Thorlabs Optical Power Meter MCP Server

Let an AI agent read laser power, log stability and warm-up drift, set the wavelength correction, averaging and range, and dark-zero the sensor on Thorlabs optical power meters through their documented SCPI command set over USB (USBTMC / VISA). Its 11 documented tools cover log, power, sensor.

People who work with log, power and sensor and want it reachable from Claude, Cursor, VS Code, or another MCP client. The project is written in Python.

One of 32 MCP servers published from k-dense-ai/lab-instrument-mcps. Stars and repository activity are shared across all of them. See all 32 →

VERIFIED ACTIVE

LAST COMMIT 2026-09-26 · VERIFIED 2026-09-30

Apache-2.0 · Python servers · how we verify → /methodology

01 · Install Thorlabs Optical Power Meter

Claude Code

claude mcp add k-dense-ai-lab-instrument-mcps-servers-p -- uvx labmcp-thorlabs-pm

Claude Desktop / Cursor / VS Code - add to config

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "k-dense-ai-lab-instrument-mcps-servers-p": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "labmcp-thorlabs-pm"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Same JSON for Cursor. For VS Code, rename the top-level key from `mcpServers` to `servers`.

Using another client? Same JSON, different key

Claude Desktop · mcpServers

Cursor · mcpServers

VS Code · servers

Windsurf · mcpServers

Zed · context_servers

Cline · mcpServers

Roo Code · mcpServers

Continue · mcpServers

LibreChat · mcpServers

Gemini CLI · mcpServers

Codex CLI · mcp_servers

Full setup guides: every client.

02 · Evidence

Security posture

What to check before giving this server access to your agent - from the registry, GitHub, and our own probes. We don't score safety; we show what's verifiable.

runs as local process (stdio) - runs on your machine with your user's permissions

repo age created 2026-09-25 - young repo, little track record yet

license Apache-2.0 - declared in the repository

pypi package labmcp-thorlabs-pm - check the name against the project README before installing (PyPI has no namespace ownership)

registry namespace io.github.K-Dense-AI is GitHub-verified and matches the repo owner

03 · What Thorlabs Optical Power Meter can do

Prose above is summarized from the project's README and registry record - no invented capabilities.

What you can build

With this server connected, an agent can read the optical power once (in W, plus dBm and a formatted string). g. after it was power cycled or a cable was re-plugged), and set how many samples the meter averages for each reading. More averaging lowers noise but slows each reading (PM100 series: ~3 ms per sample.

Capability map

Tools grouped from the project's README - what Thorlabs Optical Power Meter lets an agent do.

read & search

5 tools - e.g. Return the most recent raw commands sent to / replies received from the instrument (newest last). Useful for debugging and for recording what was done.; Report which instrument is connected (identity…

get_command_log · get_connection_info · get_device_info · read_power · read_sensor_temperature

update

3 tools - e.g. Set how many samples the meter averages for each reading. More averaging lowers noise but slows each reading (PM100 series: ~3 ms per sample; PM400/PM101/PM5020; Select auto-ranging, or a fixed power…

set_averaging · set_range · set_wavelength

Log

1 tool - e.g. Log a series of power readings to characterise laser stability, warm-up or drift. Returns mean, stdev, min/max, RMS and peak-to-peak stability (%) and drift (%/

log_power_series

Reconnect

1 tool - e.g. Close and re-open the connection to the instrument (e.g. after it was power cycled or a cable was re-plugged).

reconnect

Zero

1 tool - e.g. Dark-zero the sensor (removes dark current / thermal offset). BEFORE calling, ask the user to block the beam and cover the sensor aperture completely, and wait

zero_sensor

Limitations (from the README)

- Wavelength matters. Photodiode responsivity varies by a factor of several across the sensor's range, so a wrong wavelength setting gives a wrong power. The server sends whole nanometres (the PM400/PM101/PM5020 references specify an integer), so 632.8 nm is set as 633 nm. That changes the responsivity by far less than the sensor's calibration uncertainty. - Units. MEAS:POW? answers in the meter's configured unit (W

04 · Who maintains Thorlabs Optical Power Meter

Thorlabs Optical Power Meter is maintained by k-dense-ai. We track 32 MCP servers from k-dense-ai - 32 actively maintained, 9 combined GitHub stars, oldest repo from Sep 2026. Full record: all servers from k-dense-ai.

05 · Facts

repository: github.com/k-dense-ai/lab-instrument-mcps
website: https://github.com/K-Dense-AI/lab-instrument-mcps/tree/main/servers/physics/thorlabs-power-meter
category: other - actively maintained as of 2026-09-30.
registry: io.github.K-Dense-AI/labmcp-thorlabs-pm (active, first published 2026-09-26 · 3 versions)
packages: pypi:labmcp-thorlabs-pm

06 · Thorlabs Optical Power Meter FAQ

Is Thorlabs Optical Power Meter still maintained?

Yes - as of 2026-09-30, its last commit was 2026-09-26. We re-verify nightly.

What can Thorlabs Optical Power Meter do?

How do I install Thorlabs Optical Power Meter?

Run `uvx labmcp-thorlabs-pm`. You can also paste the ready-made client config above.

Does Thorlabs Optical Power Meter run locally?

Yes - it's a stdio server: it runs on your machine (via uvx) with your user's permissions. Your data stays local unless the server itself calls external APIs.

07 · Alternatives to Thorlabs Optical Power Meter

Alternatives to Thorlabs Optical Power Meter

Maintained other servers if Thorlabs Optical Power Meter isn't the fit.

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