Tello Drone MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server implementation for controlling the DJI Tello drone. This server allows any MCP-compatible client to control a Tello drone through a standardized interface.

This is under active development, read security considerations

Features

- MCP Support
- Real-time drone control through SSE (Server-Sent Events)
- Robust error handling and logging
- CORS-enabled for web clients (like mcp inspector)
- Supports basic Tello drone commands:
- Takeoff
- Land
- Move (up/down/left/right/forward/back)
- Rotate (clockwise/counter-clockwise)

Prerequisites

- Python 3.7+
- DJI Tello drone
- Network connection to the Tello drone
- Root/sudo access (required for UDP socket binding)

Installation

1. Clone this repository:

git clone <repository-url>

cd drone-mcp

2. Install dependencies:

pip install -r requirements.txt

MCP Configuration

To enable your MCP client to connect to the Tello drone server, add the following configuration to your mcp.json file (usually located at ~/.cursor/mcp.json or in your project directory):

{
  "tello-drone": {
    "url": "http://localhost:3000/sse"
  }
}

This configuration allows MCP-enabled tools and models to automatically discover and connect to your Tello drone server.

Usage

1. Connect to your Tello drone's WiFi network (usually starts with "TELLO-").

2. Start the MCP server:

sudo python tello_mcp.py

The server will:
- Initialize connection with the Tello drone
- Start the MCP server on http://0.0.0.0:3000
- Set up SSE endpoint at /sse
- Handle messages at /message

Ensure the server is running before you plan to use it in your client (cursor, windsurf, code).

Available Tools

The server provides the following MCP tools:

1. Takeoff

{
    "name": "takeoff",
    "description": "Commands the Tello drone to take off",
    "inputSchema": {
        "type": "object",
        "properties": {}
    }
}

2. Land

{
    "name": "land",
    "description": "Commands the Tello drone to land",
    "inputSchema": {
        "type": "object",
        "properties": {}
    }
}

3. Move

{
    "name": "move",
    "description": "Moves the Tello drone in a specified direction",
    "inputSchema": {
        "type": "object",
        "properties": {
            "direction": {
                "type": "string",
                "enum": ["up", "down", "left", "right", "forward", "back"]
            },
            "distance": {
                "type": "integer",
                "minimum": 20,
                "maximum": 500
            }
        },
        "required": ["direction", "distance"]
    }
}

4. Rotate

{
    "name": "rotate",
    "description": "Rotates the Tello drone clockwise or counter-clockwise",
    "inputSchema": {
        "type": "object",
        "properties": {
            "direction": {
                "type": "string",
                "enum": ["cw", "ccw"]
            },
            "degrees": {
                "type": "integer",
                "minimum": 1,
                "maximum": 3600
            }
        },
        "required": ["direction", "degrees"]
    }
}

MCP Client Integration

To connect an MCP client:

1. Start your server and Connect to the SSE endpoint:

GET http://localhost:3000/sse

2. Prompt your MCP enabled model, which will communicate via SSE

event: endpoint

data: /message?sessionId=<session-id>

3. Send initialize request:

{

    "jsonrpc": "2.0",

    "id": 1,

    "method": "initialize"

}

4. List available tools:

{

    "jsonrpc": "2.0",

    "id": 2,

    "method": "listTools"

}

5. Call a tool (example - takeoff):

{

    "jsonrpc": "2.0",

    "id": 3,

    "method": "callTool",

    "params": {

        "name": "takeoff",

        "arguments": {}

    }

}

Error Handling

The server implements comprehensive error handling:
- Drone connection failures
- Invalid commands
- Network timeouts
- Protocol errors
- Invalid tool parameters

All errors are logged and returned as proper JSON-RPC 2.0 error responses.

Logging

The server logs to stderr with detailed information about:
- Server startup/shutdown
- Drone connection status
- Command execution
- Client connections
- Error conditions

Security Considerations

- The server requires root/sudo access to bind to UDP ports
- No authentication is implemented (rely on network security)
- CORS is enabled for all origins (*)
- Use in a controlled environment only

Development

The server is built using:
- Python's mcp library for protocol handling
- Starlette for HTTP/SSE transport
- Uvicorn as the ASGI server
- Native Python socket library for drone UDP communication

Troubleshooting

1. Server won't start:
- Ensure you have sudo/root access
- Check if the Tello's WiFi is connected
- Verify no other process is using port 3000

2. Drone won't connect:
- Ensure drone is powered on
- Check WiFi connection
- Verify no other application is controlling the drone

3. Commands fail:
- Check drone battery level
- Ensure drone is in a safe flying environment
- Verify command parameters are within allowed ranges

License

MIT

Contributing

Welcome to contribute.