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Quickstart

This guide will have you generating MCP servers from smart contracts in under 5 minutes.

Prerequisites

  • Python 3.10 or higher
  • pip or pipx
  • (Optional) An Etherscan API key for better rate limits

Step 1: Install abi-to-mcp

pip install abi-to-mcp

Verify the installation:

abi-to-mcp --version

Step 2: Generate from a Contract Address

Let's generate an MCP server for the USDC stablecoin on Ethereum mainnet:

abi-to-mcp generate 0xA0b86991c6218b36c1d19D4a2e9Eb0cE3606eB48 \
  --network mainnet \
  --output ./usdc-mcp

API Keys

For better rate limits, set your Etherscan API key: 

export ETHERSCAN_API_KEY=your-key-here

This will:

  1. Fetch the verified ABI from Etherscan
  2. Parse the contract to identify functions and events
  3. Detect that this is an ERC-20 token
  4. Generate a complete MCP server in ./usdc-mcp/

You'll see output like:

✓ Fetched ABI from Etherscan (mainnet)
✓ Detected ERC20 standard
✓ Parsed 13 functions, 2 events
✓ Generated 13 tools, 2 resources

MCP server generated successfully!
Output: ./usdc-mcp/

Next steps:
  cd ./usdc-mcp
  cp .env.example .env
  # Edit .env to configure RPC_URL
  pip install -r requirements.txt
  python server.py

Step 3: Inspect the Output

ls -la ./usdc-mcp/

You'll see:

usdc-mcp/
├── server.py           # The MCP server
├── config.py           # Configuration settings
├── README.md           # Usage documentation
├── requirements.txt    # Python dependencies
├── pyproject.toml      # Package configuration
└── .env.example        # Environment variable template

Step 4: Configure and Run

Create your environment file:

cd usdc-mcp
cp .env.example .env

Edit .env to add your RPC URL:

RPC_URL=https://eth.llamarpc.com
CONTRACT_ADDRESS=0xA0b86991c6218b36c1d19D4a2e9Eb0cE3606eB48

Install dependencies and run:

pip install -r requirements.txt
python server.py

The server will start and wait for MCP connections.

Step 5: Add to Claude Desktop

Add this to your claude_desktop_config.json:

Location: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "usdc-token": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": ["/Users/you/usdc-mcp/server.py"],
      "env": {
        "RPC_URL": "https://eth.llamarpc.com"
      }
    }
  }
}

Location: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "usdc-token": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": ["C:\\Users\\you\\usdc-mcp\\server.py"],
      "env": {
        "RPC_URL": "https://eth.llamarpc.com"
      }
    }
  }
}

Location: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "usdc-token": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": ["/home/you/usdc-mcp/server.py"],
      "env": {
        "RPC_URL": "https://eth.llamarpc.com"
      }
    }
  }
}

Use Absolute Paths

Always use absolute paths in Claude Desktop configuration, not relative paths like ./ or ~.

Restart Claude Desktop, and you can now ask Claude questions about USDC!

Alternative: Generate from Local ABI

If you have an ABI file already (from Hardhat, Foundry, or downloaded):

abi-to-mcp generate ./my-contract-abi.json \
  --address 0xYourContractAddress \
  --network mainnet \
  --output ./my-mcp-server

The ABI file can be:

  • Plain ABI array: [{"type": "function", ...}]
  • Hardhat artifact: {"abi": [...], "contractName": "..."}
  • Foundry output: {"abi": [...]}

Try Other Contracts

Here are some popular contracts to try:

abi-to-mcp generate 0xE592427A0AEce92De3Edee1F18E0157C05861564 \
  -n mainnet -o ./uniswap-mcp

abi-to-mcp generate 0x00000000000000ADc04C56Bf30aC9d3c0aAF14dC \
  -n mainnet -o ./seaport-mcp

abi-to-mcp generate 0x87870Bca3F3fD6335C3F4ce8392D69350B4fA4E2 \
  -n mainnet -o ./aave-mcp

abi-to-mcp generate 0xBC4CA0EdA7647A8aB7C2061c2E118A18a936f13D \
  -n mainnet -o ./bayc-mcp

What's Next?