Aurora 4x

A read-only MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that lets Claude query your Aurora 4x campaign database directly. Claude can look up colonies, fleets, minerals, commanders, ordnance, and more. It can register, edit, and promote new queries against your live DB without restarting. You can have natural language conversations with the LLM about your game state, ask for reports, and do analysis across the board.

AI/LLM DISCLAIMER: This tool was generated with the assistance of claude code by a user who has a solid grasp on the game. This tool is built specificially to query the DB, and nothing else. If you write to the DB you may cause unintended consquence and will not be able to receive support by the larger community.

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Getting started

Once the server is connected, start a new Claude Code session and say:

Please verify my current game and give me a description of the available tools.

Claude will call get_session_context to confirm the right campaign is loaded, let you know that query results are limited to 200 rows by default, and ask whether you'd like to disable that limit for the session. It will then summarize what each tool does. From there you can ask natural-language questions about your empire — minerals, colonies, fleets, commanders, ordnance — and Claude will pick the right tools automatically.

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Prerequisites

• Python 3.10 or later
• Aurora 4x installed with at least one active campaign saved
• Claude Code or Claude Desktop

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Installation

1. Place the server files

Copy the server directory somewhere permanent. These docs assume:

D:\Aurora\aurora-mcp\
  server.py
  queries.json
  pyproject.toml

Adjust all paths below if you use a different location.

2. Install the Python dependency

Open a terminal and run:

pip install "mcp>=1.0.0"

Or install from the project directory using the included pyproject.toml:

cd D:\Aurora\aurora-mcp
pip install -e .

3. Locate your Aurora database

Aurora 4x always stores its database in its own install folder. The file you need is AuroraDB.db, sitting directly inside the Aurora directory — the same folder that contains Aurora.exe.

D:\Aurora\AuroraDB.db    ← example; your install path may differ

You must set AURORA_DB_PATH to this file's full path in the config below. There is no default that will work out of the box.

4. Connect to Claude Desktop / Claude Code

Edit the MCP configuration file:

notepad "$env:APPDATA\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json"

If the file doesn't exist yet, create it. Add the following, replacing the paths with your actual paths:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "aurora4x": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": [
        "D:/Aurora/aurora-mcp/server.py"
      ],
      "env": {
        "AURORA_DB_PATH": "D:/Aurora/AuroraDB.db"
      }
    }
  }
}

Path format: Use forward slashes (/) even on Windows, or double backslashes (\\). Single backslashes will cause a JSON parse error.

If you already have other MCP servers in your config, add the "aurora4x" block inside the existing "mcpServers" object — don't create a second one.

5. Restart and verify

Close and reopen Claude Desktop / Claude Code. In a new session, ask:

Call get_session_context to confirm the right campaign is loaded.

Claude should return your GameID, GameName, RaceID, and RaceName. If it does, you're good to go.

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Environment variables

Variable	Default	Description
AURORA_DB_PATH	Aurora.db next to server.py	Full path to AuroraDB.db

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Available tools

Ad-hoc query

Tool	Description
execute_sql	Run any read-only SQL directly. :game_id and :race_id are automatically available as bind parameters. Results are capped at 200 rows by default — set limit_query: false to retrieve the full result set at the cost of more tokens. Use this for exploration and one-off queries before registering them.

Introspection

Tool	Description
get_session_context	Returns the GameID and RaceID resolved for this session — call first to confirm the right campaign is active
list_queries	Lists all registered queries with verified status, params, and description
list_safe_tables	Shows the known-good table schema from queries.json
list_all_tables	Lists every table in the Aurora database
describe_table	Returns column names, types, and primary key flags for a specific table

Query registry

Tool	Description
register_query	Saves a new query to queries.json as DRAFT_<name>. Available immediately — no restart needed.
update_query	Overwrites an existing query's SQL, params, or description. Resets verified to false. Live immediately.
delete_query	Removes a query from queries.json by name. Live immediately.
promote_query	Marks a DRAFT_ query as verified and renames it by stripping the DRAFT_ prefix. Live immediately.

Jump network

Tool	Description
systems_near	Returns all systems within N jump hops of a source system using Dijkstra traversal. Use this first for "what's near X" queries, then join the returned system IDs against mineral or colony data. Params: source_system_id, max_hops (default 8).
refresh_jump_network	Invalidates the cached jump network. Call after survey vessels discover new jump points so the next routing call re-fetches from the DB.

Registered queries

Queries are stored in queries.json and loaded on every request — no restart needed after changes. All registered queries also accept limit_query: false to bypass the 200-row cap.

Empire

Query	Params	Description
get_session_context	—	Active game and race info
game_log	days, hours	Recent game log entries, looking back N days or hours
mineral_survey	—	Body-level mineral survey — every surveyed body with amount, accessibility, and accessible amount
mineral_survey_by_system	mineral_name	Minerals summarised by system; filter by mineral name or leave empty for all
minerals_near_system	source_system_id, max_hops, mineral_name	Mineral totals for all systems within N hops of a given system
colony_report	—	Full colony report: population, species, stockpiles, installations, and production queues
commander_assignment	name_fragment	Commander details by name fragment — type, rank, assignment, homeworld, and career history
commander_profile	name_fragment	Full RP/lore profile — skills, traits, medals, career history, health, loyalty
ship_design_report	—	Full ship design report — propulsion, armour, sensors, capacity, EW, component manifest, and capture provenance
ship_class_classifications	—	Quick hull classification lookup — class name, type (BB/CA/DD etc), military vs commercial
class_ordnance_templates	class_name	Ordnance load-out templates per class with full missile stats and colony stock
missile_catalogue	missile_name	Complete missile catalogue — speed, range, warhead, ECM/ECCM, staging, and total stock
colony_ordnance_stockpiles	missile_name	Missile stockpiles held at colonies — stock count, size, and key combat stats
ship_ordnance_status	—	Per-ship ordnance status — loaded vs template vs deficit, with ship location and collier flag
system_distances	source_system_id, destination_system_id, fleet_name	Shortest route between two systems with hop-by-hop distance and per-class fuel cost

Alien intelligence

These queries expose information about other races and may reveal spoilers. SPOILER_GUARD_other_races should be called first to confirm the player wants to proceed.

Query	Params	Description
SPOILER_GUARD_other_races	—	Lists all non-player races in the game. Call before any alien query to confirm the player wants to view potentially spoiler information.
alien_race_contact_roster	—	All alien races known to the empire — contact status, comms status, first detected date, diplomatic points, and treaty flags
alien_species_autopsy	alien_race_id	Habitat tolerances (gravity, temperature, oxygen, pressure) for a given alien species. Only returns data if an autopsy has been completed.
alien_class_capabilities	alien_race_id	Observed ship class capabilities — hull stats, weapons with ranges, and detected technology
alien_ship_roster	alien_race_id	Individual alien hulls by name and class — status, damage taken, last known system, and last contact date

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Row limits

All query tools cap results at 200 rows by default. This is a fixed limit — it cannot be changed in config. When results are truncated, the response will include a notice.

To retrieve the full result set, pass limit_query: false on any tool call. This bypasses the cap entirely and may return a large number of rows, consuming significantly more tokens.

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Query lifecycle

The server reloads queries.json on every request, so all registry changes take effect immediately.

execute_sql          ← explore with ad-hoc SQL
    ↓
register_query       ← save a promising query as DRAFT_<name>
    ↓
update_query         ← fix SQL or params as needed
    ↓
promote_query        ← once verified, strip DRAFT_ and mark verified=true
    ↓
delete_query         ← remove broken or superseded drafts

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Important: save before querying

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Troubleshooting

Server doesn't appear in Claude Code

• Confirm python resolves in your PATH: run python --version in a terminal.
• Confirm the path to server.py in args is correct and uses forward slashes or \\.
• Check Claude Code's MCP logs (Developer → MCP Servers) for startup errors.

"No active campaign found"

• The server finds the campaign via MAX(GameID) WHERE GameName != 'Sample'. Make sure you have a real saved game, not just the built-in sample campaign.

"No player race found"

• The server looks for MIN(RaceID) with NPR = 0. If that doesn't match your setup, inspect FCT_Race with describe_table and execute_sql.

Wrong campaign loaded

• The server picks the highest GameID. If you have multiple campaigns, the most recently created one wins. Verify with get_session_context.

A DRAFT query returns wrong column names

• Use describe_table on the relevant table to check exact column names, then fix the query with update_query.