Common questions
The short answers. For the full picture, read the overview — for everything it can do, the capabilities reference.
What is an MCP?
MCP — Model Context Protocol — is an open standard that lets AI assistants like Claude use external tools. An MCP server is a program that offers a set of tools; dcs-mcp is one whose 156 tools read and write DCS World mission files. You talk to Claude normally; Claude calls the tools.
Do I need to know how to code?
No. Setup is installing a program and editing one config file (walkthrough here). After that, everything is plain language: "add a tanker track", "draw the SAM rings", "make the weather worse". The tool names you see on this site are what Claude uses under the hood — you never type them.
What does it edit — and what doesn't it?
It reads and writes .miz mission files: groups, routes, triggers, zones,
goals, drawings, warehouses, briefings, radios, kneeboards, weather, and more.
It does not touch a running sim, inject into multiplayer sessions, fly the mission for you, or modify DCS itself. It's a mission-authoring tool: the output is always a normal mission file you open in the editor and fly in the sim.
Which theaters and modules work?
Caucasus ships built-in; Syria, Kola, Persian Gulf, Sinai, Mariana Islands, Nevada, Germany Cold War, and the Falklands are available through the built-in Terrain Manager — with the full aircraft and unit catalog DCS knows.
The Channel, Normandy, and Marianas WWII are not supported during the beta, and Iraq and Afghanistan are not supported in this build — see known limitations for the detail. Terrain analysis (elevation, line-of-sight, viewsheds) uses a per-theater bare-earth data pack included with each supported theater.
Is my mission safe? It's writing real files.
Saves are atomic — the file is written completely or not at all, never left half-edited. Nothing touches disk until Claude actually calls save, so you can explore edits freely and just not save.
That said: it's a tool that edits your files at your instruction, and instructions can be wrong. Keep backups of missions you care about, and while learning, work on a copy. (You should be backing up your missions anyway.)
Does my mission get uploaded anywhere?
dcs-mcp runs locally on your machine and edits local files. Mission content enters your Claude conversation only as the information Claude reads and writes while working — there's no separate upload, account, or mission hosting.
Will the AI build a *good* mission?
It builds what you describe, correctly and fast — proper SAM layouts, sane routes, working triggers. Whether the scenario is fun is still your craft: pacing, balance, and the final in-sim shakedown stay with the mission designer. Think of it as the world's fastest mission-editor operator, not a replacement for one.
When can I use it, and what does it cost?
The public beta opens 1 August 2026, distributed free through the Discord. You bring your own Claude (Claude Desktop or Claude Code); dcs-mcp itself is the server that plugs into it.
Where's the source? Where do I get help?
The Discord is the community hub: beta downloads, support, examples, and the people building it. The source is private during the beta; that call gets revisited as the project matures.