Hue BLE MCP server

[//]: # (mcp-name: io.github.jonnyblankinship/hue-ble-mcp)

hue-ble-mcp

An MCP server that lets Claude control Philips Hue lights via Bluetooth LE — no Hue Bridge or internet connection required.

Just ask Claude things like:

• "Turn off the light"
• "Set the light to a warm reading mode"
• "Make it a deep blue"
• "Dim it to 20%"

Tools

Requirements

• macOS (uses CoreBluetooth via bleak)
• Python 3.10+
• A Philips Hue light with Bluetooth support (most lights made after 2019)
• Claude Desktop

Installation

Option 1: pip (recommended)

pip install hue-ble-mcp

Then add to your ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claudedesktopconfig.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "hue-ble": {
      "command": "hue-ble-mcp",
      "env": {
        "HUE_LIGHT_ADDRESS": ""
      }
    }
  }
}

Option 2: Clone and run

git clone https://github.com/jonnyblankinship/hue-ble-mcp.git
cd hue-ble-mcp
python3 -m venv venv
./venv/bin/pip install -r requirements.txt

Then add to your claudedesktopconfig.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "hue-ble": {
      "command": "/absolute/path/to/hue-ble-mcp/venv/bin/python",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/hue-ble-mcp/server.py"],
      "env": {
        "HUE_LIGHT_ADDRESS": ""
      }
    }
  }
}

First-time setup

1. Pair your light

Hue BLE lights need to be in pairing mode the first time you connect. The easiest way is to reset the light via the Hue app (Settings → Light setup → select light → Delete), which puts it back into factory pairing mode.

After the first successful connection, macOS remembers the bond and you won't need to do this again.

2. Find your light's address

Restart Claude Desktop, then ask:

"Scan for my Hue lights"

Claude will return something like:

[
  {
    "name": "Signe gradient floor",
    "address": "77577FFA-2F08-CAFD-5F3C-5C1824D8C362"
  }
]

On macOS, addresses are UUIDs (not MAC addresses). This is normal — CoreBluetooth assigns its own identifiers.

3. Set the default address

Paste the address into HUELIGHTADDRESS in your config and restart Claude Desktop. From then on, you don't need to specify the address in every command.

"env": {
  "HUE_LIGHT_ADDRESS": "77577FFA-2F08-CAFD-5F3C-5C1824D8C362"
}

How it works

Philips Hue lights broadcast over Bluetooth LE using a proprietary but well-documented GATT profile. This server writes directly to those GATT characteristics using bleak, bypassing the need for a Hue Bridge or the Hue cloud entirely.

Key characteristics used:

RGB colors are converted to CIE 1931 XY space using the wide RGB D65 gamut matrix before being sent to the light.

Limitations

Shortened. The full README is on GitHub.