CloudHop MCP Server

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that connects Claude to CloudHop, letting you control cloud file transfers through natural language.

Instead of clicking through a wizard, you just tell Claude what to move and where.

What is this?

CloudHop is a free, open-source app that copies files between cloud storage services (Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, etc.) using rclone as its engine.

CloudHop MCP is a bridge that lets Claude talk to CloudHop. It translates your requests into API calls so Claude can start transfers, check progress, pause/resume, and more.

You (natural language)
  --> Claude (understands intent)
    --> CloudHop MCP (translates to API calls)
      --> CloudHop (runs on localhost:8787)
        --> rclone (moves the files)
          --> Cloud providers (Google Drive, OneDrive, etc.)

The MCP server is a separate package. It does not modify CloudHop or add any dependencies to it. CloudHop stays exactly as it is: simple, offline, free.

Example conversation

You: what cloud accounts do I have in CloudHop?
Claude: You have 3 accounts configured:
  - onedrive (OneDrive)
  - gdrive (Google Drive)
  - dropbox (Dropbox)

You: how big is my OneDrive?
Claude: Scanning... Your OneDrive has 1,247 files totaling 12.3 GB.

You: copy everything to Google Drive, but skip node_modules and .git folders
Claude: Transfer started: OneDrive -> Google Drive
  1,247 files, 12.3 GB, excluding node_modules and .git
  Using 8 parallel transfers, no bandwidth limit.

You: how's it going?
Claude: 45% complete - 5.6 GB transferred at 23 MB/s. ETA ~5 minutes.
  Currently transferring: Photos/vacation-2024/IMG_4521.jpg

You: slow it down to 10 megabytes per second
Claude: Done - bandwidth limited to 10 MB/s. Transfer continues at reduced speed.

You: actually stop it completely
Claude: Transfer cancelled. 5.6 GB of 12.3 GB were transferred.
  You can resume later from where it stopped, or start fresh.

You: show me my transfer history
Claude: You have 3 past transfers:
  1. OneDrive -> Google Drive (12.3 GB, completed Mar 21)
  2. Dropbox -> OneDrive (3.1 GB, completed Mar 19)
  3. Local -> Google Drive (890 MB, completed Mar 18)

Available tools

The MCP server exposes 13 tools that Claude can call:

list_remotes

Lists all cloud storage accounts configured in CloudHop.

Returns: Remote names (e.g. gdrive, onedrive), whether rclone is installed, home directory path.

browse_remote

Browse files and folders on a cloud storage account.

preview_transfer

Scan a source to see how many files and how much data will be transferred, before actually starting.

Returns: File count and total size. Times out after 90 seconds for very large sources.

start_transfer

Start copying files from one cloud to another.

Returns: Success/failure message. Fails if a transfer is already running.

transfer_status

Get real-time progress of the current transfer.

Returns: Speed (bytes/sec), bytes transferred, total bytes, ETA, completion percentage, list of files currently being transferred, recently completed files, and any error messages.

pause_transfer

Pause the currently running transfer. The transfer can be resumed later from where it stopped.

resume_transfer

Resume a previously paused transfer.

transfer_history

View all past transfers with their details (source, destination, file count, size).

server_health

Check if CloudHop is running and ready. Call this first before any other tool.

Returns: rclone version, server status.

stop_transfer

Permanently cancel the current transfer. Use this when the user wants to abort completely. For temporary pauses (user wants to resume later), use pause_transfer instead.

change_speed

Change bandwidth limit on a running transfer.

verify_transfer

Verify integrity of a completed transfer by comparing source and destination checksums. Only works after a transfer has finished.

error_log

View error log for the current or most recent transfer. Call this when transfer_status shows errors > 0.

Resources

MCP resources provide read-only data that Claude can access automatically.

cloudhop://remotes

Currently configured cloud storage accounts. Same data as list_remotes() but available as a resource.

cloudhop://status

Current transfer status if any transfer is active.

cloudhop://instructions

Usage guide that helps Claude use the tools effectively. Includes recommended workflow, rules (e.g. always preview before transfer), and formatting guidelines.

Prompts

MCP prompts provide guided workflows for common tasks.

backup

Guided backup workflow: health check, preview, confirm, transfer, verify.

Usage: "Use the backup prompt to copy my OneDrive photos to Google Drive"

migrate

Guided migration with sync mode, including explicit deletion warnings.

Usage: "Use the migrate prompt to sync my Dropbox to OneDrive"

Prerequisites

1. CloudHop installed and running. Install it with any of these methods:

   pip install cloudhop    # PyPI
   brew install cloudhop   # Homebrew (macOS)

Or download from CloudHop Releases.

1. Python 3.10+ (the MCP SDK requires it).

1. At least one cloud account configured in CloudHop. Run cloudhop and use the wizard to connect your cloud providers.

Installation

From PyPI

pip install cloudhop-mcp

From source

git clone https://github.com/ozymandiashh/cloudhop-mcp
cd cloudhop-mcp
pip install -e .

Verify installation

cloudhop-mcp --help

Or test that it imports correctly:

python -c "from cloudhop_mcp.server import mcp; print('OK')"

Setup

Claude Code

Add the following to your ~/.claude.json file, inside the mcpServers object:

"cloudhop": {
  "type": "stdio",
  "command": "cloudhop-mcp",
  "args": [],
  "env": {}
}

Then restart Claude Code. You should see the CloudHop tools available.

Claude Desktop

Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cloudhop": {
      "command": "cloudhop-mcp",
      "args": []
    }
  }
}

Then restart Claude Desktop.

Custom port

CloudHop defaults to port 8787. If it uses a different port (8788-8791 when 8787 is busy), set the CLOUDHOP_PORT environment variable:

"cloudhop": {
  "type": "stdio",
  "command": "cloudhop-mcp",
  "args": [],
  "env": {
    "CLOUDHOP_PORT": "8788"
  }
}

How it works

Claude                CloudHop MCP           CloudHop             rclone
  |                      |                     |                    |
  |-- "list accounts" -->|                     |                    |
  |                      |-- GET /api/wizard/status -->|            |
  |                      |<-- {remotes: [...]} --|                  |
  |<-- "You have 3..." --|                     |                    |
  |                      |                     |                    |
  |-- "copy OneDrive     |                     |                    |
  |    to GDrive" ------>|                     |                    |
  |                      |-- POST /api/wizard/start -->|            |
  |                      |   {source, dest, ...}      |            |
  |                      |                     |-- rclone copy ---->|
  |                      |<-- {ok: true} ------|                    |
  |<-- "Transfer started"|                     |                    |
  |                      |                     |                    |
  |-- "progress?" ------>|                     |                    |
  |                      |-- GET /api/status -->|                   |
  |                      |<-- {speed, eta, ...}|                    |
  |<-- "45% done, 5m" --|                     |                    |

Security

• CloudHop only binds to localhost. The MCP server connects to 127.0.0.1 only.
• All POST requests use CSRF tokens (automatically handled by the MCP server).
• No data leaves your machine. Files transfer directly between cloud providers.
• The MCP server has zero access to your cloud credentials. It only tells CloudHop what to do; CloudHop and rclone handle authentication.

What the MCP server does NOT do

• It does not store any credentials or tokens
• It does not modify CloudHop's code or configuration
• It does not communicate with any external server
• It does not run rclone directly (CloudHop does that)
• It does not work without CloudHop running

Troubleshooting

"CloudHop not reachable on port 8787"

CloudHop is not running. Start it first:

cloudhop

Or launch the CloudHop app.

"Could not obtain CSRF token"

CloudHop is running but something is blocking the connection. Check that nothing else is using port 8787:

lsof -i :8787

Tools don't appear in Claude

1. Make sure the config is in the right file (~/.claude.json for Claude Code)
2. Restart Claude Code / Claude Desktop after changing the config
3. Check that cloudhop-mcp is on your PATH: which cloudhop-mcp

Transfer fails to start

• Check that you have at least one remote configured: run cloudhop and use the wizard
• Make sure no other transfer is already running (use transfer_status to check)

Links

• CloudHop - the main application
• MCP Documentation - Model Context Protocol specification
• rclone - the file transfer engine CloudHop uses

License

MIT License - see LICENSE for details.