README.md•20 kB
MCP Ansible Server
Advanced Ansible Model Context Protocol (MCP) server in Python exposing Ansible utilities for inventories, playbooks, roles, and project workflows.
Quick start
```bash
git clone https://github.com/bsahane/mcp-ansible.git
cd mcp-ansible
# Create and activate Python virtual environment
python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
# Install dependencies via requirements.txt
python -m pip install -U pip
pip install -r requirements.txt
# (Optional) install the project package locally
pip install -e .
# Run the MCP server
python src/ansible_mcp/server.py
```
Requirements
- Python 3.10+
- macOS/Linux
Setup
```bash
cd /Users/bsahane/Developer/cursor/mcp-ansible
python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
python -m pip install -U pip
pip install "mcp[cli]>=1.2.0" "PyYAML>=6.0.1" "ansible-core>=2.16.0"
pip install -e .
```
Run the server
```bash
python src/ansible_mcp/server.py
```
Cursor config (`/Users/bsahane/.cursor/mcp.json`)
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"ansible-mcp": {
"command": "python",
"args": [
"/Users/bsahane/Developer/cursor/mcp-ansible/src/ansible_mcp/server.py"
],
"env": {
"MCP_ANSIBLE_PROJECT_ROOT": "/Users/bsahane/GitLab/projectAIOPS/mcp-ansible-server",
"MCP_ANSIBLE_INVENTORY": "/Users/bsahane/GitLab/projectAIOPS/mcp-ansible-server/inventory/hosts.ini",
"MCP_ANSIBLE_PROJECT_NAME": "projectAIOPS"
}
}
}
}
```
Claude for Desktop config
Add to `~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json`:
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"ansible-mcp": {
"command": "python",
"args": [
"/Users/bsahane/Developer/cursor/mcp-ansible/src/ansible_mcp/server.py"
],
"env": {
"MCP_ANSIBLE_PROJECT_ROOT": "/Users/bsahane/GitLab/projectAIOPS/mcp-ansible-server",
"MCP_ANSIBLE_INVENTORY": "/Users/bsahane/GitLab/projectAIOPS/mcp-ansible-server/inventory/hosts.ini",
"MCP_ANSIBLE_PROJECT_NAME": "projectAIOPS"
}
}
}
}
```
Tools (names)
**Core Ansible Tools:**
- create-playbook: Create playbooks from YAML strings or dicts
- validate-playbook: Validate playbook syntax (ansible-playbook --syntax-check)
- ansible-playbook: Execute playbooks
- ansible-task: Run ad-hoc tasks (defaults to connection=local for localhost)
- ansible-role: Execute roles via generated temporary playbook
- create-role-structure: Scaffold role directory tree
- ansible-inventory: List inventory hosts and groups
- register-project: Register an Ansible project for easy reuse
- list-projects: Show registered projects and default
- project-playbooks: Discover playbooks under a project root
- project-run-playbook: Run a playbook using a registered project's inventory/env
**Local inventory suite (no AAP/AWX):**
- inventory-parse: Parse inventories (ansible.cfg-aware), return hosts/groups/hostvars
- inventory-graph: Show group/host graph
- inventory-find-host: Show a host's groups and merged vars
- ansible-ping: Ad-hoc ping module
- ansible-gather-facts: Run setup and return parsed facts
- validate-yaml: Validate YAML files with error locations
- galaxy-install: Install roles/collections from requirements
- project-bootstrap: Galaxy install + env inspection
**Advanced Troubleshooting Suite:**
*Foundation Tools:*
- ansible-remote-command: Execute arbitrary shell commands with enhanced output parsing
- ansible-fetch-logs: Fetch and analyze log files with pattern detection and correlation
- ansible-service-manager: Manage services with status checking and log correlation
*Intelligent Diagnostics:*
- ansible-diagnose-host: Comprehensive health assessment with scoring and recommendations
- ansible-capture-baseline: Capture system state snapshots for comparison
- ansible-compare-states: Time-travel debugging with baseline comparisons
*Automation & Self-Healing:*
- ansible-auto-heal: Intelligent automated problem resolution with safety checks
*Network & Security:*
- ansible-network-matrix: Comprehensive network connectivity testing between hosts
- ansible-security-audit: Security vulnerability assessment and compliance checking
*Performance & Monitoring:*
- ansible-health-monitor: Continuous monitoring with trend analysis and anomaly detection
- ansible-performance-baseline: Performance benchmarking and regression detection
- ansible-log-hunter: Advanced log correlation and pattern hunting across multiple sources
Environment variables (optional)
- MCP_ANSIBLE_PROJECT_ROOT: absolute project root
- MCP_ANSIBLE_INVENTORY: inventory path or directory
- MCP_ANSIBLE_PROJECT_NAME: label for env project
- MCP_ANSIBLE_ROLES_PATH: colon-separated roles paths
- MCP_ANSIBLE_COLLECTIONS_PATHS: colon-separated collections paths
- MCP_ANSIBLE_ENV_<KEY>: forwarded to process env (e.g., MCP_ANSIBLE_ENV_ANSIBLE_CONFIG)
Examples (Claude Tools)
- List hosts from inventory:
- Tool: ansible-inventory
- Args: inventory = "/Users/bsahane/GitLab/projectAIOPS/mcp-ansible-server/inventory/hosts.ini"
- Run a simple playbook:
- Tool: ansible-playbook
- Args:
- playbook_path: absolute path to playbook.yml
- inventory: "/Users/bsahane/GitLab/projectAIOPS/mcp-ansible-server/inventory/hosts.ini"
- Ad-hoc ping localhost:
- Tool: ansible-task
- Args:
- host_pattern: "localhost"
- module: "ping"
- inventory: "localhost,"
- Scaffold a role:
- Tool: create-role-structure
- Args:
- base_path: "/tmp"
- role_name: "demo_role"
- Register a project and run a project playbook:
- Tool: register-project
- name: "projectAIOPS"
- root: "/Users/bsahane/GitLab/projectAIOPS/mcp-ansible-server"
- inventory: "/Users/bsahane/GitLab/projectAIOPS/mcp-ansible-server/inventory/hosts.ini"
- make_default: true
- Tool: project-playbooks
- project: "projectAIOPS"
- Tool: project-run-playbook
- playbook_path: absolute path from discovered list
Examples for local inventory suite
- Parse via ansible.cfg with multiple inventories (merges group_vars/host_vars):
- Tool: inventory-parse
- Args:
- ansible_cfg_path: "/abs/path/to/ansible.cfg"
- include_hostvars: true
- Parse a specific extensionless inventory file:
- Tool: inventory-parse
- Args:
- project_root: "/abs/path/to/project"
- inventory_paths: ["/abs/path/to/project/inventories/stage/inventory"]
- include_hostvars: true
- Ping a group from inventory:
- Tool: ansible-ping
- Args:
- project_root: "/abs/path/to/project"
- host_pattern: "aws_mx_ext_stage"
Notes
- The server uses stdio transport. Do not print to stdout; logs go to stderr.
- Ansible connection/auth follows your local Ansible configuration.
Reference
- MCP Quickstart (Python): https://modelcontextprotocol.io/quickstart/server#python
### Tool reference (detailed)
Below are all tools with short descriptions, minimal args, an example question you can ask in the MCP UI, and a sample answer.
- **create-playbook**: Create an Ansible playbook file from YAML string or object
- Minimal args:
```json
{ "playbook": [{"hosts":"all","tasks":[{"debug":{"msg":"hi"}}]}] }
```
- Example question: "Create a playbook that prints hello for all hosts."
- Possible answer: `{ "path": "/tmp/playbook_x.yml", "bytes_written": 123, "preview": "- hosts: all..." }`
- **validate-playbook**: Syntax check a playbook
- Minimal args:
```json
{ "playbook_path": "/abs/playbook.yml" }
```
- Example question: "Is this playbook syntactically valid?"
- Possible answer: `{ "ok": true, "rc": 0 }`
- **ansible-playbook**: Run a playbook
- Minimal args:
```json
{ "playbook_path": "/abs/playbook.yml", "inventory": "localhost," }
```
- Example question: "Run this playbook against localhost."
- Possible answer: `{ "ok": true, "rc": 0, "stdout": "PLAY [all]..." }`
- **ansible-task**: Run an ad‑hoc module
- Minimal args:
```json
{ "host_pattern": "localhost", "module": "ping", "inventory": "localhost," }
```
- Example question: "Ping localhost."
- Possible answer: `{ "ok": true, "stdout": "pong" }`
- **ansible-role**: Execute a role via a temporary playbook
- Minimal args:
```json
{ "role_name": "myrole", "hosts": "localhost", "inventory": "localhost," }
```
- Example question: "Run role myrole on localhost."
- Possible answer: `{ "ok": true, "rc": 0 }`
- **create-role-structure**: Scaffold a role directory tree
- Minimal args:
```json
{ "base_path": "/tmp", "role_name": "demo" }
```
- Example question: "Create an Ansible role skeleton named demo."
- Possible answer: `{ "created": [".../tasks/main.yml", ...], "role_path": "/tmp/demo" }`
- **ansible-inventory**: List hosts and groups from an inventory
- Minimal args:
```json
{ "inventory": "/abs/inventory" }
```
- Example question: "List hosts in this inventory."
- Possible answer: `{ "hosts": ["host01"], "groups": {"web": ["host01"]} }`
- **register-project**: Register an Ansible project for reuse
- Minimal args:
```json
{ "name": "proj", "root": "/abs/project", "make_default": true }
```
- Example question: "Register my project root and make it default."
- Possible answer: `{ "path": "~/.config/mcp-ansible/config.json", "projects": ["proj"] }`
- **list-projects**: Show registered projects
- Minimal args: `{}`
- Example question: "What projects are registered and which is default?"
- Possible answer: `{ "default": "proj", "projects": {"proj": {"root": "/abs"}} }`
- **project-playbooks**: Discover playbooks under a project root
- Minimal args:
```json
{ "project": "proj" }
```
- Example question: "List playbooks in my project."
- Possible answer: `{ "ok": true, "playbooks": ["/abs/x.yml", "/abs/y.yml"] }`
- **project-run-playbook**: Run a playbook using project inventory/env
- Minimal args:
```json
{ "playbook_path": "/abs/x.yml", "project": "proj" }
```
- Example question: "Run x.yml in my default project."
- Possible answer: `{ "ok": true, "rc": 0 }`
- **inventory-parse**: Parse inventories (ansible.cfg aware, merges group_vars/host_vars)
- Minimal args:
```json
{ "project_root": "/abs/project", "include_hostvars": true }
```
- Example question: "Resolve all hosts and vars from my project root."
- Possible answer: `{ "hosts": ["h1"], "groups": {"web":["h1"]}, "hostvars": {"h1": {...}} }`
- **inventory-graph**: Show inventory graph
- Minimal args:
```json
{ "project_root": "/abs/project" }
```
- Example question: "Show the inventory graph."
- Possible answer: "@all\n |--@web\n | |--h1"
- **inventory-find-host**: Show a host’s groups and merged vars
- Minimal args:
```json
{ "project_root": "/abs/project", "host": "h1" }
```
- Example question: "What groups and vars does h1 have?"
- Possible answer: `{ "groups": ["web"], "hostvars": {"ansible_user":"root"} }`
- **ansible-ping**: Ping hosts via ad-hoc
- Minimal args:
```json
{ "project_root": "/abs/project", "host_pattern": "localhost" }
```
- Example question: "Ping localhost."
- Possible answer: `{ "ok": true, "rc": 0 }`
- **ansible-gather-facts**: Run setup and return facts
- Minimal args:
```json
{ "project_root": "/abs/project", "host_pattern": "localhost" }
```
- Example question: "Gather facts from localhost."
- Possible answer: `{ "facts": {"localhost": {"ansible_hostname":"node"}} }`
- **validate-yaml**: Validate YAML files
- Minimal args:
```json
{ "paths": ["/abs/file.yml"] }
```
- Example question: "Validate this YAML file."
- Possible answer: `{ "ok": true, "results": [{"path":"/abs/file.yml","ok":true}] }`
- **galaxy-install**: Install roles/collections from requirements
- Minimal args:
```json
{ "project_root": "/abs/project" }
```
- Example question: "Install galaxy dependencies for my project."
- Possible answer: `{ "ok": true, "executed": [{"kind":"collection","rc":0}] }`
- **project-bootstrap**: Bootstrap project (env info + galaxy install)
- Minimal args:
```json
{ "project_root": "/abs/project" }
```
- Example question: "Bootstrap my project."
- Possible answer: `{ "ok": true, "details": {"ansible_version":"..."} }`
- **inventory-diff**: Diff two inventories
- Minimal args:
```json
{ "left_project_root": "/abs/project", "right_project_root": "/abs/project" }
```
- Example question: "What changed between stage and prod inventories?"
- Possible answer: `{ "added_hosts": [], "removed_hosts": [], "group_membership_changes": {} }`
- **ansible-test-idempotence**: Run playbook twice and assert no changes second run
- Minimal args:
```json
{ "playbook_path": "/abs/playbook.yml", "project_root": "/abs/project" }
```
- Example question: "Is this playbook idempotent?"
- Possible answer: `{ "ok": true, "changed_total_second": 0 }`
- **galaxy-lock**: Generate a lock file of installed roles/collections
- Minimal args:
```json
{ "project_root": "/abs/project" }
```
- Example question: "Create a requirements.lock.yml for my project."
- Possible answer: `{ "ok": true, "path": "/abs/requirements.lock.yml" }`
- **vault-encrypt / vault-decrypt / vault-view / vault-rekey**: Vault operations
- Minimal args (encrypt):
```json
{ "file_paths": ["/abs/group_vars/all/vault.yml"], "project_root": "/abs/project" }
```
- Example question: "Encrypt group_vars/all/vault.yml with my vault password."
- Possible answer: `{ "ok": true, "rc": 0 }`
## Troubleshooting Suite Reference
### Foundation Tools
- **ansible-remote-command**: Execute shell commands with enhanced parsing
- Minimal args:
```json
{ "host_pattern": "webserver", "command": "ps aux | grep nginx" }
```
- Example question: "Show me all nginx processes on the webserver."
- Sample answer: `{ "ok": true, "stdout": "Process list...", "parsed_output": {...} }`
- **ansible-fetch-logs**: Fetch and analyze log files
- Minimal args:
```json
{ "host_pattern": "app*", "log_paths": ["/var/log/nginx/error.log"], "analyze": true }
```
- Example question: "Get the last 100 lines from nginx error logs and analyze patterns."
- Sample answer: `{ "ok": true, "logs": {...}, "summary": {"total_logs": 1, "successful": 1} }`
- **ansible-service-manager**: Service management with logs
- Minimal args:
```json
{ "host_pattern": "web", "service_name": "nginx", "action": "restart", "check_logs": true }
```
- Example question: "Restart nginx service and show recent logs."
- Sample answer: `{ "ok": true, "action_result": {...}, "status": {...}, "logs": {...} }`
### Intelligent Diagnostics
- **ansible-diagnose-host**: Comprehensive health assessment
- Minimal args:
```json
{ "host_pattern": "production", "checks": ["system", "network", "security"], "include_recommendations": true }
```
- Example question: "Run a complete health check on production servers with recommendations."
- Sample answer: `{ "ok": true, "diagnosis": {...}, "health_score": {"score": 85, "level": "good"} }`
- **ansible-capture-baseline**: Capture system state baseline
- Minimal args:
```json
{ "host_pattern": "web*", "snapshot_name": "pre-deployment", "include": ["configs", "processes"] }
```
- Example question: "Capture a baseline snapshot before deployment."
- Sample answer: `{ "ok": true, "snapshot_id": "snapshot_20250101_120000_abc123", "categories_captured": [...] }`
- **ansible-compare-states**: Compare against baseline
- Minimal args:
```json
{ "host_pattern": "web*", "baseline_snapshot_id": "snapshot_20250101_120000_abc123" }
```
- Example question: "Compare current state with pre-deployment baseline."
- Sample answer: `{ "ok": true, "comparison": {"differences": {...}, "summary": {...}} }`
### Automation & Self-Healing
- **ansible-auto-heal**: Automated problem resolution
- Minimal args:
```json
{ "host_pattern": "database", "symptoms": ["high_memory", "disk_full"], "max_impact": "medium", "dry_run": true }
```
- Example question: "Automatically heal memory and disk issues on database servers (preview mode)."
- Sample answer: `{ "ok": true, "proposed_actions": [...], "summary": {"actionable_symptoms": 2} }`
### Network & Security
- **ansible-network-matrix**: Network connectivity testing
- Minimal args:
```json
{ "host_patterns": ["web*", "db*"], "check_ports": [22, 3306, 443] }
```
- Example question: "Test network connectivity between web and database servers."
- Sample answer: `{ "ok": true, "network_matrix": {...}, "summary": {"source_patterns": 2, "ports_tested": [22, 3306, 443]} }`
- **ansible-security-audit**: Security vulnerability assessment
- Minimal args:
```json
{ "host_pattern": "all", "audit_categories": ["packages", "permissions", "network"], "generate_report": true }
```
- Example question: "Run a comprehensive security audit on all servers."
- Sample answer: `{ "ok": true, "audit": {...}, "security_assessment": {"score": 75, "level": "warning"} }`
### Performance & Monitoring
- **ansible-health-monitor**: Continuous monitoring with trends
- Minimal args:
```json
{ "host_pattern": "production", "monitoring_duration": 300, "metrics_interval": 30 }
```
- Example question: "Monitor production servers for 5 minutes and analyze trends."
- Sample answer: `{ "ok": true, "monitoring": {"trend_analysis": {...}, "anomalies": []} }`
- **ansible-performance-baseline**: Performance benchmarking
- Minimal args:
```json
{ "host_pattern": "web*", "benchmark_duration": 60, "store_baseline": true }
```
- Example question: "Run performance benchmarks on web servers and store as baseline."
- Sample answer: `{ "ok": true, "baseline": {"benchmarks": {...}, "performance_assessment": {"score": 90}} }`
- **ansible-log-hunter**: Advanced log correlation
- Minimal args:
```json
{ "host_pattern": "app*", "search_patterns": ["ERROR", "CRITICAL"], "time_range": "1h", "correlation_window": 300 }
```
- Example question: "Hunt for errors in application logs from the last hour and correlate events."
- Sample answer: `{ "ok": true, "hunt_results": {...}, "correlation": {"correlated_events": 3} }`
## Key Features of Troubleshooting Suite
### 🎯 **Intelligent Analysis**
- **Health Scoring**: Automated scoring based on CPU, memory, disk, network, and security metrics
- **Pattern Recognition**: Smart analysis of log patterns, error correlations, and system anomalies
- **Trend Detection**: Real-time monitoring with trend analysis and predictive insights
### 🔧 **Automated Remediation**
- **Symptom-to-Solution Mapping**: Intelligent problem resolution based on detected symptoms
- **Safety-First Approach**: Graduated response with impact assessment and mandatory safety checks
- **Dry-Run Mode**: Preview all actions before execution for safety validation
### 📊 **Advanced Analytics**
- **Baseline Comparisons**: Time-travel debugging with comprehensive state comparisons
- **Performance Benchmarking**: Establish baselines and detect performance regressions
- **Security Auditing**: Comprehensive vulnerability assessment with compliance scoring
### 🛡️ **Enterprise-Grade Safety**
- **Impact Controls**: Configurable impact levels (low/medium/high) with approval workflows
- **Audit Trails**: Complete logging of all troubleshooting actions and decisions
- **Rollback Capabilities**: Automated reversion for failed operations
### 🔄 **Pure Ansible Integration**
- **No SSH Dependencies**: All operations go through Ansible's native connection framework
- **Module Consistency**: Uses standard Ansible modules for maximum compatibility
- **Configuration Aware**: Respects ansible.cfg and existing project configurations
All troubleshooting tools maintain the same safety, auditability, and Ansible-native approach while providing enterprise-grade automation capabilities.