Arm MCP Server

An Model Context Protocol (MCP) server providing AI assistants with tools and knowledge for Arm architecture development, migration, and optimization.

Features

This MCP server equips AI assistants with specialized tools for Arm development:

Knowledge Base Search: Semantic search across Arm documentation, learning resources, intrinsics, and software compatibility information
Code Migration Analysis: Scan codebases for Arm compatibility using migrate-ease (supports C++, Python, Go, JavaScript, Java)
Container Architecture Inspection: Check Docker image architecture support using integrated Skopeo and check-image tools.
Assembly Performance Analysis: Analyze assembly code performance using LLVM-MCA
System Information: Instructions for gathering detailed system architecture information via sysreport

Pre-Built Image

If you would prefer to use a pre-built, multi-arch image, the official image can be found in Docker Hub here: armlimited/arm-mcp:latest

Prerequisites

Docker (with buildx support for multi-arch builds)
An MCP-compatible AI assistant client (e.g. GitHub Copilot, Kiro CLI, Codex CLI, Claude Code, etc)

Quick Start

1. Build the Docker Image

From the root of this repository:

docker buildx build --platform linux/arm64,linux/amd64 -f mcp-local/Dockerfile -t arm-mcp mcp-local

For a single-platform build (faster):

docker buildx build -f mcp-local/Dockerfile -t arm-mcp mcp-local

2. Configure Your MCP Client

Choose the configuration that matches your MCP client:

GitHub Copilot (VS Code)

Add to .vscode/mcp.json in your project, or globally at ~/Library/Application Support/Code/User/mcp.json (macOS):

{
  "servers": {
    "arm-mcp": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "--rm",
        "-i",
        "-v", "/path/to/your/workspace:/workspace",
        "arm-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

The easiest way to open this file in VS Code for editing is command+shift+p and search for

MCP: Open User Configuration

AWS Kiro CLI

Add to ~/.kiro/settings/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "arm-mcp": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "--rm",
        "-i",
        "-v", "/path/to/your/workspace:/workspace",
        "--name", "arm-mcp",
        "arm-mcp"
      ],
      "timeout": 60000
    }
  }
}

MCP Clients using TOML format (e.g. Codex CLI)

[mcp_servers.arm-mcp]
command = "docker"
args = [
  "run",
  "--rm",
  "-i",
  "-v", "/path/to/your/workspace:/workspace",
  "arm-mcp"
]

Note: Replace /path/to/your/workspace with the actual path to your project directory that you want the MCP server to access.

3. Restart Your MCP Client

After updating the configuration, restart your MCP client to load the Arm MCP server.

Repository Structure

mcp-local/: The MCP server implementation
- server.py: Main FastMCP server with tool definitions
- utils/: Helper modules for each tool
- data/: Pre-built knowledge base (embeddings and metadata)
- Dockerfile: Multi-stage Docker build
embedding-generation/: Scripts for regenerating the knowledge base from source documents

Troubleshooting

Accessing the Container Shell

To debug or explore the container environment:

docker run --rm -it --entrypoint /bin/bash arm-mcp

Common Issues

Timeout errors during migration scans: Increase the timeout value in your MCP client configuration (e.g., "timeout": 120000 for 2 minutes)
Empty workspace: Ensure your volume mount path is correct and the directory exists
Architecture mismatches: If you encounter platform-specific issues, rebuild for your specific platform using --platform linux/amd64 or --platform linux/arm64

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit issues or pull requests.

When contributing:

Follow PEP 8 style guidelines for Python code
Update documentation for any new features or changes
Ensure the Docker image builds successfully before submitting

License

Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0. See LICENSE for details.

Arm