kubectl-mcp-server

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]

📑 Table of Contents

• What Can You Do?
• Why kubectl-mcp-server?
• Live Demos
• Installation
  • Quick Start with npx
  • Install with pip
  • Docker
• Getting Started
• Quick Setup with Your AI Assistant
• All Supported AI Assistants
• Complete Feature Set
• Using the CLI
• Advanced Configuration
• Optional Features
  • Interactive Dashboards
  • Browser Automation
• Enterprise
• Integrations & Ecosystem
• In-Cluster Deployment
• Multi-Cluster Support
• Architecture
• Agent Skills
• Development & Testing
• Contributing
• Support & Community

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 —> see full configuration guide below.

3. Restart Your AI Assistant

After adding the configuration, re