renderdoc-mcp

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Bring RenderDoc captures into AI workflows.

renderdoc-mcp is an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that lets Claude, Codex, and other MCP clients open .rdc files, inspect GPU state, and answer RenderDoc questions in natural language.

Instead of manually clicking through a capture to find the right event, shader, resource, or render target, you can ask the assistant what went wrong and let it drive RenderDoc for you.

Why Use It

Ask questions like "which draw call renders this mesh?" or "what texture is bound here?"
Move from symptom to event, pipeline state, shader, and resource details in one conversation
Export render targets, textures, and buffers without leaving the same debugging flow
Plug into existing MCP clients over stdio with no custom UI work

Quick Example

Here is a reproducible text example using the bundled tests/fixtures/vkcube.rdc sample:

tests/fixtures/vkcube.rdc
What information does it include?

Example user-facing interaction with the bundled tests/fixtures/vkcube.rdc sample:

User: What information is inside vkcube.rdc?

AI: I inspected the capture through renderdoc-mcp. Here's a quick summary:

- It is a Vulkan capture with 6 events and 1 draw call.
- The main draw call is `vkCmdDraw()` at event 11, drawing 36 indices with 1 instance.
- At that event, the pipeline uses vertex shader `ResourceId::111` and fragment shader `ResourceId::112`, both with entry point `main`.
- The active render target is `ResourceId::130` in `R8G8B8A8_UNORM`, with a 500x500 viewport.
- The VS stage has a constant buffer `ubuf` (1216 bytes, 3 variables), and the PS stage reads a texture `tex` at bind point 1.
- The capture also includes a 256x256 `R8G8B8A8_SRGB` texture (`ResourceId::97`) and a 500x500 `D16` depth attachment (`ResourceId::153`).
- The capture log is clean: no debug/validation messages were reported.

If you want, I can also export the render target, inspect shader reflection, or list more resources.

Behind that answer, the AI can drive the MCP server with calls like:

open_capture({"path":"<absolute-path-to-renderdoc-mcp>/tests/fixtures/vkcube.rdc"})
get_capture_info({})
list_draws({"limit":10})
goto_event({"eventId":11})
get_pipeline_state({})
get_bindings({})
list_resources({"type":"Texture"})
get_log({})

The same workflow can export the rendered result from event 11:

Example Questions

"What changed between event 120 and event 121?"
"Which shaders are active on the draw call that writes this render target?"
"List all textures bound to the fragment stage."
"Export the color target from the current event."
"Show me the validation messages around this draw."

Features

20 MCP tools covering the full GPU debugging workflow
Open and analyze .rdc capture files (D3D11 / D3D12 / OpenGL / Vulkan)
List draw calls, events, render passes with filtering
Inspect pipeline state, shader bindings, resource details
Get shader disassembly and reflection data, search across shaders
Export textures, buffers, and render targets as PNG/binary
Performance stats, debug/validation log messages
Automatic parameter validation with proper JSON-RPC error codes

Prerequisites

Windows (MSVC compiler with C++17)
CMake >= 3.16
RenderDoc source code and build output (renderdoc.lib + renderdoc.dll)

Download

Prebuilt Windows x64 binaries can be downloaded from the GitHub Releases page.

Each release zip includes:

renderdoc-mcp.exe
renderdoc.dll
the extra RenderDoc runtime DLLs needed beside the executable
license files

Keep all bundled files in the same directory as renderdoc-mcp.exe.

Build

# Basic (auto-detect renderdoc build output)
cmake -B build -DRENDERDOC_DIR=<path-to-renderdoc>
cmake --build build --config Release

# Explicit build directory
cmake -B build \
  -DRENDERDOC_DIR=<path-to-renderdoc> \
  -DRENDERDOC_BUILD_DIR=<path-to-renderdoc-build>
cmake --build build --config Release

CMake Variables

Variable	Required	Description
`RENDERDOC_DIR`	Yes	Path to renderdoc source root
`RENDERDOC_BUILD_DIR`	No	Path to renderdoc build output (if not in standard locations)

Build output: build/Release/renderdoc-mcp.exe

Ensure renderdoc.dll is in the same directory as the executable. CMake will copy it automatically if found.

Client Configuration

Claude Code

Add to your Claude Code MCP settings (settings.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "renderdoc": {
      "command": "<absolute-path-to-renderdoc-mcp>/build/Release/renderdoc-mcp.exe",
      "args": []
    }
  }
}

Codex / Other MCP Clients

Any MCP client that supports stdio transport can use renderdoc-mcp. Point it to the executable path.

Tools (20)

Session

Tool	Description
`open_capture`	Open a `.rdc` file for analysis. Returns API type and event count.

Events & Draws

Tool	Description
`list_events`	List all events with optional name filter
`goto_event`	Navigate to a specific event by ID
`list_draws`	List draw calls with vertex/index counts, instance counts
`get_draw_info`	Get detailed info about a specific draw call

Pipeline & Bindings

Tool	Description
`get_pipeline_state`	Get pipeline state (shaders, RTs, viewports). Supports optional `eventId` param.
`get_bindings`	Get per-stage resource bindings (CBV/SRV/UAV/samplers) from shader reflection

Shaders

Tool	Description
`get_shader`	Get shader disassembly or reflection data for a stage (`vs`/`hs`/`ds`/`gs`/`ps`/`cs`)
`list_shaders`	List all unique shaders with stage and usage count
`search_shaders`	Search shader disassembly text for a pattern

Resources

Tool	Description
`list_resources`	List all GPU resources with type/name filtering
`get_resource_info`	Get detailed resource info (format, dimensions, byte size)
`list_passes`	List render passes (marker regions with draw calls)
`get_pass_info`	Get pass details including contained draw calls

Export

Tool	Description
`export_render_target`	Export current event's render target as PNG
`export_texture`	Export any texture by resource ID as PNG
`export_buffer`	Export buffer data to binary file

Info & Diagnostics

Tool	Description
`get_capture_info`	Get capture metadata: API, GPUs, driver, event counts
`get_stats`	Performance stats: per-pass breakdown, top draws, largest resources
`get_log`	Debug/validation messages with severity and event filtering

Tool Details

open_capture

Parameters:

Name	Type	Required	Description
`path`	string	Yes	Absolute path to the `.rdc` file

Response:

{ "api": "D3D12", "eventCount": 1247 }

list_draws

Parameters:

Name	Type	Required	Description
`filter`	string	No	Filter by name keyword
`limit`	integer	No	Max results (default 1000)

Response:

{
  "draws": [
    { "eventId": 42, "name": "DrawIndexed(360)", "flags": "Drawcall|Indexed", "numIndices": 360, "numInstances": 1, "drawIndex": 0 }
  ],
  "count": 1
}

get_shader

Parameters:

Name	Type	Required	Description
`stage`	string	Yes	Shader stage: `vs`, `hs`, `ds`, `gs`, `ps`, `cs`
`eventId`	integer	No	Event ID (uses current if omitted)
`mode`	string	No	`disasm` (default) or `reflect`

Response (disasm):

{ "stage": "ps", "eventId": 42, "disassembly": "ps_5_0\ndcl_globalFlags..." }

Response (reflect):

{
  "stage": "ps",
  "inputSignature": [...],
  "constantBlocks": [...],
  "readOnlyResources": [...],
  "readWriteResources": [...]
}

get_pipeline_state

Parameters:

Name	Type	Required	Description
`eventId`	integer	No	Event ID to inspect (uses current if omitted)

Response (D3D12 example):

{
  "api": "D3D12",
  "eventId": 42,
  "vertexShader": { "resourceId": "ResourceId::15", "entryPoint": "VSMain" },
  "pixelShader": { "resourceId": "ResourceId::16", "entryPoint": "PSMain" },
  "renderTargets": [{ "index": 0, "resourceId": "ResourceId::7", "format": "R8G8B8A8_UNORM" }],
  "viewports": [{ "x": 0.0, "y": 0.0, "width": 1920.0, "height": 1080.0 }]
}

For OpenGL and Vulkan captures, the pixel shader key is fragmentShader.

get_bindings

Parameters:

Name	Type	Required	Description
`eventId`	integer	No	Event ID (uses current if omitted)

Response:

{
  "api": "D3D12",
  "stages": {
    "vs": {
      "shader": "ResourceId::15",
      "bindings": {
        "constantBuffers": [{ "name": "CBScene", "bindPoint": 0, "byteSize": 256 }],
        "readOnlyResources": [{ "name": "diffuseMap", "bindPoint": 0 }]
      }
    }
  }
}

list_resources

Parameters:

Name	Type	Required	Description
`type`	string	No	Filter by type: `Texture`, `Buffer`, `Shader`, etc.
`name`	string	No	Filter by name keyword

Response:

{
  "resources": [
    { "resourceId": "ResourceId::7", "name": "SceneColor", "type": "Texture", "format": "R8G8B8A8_UNORM", "width": 1920, "height": 1080 }
  ],
  "count": 1
}

export_texture

Parameters:

Name	Type	Required	Description
`resourceId`	string	Yes	Resource ID (e.g. `ResourceId::123`)
`mip`	integer	No	Mip level (default 0)
`layer`	integer	No	Array layer (default 0)

export_buffer

Parameters:

Name	Type	Required	Description
`resourceId`	string	Yes	Resource ID
`offset`	integer	No	Byte offset (default 0)
`size`	integer	No	Byte count, 0 = all (default 0)

get_log

Parameters:

Name	Type	Required	Description
`level`	string	No	Minimum severity: `HIGH`, `MEDIUM`, `LOW`, `INFO`
`eventId`	integer	No	Filter by event ID

Typical Workflow

1. open_capture        → Open a .rdc file
2. get_capture_info    → Check API, GPU, event counts
3. list_draws          → Find draw calls of interest
4. goto_event          → Navigate to a draw call
5. get_pipeline_state  → Inspect shaders, render targets, viewports
6. get_bindings        → See resource bindings per shader stage
7. get_shader          → Read shader disassembly or reflection
8. export_render_target → Save render target as PNG
9. get_log             → Check for validation errors

Protocol Details

Property	Value
Transport	stdio (stdin/stdout)
Message format	Newline-delimited JSON-RPC 2.0
MCP version	2025-03-26
Batch support	Yes (receive); `initialize` forbidden in batch
Logging	stderr

Architecture

AI Client (Claude/Codex)
    |
    | stdin/stdout (JSON-RPC, newline-delimited)
    |
renderdoc-mcp.exe
    ├── McpServer        (protocol layer)
    ├── ToolRegistry     (tool registration + parameter validation)
    ├── RenderdocWrapper  (session state management)
    └── tools/*.cpp      (20 tool implementations)
    |
    | C++ dynamic linking
    |
renderdoc.dll (Replay API)

Single-process, single-threaded. One capture session at a time. ToolRegistry provides automatic inputSchema validation (required fields, type checking, enum validation) with proper JSON-RPC -32602 error responses.

Manual Testing

# Initialize
echo '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"initialize","params":{"protocolVersion":"2025-03-26","capabilities":{},"clientInfo":{"name":"test","version":"1.0"}}}' | renderdoc-mcp.exe

# List tools
echo '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":2,"method":"tools/list"}' | renderdoc-mcp.exe

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

RenderDoc itself is licensed under its own terms. See renderdoc license.

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renderdoc-mcp

Why Use It

Quick Example

Example Questions

Features

Prerequisites

Download

Build

CMake Variables

Client Configuration

Claude Code

Codex / Other MCP Clients

Tools (20)

Session

Events & Draws

Pipeline & Bindings

Shaders

Resources

Export

Info & Diagnostics

Tool Details

open_capture

list_draws

get_shader

get_pipeline_state

get_bindings

list_resources

export_texture

export_buffer

get_log

Typical Workflow

Protocol Details

Architecture

Manual Testing

License

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renderdoc-mcp

Why Use It

Quick Example

Example Questions

Features

Prerequisites

Download

Build

CMake Variables

Client Configuration

Claude Code

Codex / Other MCP Clients

Tools (20)

Session

Events & Draws

Pipeline & Bindings

Shaders

Resources

Export

Info & Diagnostics

Tool Details

open_capture

list_draws

get_shader

get_pipeline_state

get_bindings

list_resources

export_texture

export_buffer

get_log

Typical Workflow

Protocol Details

Architecture

Manual Testing

License