Installation

MAGPIE keeps optional features separate. Begin with the smallest installation that supports your transport, then add media, discovery, or MCP when your application needs them.

Python

The core package includes ZeroMQ streaming and RPC:

python -m pip install luxai-magpie

Install optional feature groups individually or combine their names:

Command	Adds
pip install "luxai-magpie[mqtt]"	MQTT transport and MQTT CLI tools
pip install "luxai-magpie[webrtc]"	WebRTC with ZeroMQ and HTTP signaling
pip install "luxai-magpie[mqtt,webrtc]"	WebRTC with MQTT signaling as well
pip install "luxai-magpie[mcp]"	FastMCP client adapter
pip install "luxai-magpie[video]"	Image frames, capture, and viewer tools
pip install "luxai-magpie[audio]"	Audio frames, capture, and player tools
pip install "luxai-magpie[discovery]"	Zeroconf discovery tools
pip install "luxai-magpie[full]"	All optional features except MCP

Verify the installation:

python -c "import luxai.magpie as magpie; print(magpie.__version__)"

C++

Pre-built Debian packages are available from the MAGPIE C++ releases page for Ubuntu 22.04/24.04 amd64 and Debian 13 arm64.

Package	Adds
libmagpie	Core, ZeroMQ, schema, MCP server, nodes, and discovery
libmagpie-mqtt	MQTT transport
libmagpie-webrtc	WebRTC plus HTTP and ZeroMQ signaling
libmagpie-video	Raw and JPEG image frames
libmagpie-audio	Raw and FLAC audio frames

Download the packages you need, then install them together so dependencies can be resolved:

sudo apt install ./libmagpie*.deb

To build from source:

git clone https://github.com/luxai-qtrobot/magpie-cpp.git
cd magpie-cpp
sudo apt install libzmq3-dev libmsgpack-dev libfmt-dev
cmake -S . -B build -DMAGPIE_BUILD_EXAMPLES=ON
cmake --build build --parallel
sudo cmake --install build

Enable optional modules with MAGPIE_WITH_MQTT, MAGPIE_WITH_WEBRTC, MAGPIE_WITH_VIDEO, and MAGPIE_WITH_AUDIO.

TypeScript / JavaScript

For a project using npm:

npm install @luxai-qtrobot/magpie

The package includes ESM, CommonJS, and TypeScript declarations. On the agent/client side, MCP also needs the official SDK:

npm install @modelcontextprotocol/sdk

For a browser page without a bundler:

<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/@luxai-qtrobot/magpie/dist/magpie.umd.js"></script>
<script>
  const { MqttConnection, MqttStreamWriter } = Magpie
</script>

Browsers must use MQTT over WebSocket (ws:// or wss://); they cannot open raw MQTT TCP connections.

Install from source during development

Use editable/source installations when contributing or testing unreleased changes:

Python

git clone https://github.com/luxai-qtrobot/magpie.git
cd magpie
python -m venv .venv
# Linux/macOS: source .venv/bin/activate
# Windows: .venv\Scripts\activate
pip install -e ".[dev,mcp]"
pytest

C++

git clone https://github.com/luxai-qtrobot/magpie-cpp.git
cd magpie-cpp
cmake -S . -B build -DMAGPIE_BUILD_TESTS=ON -DMAGPIE_BUILD_EXAMPLES=ON
cmake --build build --parallel
ctest --test-dir build --output-on-failure

TypeScript / JavaScript

git clone https://github.com/luxai-qtrobot/magpie-js.git
cd magpie-js
npm install
npm run build
npm test

Continue with the quickstart.