Homebutler vs Sentinel
A side-by-side look at the Homebutler and Sentinel MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Homebutler for monitoring work as a local process; choose Sentinel for monitoring over a hosted endpoint. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose Homebutler when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Monitoring domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- Its auth model fits you: No auth required.
- You want tools like
proxmox_status, proxmox_guests, proxmox_node.
Choose Sentinel when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Monitoring domain.
- You prefer a remote HTTP/SSE transport.
- You want tools like
get-uptime-summary-tool, get-attention-items-tool, list-monitors-tool.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Monitoring | Monitoring |
| Quality signal | 71/100 · Great | 52/100 · Good |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Remote HTTP/SSE |
| Auth | No auth required | Not declared |
| Pricing | Free | Not declared |
| Required env vars | None listed | None listed |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 304 | 1 |
| Directory activity | 4 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 1 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 40 | 17 |
| Full listing | View Homebutler | View Sentinel |
Tools & capabilities
Homebutler tools 40
proxmox_statusGet Proxmox VE version, cluster status, and resourcesproxmox_guestsList Proxmox QEMU and LXC guests, optionally filtered by node, status, or typeproxmox_nodeGet detailed Proxmox node statusproxmox_tasksGet the 50 most recent Proxmox tasks for a nodesystem_statusGet system status including CPU, memory, disk usage, and uptimeproxmox_guest_startStart one explicitly targeted Proxmox guest after confirmation and return the accepted task UPIDproxmox_guest_rebootReboot one explicitly targeted Proxmox guest after confirmation and return the accepted task UPIDproxmox_guest_shutdownGracefully shut down one explicitly targeted Proxmox guest after confirmation and return the accepted task UPIDproxmox_task_statusInspect one asynchronous Proxmox task by node and opaque UPIDproxmox_script_listList the curated Proxmox VE Community Scripts catalog (community-scripts/ProxmoxVE)proxmox_script_commandRender the pinned install command for one Proxmox VE Community Script. Never fetches or runs it; the caller reviews and runs it themselves on the Proxmox hostdocker_listList Docker containers with their status, image, and ports- +28 more on the listing page
Sentinel tools 17
get-uptime-summary-tool"Is anything down right now?"get-attention-items-tool"What needs my attention this morning?"list-monitors-toolInspect monitors, filter and searchlist-incidents-toolReview outages and their timelinesget-performance-history-toolResponse-time trends per monitorget-dns-history-toolDNS record changes over timelist-expiring-certificates-tool"Which SSL certificates expire soon?"list-status-pages-toolPublic status pages in the teamlist-groups-toolMonitor groups (the dashboard's grouped view)list-team-members-toolWho has access: role, 2FA state, last sign-incheck-url-toolOn-demand check of any URL from every regioncreate-monitor-toolManage monitors- +5 more on the listing page
Ready-to-paste client configs
Paste either block (or both) into your client config, e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json. We only show a config when the install command is confirmed.
Homebutler
{
"mcpServers": {
"higangssh-homebutler": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"homebutler@latest"
]
}
}
}
Sentinel
{
"mcpServers": {
"sentinel-2": {
"url": "https://sentinel.rootstuff.io/mcp/sentinel"
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Homebutler is categorized under Monitoring and uses a local stdio subprocess. Sentinel belongs to Monitoring and uses a remote HTTP/SSE transport. Pick Homebutler for monitoring work and Sentinel for monitoring.
Copy the mcpServers block from the config section on this page into your client's config (for example claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json), then fully restart the client.
Homebutler is listed as free. Auth: no auth required. Sentinel has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. If a server needs environment variables such as API keys, define them under the env key in your client's MCP config.
Yes. MCP clients support multiple servers: add higangssh-homebutler and sentinel-2 as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Homebutler has a quality signal of 71/100 (Great) with 4 views, 0 installs and 304 GitHub stars. Sentinel has 52/100 (Good) with 1 views, 0 installs and 1 GitHub stars.