Google Colab, verified

MCP server by Google (Colab) · Verified

Connect a local agent to a Google Colab notebook session open in your browser.

Runs locally (Runs on your machine: its page has the install command)Runs with uvx

Install Google Colab

Runs on your machine. Your client starts it with this command:

uvx git+https://github.com/googlecolab/colab-mcp

Needs uv (Python) on your computer. The setup steps below show where the command goes in each client.

Share this server

Opens this page, with the install command and setup steps.

mcp.tc/i/colab

About

Bridges a local AI agent to a Google Colab session running in your browser, so the agent can work with the notebook you have open. The server relies on tool list change notifications, so the set of available tools can update as the session connects.

It runs locally over stdio and is installed from GitHub with uvx, not from PyPI, because the PyPI name colab-mcp belongs to someone else. No API key is needed. The client must run on your own machine and support notifications/tools/list_changed, for example Gemini CLI, Claude Code or Windsurf.

What you can do

  • Bridge a local agent to a Colab session open in the browser
  • Work with a notebook from Gemini CLI, Claude Code or Windsurf
  • Runs locally over stdio with no API key

Tools

Local servers list their tools once they’re running, and this one doesn’t publish its list in advance. Your client shows them after you add it.

Example prompts

  • Connect to my open Colab notebook and tell me what it does.

  • Use my Colab session to run this data analysis on the notebook.

  • Add a cell to my Colab notebook that plots the training loss.

Set up

Every client starts Google Colab on your machine with the same command. Pick yours; the page remembers your choice.

Claude Code

  1. Run this in a terminal, in your project folder:
claude mcp add --transport stdio colab -- uvx git+https://github.com/googlecolab/colab-mcp
  1. Start Claude Code and type /mcp. colab should show as connected.

Add --scope user to make it available in every project.

Claude Desktop

  1. Open Settings → Developer → Edit Config. It opens claude_desktop_config.json. Add:
claude_desktop_config.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "colab": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "git+https://github.com/googlecolab/colab-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}
  1. Save the file and restart Claude Desktop.

Needs uv (Python) on your computer. The file lives in ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/ on macOS and %APPDATA%\Claude\ on Windows.

Cursor

Or add it by hand to ~/.cursor/mcp.json (all projects) or .cursor/mcp.json (this project):

mcp.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "colab": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "git+https://github.com/googlecolab/colab-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Needs uv (Python) on your computer.

VS Code

Or from a terminal:

code --add-mcp '{"name":"colab","type":"stdio","command":"uvx","args":["git+https://github.com/googlecolab/colab-mcp"]}'

Or commit it to the repo in .vscode/mcp.json:

.vscode/mcp.json
{
  "servers": {
    "colab": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "git+https://github.com/googlecolab/colab-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Needs uv (Python) on your computer.

Devin Desktop

  1. Add it to ~/.config/devin/mcp_config.json (macOS and Linux) or %APPDATA%\devin\mcp_config.json (Windows):
mcp_config.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "colab": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "git+https://github.com/googlecolab/colab-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}
  1. Refresh the MCP server list in Cascade.

Devin Desktop is the new name for Windsurf.

Codex

codex mcp add colab -- uvx git+https://github.com/googlecolab/colab-mcp

Or edit ~/.codex/config.toml directly:

config.toml
[mcp_servers.colab]
command = "uvx"
args = ["git+https://github.com/googlecolab/colab-mcp"]

Needs uv (Python) on your computer.

Gemini CLI

gemini mcp add colab uvx git+https://github.com/googlecolab/colab-mcp

This adds it to the current project. Add -s user to use it everywhere.

Any client

Most clients that start local servers accept this shape:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "colab": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "git+https://github.com/googlecolab/colab-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Zed puts servers under context_servers in its settings, with the same command, args and env fields.

Needs uv (Python) on your computer.

FAQ

Can I paste mcp.tc/i/colab into my MCP client?

No. Google Colab runs on your own computer, started by your client, so it has no web address to connect to. The quick link is the page to share; the install command is uvx git+https://github.com/googlecolab/colab-mcp.

Does Google Colab need an API key?

No. It doesn’t declare any keys or environment variables. It runs with your user account’s permissions, so check what its tools can reach.

Is Google Colab a remote or a local server?

Local. Your client starts it as a process on your computer with uvx git+https://github.com/googlecolab/colab-mcp, which needs uv (Python).

What can Google Colab do?

You can bridge a local agent to a Colab session open in the browser, work with a notebook from Gemini CLI, Claude Code or Windsurf and runs locally over stdio with no API key.

Which clients can use it?

Any client that starts local servers: Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code, Devin Desktop, Codex, Gemini CLI, Zed and others. claude.ai and ChatGPT only connect to remote servers.

Who wrote this page?

mcp.tc’s robot read Google Colab’s public metadata (its package and repository pages), and an AI model drafted the text from it. A person reviews anything the checks can’t confirm. The text can still be wrong, so if you spot a mistake, use Report this listing on this page.

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mcp.tc isn’t affiliated with Google (Colab). This page was built from Google Colab’s public metadata, last checked on 3 Oct 2026, and an AI model wrote the description, so it can be wrong. Names and marks belong to their owners. Something off? Report this listing.