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 154 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, Iraq, Persian Gulf, Sinai, Mariana Islands, Nevada, Germany Cold War, Afghanistan, 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; support beyond that is to be determined. 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.