Lucas Gerads demonstrates MCP servers for oscilloscope and SPICE simulator integration with Claude Code

Lucas Gerads has developed a workflow that integrates Claude Code with hardware development tools through MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers. The setup connects Claude Code to both a LeCroy oscilloscope and a SPICE simulator, creating a feedback loop between simulation and physical hardware verification.

Workflow and Approach

Gerads experimented with using Claude Code for hardware development, initially trying to describe circuits in natural language prompts. He found this approach worked for trivial circuits but became difficult for complex designs. The breakthrough came when he gave Claude Code access to his oscilloscope and SPICE simulator, allowing immediate feedback during development.

Specific Implementation Details

The system includes three main components:

• lecroy-mcp: MCP server for LeCroy oscilloscopes
• spicelib-mcp: MCP server wrapping spicelib
• rc-filter-demo-files: Demo setup files from the accompanying video

Practical Lessons Learned

Gerads shares several specific implementation guidelines from his experience:

• Oscilloscope integration: Claude doesn't see your physical setup, so don't let it guess what's connected where. Ensure Claude never gets stale measurement data. Don't dump raw data into Claude's context - save it to a file and let Claude interact with it indirectly.
• Microcontroller workflow: Give Claude a pinout/pinmux map explicitly. Prepare a Makefile that exposes functions like build, flash, ping, and erase, and encourage Claude to rely on it. Claude should not construct these commands on the fly.

Use Cases Demonstrated

The setup has proven valuable for:

• Validating SPICE circuits and models
• Embedded programming tasks
• Data analysis automation (particularly time axis normalization and data alignment, which were previously tedious manual processes)

While the demo uses a trivial circuit and MCU to illustrate the approach, Gerads notes that the workflow scales well to more complex circuits and real embedded projects.