mcp-remotetouch

An MCP server for remotely controlling a touchscreen on any Linux device over SSH.

Creates a virtual touch device via Linux uinput and injects tap, swipe, long press, and double tap events. No installation required on the remote device — the Python daemon is base64-encoded and sent as an SSH command argument, using only Python's standard library.

Architecture

Dev Machine                              Remote Linux Device
┌──────────────────┐    SSH (persistent)  ┌──────────────────┐
│ MCP Server (TS)  │ ──────────────────> │ Python daemon    │
│ stdio transport   │    JSON-line proto  │ (stdlib only)     │
│                   │ <────────────────── │                  │
│ touch_tap         │                     │ /dev/uinput      │
│ touch_swipe       │                     │   ↓              │
│ touch_long_press  │                     │ Virtual touch    │
│ touch_double_tap  │                     │   ↓              │
│ touch_disconnect  │                     │ Linux Input      │
└──────────────────┘                     └──────────────────┘

Prerequisites

Dev Machine

• Node.js 18+
• SSH client

Remote Device

• Any Linux device with a touchscreen (Raspberry Pi, SBC, embedded system, etc.)
• Python 3
• Access to /dev/uinput

Add the user to the input group on the remote device:

sudo usermod -aG input $USER

Re-login for the change to take effect.

Installation

git clone https://github.com/signal-slot/mcp-remotetouch.git
cd mcp-remotetouch
npm install
npm run build

Registering as an MCP Server

Add to Claude Desktop's claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "remotetouch": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/mcp-remotetouch/build/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "REMOTETOUCH_SSH_HOST": "192.168.1.100",
        "REMOTETOUCH_SSH_USER": "pi",
        "REMOTETOUCH_SCREEN_WIDTH": "800",
        "REMOTETOUCH_SCREEN_HEIGHT": "480"
      }
    }
  }
}

Environment Variables

Tools

touch_connect

Connect to a remote Linux device via SSH and start the touch daemon. Returns a session ID.

touch_tap

Tap at the given coordinates.

touch_swipe

Swipe from (x1, y1) to (x2, y2).

touch_long_press

Long press at the given coordinates.

touch_double_tap

Double tap at the given coordinates.

touch_disconnect

Disconnect a session and clean up the remote daemon.

touch_list_sessions

List all active sessions. No parameters.

Usage

From Claude Desktop:

1. touch_connect to connect to the remote device
2. touch_tap to tap a coordinate on the screen
3. touch_swipe to scroll or swipe
4. touch_disconnect to end the session

Troubleshooting

Permission denied accessing /dev/uinput

The user on the remote device is not in the input group:

sudo usermod -aG input $USER
# Re-login for the change to take effect

Alternatively, set REMOTETOUCH_USE_SUDO=true.

SSH connection fails

• Ensure SSH public key authentication is configured for the remote device (password authentication is not supported since the connection uses BatchMode=yes)
• Verify the hostname and port are correct

License

MIT