Sim Studio

Sim Studio Automation Skill

Overview

Sim Studio is a visual AI agent orchestration platform running locally. Claude Code connects to it via MCP to invoke deployed workflows as tools.

Local Instance

Architecture

Claude Code (CoreMind)
    │
    ├── MCP Server: sim-studio
    │   └── Invokes deployed Sim workflows as callable tools
    │
    ├── Admin API (REST)
    │   └── Export/import/manage workflows programmatically
    │
    └── Direct API
        ├── /api/chat/{id}         — Chat with deployed workflows
        ├── /api/mcp/servers       — Manage MCP servers
        ├── /api/mcp/tools/execute — Execute MCP tools
        └── /api/v1/admin/*        — Admin operations

Starting / Stopping

# Start
cd ~/Projects/sim && docker compose -f docker-compose.prod.yml -f docker-compose.override.yml up -d

# Stop
cd ~/Projects/sim && docker compose -f docker-compose.prod.yml -f docker-compose.override.yml down

# View logs
cd ~/Projects/sim && docker compose -f docker-compose.prod.yml -f docker-compose.override.yml logs -f simstudio

# Restart
cd ~/Projects/sim && docker compose -f docker-compose.prod.yml -f docker-compose.override.yml restart simstudio

Admin API

The Admin API enables programmatic workflow management (GitOps).

# List workspaces
curl -s -H "x-admin-key: $ADMIN_API_KEY" http://localhost:3100/api/v1/admin/workspaces

# Export a folder of workflows
curl -s -H "x-admin-key: $ADMIN_API_KEY" http://localhost:3100/api/v1/admin/folders/{folderId}/export

# Audit logs
curl -s -H "x-admin-key: $ADMIN_API_KEY" http://localhost:3100/api/v1/admin/audit-logs

Admin API key is in ~/Projects/sim/.env as ADMIN_API_KEY.

MCP Integration

How It Works

1. Build a workflow visually in Sim Studio UI (http://localhost:3100)
2. Deploy the workflow
3. In Deploy panel, go to MCP tab
4. Configure tool name, description, and parameter descriptions
5. Add to an MCP server
6. Claude Code can now invoke it via the sim-studio MCP server

Creating a Workflow MCP Server (via UI)

1. Go to Settings > MCP Servers
2. Click "Create Server"
3. Name it and copy the server URL
4. The URL format is: http://localhost:3100/api/mcp/serve/{serverId}

Updating Claude Code MCP Config

After creating a server in Sim Studio, update ~/.claude.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sim-studio": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-remote", "http://localhost:3100/api/mcp/serve/{YOUR_SERVER_ID}",
               "--header", "X-API-Key:{YOUR_API_KEY}"]
    }
  }
}

Workflow Patterns for Automation

Pattern 1: Research Pipeline

Build a workflow that chains: Web Search > Content Extract > LLM Summarize > Output Deploy as MCP tool research_topic — Claude Code calls it with a topic.

Pattern 2: Data Processing

Build: File Upload > Parse > Transform > Database Write Deploy as MCP tool process_document.

Pattern 3: Multi-LLM Consensus

Build: Fan-out to 3 LLMs > Collect > Consensus Agent > Final Answer Deploy as MCP tool consensus_answer.

Pattern 4: Scheduled Monitoring

Use Sim's schedule trigger for recurring tasks (cron-style). Results can be sent via webhook or stored in DB.

Pattern 5: Webhook-Triggered Automation

Set up webhook trigger in Sim Studio. External services POST to the webhook URL to kick off workflows.

Ollama Integration

Sim Studio connects to your local Ollama at http://host.docker.internal:11434. Any models you have in Ollama are available as LLM providers in workflows.

Key Files

Troubleshooting

Sim Studio not responding

docker ps --filter name=sim  # Check container status
docker compose -f docker-compose.prod.yml -f docker-compose.override.yml logs simstudio --tail 50

MCP tools not showing

1. Ensure a workflow is deployed AND added to an MCP server
2. Verify the server ID in ~/.claude.json matches the Sim Studio MCP server
3. Restart Claude Code after config changes

Database issues

docker compose -f docker-compose.prod.yml -f docker-compose.override.yml logs db --tail 50