by cisco-open
Network Sketcher is an AI-ready network design tool with Local MCP, Online, and Offline editions for creating network designs and exporting PowerPoint diagrams and Excel-based configuration data.
# Add to your Claude Code skills
git clone https://github.com/cisco-open/network-sketcherGuides for using ai agents skills like network-sketcher.
Last scanned: 7/1/2026
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}network-sketcher is an open-source ai agents skill for AI coding assistants such as Claude Code, Codex CLI, and ChatGPT, built by cisco-open. Network Sketcher is an AI-ready network design tool with Local MCP, Online, and Offline editions for creating network designs and exporting PowerPoint diagrams and Excel-based configuration data. It has 367 GitHub stars.
Yes. network-sketcher passed SkillsLLM's automated security scan — a dependency vulnerability audit plus prompt-injection heuristics — with no high-severity issues. You can read the full report in the Security Report section on this page.
Clone the repository with "git clone https://github.com/cisco-open/network-sketcher" and add it to your Claude Code skills directory (see the Installation section above).
network-sketcher is primarily written in Python. It is open-source under cisco-open on GitHub, so you can review or fork the full source.
Yes. SkillsLLM lists many other AI Agents skills you can browse and compare side by side. Open the AI Agents category from the badge at the top of this page, or use the Related Skills and comparison links further down to weigh network-sketcher against similar tools.
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Network Sketcher is an AI-native network design and diagramming tool. It generates L1/L2/L3 topology diagrams, device tables, and AI-ready context files from structured network data and natural-language workflows.
For MCP users, Network Sketcher Local MCP lets LLM clients such as Cursor and Claude Code design Cisco-style networks directly through Model Context Protocol tool calls. It runs locally over stdio, keeps master files on your machine, and produces SVG / PowerPoint diagrams plus HTML device tables.
Discovery: Network Sketcher Local MCP is listed on the LobeHub MCP Plugins Marketplace and ranked in the AI & ML MCP server category on Remote OpenClaw. If Network Sketcher helps your workflow, please consider starring the repository.
Common use cases:
Network Sketcher provides three editions:
network-sketcher_offline/ folder alone.You can use any combination.
| Local MCP (AI-native) | Online (Web Service) | Offline (GUI + CLI) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interface | LLM client (Cursor, Claude Code, etc.) | Web browser | Desktop GUI / Command-line |
| Key dependencies | Python + MCP SDK | Python + Flask | Python + tkinter |
| Multi-user | Single user | Multiple users via browser | Single user |
| Client requires | Python + MCP client | Web browser only | Python runtime environment |
| AI-native design | Yes (most direct) | Yes | No |
| Master format | .nsm only |
.xlsx / .nsm both |
.xlsx only |
| Internal data storage | No | No | No |
| External communication | stdio to LLM client (local) | HTTPS | No |
| Tested platforms | Windows (Mac OS, Linux compatible by design) | Windows (Mac OS, Linux untested) | Windows, Mac OS, Linux |
| Folder | network-sketcher_local_mcp/ |
network-sketcher_online/ |
network-sketcher_offline/ |
network-sketcher/
├── network-sketcher_local_mcp/ # Local MCP edition — MCP server for LLM clients (AI-native)
├── network-sketcher_online/ # Online edition — Web service (browser-based)
├── network-sketcher_offline/ # Offline edition — GUI + CLI (standalone desktop app)
├── README.md
├── LICENSE
└── ...
AI-native edition: Network Sketcher Local MCP exposes the engine as a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server, enabling LLM clients such as Cursor and Claude Code to drive network design directly. This is the most direct AI integration of the three editions — no browser, no copy-paste.
Network Sketcher Local MCP is the third edition of Network Sketcher. It wraps network-sketcher_online/ns_engine/ as a library and exposes the Network Sketcher CLI through the Model Context Protocol so that LLM clients can drive network design via Tool calls.
Positioning: The Online edition is "browser + human + LLM (copy-paste)"; the Offline edition is "desktop GUI / CLI"; this edition is "AI-native — the LLM executes the CLI directly".
The AI agent Cursor autonomously creates a network using Network Sketcher's Local MCP functionality. It also simultaneously references best practices from other MCPs.
https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/274d5b66-5f4a-407a-bfb5-f71026971fc4
add device ... and similar commands as Tool invocationsnetwork-sketcher_online/ns_engine/ as a library (no code duplication)_online / _offline foldersnetwork-sketcher_online/ folder must be present)get_workspace_info to get_ai_context bootstrap). Weaker or older models may struggle with these workflows.git clone https://github.com/cisco-open/network-sketcher/
cd network-sketcher/network-sketcher_local_mcp
python -m pip install -r requirements_mcp.txt
Cursor and Claude Code use different configuration mechanisms, so the setup steps are split below. Pick the one that matches your client.
Add the following to the Cursor MCP configuration file (File > Preferences > Cursor Settings > MCP → mcp.json):
{
"mcpServers": {
"network-sketcher": {
"command": "python",
"args": [
"/path/to/network-sketcher/network-sketcher_local_mcp/ns_mcp_server.py"
]
}
}
}
Replace /path/to/network-sketcher/ with the actual path where you cloned the repository.
On Windows, you can use either forward slashes (/) or escaped backslashes (\\).
Register the MCP server with the claude CLI. The -- (double dash) separator is required so that the script path is passed to python rather than parsed as a flag of claude mcp add:
# Local scope (default; current project only, stored in ~/.claude.json)
claude mcp add network-sketcher -- python "/path/to/network-sketcher/network-sketcher_local_mcp/ns_mcp_server.py"
# User scope (available across all your projects)
claude mcp add --scope user network-sketcher -- python "/path/to/network-sketcher/network-sketcher_local_mcp/ns_mcp_server.py"
# Project scope (shared with team via .mcp.json in project root)
claude mcp add --scope project network-sketcher -- python "/path/to/network-sketcher/network-sketcher_local_mcp/ns_mcp_server.py"
Replace /path/to/network-sketcher/ with the actual path where you cloned the repository. See the Claude Code MCP installation scopes documentation for details on each scope and when to use which.
Network Sketcher Local MCP is listed on the LobeHub MCP Plugins Marketplace.
If you find the server useful and you trust the official @lobehub/ npm scope, please leave a rating from your MCP host CLI (the version range below is intentionally pinned to mitigate supply-chain risk):
npx @lobehub/market-cli@^0.0 mcp comment cisco-open-network-sketcher \
-c "Used to drive Cisco network design from Cursor / Claude Code." --rating 5
| Language | Link |
|---|---|
| English | Link |
| Japanese | Link |
AI-native software: Network Sketcher Online is designed around AI (LLM) interaction — generate AI context, send it to an LLM, and paste the resulting commands back to update your network design, all within the browser.
A demo video of approximately 4 minutes, starting with the installation of Network Sketcher. This demo video demonstrates creating a network configuration using LLM from URL in