QGIS MCP

What the QGIS MCP MCP server does

QGIS MCP MCP server gives Claude an MCP interface for controlling an active QGIS Desktop session. The connection uses two components: a QGIS plugin that accepts commands inside QGIS, and a Python MCP server that forwards tool calls to that plugin over a socket connection.

The server supports common project workflows. An agent can create, load, inspect, and save QGIS projects; add or remove vector and raster layers; list layers; retrieve vector features; and zoom the map view to a layer. It can also run QGIS Processing Toolbox algorithms, render the current map view to an image file, and execute arbitrary PyQGIS supplied as a string.

How it works

Install and enable the QGIS plugin, then start its server from the QGIS plugin menu. Run the Python MCP server through an MCP-compatible client configuration. Claude Desktop can launch it with uv, using the repository directory and the qgis_mcp_server.py entry point.

Once both sides are running, Claude exposes the available QGIS tools. A typical workflow can check connectivity with ping, create a project, load source layers, run a processing algorithm, execute PyQGIS for custom styling or analysis, render the map, and save the project. File paths and processing parameters are supplied in tool calls.

Setup and configuration

The documented prerequisites are QGIS 3.X, Python 3.10 or later, uv, and Claude Desktop.

Copy the qgis_mcp_plugin folder into the active QGIS profile's Python/plugins directory. Restart QGIS, open the plugin manager, and enable QGIS MCP. Then open the plugin and select Start Server.

Configure Claude Desktop's developer settings by adding an mcpServers entry. The example uses the uv command, points --directory to the repository's src/qgis_mcp folder, and runs qgis_mcp_server.py. The path must be replaced with the absolute path on the local machine.

Tools and capabilities

The QGIS MCP MCP server exposes these tool groups:

• Connectivity and inspection: ping, get_qgis_info, get_project_info, and get_layers.
• Project operations: load_project, create_new_project, and save_project.
• Layer operations: add_vector_layer, add_raster_layer, remove_layer, zoom_to_layer, and get_layer_features.
• Analysis and output: execute_processing, render_map, and execute_code.

The execute_code tool runs arbitrary PyQGIS code in QGIS. This enables operations not covered by the dedicated tools, but code supplied to it should be reviewed carefully before execution.

Limitations and notes

The provided setup documentation names Claude Desktop as the client and does not describe configuration for other clients. The integration depends on a QGIS plugin running inside an active QGIS session; the MCP process alone does not provide a standalone GIS environment.

The tools work with local paths supplied to QGIS, such as project, vector, raster, and output image paths. The documentation does not specify supported file formats beyond examples using QGIS projects, Shapefile, TIFF, GeoJSON, and PNG. QGIS version compatibility is limited in the documentation to QGIS 3.X, with testing reported only on 3.22.

Arbitrary PyQGIS execution can change the QGIS session or perform unintended actions, so it requires particular care.