PS7 Tool - PowerShell 7 MCP Server for Zencoder

A custom MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that exposes PowerShell 7 command execution to Zencoder, bypassing the broken Bash tool.

Features

• ✅ Full MCP protocol support (JSONRpc)
• ✅ PowerShell 7 command execution (no cmd.exe wrapper)
• ✅ Timeout support (default 240s, configurable)
• ✅ Background execution mode
• ✅ Full stdout/stderr capture
• ✅ Exit code tracking
• ✅ Comprehensive logging to ~/.ps7_tool/logs/
• ✅ Working directory support
• ✅ Command description/tagging for logging

Requirements

• Python: 3.8+ (tested with 3.12+)
• PowerShell: PowerShell 7 installed and in PATH (pwsh)
• OS: Windows (primary), Linux/macOS with PS7

Installation

Quick Start

Minimal setup (30 seconds):

1. Ensure PowerShell 7 is installed
2. Install locally:

   cd "C:\Users\nomad\PycharmProjects\Fallout 4 OCBPC project\PS7 tool"
   pip install -e .
   

3. Register in Zencoder: File > Settings > Tools > Zencoder > Agent Tools > Add Custom MCP
   • Name: ps7_tool
   • Command: python
   • Args: -m ps7_tool.mcp_server

Prerequisites

1. Install PowerShell 7 (if not already installed):
   • Download from: https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell/releases
   • Or via package manager:

     choco install powershell-core
     # or
     winget install Microsoft.PowerShell
     

   • Verify installation:

     pwsh --version
     

Option A: Install from Local Directory (Development)

For development or local testing:

cd "C:\Users\nomad\PycharmProjects\Fallout 4 OCBPC project\PS7 tool"
pip install -e .

This creates entry points ps7-mcp-server and ps7-mcp-tool in your Python environment.

Then in Zencoder MCP settings (with uvx):

{
  "ps7_tool": {
    "command": "uvx",
    "args": ["ps7-mcp-tool"]
  }
}

Or use direct Python module invocation:

{
  "ps7_tool": {
    "command": "python",
    "args": ["-m", "ps7_tool.mcp_server"]
  }
}

Option B: MCP Library Installation (Recommended)

After installing locally with pip install -e .:

1. Open File > Settings (or JetBrains IDE > Settings on macOS)

2. Navigate to Tools > Zencoder > Agent Tools

3. Click Add Custom MCP

4. Fill in:

   • Name: ps7_tool
   • Command: python
   • Args: -m ps7_tool.mcp_server

5. Click Install

Option C: Direct MCP Registration (JetBrains IDE)

1. Open File > Settings (or JetBrains IDE > Settings on macOS)

2. Navigate to Tools > Zencoder > MCP Servers

3. Click Edit in settings.json and add:

   {
     "ps7_tool": {
       "command": "python",
       "args": [
         "C:\\Users\\nomad\\PycharmProjects\\Fallout 4 OCBPC project\\PS7 tool\\mcp_server.py"
       ]
     }
   }
   

4. Click Apply and restart your IDE

VS Code Registration (Limited Support)

Note: VS Code currently only supports stdio connections. After full Zencoder support for VS Code MCP servers is released, you can add:

1. Open Settings (Cmd/Ctrl + ,)

2. Search for MCP Servers and click Edit in settings.json

3. Add to your settings.json:

   "zencoder.mcpServers": {
     "ps7_tool": {
       "command": "python",
       "args": ["-m", "ps7_tool.mcp_server"]
     }
   }
   

4. Save and reload the IDE

Usage in Zencoder

Once registered, the MCP tool exposes execute_powershell command with the following parameters:

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
command	string	✓	-	PowerShell command to execute
timeout	integer	✗	240	Timeout in seconds
background	boolean	✗	false	Run in background mode
cwd	string	✗	null	Working directory
description	string	✗	""	Optional command description

Example Commands (from Zencoder)

In Zencoder chat with Coding Agent enabled:

Execute this PowerShell command: Get-ChildItem -Path C:\Users\nomad\Desktop

The tool will:

1. Execute Get-ChildItem -Path C:\Users\nomad\Desktop via PowerShell 7
2. Capture stdout/stderr
3. Return exit code and full output
4. Log results to ~/.ps7_tool/logs/ps7_exec_*.json

Output Format

Response Structure

{
  "exit_code": 0,
  "stdout": "File content here...",
  "stderr": "",
  "execution_time": 0.245,
  "log_file": "C:\\Users\\nomad\\.ps7_tool\\logs\\ps7_exec_20251220_204535_123.json"
}

Logs

All command executions are logged to:

~/.ps7_tool/logs/ps7_exec_YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS_mmm.json

Server logs are written to:

~/.ps7_tool/mcp_server.log

Troubleshooting

"PowerShell 7 (pwsh) not found in PATH"

Solution: Install PowerShell 7 and ensure pwsh is in your PATH:

$env:Path -split ';'  # Check if PowerShell 7 is in PATH

MCP Server not visible in Zencoder

1. Verify Python path is correct in settings.json
2. Check ~/.ps7_tool/mcp_server.log for errors
3. Reload IDE
4. Ensure Coding Agent is enabled in Zencoder

Command timeout

Default timeout is 240 seconds (4 minutes). Increase via timeout parameter:

{
  "command": "long-running-ps-command",
  "timeout": 600
}

File Structure

PS7 tool/
├── ps7_tool/              # Python package
│   ├── __init__.py        # Package init
│   ├── mcp_server.py      # Main MCP server
│   └── ps7_executor.py    # Legacy executor
├── pyproject.toml         # Python package metadata
├── MANIFEST.in            # Package manifest
├── .gitignore             # Git ignore rules
├── README.md              # This file
├── mcp_server.py          # Root copy (legacy)
├── ps7_executor.py        # Root copy (legacy)
├── test_executor.py       # Test suite
└── test.bat               # Test launcher

Note: Root-level mcp_server.py and ps7_executor.py are kept for backward compatibility. The packaged version uses ps7_tool/ directory.

Development

Running Tests

python test_executor.py

Manual Testing

python mcp_server.py

Then send JSON requests on stdin:

{"jsonrpc": "2.0", "id": 1, "method": "initialize", "params": {}}
{"jsonrpc": "2.0", "id": 2, "method": "tools/list", "params": {}}

Notes

• This tool is a direct replacement for the broken Bash tool in Zencoder
• PowerShell is used instead of cmd.exe for better command compatibility
• All commands run with -NoProfile flag to avoid startup delays
• Background execution uses Popen (non-blocking)
• Foreground execution waits for completion or timeout
• Package structure (ps7_tool/) allows installation via pip and library manager
• Entry point ps7-mcp-server is automatically created on install
• Works with both local installation and future remote MCP deployment

Why This Tool?

The Zencoder Bash tool has limitations on Windows:

• Uses cmd.exe which lacks PowerShell features
• Doesn't handle UTF-8/Unicode properly
• Path handling issues with backslashes
• Missing environment variable interpolation

This MCP server replaces Bash with PowerShell 7, providing:

• ✅ Full PowerShell cmdlet support
• ✅ Proper Windows path handling
• ✅ UTF-8/Unicode support
• ✅ MCP protocol compliance
• ✅ Timeout and background execution
• ✅ Comprehensive logging