MOS

A cross-platform bridge between the MOS (Media Object Server) protocol used by broadcast newsroom systems and the Model Context Protocol (MCP), so an AI client can drive newsroom workflows: query media objects, build and send running orders, search object databases, and feed or read from a live newsroom computer system (NCS).

Written in Go. Ships as a single self-contained binary (the admin web console is embedded) for macOS, Linux, and Windows on amd64 and arm64.

Implements the message set of MOS Protocol v2.8.5. MCP is provided by the official modelcontextprotocol/go-sdk.

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What it does

MOS is a TCP/XML protocol spoken between an NCS (newsroom computer system — ENPS, iNEWS, …) and a MOS device (video server, graphics, prompter, …) over three ports: 10540 (lower / object metadata), 10541 (upper / running orders) and 10542 (query / search).

mos-mcp can act as either side, or both at once:

• client role — dials out to MOS peers and issues requests on your behalf.
• device role — listens for an NCS to connect and answers with acks, while recording everything it receives to an inbox you can inspect.

It exposes these capabilities as MCP tools, and only registers the tools for the MOS profiles you enable.

A note on discovery

MOS has no network auto-discovery — there is no broadcast, mDNS, or registry. Peers are always configured by hand (host, IDs, ports). The only capability query is Profile 0's reqMachInfo/listMachInfo, sent after connecting; the admin console's Test button uses it to confirm a peer you entered is reachable and to show which profiles it reports.

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Install

macOS / Linux

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/medcelerate/MOS-MCP/main/scripts/install.sh | sh

Windows (PowerShell)

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

Or download a binary for your platform from the Releases page.

From source

go install github.com/medcelerate/MOS-MCP/cmd/mos-mcp@latest

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Quick start

cp config.example.yaml config.yaml   # edit to taste
mos-mcp --config config.yaml

By default this serves MCP over stdio, starts the device listener, and opens the admin console at http://127.0.0.1:8088.

Connecting an MCP client

Claude Desktop / Claude Code (stdio): add to your MCP client config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mos": {
      "command": "mos-mcp",
      "args": ["--config", "/path/to/config.yaml"]
    }
  }
}

Networked clients (Streamable HTTP): set mcp.transport: http (or both) in the config; the endpoint is served at mcp.http.addr (default 127.0.0.1:8080).

Logs go to stderr so they never corrupt the stdio MCP stream on stdout.

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Configuration

See config.example.yaml for the full annotated file. Key fields:

Field	Meaning
mosID / ncsID	This bridge's identity on the MOS network
role	client, device, or both
profiles	Which MOS profiles to enable: [0,1,2,3,4]
peers	Remote MOS systems to dial (client role)
listen	Ports the device listener binds (device role)
mcp.transport	stdio, http, or both
web.enabled / web.addr	Admin console (loopback by default)

Selected fields can be overridden via environment variables: MOSMCP_MOSID, MOSMCP_NCSID, MOSMCP_ROLE, MOSMCP_MCP_TRANSPORT, MOSMCP_MCP_HTTP_ADDR, MOSMCP_WEB_ADDR, MOSMCP_WEB_ENABLED, MOSMCP_LOG_LEVEL, MOSMCP_CONFIG.

The admin console reads and writes the same config file; changes made in the UI are persisted and applied live.

Setup walkthrough

1. Copy the example config and set your identity:

   mosID: bridge.yourstation.com   # how this bridge identifies itself
   ncsID: newsroom.yourstation.com
   

2. Choose a role:

   • client — you want the AI to reach out to existing MOS devices/NCSs.
   • device — you want the AI to appear as a MOS device that an NCS connects to.
   • both — both at once (default).

3. Enable only the profiles you need. Each is independent, and MCP tools are registered only for enabled profiles:

   profiles: [0, 2]   # e.g. connection + running orders only
   

4. For client/both, list the peers to dial. Ports default to MOS standards, so only override them if a site is non-standard:

   peers:
     - name: vizrt-graphics
       host: 10.0.0.5
     - name: enps
       host: 10.0.0.10
       lowerPort: 10540
       upperPort: 10541
       queryPort: 10542
   

5. For device/both, set the listen ports the NCS will connect to (defaults 10540/10541/10542), and describe the device for reqMachInfo:

   listen:
     lowerPort: 10540
     upperPort: 10541
     queryPort: 10542
   device:
     manufacturer: Your Station
     model: MOS-MCP Bridge
   

6. Start it, then verify from the console. Open the admin console, add or confirm a peer, and click Test — a green result with the peer's model and profiles confirms connectivity before you wire up an AI client.

On the MOS side of your network, each real peer must also be configured to talk to this bridge — MOS connections are always mutually, statically configured. Point the peer at this host's IP on the same three ports.

Security

• The admin console and (by default) the MCP HTTP endpoint bind to loopback (127.0.0.1). Do not expose them on untrusted networks; there is no built-in authentication. Put them behind a reverse proxy or SSH tunnel if remote access is required.
• MOS itself is an unauthenticated plaintext protocol — run it only on trusted broadcast networks/VLANs, as is standard for MOS deployments.

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MCP tools

Always available (connection management + Profile 0):

Tool	Description
mos_status	Identity, peers, connection state, inbox size
mos_add_peer / mos_remove_peer	Register / unregister an outbound peer
mos_heartbeat	Verify a peer is alive
mos_request_machine_info	reqMachInfo → device identity + supported profiles
mos_inbox	Recent messages received in device role
mos_send_raw	Send arbitrary MOS XML (debug / uncovered messages)

Profile 1 (objects): mos_request_object, mos_request_all_objects Profile 3 (search): mos_search_objects Profile 2 (running orders): mos_create_running_order, mos_replace_running_order, mos_delete_running_order, mos_element_action, mos_ready_to_air Profile 4 (stories): mos_send_story, mos_request_all_running_orders

Tools are registered only for the profiles enabled in profiles.

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Admin console

At web.addr (default http://127.0.0.1:8088) you can:

• View bridge identity, enabled profiles, and device-listener state
• Add, edit, and remove peers (persisted to the config file)
• Test a peer (heartbeat + reqMachInfo) and see its reported capabilities
• Watch the inbox of messages received from a connected NCS

The console is a single page built into the binary — there's nothing extra to install or run — and it reads and writes the same config file the CLI uses.

Clicking Test dials the peer and runs a heartbeat plus reqMachInfo, showing whether it is reachable and which profiles it reports — the manual capability check that stands in for MOS's absent discovery:

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Use it as a connector

The bridge speaks the Model Context Protocol, so it plugs into AI clients as a connector. All tools carry titles and read-only / destructive annotations, so clients can show clear permission prompts.

Claude Desktop extension (recommended)

Because the bridge has to run next to your MOS network, the natural fit is a local Desktop Extension — a one-click .mcpb bundle:

sh scripts/build-mcpb.sh          # dist/mos-mcp-<version>-<os>-<arch>.mcpb
# GOOS=windows GOARCH=amd64 sh scripts/build-mcpb.sh   # build for another OS

Open the resulting .mcpb in Claude Desktop (Settings → Extensions, or just double-click it). Claude runs the bundled binary locally over stdio; set your MOS ID, role, and an optional config file in the extension's settings. This can be submitted to Anthropic's directory via the desktop-extension form.

Remote connector (Claude custom connector / ChatGPT)

Both Claude (custom connectors) and OpenAI (ChatGPT connectors and the Responses API's tools: [{ "type": "mcp" }]) can add a remote MCP server over Streamable HTTP. Run the bridge with mcp.transport: http and point the client at http://<host>:8080. Since the server must be reachable from the AI provider — and directory listings require OAuth — this path suits a self-hosted, internet-exposed deployment behind TLS and authentication. The tools are identical to the desktop-extension path.

Building from source

make build   # compile
make test    # run the tests

A plain go build (or go install) is all you need — the console and its styling are prebuilt and committed, so the result is one self-contained binary with no extra tooling.

Privacy Policy

mos-mcp runs on your own infrastructure and talks only to the MOS peers you configure. It sends no data to the author, Anthropic, OpenAI, or any third party, and includes no telemetry. See PRIVACY.md for details.

License

MIT — see LICENSE.