# Aster Universal MCP

> Open-source MCP connector that lets compatible AI assistants run permissioned commands, jobs and file transfers on your own Windows or Linux computer.

Aster Universal MCP is an open-source, donationware project by Tony Yustein that connects compatible AI assistants such as Claude or ChatGPT to a computer the user owns. The current release is v0.1.0b3, a manual technical beta with separate Windows and Linux source archives. Access uses OAuth 2.0 with PKCE pairing plus local administrator approval of each client.

## What It Is

Aster is a self-hosted Model Context Protocol (MCP) gateway that runs on Windows or Linux. An AI client connects to its HTTPS MCP address, and authenticated tool requests pass through a tunnel to the local gateway. The AI model itself still runs with its provider. Once a client is approved, the assistant can work with real files, run commands and manage background jobs on the host.

## How the Workflow Operates

The owner picks the machine, pairs the client over OAuth, and then approves that exact client ID locally from an administrator terminal. A remote request cannot approve itself. The connection_status tool reports the client's approval status, permissions and workspace. Setup counts as complete only after harmless native commands (hostname, whoami or id) return a completed status with exit code 0.

Documented tools include permission-controlled command execution (execute_command on Windows, run_command on Linux), directory listing, background jobs that can be inspected and cancelled, and chunked file transfer verified with SHA-256. The documentation describes a Cloudflare Tunnel as a way to publish a stable HTTPS hostname without router port forwarding.

## Security Model and Limits

The project describes itself as a privileged administration beta, and recommends starting on a disposable machine. Commands inherit the gateway account's privileges on Windows and run as root on Linux; the workspace is not a sandbox. Startup is manual, with no installer, service or autostart. Qualified reference setups are Windows 11 with Python 3.11 x64 and Ubuntu 24.04 x86_64 with Python 3.12; macOS, WSL and ARM are not qualified. Multi-assistant collaboration, memory integrations and guided server setup are listed as roadmap goals, not current features.

## Features
- OAuth 2.0 + PKCE pairing
- Local administrator approval of exact clients
- connection_status permission reporting
- Permission-controlled command execution on Windows and Linux
- Background jobs with progress inspection and cancellation
- Chunked file transfer with SHA-256 verification
- Directory listing with absolute paths after approval
- SHA-256 verified release archives
- Apache 2.0 open-source license

## Integrations
Claude, ChatGPT, Cloudflare Tunnel, Model Context Protocol

## Platforms
WINDOWS, MACOS, LINUX, WEB, API

## Pricing
Open Source

## Version
0.1.0b3

## Links
- Website: https://emailyourpa.com/asteruniversalmcp
- Documentation: https://github.com/yustein/aster-universal-mcp/blob/main/docs/ONBOARDING.md
- Repository: https://github.com/yustein/aster-universal-mcp
- EveryDev.ai: https://www.everydev.ai/tools/aster-universal-mcp