Home Assistant MCP Server - Claude Integration Troubleshooting Report

Third party integrations
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Home Assistant MCP Server - Claude Integration Troubleshooting Report

Setup

  • System: Windows 11
  • Python: 3.14-64
  • Home Assistant: Running with HA-MCP Custom Component (ha-mcp 7.11.0 - stable channel)
  • Claude: Desktop app with MCP support
  • Goal: Connect Home Assistant to Claude via HA-MCP Server

Problem Summary

Home Assistant MCP Server component runs successfully inside Home Assistant, but Claude cannot attach to the locally-running Python MCP server script.

Error in Claude:

Could not attach to MCP server home-assistant

Configuration

Claude Config (JSON)

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "home-assistant": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": ["C:\\Users\\hawkster\\Claude\\ha_mcp_server.py"]
    }
  }
}

Home Assistant URLs Available

From HA-MCP Settings (Settings → Devices & Services → HA-MCP Custom Component):

  1. Cloud URL (Nabu Casa):
  • https://XXXXXXXXXXXXXX.ui.nabu.casa/api/webhook/mcp_XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
  • :cross_mark: Not reachable (DNS/network blocking)
  1. Local IP (Direct):
  • http://XXX.XXX.XX.XXX:8123/api/webhook/mcp_XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
  • :white_check_mark: Reachable (ping works, 0ms response)
  1. Local IP (9584 port):
  • http://XXX.XXX.XX.XXX:9584/private_XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Troubleshooting Steps Attempted

1. :cross_mark: Cloud URL Approach

  • Attempt: Use Nabu Casa Cloud URL
  • Result: DNS resolution failed
  Cannot connect to host XXXXXXXXXXXXXX.ui.nabu.casa:443
  [getaddrinfo failed]
  • Cause: Network/ISP blocking or DNS issue

2. :white_check_mark: Switched to Local IP

  • URL Used: http://XXX.XXX.XX.XXX:8123/api/webhook/mcp_...
  • Verification: Ping successful (0ms response)
  • Status: Reachable from Windows machine

3. :counterclockwise_arrows_button: Multiple MCP Server Scripts Tested

Script 1: ha_mcp_server_improved.py

  • Issue: MCP Server incompatibility - async with not supported
  • Error: TypeError: 'mcp.server.lowlevel.server.Server' object does not support the asynchronous context manager protocol

Script 2: ha_mcp_server_working.py

  • Issue: Connection retry logic blocked MCP initialization
  • Error: Server crashed during connection attempts

Script 3: ha_mcp_server_fixed.py

  • Issue: Wrong MCP method call
  • Error: AttributeError: 'Server' object has no attribute 'run_server'

Script 4: ha_mcp_server_final.py

  • Issue: Correct stdio_server() approach
  • Status: Script starts successfully, says “Connected to Claude. Serving tools…” but Claude still cannot attach
  • Claude Status: Shows “Running” (blue badge) but won’t connect

Script 5: ha_mcp_simple.py

  • Issue: Missing import from mcp.tools import Tool (doesn’t exist in MCP SDK)
  • Error: ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'mcp.tools'

Script 6: ha_server_clean.py

  • Issue: Same as above after removing unnecessary imports
  • Status: Server runs but Claude still cannot attach

4. Dependencies Installed

bash

python -m pip install mcp
python -m pip install aiohttp

Current Status

:white_check_mark: What Works:

  • Home Assistant is running with HA-MCP component
  • Local IP (XXX.XXX.XX.XXX:8123) is reachable
  • Python MCP scripts start without crashing
  • Scripts report “Connected to Claude. Serving tools…”
  • Claude shows server status as “Running” (blue badge)

:cross_mark: What Doesn’t Work:

  • Claude cannot attach/connect to the server
  • Error remains: “Could not attach to MCP server home-assistant”
  • Cannot view detailed logs (View Logs button not clickable in Claude UI)

Observations

  1. Script Status Discrepancy: Scripts say they’re “Connected” but Claude says it can’t attach
  2. Logs Inaccessible: Cannot click “View Logs” in Claude Developer Settings to see actual error
  3. Version Compatibility: MCP SDK version appears to have breaking changes between script examples
  4. Network: Local connectivity works; Cloud connectivity blocked by ISP/network

What We Need to Debug Further

  1. Full error log from Claude (cannot access in UI)
  2. MCP SDK version compatibility with current Claude version
  3. stdio_server() protocol - is it compatible with Claude’s MCP integration?
  4. Alternative MCP server implementations for HA-Claude integration

Questions for Community

  1. Has anyone successfully connected HA-MCP to Claude desktop app?
  2. Which MCP SDK version is compatible with Claude desktop MCP servers?
  3. Is there a different/simpler way to expose HA to Claude via MCP?
  4. Are there any known issues with stdio_server() in Claude integration?

Files/Versions

  • Python: 3.14-64-bit
  • MCP Package: Latest (installed via pip)
  • HA-MCP: 7.11.0 (stable)
  • Claude: Latest desktop app
  • HA: Latest stable

Report generated during troubleshooting session. Tried 6 different server script approaches. Issue persists across all attempts.