ht-mcp

A high-performance Rust implementation of a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for headless terminal ht.

Features

• 🚀 Pure Rust: Single binary MCP server, no external dependencies
• 🔗 Direct Integration: Embed excellent ht headless terminal library for optimal performance
• 🖥️ Multi-Session: Concurrent terminal session management
• 🌐 Web Interface: Optional live terminal preview

Demo

ht-mcp in Memex

ht-mcp in Claude Code

Installation

🍺 Homebrew (Recommended)

brew tap memextech/tap
brew install ht-mcp

📦 Pre-built Binaries

Download from releases:

# macOS Intel
curl -L https://github.com/memextech/ht-mcp/releases/latest/download/ht-mcp-x86_64-apple-darwin -o ht-mcp

# macOS Apple Silicon
curl -L https://github.com/memextech/ht-mcp/releases/latest/download/ht-mcp-aarch64-apple-darwin -o ht-mcp

# Linux
curl -L https://github.com/memextech/ht-mcp/releases/latest/download/ht-mcp-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu -o ht-mcp

# Windows (PowerShell)
curl.exe -L https://github.com/memextech/ht-mcp/releases/latest/download/ht-mcp-x86_64-pc-windows-msvc -o ht-mcp.exe

# Make executable and install
chmod +x ht-mcp && sudo mv ht-mcp /usr/local/bin/

🦀 Cargo

# From crates.io (stable)
cargo install ht-mcp

# From git (latest)
cargo install --git https://github.com/memextech/ht-mcp

🔧 Build from Source

git clone https://github.com/memextech/ht-mcp.git
cd ht-mcp
git submodule update --init --recursive
cargo install --path .

See docs/INSTALLATION.md for detailed installation options.

MCP Tools

| Tool | Description | Parameters | |------|-------------|------------| | ht_create_session | Create new terminal session | command?, enableWebServer? | | ht_send_keys | Send keystrokes to session | sessionId, keys[] | | ht_take_snapshot | Capture terminal state | sessionId | | ht_execute_command | Execute command and get output | sessionId, command | | ht_list_sessions | List all active sessions | None | | ht_close_session | Close terminal session | sessionId |

Note: Parameters use camelCase (e.g., sessionId, enableWebServer) for MCP compatibility.

Configuration

Add to your MCP client configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ht-mcp": {
      "command": "ht-mcp",
      "args": ["--debug"]
    }
  }
}

For custom installation paths:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ht-mcp": {
      "command": "/path/to/ht-mcp",
      "args": []
    }
  }
}

Usage Example

# Start the MCP server
ht-mcp

# With debug logging
ht-mcp --debug

Once configured in your MCP client:

1. Create session: ht_create_session → Returns session ID
2. Run commands: ht_execute_command with session ID and command
3. Interactive input: ht_send_keys for multi-step interactions
4. Check state: ht_take_snapshot to see current terminal
5. Clean up: ht_close_session when finished

Response Format

This server returns human-readable text responses (not JSON), designed for natural language interaction:

# Create session response
HT session created successfully!

Session ID: abc123-def456-789...

🌐 Web server enabled! View live terminal at: http://127.0.0.1:3618

# Terminal snapshot response
Terminal Snapshot (Session: abc123...

... [View full README on GitHub](https://github.com/memextech/ht-mcp#readme)