radio-analyst

radio-analyst

MCP servers, skills, and slash commands for AI-assisted radio interferometric data reduction. Targets VLA/JVLA/EVLA, MeerKAT, and uGMRT observations stored as CASA Measurement Sets.

Two MCP servers expose the full tool suite:

• ms-inspect — read-only inspection and diagnostics (19 tools)
• ms-modify — calibration, flagging, and MS modification (7 tools)

Built on casatools and the Model Context Protocol.

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Installation

Claude Code plugin (recommended)

Installs both MCP servers, skills, and slash commands in two commands:

# Register the marketplace (once per machine)
claude plugin marketplace add https://github.com/skunkworks-ra/radio-analyst

# Install the plugin
claude plugin install radio-analyst@radio-analyst

After install, the ms-inspect and ms-modify MCP servers are registered globally, and the /inspect and /simulate commands are available in all projects. CASA tools are installed automatically on first use (~500 MB, Linux x86_64 and macOS arm64 only).

To remove:

claude plugin uninstall radio-analyst@radio-analyst

Local development

Use this when actively working on the plugin itself. Registers the MCP servers directly against the local pixi environment — no plugin system involved.

git clone https://github.com/skunkworks-ra/radio-analyst.git
cd radio-analyst
pixi install
pixi run pip install casatools casatasks   # first time only; ~500 MB
pixi run install-mcp

install-mcp calls bin/install-local.sh, which registers ms-inspect, ms-modify, and ms-create via claude mcp add --scope user pointing directly at .pixi/envs/default/bin/. Re-run after any pixi install that rebuilds the environment. The script detects and removes a plugin-managed install automatically before registering.

To switch back to the plugin install:

pixi run uninstall-mcp
# then follow the Claude Code plugin instructions above

Claude Desktop and other MCP clients (HTTP transport)

Clone the repo, install the environment, then start the servers in HTTP mode:

git clone https://github.com/skunkworks-ra/radio-analyst.git
cd radio-analyst
pixi install && pixi run pip install casatools casatasks

# Inspection server (port 8000)
RADIO_MCP_TRANSPORT=http RADIO_MCP_PORT=8000 pixi run serve

# Modification server (port 8001)
RADIO_MCP_TRANSPORT=http RADIO_MCP_PORT=8001 pixi run serve-modify

Add to your Claude Desktop claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ms-inspect": {
      "command": "pixi",
      "args": ["run", "--manifest-path", "/path/to/radio-analyst/pixi.toml", "serve-http"]
    },
    "ms-modify": {
      "command": "pixi",
      "args": ["run", "--manifest-path", "/path/to/radio-analyst/pixi.toml", "serve-modify-http"]
    }
  }
}

For any MCP-compatible client — point at http://localhost:8000/mcp (streamable HTTP).

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Tool inventory

ms-inspect — read-only inspection (19 tools)

Layer 1 — Orientation

Tool	What it returns
ms_observation_info	Telescope, observer, project code, time range, duration
ms_field_list	Fields with J2000 coordinates, calibrator cross-match, inferred intents
ms_scan_list	Time-ordered scans with intents, durations, SpW assignments
ms_scan_intent_summary	Observing time distribution across intents
ms_spectral_window_list	Per-SpW frequency structure, channel counts, band names
ms_correlator_config	Dump time, polarisation basis, full-Stokes check

Layer 2 — Instrument sanity

Tool	What it returns
ms_antenna_list	Antenna positions (ECEF), dish diameters, mount types, array centre
ms_baseline_lengths	Min/max/median baselines, per-SpW angular resolution and LAS
ms_elevation_vs_time	Per-scan elevation statistics, low-elevation warnings
ms_parallactic_angle_vs_time	PA range per field (sky-frame and feed-frame)
ms_shadowing_report	Shadowed antenna events and pre-existing shadow flags
ms_antenna_flag_fraction	Per-antenna flag fractions from the FLAG column

Calibration diagnostics