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Tlon Urbit Messenger

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Provides a bridge between Urbit's social networking services and conversational interfaces, enabling direct message communication with support for ship IDs and

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About

Provides a bridge between Urbit's social networking services and conversational interfaces, enabling direct message communication with support for ship IDs and human-readable nicknames.

README

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that provides tools for interacting with Tlon agents.

Demo

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/765847b2-df40-44c0-bfd3-c23eb609bbd8

Features

  • send-dm tool: Send direct messages to other users by ship ID or nickname
  • read-dm-history tool: Retrieve recent messages from a direct-message channel
  • list-contacts tool: Get contacts with their nicknames and ship IDs
  • Natural language support: Reference people by their nicknames ("Send a message to Brian")

Prerequisites

  • Node.js (v16+)
  • A running Urbit ship

Installation

  1. Clone the repository
  2. Navigate to the project directory
  3. Install dependencies:
npm install

Important: Always run npm install manually in the terminal before using with Claude Desktop or any other MCP client. This prevents installation output from interfering with the MCP protocol.

Configuration

Configure the server using environment variables:

Variable Description Default
URBIT_SHIP Your Urbit ship name (without ~) zod
URBIT_CODE Your Urbit +code lidlut-tabwed-pillex-ridrup
URBIT_HOST Urbit host localhost
URBIT_PORT Urbit port 8080
PORT MCP server port (HTTP mode only) 3001
MCP_TRANSPORT Transport type (http or stdio) stdio

Usage

Starting the server

# Start with default stdio transport
npm start

# Start with HTTP transport
export MCP_TRANSPORT=http && npm start

# Development mode with auto-reload
npm run dev

Setting up with Claude Desktop

The default stdio mode works seamlessly with Claude Desktop. Create or edit the Claude Desktop configuration file at:

~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

With the following content:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tlon-mcp": {
      "command": "/bin/sh",
      "args": ["-c", "cd /path/to/server && node index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Important: Be sure to run npm install in the server directory first before configuring Claude Desktop.

Using the tools with natural language

Once configured, you can use natural language commands:

Send a message to Brian
Show me my recent DM history with ~sampel-palnet
Who are my contacts?

Available Tools

send-dm

Sends a direct message to another ship.

Parameters:

  • recipient: The recipient's ship name (with ~) or nickname
  • message: The message text to send

Example usage:

Send a message to Brian saying "Let's meet tomorrow"

read-dm-history

Fetches the latest messages from a direct-message channel between your ship and another.

Parameters:

  • correspondent: The other ship's name (with ~) or nickname
  • count (optional): How many messages to return (default 100, max 500)
  • format (optional): Output format - "raw" or "formatted" (default "formatted")

Example usage:

Show me my last 50 messages with Dad

list-contacts

Retrieves your contacts list with ship IDs and nicknames.

Parameters:

  • format (optional): Output format - "raw" or "formatted" (default "formatted")

Example usage:

List all my contacts

License

MIT

from github.com/jamesacklin/tlon-mcp-server

Installing Tlon Urbit Messenger

This server has no published package — it is built from source. Open the repository and follow its README.

▸ github.com/jamesacklin/tlon-mcp-server

FAQ

Is Tlon Urbit Messenger MCP free?

Yes, Tlon Urbit Messenger MCP is free — one-click install via Unyly at no cost.

Does Tlon Urbit Messenger need an API key?

No, Tlon Urbit Messenger runs without API keys or environment variables.

Is Tlon Urbit Messenger hosted or self-hosted?

Self-hosted: the server runs locally on your machine via the install command above.

How do I install Tlon Urbit Messenger in Claude Desktop, Claude Code or Cursor?

Open Tlon Urbit Messenger on unyly.org, pick your client tab (Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor) and press Install — the config is generated automatically, no JSON editing.

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