Gretl MCP

Built for AI agents: run Hansl/Gretl workflows, get graph screenshots, and view calculations in the real Gretl GUI.

It lets MCP clients run Gretl/Hansl scripts, raw Gretl command lines, existing .inp files, package operations, package builds, help lookups, dataset summaries, and OLS models. The generic gretl_run_script tool is the main path for prompt-generated Gretl workflows: the client writes Hansl from the user's request, runs it through Gretl, and returns Gretl's output plus generated artifacts.

Keywords: Claude Gretl, MCP econometrics, Hansl AI, Gretl GUI automation.

Key Features

• Scriptable Gretl control through gretlcli.
• GUI-first workflow tools that launch gretl.exe and fail if the GUI did not open.
• Capability discovery for Gretl commands, functions, and package commands.
• Generic execution tools for full Hansl scripts, command lists, and local .inp script files.
• Package tools for pkg and makepkg workflows from the Gretl Function Package Guide.
• High-level tools for version checks, command help, dataset summaries, and OLS.
• Stdio transport, compatible with common MCP clients.
• Safe defaults for arbitrary scripts, with documented escape hatches.

Requirements

• Node.js 20 or newer.
• Gretl 2026b or newer with gretlcli available.
• An MCP client that supports stdio servers.

Getting Started

One-command install (after npm publish):

npx -y gretl-mcp@latest --version

Local install from GitHub:

git clone https://github.com/OndrejLapes/GretlMCP.git
cd GretlMCP
npm install
npm run build

Then point your MCP client at the built server:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gretl": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["C:\\Users\\YOUR_USER\\GretlMCP\\dist\\index.js"],
      "env": {
        "GRETL_CLI": "C:\\Users\\YOUR_USER\\tools\\gretl\\gretlcli.exe",
        "GRETL_GUI": "C:\\Users\\YOUR_USER\\tools\\gretl\\gretl.exe"
      }
    }
  }
}

Visual Walkthrough

Forecast output example (actual vs forecast):

Forecast error panel:

Install Gretl

Windows

Download Gretl from the official page: https://gretl.sourceforge.net/win32/

For a no-admin setup, extract the zip archive to:

C:\Users\YOUR_USER\tools\gretl

Verify:

& C:\Users\YOUR_USER\tools\gretl\gretlcli.exe --version

macOS

Install via Homebrew (if available on your setup) or the Gretl project site:

brew install gretl
gretlcli --version

Linux

Install from your distro packages, then verify:

sudo apt-get install gretl    # Debian/Ubuntu example
gretlcli --version

MCP Client Config

Use this JSON config for stdio MCP clients:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gretl": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["C:\\Users\\YOUR_USER\\GretlMCP\\dist\\index.js"],
      "env": {
        "GRETL_CLI": "C:\\Users\\YOUR_USER\\tools\\gretl\\gretlcli.exe",
        "GRETL_GUI": "C:\\Users\\YOUR_USER\\tools\\gretl\\gretl.exe"
      }
    }
  }
}

After npm publication, the standard MCP config is:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gretl": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "gretl-mcp@latest"],
      "env": {
        "GRETL_CLI": "C:\\Users\\YOUR_USER\\tools\\gretl\\gretlcli.exe",
        "GRETL_GUI": "C:\\Users\\YOUR_USER\\tools\\gretl\\gretl.exe"
      }
    }
  }
}

Client Setup

Claude Code

Local GitHub build:

claude mcp add gretl node C:\Users\YOUR_USER\GretlMCP\dist\index.js

npm install path:

claude mcp add gretl npx -y gretl-mcp@latest

Codex

Local GitHub build:

... [View full README on GitHub](https://github.com/ondrejlapes/gretlmcp#readme)