🚀 Tabby-MCP

A Comprehensive MCP Server Plugin for Tabby Terminal

Connect AI assistants to your terminal with full control capabilities — 21 MCP tools included

English | 中文

✨ Features

🖥️ Terminal Control

Execute commands with output capture
Send interactive input (vim, less, top)
Read terminal buffer content
Abort/monitor running commands

📑 Tab Management

Create/Close/Duplicate tabs
Navigate between tabs
Move tabs left/right
Reopen closed tabs

🔗 Profile Management

List all terminal profiles
Open new tabs with profiles
SSH quick connect
Profile selector dialog

🔒 Security Features

Pair programming mode
Command confirmation dialogs
Comprehensive logging
Safe command execution

📦 Installation

Method 1: Tabby Plugin Manager (Easiest)

Search for tabby-mcp-server directly in Tabby's built-in Plugin Manager:

Open Tabby → Settings → Plugins
Search for tabby-mcp-server
Click Install
Restart Tabby

Method 2: Quick Install Script

No Node.js required! Downloads pre-built release from GitHub.

🍎 macOS / 🐧 Linux

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/GentlemanHu/Tabby-MCP/main/scripts/install.sh | bash

Or download and run:

wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/GentlemanHu/Tabby-MCP/main/scripts/install.sh
bash install.sh

🪟 Windows (PowerShell)

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/GentlemanHu/Tabby-MCP/main/scripts/install.ps1 | iex

Or download and run:

Invoke-WebRequest -Uri https://raw.githubusercontent.com/GentlemanHu/Tabby-MCP/main/scripts/install.ps1 -OutFile install.ps1
.\install.ps1

Method 3: Build from Source

Requires Node.js 18+.

# Clone
git clone https://github.com/GentlemanHu/Tabby-MCP.git
cd Tabby-MCP

# Build & Install
bash scripts/build-and-install.sh

Or manually:

npm install --legacy-peer-deps
npm run build
# Then copy dist/ and package.json to Tabby plugins folder

🔄 After Installation

Restart Tabby
Go to Settings → MCP
Start the MCP server

🔌 Connecting AI Clients

SSE Mode (Cursor / Windsurf)

Add to ~/.cursor/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "Tabby MCP": {
      "type": "sse",
      "url": "http://localhost:3001/sse"
    }
  }
}

STDIO Mode (Claude Desktop / VS Code)

For clients that don't support SSE, use the STDIO bridge:

Claude Desktop (~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tabby-mcp": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/Tabby-MCP/scripts/stdio-bridge.js"]
    }
  }
}

VS Code / Other IDEs:

{
  "mcp": {
    "servers": {
      "tabby-mcp": {
        "type": "stdio",
        "command": "node",
        "args": ["scripts/stdio-bridge.js"],
        "cwd": "/path/to/Tabby-MCP"
      }
    }
  }
}

Note: STDIO mode requires Node.js installed. The bridge script connects to the SSE server running in Tabby.

Endpoints

Endpoint	URL
SSE	`http://localhost:3001/sse`
Health	`http://localhost:3001/health`
Info	`http://localhost:3001/info`

🛠️ Available Tools

Terminal Control (6)

Tool	Description
`get_session_list`	List all terminal sessions
`exec_command`	Execute command with output
`send_input`	Send interactive input (Ctrl+C, etc)
`get_terminal_buffer`	Read terminal buffer
`abort_command`	Abort running command
`get_command_status`	Monitor active commands

Tab Management (10)

Tool	Description
`list_tabs`	List all open tabs
`select_tab`	Focus a specific tab
`close_tab`	Close a tab
`close_all_tabs`	Close all tabs
`duplicate_tab`	Duplicate a tab
`next_tab` / `previous_tab`	Navigate tabs
`move_tab_left` / `move_tab_right`	Reorder tabs
`reopen_last_tab`	Reopen closed tab

Profile Management (4)

Tool	Description
`list_profiles`	List terminal profiles
`open_profile`	Open tab with profile
`show_profile_selector`	Show profile dialog
`quick_connect`	SSH quick connect

⚙️ Configuration

Setting	Description	Default
Port	MCP server port	3001
Start on Boot	Auto-start server	true
Pair Programming	Confirm commands	true

⚠️ Platform Support

Platform	Status	Notes
macOS	✅ Tested	Fully functional
Windows	⚠️ Untested	Should work — please report issues
Linux	⚠️ Untested	Should work — please report issues

Note: This plugin has been developed and tested on macOS. Windows and Linux support should work but is unverified. Community testing and feedback welcome!

🤖 About This Project

🎨 95%+ AI Generated

This project was created almost entirely by AI (Claude/Gemini) through pair programming.
The human's role was primarily to provide requirements and test the results.

Acknowledgments

This project builds upon the work of tabby-mcp-server by @thuanpham582002.

Improvements over the original:

Feature	Original	This Project
MCP Tools	4	18
Tab Management	❌	✅
Profile/SSH	❌	✅
Init Bug	Has issue	✅ Fixed
Install Script	Manual	✅ One-liner

🤝 Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

📄 License

MIT License - see LICENSE

Made with ❤️ by AI and GentlemanHu

⭐ Star this repo if you find it useful!

Tabby-MCP