Setup Openroad MCP

Set Up OpenROAD MCP

This skill installs and configures the OpenROAD MCP server, a Model Context Protocol server that connects an AI assistant to the OpenROAD physical-design tools and OpenROAD-flow-scripts (ORFS).

The published server runs via npx — there is no need to clone this repo for normal use. Configuration is just: check prerequisites → register the server with the MCP client → verify the connection.

Step 1: Check prerequisites

Run these checks and report what's missing before touching any config.

Node.js 22+ (required — runs the npx distribution):

node --version

If it's older than v22 or missing, install Node 22+ (via the official installer, nvm, or your package manager) before continuing.

OpenROAD in PATH (required — the actual layout engine):

command -v openroad && openroad -version

If openroad is not found, it must be installed and on PATH. Point the user to the OpenROAD build guide. Note the directory from command -v openroad — you may need it in Step 2 for GUI-launched clients that don't inherit a login shell PATH.

OpenROAD-flow-scripts / ORFS (optional — enables full RTL-to-GDS flows and report images):

ls "${ORFS_FLOW_PATH:-$HOME/OpenROAD-flow-scripts/flow}" 2>/dev/null \
  && echo "ORFS found" || echo "ORFS not found (optional)"

ORFS_FLOW_PATH defaults to ~/OpenROAD-flow-scripts/flow. If ORFS lives elsewhere, note the path for Step 2. See the ORFS build guide.

Step 2: Register the server with the MCP client

Ask the user which MCP client they use if it's not obvious. The per-client configuration snippets and file locations are maintained as a single source of truth in the README's "Supported MCP Clients" section. Read that section, then apply the snippet for the client the user named (it covers Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Windsurf, Cline / Roo Code, Continue / PearAI, Zed, and Docker).

PATH note for GUI clients: apps launched from a dock/Finder often don't inherit your shell PATH. The server tries hard to locate openroad (current PATH → login-shell PATH → common install dirs like /opt/homebrew/bin, conda, local builds), but if it still fails, pass the PATH env override shown in the README's Supported MCP Clients section.

Step 3: Restart and verify the connection

MCP clients scan servers at startup — restart the client (or the CLI session) after editing config so it picks up the new server.

Then run the smoke test by asking the assistant, in plain language:

"Are your OpenROAD tools available and ready to use?"

A working setup exposes tools including create_interactive_session, interactive_openroad_query, interactive_openroad_exec, and read_report_image.

Then confirm end to end:

"Create a new OpenROAD session and tell me what version of OpenROAD we are running."

Expected: the assistant calls create_interactive_session() then interactive_openroad_query("version") and returns something like OpenROAD v2.0-14023-g05f7f46af.

Troubleshooting

• "OpenROAD tools not available" → the server didn't register. Recheck the client config file/location and that the client was restarted.
• "openroad: command not found" / server exits immediately → openroad isn't on the PATH the client sees. Add the PATH env override (Step 2, Claude Code example) or launch the client from a shell where openroad works.
• ORFS features / report images missing → set ORFS_FLOW_PATH to the ORFS flow directory (default ~/OpenROAD-flow-scripts/flow).
• npx fails to fetch the package → confirm Node 22+ and network access; the first run downloads openroad-mcp.

Next steps

Point the user to the Quick Start Guide for proven prompt patterns (timing/power analysis, design introspection, ORFS report visualization) once the connection is verified.