Aurora 4x Server

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 — and can register, edit, and promote new queries against your live DB without restarting.

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.

Prerequisites

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

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.

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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, 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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Connecting to Claude Code

This is the step most people find tricky. You need to edit Claude Code's MCP configuration file manually.

Find the config file

Open a terminal and run:

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

If the file doesn't exist yet, create it.

Add the MCP server entry

Paste the following into the JSON, 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",
        "AURORA_MAX_ROWS": "200"
      }
    }
  }
}

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.

Restart Claude Code

Close and reopen Claude Code. The aurora4x MCP server will appear in the tool list on the next session start.

Verify the connection

In a new Claude Code 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
AURORA_MAX_ROWS	200	Maximum rows returned per query

---

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 capped at AURORA_MAX_ROWS. 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.

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

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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

Aurora 4x holds an exclusive write lock on AuroraDB.db while the game is running. The server connects read-only and will return:

Aurora database is locked. Save the game first.

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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.