kerneldev-lms-mcp

LM Studio Plugin — a Linux kernel development configuration & build MCP server, delivered as a lightweight TypeScript wrapper over the original kerneldev-mcp project.

[!NOTE] kerneldev-lms-mcp is not a rewrite of kerneldev-mcp. It is a compatibility layer that lets the original Python MCP server (which is not compatible with LM Studio on its own) run inside LM Studio as a first-class plugin. The original source tree is cloned at install time and kept as an untouched git clone so it can be updated later with git pull.

What this project does

Clones the original kerneldev-mcp repository into kerneldev-mcp/.
Creates a Python venv (kerneldev-mcp/.venv/) and installs the runtime dependencies needed by the original server.
Applies a small compatibility patch (when needed) to fix a Python 3.13+ KernelConfig scoping bug in the original server.py.
Exposes all of kerneldev-mcp's MCP tools to LM Studio (and to any MCP client) via a TypeScript wrapper that converts the Python JSON schemas into Zod schemas for validation and autocomplete.

The original kerneldev-mcp source tree is never modified by this wrapper.

Installation

Option A — Install from the LM Studio Hub (recommended)

[!TIP] After a Hub install, the first tool call may take a few seconds while the Python venv and packages are prepared. Subsequent calls are fast.

Option B — Manual / local development install

npm install automatically runs scripts/setup.cjs (the postinstall hook). If you ever need to re-run setup manually:

LM Studio Plugin usage

Once installed, the kerneldev-mcp tools appear automatically in your LM Studio chat. Select a tool from the tool palette (or let the model call it) and provide the required arguments. No further configuration is needed.

The plugin registers 39 tools, grouped as follows:

Kernel configuration

Tool	Description
`list_config_presets`	List all available kernel configuration presets (by target/debug/fragment).
`get_config_template`	Generate a complete kernel configuration from templates (boot, btrfs, filesystem, networking, virtualization).
`create_config_fragment`	Create a custom configuration fragment.
`merge_configs`	Merge multiple configuration fragments.
`apply_config`	Apply a configuration to a kernel source tree (supports cross-compilation, LLVM, virtme).
`validate_config`	Validate a kernel `.config` file against a kernel source tree.
`modify_kernel_config`	Enable, disable, or modify specific `CONFIG_*` options in an existing `.config`.
`search_config_options`	Search kernel configuration options by query and category.

Build management

Tool	Description
`generate_build_config`	Generate an optimized build configuration and commands (speed/debug/size, ccache, out-of-tree).
`build_kernel`	Build the Linux kernel and validate the build (all, vmlinux, modules, bzImage, Image, dtbs).
`check_build_requirements`	Check whether a kernel source tree is ready to build.
`clean_kernel_build`	Clean kernel build artifacts (clean, mrproper, distclean).

VM boot & testing (virtme-ng)

Tool	Description
`boot_kernel_test`	Boot a kernel with virtme-ng and test it (optional custom commands/scripts, dmesg validation).
`check_virtme_ng`	Check whether virtme-ng is installed and available.
`kill_hanging_vms`	Kill VM processes hung by this kerneldev-mcp session.

fstests integration

Tool	Description
`fstests_setup_check`	Step 1: check whether fstests is installed.
`fstests_check_environment`	Comprehensive fstests environment check (installation, kernel config, devices, virtme).
`fstests_setup_install`	Step 2: clone and build fstests from git.
`fstests_setup_devices`	Step 3: create test and scratch block devices.
`fstests_setup_configure`	Step 4: create/update `local.config`.
`fstests_vm_boot_and_run`	All-in-one: boot a kernel in a VM, set up fstests, and run tests.
`fstests_vm_boot_custom`	Boot a kernel in a VM with a fstests device environment and run a custom command/script.
`fstests_groups_list`	List available fstests test groups (quick, auto, dangerous, log, metadata).

fstests baselines & git integration

Tool	Description
`fstests_baseline_get`	Retrieve a stored baseline (previous test results).
`fstests_baseline_compare`	Compare current results against a baseline to detect regressions.
`fstests_baseline_list`	List all stored baselines with metadata.
`fstests_baseline_save`	Save test results as a baseline (and/or to git notes).
`fstests_git_load`	Load fstests results from git notes.
`fstests_git_list`	List commits that have stored fstests results.
`fstests_git_delete`	Delete fstests results from git notes.

mmtests (memory-management selftests)

Tool	Description
`mmtests_vm_boot_and_run`	Boot a kernel in a 2-node NUMA VM and run mm selftests (ksm, thp, …).
`mmtests_host_build_and_run`	Build and run host-side mm userspace tests (radix-tree, vma, memblock) without a VM.

LVM device pool (for fstests)

Tool	Description
`device_pool_setup`	Create an LVM-based device pool (PV + VG).
`device_pool_status`	Display and validate device pool health.
`device_pool_teardown`	Remove a device pool and clean up resources.
`device_pool_resize`	Resize a logical volume by its full LV name.
`device_pool_snapshot`	Create/delete LVM snapshots.
`device_pool_list`	List all configured device pools.
`device_pool_cleanup`	Clean up orphaned LVs from dead MCP processes.

Porting summary (what was done)

The original kerneldev-mcp is a Python MCP server that uses the legacy lowlevel MCP API (Server class and @app.list_tools() / @app.call_tool() decorator handlers). That API was removed in mcp 1.0, and the original project pins mcp>=0.9.0 (no upper bound), so pip would install a 1.x mcp that breaks the original server. kerneldev-mcp is therefore incompatible with LM Studio as-is.

This port (kerneldev-lms-mcp) solves the problem with a lightweight TypeScript wrapper and a Python venv, keeping the original source tree 100% untouched:

Key design decisions:

Acknowledgements

This project would not exist without the original kerneldev-mcp project by josefbacik and contributors, which provided the excellent Python MCP server and the full set of Linux kernel configuration, build, testing, and fstests tools that this plugin exposes to LM Studio. We are grateful for their work and for releasing it under the GPL-2.0 license.

License

This project (the TypeScript wrapper, scripts/setup.cjs, and the compatibility patch) is licensed under the GNU General Public License v2.0 (GPL-2.0), consistent with the license of the original kerneldev-mcp project.

The original kerneldev-mcp source tree — which is cloned at install time and kept unmodified — remains licensed under its original GPL-2.0 license. See the original project for full license details.