Netops MCP

What alpadalar/netops-mcp MCP server does

The alpadalar/netops-mcp MCP server gives MCP clients access to network troubleshooting, discovery, and system inspection commands. It provides 26 tools built around operating-system utilities rather than implementing separate networking protocols. Available areas include connectivity checks with ping, traceroute, mtr, telnet, and netcat; DNS lookups with nslookup, dig, and host; and HTTP or API requests through curl, HTTPie, and api_test.

The tool set also covers network discovery and scanning with nmap_scan, service_discovery, port_scan, and service_enumeration. Network-state tools include ss, netstat, arp, and arping. System-oriented tools report status, CPU, memory, disk, processes, and the availability of required command-line utilities.

How it works

Each MCP tool validates its inputs and then invokes a corresponding utility available on the host. The server checks tool availability during startup, so the operating environment must provide the commands needed for the requested operations. Linux and macOS are supported; Windows is not supported because the tool implementations depend on OS-specific utilities.

Two transports are available. In stdio mode, an MCP client launches the process as a subprocess, and no authentication is used. HTTP mode runs a persistent server, with the MCP endpoint defaulting to port 8815 and path /netops-mcp. HTTP authentication is enabled by default and requires clients to send a plain API key using Authorization: Bearer, X-API-Key, or API-Key. The server stores SHA-256 digests rather than plain keys. Health checks remain public, while metrics require authentication when auth is enabled.

Setup and configuration

Install Python 3.10 or newer and uv, then install the project in an environment. The local command is uv run netops-mcp; clients such as Claude Desktop and Cursor can launch it through their MCP configuration. The repository also documents an equivalent Python module command.

HTTP deployments use a JSON configuration file. NETOPS_MCP_CONFIG can identify the file when --config is not supplied. Host, port, and endpoint path can be set through command-line flags, configuration, or the documented startup script environment variables. A fresh HTTP configuration requires an API-key digest; the server refuses to bind if authentication is enabled without a configured key. The included key-generation script prints a key once and can write its digest to the configuration.

Tools and capabilities

• Test connectivity and routes with ping, traceroute, MTR, telnet, and netcat.
• Query DNS records or names using nslookup, dig, and host.
• Send HTTP requests and run API-oriented checks.
• Discover hosts, ports, and services with the scanning tools.
• Inspect sockets, routing-related network state, ARP data, and local system resources.
• Apply scan timeout limits, request rate limits, and optional CORS settings through JSON configuration.

Limitations and notes

The alpadalar/netops-mcp MCP server requires the relevant utilities on PATH; HTTPie is optional, while the other listed network tools are required for full availability. Some nmap operations need security.allow_privileged_commands enabled. Requests targeting loopback, link-local, and cloud metadata addresses are blocked by default, while private or LAN ranges are allowed.

Active scanning and probing may require authorization. Only test systems and networks that you own or are explicitly permitted to assess. For production HTTP use, the project recommends placing a reverse proxy in front of the plain HTTP listener for TLS. The project is released under the MIT license.