Kubectl Mcp Server

kubectl-mcp-server

Control your entire Kubernetes infrastructure through natural language conversations with AI. Talk to your clusters like you talk to a DevOps expert. Debug crashed pods, optimize costs, deploy applications, audit security, manage Helm charts, and visualize dashboards, all through natural language. Part of CNCF Landscape, Next to Terraform

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Installation

Quick Start with npx (Recommended - Zero Install)

# Run directly without installation - works instantly!
npx -y kubectl-mcp-server

# Or install globally for faster startup
npm install -g kubectl-mcp-server

Or install with pip (Python)

# Standard installation
pip install kubectl-mcp-server

# With interactive UI dashboards (recommended)
pip install kubectl-mcp-server[ui]

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📑 Table of Contents

• [What Can You Do?](#what-can-you-do)
• [Why kubectl-mcp-server?](#why-kubectl-mcp-server)
• [Live Demos](#live-demos)
• [Installation](#installation)
• [Quick Start with npx](#quick-start-with-npx-recommended---zero-install)
• [Install with pip](#or-install-with-pip-python)
• [Docker](#docker)
• [Getting Started](#getting-started)
• [Quick Setup with Your AI Assistant](#quick-setup-with-your-ai-assistant)
• [All Supported AI Assistants](#all-supported-ai-assistants)
• [Complete Feature Set](#complete-feature-set)
• [Using the CLI](#using-the-cli)
• [Advanced Configuration](#advanced-configuration)
• [Optional Features](#optional-interactive-dashboards-6-ui-tools)
• [Interactive Dashboards](#optional-interactive-dashboards-6-ui-tools)
• [Browser Automation](#optional-browser-automation-26-tools)
• [Enterprise](#enterprise-oauth-21-authentication)
• [Integrations & Ecosystem](#integrations--ecosystem)
• [In-Cluster Deployment](#in-cluster-deployment)
• [Multi-Cluster Support](#multi-cluster-support)
• [Architecture](#architecture)
• [Agent Skills](#agent-skills-24-skills-for-ai-coding-agents)
• [Development & Testing](#development--testing)
• [Contributing](#contributing)
• [Support & Community](#support--community)

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What Can You Do?

Simply ask your AI assistant in natural language:

💬 "Why is my pod crashing?"

• Instant crash diagnosis with logs, events, and resource analysis
• Root cause identification with actionable recommendations

💬 "Deploy a Redis cluster with 3 replicas"

• Creates deployment with best practices
• Configures services, persistent storage, and health checks

💬 "Show me which pods are wasting resources"

• AI-powered cost optimization analysis
• Resource recommendations with potential savings

💬 "Which services can't reach the database?"

• Network connectivity diagnostics with DNS resolution
• Service chain tracing from ingress to pods

💬 "Audit security across all namespaces"

• RBAC permission analysis
• Secret security scanning and pod security policies

💬 "Show me the cluster dashboard"

• Interactive HTML dashboards with live metrics
• Visual timeline of events and resource usage

253 powerful tools | 8 workflow prompts | 8 data resources | Works with all major AI assistants

Why kubectl-mcp-server?

• 🚀 Stop context-switching - Manage Kubernetes directly from your AI assistant conversations
• 🧠 AI-powered diagnostics - Get intelligent troubleshooting, not just raw data
• 💰 Built-in cost optimization - Identify waste and get actionable savings recommendations
• 🔒 Enterprise-ready - OAuth 2.1 auth, RBAC validation, non-destructive mode, secret masking
• ⚡ Zero learning curve - Natural language instead of memorizing kubectl commands
• 🌐 Universal compatibility - Works with Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, Copilot, and 15+ other AI tools
• 📊 Visual insights - Interactive dashboards and browser automation for web-based tools
• ☸️ Production-grade - Deploy in-cluster with kMCP, 216 passing tests, active maintenance

From debugging crashed pods to optimizing cluster costs, kubectl-mcp-server is your AI-powered DevOps companion.

Live Demos

Claude Desktop

Cursor AI

Windsurf

Installation

Quick Start with npx (Recommended - Zero Install)

# Run directly without installation - works instantly!
npx -y kubectl-mcp-server

# Or install globally for faster startup
npm install -g kubectl-mcp-server

Or install with pip (Python)

# Standard installation
pip install kubectl-mcp-server

# With interactive UI dashboards (recommended)
pip install kubectl-mcp-server[ui]

Install from GitHub Release

# Install specific version directly from GitHub release (replace {VERSION} with desired version)
pip install https://github.com/rohitg00/kubectl-mcp-server/releases/download/v{VERSION}/kubectl_mcp_server-{VERSION}-py3-none-any.whl

# Example: Install v1.19.0
pip install https://github.com/rohitg00/kubectl-mcp-server/releases/download/v1.19.0/kubectl_mcp_server-1.19.0-py3-none-any.whl

# Or install latest from git
pip install git+https://github.com/rohitg00/kubectl-mcp-server.git

Prerequisites

• Python 3.9+ (for pip installation)
• Node.js 14+ (for npx installation)
• kubectl installed and configured
• Access to a Kubernetes cluster

Docker

# Pull from Docker Hub
docker pull rohitghumare64/kubectl-mcp-server:latest

# Or pull from GitHub Container Registry
docker pull ghcr.io/rohitg00/kubectl-mcp-server:latest

# Run with stdio transport
docker run -i -v $HOME/.kube:/root/.kube:ro rohitghumare64/kubectl-mcp-server:latest

# Run with HTTP transport
docker run -p 8000:8000 -v $HOME/.kube:/root/.kube:ro rohitghumare64/kubectl-mcp-server:latest --transport sse

Getting Started

1. Test the Server (Optional)

Before integrating with your AI assistant, verify the installation:

# Check if kubectl is configured
kubectl cluster-info

# Test the MCP server directly
kubectl-mcp-server info

# List all available tools
kubectl-mcp-server tools

# Try calling a tool
kubectl-mcp-server call get_pods '{"namespace": "kube-system"}'

2. Connect to Your AI Assistant

Choose your favorite AI assistant and add the configuration:

Quick Setup with Your AI Assistant

Claude Desktop

Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "kubernetes": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "kubectl-mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

Cursor AI

Add to ~/.cursor/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "kubernetes": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "kubectl-mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

Windsurf

Add to ~/.config/windsurf/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "kubernetes": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "kubectl-mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

Using Python Instead of npx

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "kubernetes": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": ["-m", "kubectl_mcp_tool.mcp_server"],
      "env": {
        "KUBECONFIG": "/path/to/.kube/config"
      }
    }
  }
}

More integrations: GitHub Copilot, Goose, Gemini CLI, Roo Code, and [15+ other clients](#mcp-client-compatibility) —> see [full configuration guide](#all-supported-ai-assistants) below.

3. Restart Your AI Assistant

After adding the configuration, restart your AI assistant (GitHub Copilot, Claude Code,Claude Desktop, Cursor, etc.) to load the MCP server.

4. Try These Commands

Start a conversation with your AI assistant and try these:

Troubleshooting:

"Show me all pods in the kube-system namespace"
"Why is the nginx-deployment pod crashing?"
"Diagnose network connectivity issues in the default namespace"

Deployments:

"Create a deployment for nginx with 3 replicas"
"Scale my frontend deployment to 5 replicas"
"Roll back the api-server deployment to the previous version"

Cost & Optimization:

"Which pods are using the most resources?"
"Show me idle resources that are wasting money"
"Analyze cost optimization opportunities in the production namespace"

Security:

"Audit RBAC permissions in all namespaces"
"Check for insecure secrets and configurations"
"Show me pods running with privileged access"

Helm:

"List all Helm releases in the cluster"
"Install Redis from the Bitnami chart repository"
"Show me the values for my nginx-ingress Helm release"

Multi-Cluster:

"List all available Kubernetes contexts"
"Switch to the production cluster context"
"Show me cluster information and version"

MCP Client Compatibility

Works seamlessly with all MCP-compatible AI assistants:

| Client | Status | Client | Status | |--------|--------|--------|--------| | Claude Desktop | ✅ Native | Claude Code | ✅ Native | | Cursor | ✅ Native | Windsurf | ✅ Native | | GitHub Copilot | ✅ Native | OpenAI Codex | ✅ Native | | Gemini CLI | ✅ Native | Goose | ✅ Native | | Roo Code | ✅ Native | Kilo Code | ✅ Native | | Amp | ✅ Native | Trae | ✅ Native | | OpenCode | ✅ Native | Kiro CLI | ✅ Native | | Antigravity | ✅ Native | Clawdbot | ✅ Native | | Droid (Factory) | ✅ Native | Any MCP Client | ✅ Compatible |

All Supported AI Assistants

Claude Code

Add to ~/.config/claude-code/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "kubernetes": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "kubectl-mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

GitHub Copilot (VS Code)

Add to VS Code settings.json:

{
  "mcp": {
    "servers": {
      "kubernetes": {
        "command": "npx",
        "args": ["-y", "kubectl-mcp-server"]
      }
    }
  }
}

Goose

Add to ~/.config/goose/config.yaml:

extensions:
  kubernetes:
    command: npx
    args:
      - -y
      - kubectl-mcp-server

Gemini CLI

Add to ~/.gemini/settings.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "kubernetes": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "kubectl-mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

Roo Code / Kilo Code

Add to ~/.config/roo-code/mcp.json or ~/.config/kilo-code/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "kubernetes": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "kubectl-mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

Complete Feature Set

253 MCP Tools for Complete Kubernetes Management

| Category | Tools | |----------|-------| | Pods | get_pods, get_logs, get_pod_events, check_pod_health, exec_in_pod, cleanup_pods, get_pod_conditions, get_previous_logs | | Deployments | get_deployments, create_deployment, scale_deployment, kubectl_rollout, restart_deployment | | Workloads | get_statefulsets, get_daemonsets, get_jobs, get_replicasets | | Services & Networking | get_services, get_ingress, get_endpoints, diagnose_network_connectivity, check_dns_resolution, trace_service_chain | | Storage | get_persistent_volumes, get_pvcs, get_storage_classes | | Config | get_configmaps, get_secrets, get_resource_quotas, get_limit_ranges | | Cluster | get_nodes, get_namespaces, get_cluster_info, get_cluster_version, health_check, get_node_metrics, get_pod_metrics | | RBAC & Security | get_rbac_roles, get_cluster_roles, get_service_accounts, audit_rbac_permissions, check_secrets_security, get_pod_security_info, get_admission_webhooks | | CRDs | get_crds, get_priority_classes | | Helm Releases | helm_list, helm_status, helm_history, helm_get_values, helm_get_manifest, helm_get_notes, helm_get_hooks, helm_get_all | | Helm Charts | helm_show_chart, helm_show_values, helm_show_readme, helm_show_crds, helm_show_all, helm_search_repo, helm_search_hub | | Helm Repos | helm_repo_list, helm_repo_add, helm_repo_remove, helm_repo_update | | Helm Operations | install_helm_chart, upgrade_helm_chart, uninstall_helm_chart, helm_rollback, helm_test, helm_template, helm_template_apply | | Helm Development | helm_create, helm_lint, helm_package, helm_pull, helm_dependency_list, helm_dependency_update, helm_dependency_build, helm_version, helm_env | | Context | get_current_context, switch_context, list_contexts, list_kubeconfig_contexts | | Diagnostics | diagnose_pod_crash, detect_pending_pods, get_evicted_pods, compare_namespaces | | Operations | kubectl_apply, kubectl_create, kubectl_describe, kubectl_patch, delete_resource, kubectl_cp, backup_resource, label_resource, annotate_resource, taint_node, wait_for_condition | | Autoscaling | get_hpa, get_pdb | | Cost Optimization | get_resource_recommendations, get_idle_resources, get_resource_quotas_usage, get_cost_analysis, get_overprovisioned_resources, get_resource_trends, get_namespace_cost_allocation, optimize_resource_requests | | Advanced | kubectl_generic, kubectl_explain, get_api_resources, port_forward, get_resource_usage, node_management | | UI Dashboards | show_pod_logs_ui, show_pods_dashboard_ui, show_resource_yaml_ui, show_cluster_overview_ui, show_events_timeline_ui, render_k8s_dashboard_screenshot | | GitOps (Flux/Argo) | gitops_apps_list, gitops_app_get, gitops_app_sync, gitops_app_status, gitops_sources_list, gitops_source_get, gitops_detect_engine | | Cert-Manager | certs_list, certs_get, certs_issuers_list, certs_issuer_get, certs_renew, certs_status_explain, certs_challenges_list, certs_requests_list, certs_detect | | Policy (Kyverno/Gatekeeper) | policy_list, policy_get, policy_violations_list, policy_explain_denial, policy_audit, policy_detect | | Backup (Velero) | backup_list, backup_get, backup_create, backup_delete, restore_list, restore_create, restore_get, backup_locations_list, backup_schedules_list, backup_schedule_create, backup_detect | | KEDA Autoscaling | keda_scaledobjects_list, keda_scaledobject_get, keda_scaledjobs_list, keda_triggerauths_list, keda_triggerauth_get, keda_hpa_list, keda_detect | | Cilium/Hubble | cilium_policies_list, cilium_policy_get, cilium_endpoints_list, cilium_identities_list, cilium_nodes_list, cilium_status, hubble_flows_query, cilium_detect | | Argo Rollouts/Flagger | rollouts_list, rollout_get, rollout_status, rollout_promote, rollout_abort, rollout_retry, rollout_restart, analysis_runs_list, flagger_canaries_list, flagger_canary_get, rollouts_detect | | Cluster API | capi_clusters_list, capi_cluster_get, capi_machines_list, capi_machine_get, capi_machinedeployments_list, capi_machinedeployment_scale, capi_machinesets_list, capi_machinehealthchecks_list, capi_clusterclasses_list, capi_cluster_kubeconfig, capi_detect | | KubeVirt VMs | kubevirt_vms_list, kubevirt_vm_get, kubevirt_vmis_list, kubevirt_vm_start, kubevirt_vm_stop, kubevirt_vm_restart, kubevirt_vm_pause, kubevirt_vm_unpause, kubevirt_vm_migrate, kubevirt_datasources_list, kubevirt_instancetypes_list, kubevirt_datavolumes_list, kubevirt_detect | | Istio/Kiali | istio_virtualservices_list, istio_virtualservice_get, istio_destinationrules_list, istio_gateways_list, istio_peerauthentications_list, istio_authorizationpolicies_list, istio_proxy_status, istio_analyze, istio_sidecar_status, istio_detect | | vCluster (vind) | vind_detect_tool, vind_list_clusters_tool, vind_status_tool, vind_get_kubeconfig_tool, vind_logs_tool, vind_create_cluster_tool, vind_delete_cluster_tool, vind_pause_tool, vind_resume_tool, vind_connect_tool, vind_disconnect_tool, vind_upgrade_tool, vind_describe_tool, vind_platform_start_tool | | kind (K8s in Docker) | kind_detect_tool, kind_version_tool, kind_list_clusters_tool, kind_get_nodes_tool, kind_get_kubeconfig_tool, kind_export_logs_tool, kind_cluster_info_tool, `kind_node

…

Source & license

This open-source MCP server is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: rohitg00
• Source: rohitg00/kubectl-mcp-server
• License: MIT
• Homepage: https://www.npmjs.com/package/kubectl-mcp-server

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.