tools interactively with the MCP 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
Related
- 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 — the underlying IPC standard