TRMNL MCP: your e-ink displays, managed from a prompt

TRMNL's ePaper displays show calendars, weather and dashboards without the distractions of a phone. Its MCP server lets any AI agent run them: check your devices, manage playlists and create new screens. ContextGate connects it to Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor, so a new screen can come from a chat and every change is kept in Activity.

  • Ready to connect
  • Free

Connect your TRMNL displays to an AI app

  1. 1Click Connect TRMNL free and sign in with your TRMNL account.
  2. 2A TRMNL in a shared space is something everyone sees. All tools start on: keep device and playlist tools, and switch off screen creation if those displays should only change by hand.
  3. 3Add ContextGate to your AI app as a connector or MCP server. The steps for each app are on the Works with page.
  4. 4Ask your AI app to create a new TRMNL screen with a short message and add it to a playlist, then open Activity to see the calls.

Ways to drive your TRMNL from a chat

  • See which TRMNL devices you have.
  • Change what's in a playlist without opening the dashboard.
  • Create a new screen from a description instead of building it by hand.

Changes you can review

  • Switch off the tools that create screens or edit playlists and your AI app can only look; calls to them are refused.
  • Activity records each change, so you can see when a screen was added and from which AI app.

What you get with TRMNL and ContextGate

  • Your AI apps can use TRMNLClaude, Cursor, ChatGPT and other AI apps reach TRMNL through the one ContextGate connection you add to them.
  • You choose which tools they can useSwitch off any TRMNL tool you don't want used. It's hidden from your AI apps and refused if called.
  • Every call is checked and recordedYour policies check each call (for example, personal data is hidden and secrets are blocked), and Activity keeps a record of it.

ContextGate sees only the tool calls that go through it, not your AI app's built-in tools or your chats.

TRMNL tools

TRMNL's own MCP server shows its tools once you sign in. When you connect it, they are listed and synced in your workspace.