buildkite-mcp-server

buildkite-mcp-server 🚀

Model Context Protocol (MCP) server exposing Buildkite data (pipelines, builds, jobs, tests) to AI tooling and editors.

⚡ TL;DR Quick-start

Create a Buildkite API Token

# Run via Docker with the token from above
docker run --pull=always -q -it --rm -e BUILDKITE_API_TOKEN=bkua_xxxxx buildkite/mcp-server stdio

🗂️ Table of Contents

🛠️ Prerequisites

Requirement	Notes
Docker ≥ 20.x	Recommended path – run in an isolated container
OR Go ≥ 1.24	Needed only for building natively
Buildkite API token	Create at https://buildkite.com/user/api-access-tokens
Internet access to `ghcr.io`	To pull the pre-built image

🔑 API Token Scopes

Full functionality

👉 Quick add: Create token with Full functionality

Scope	Purpose
`read_clusters`	Access cluster & queue information
`read_pipelines`	Pipeline configuration
`read_builds`	Builds, jobs & annotations
`read_build_logs`	Job log output
`read_user`	Current user info
`read_organizations`	Organization details
`read_artifacts`	Build artifacts & metadata
`read_suites`	Buildkite Test Engine data

Minimum recommended

👉 Quick add: Create token with Basic functionality

Scope	Purpose
`read_builds`	Builds, jobs & annotations
`read_pipelines`	Pipeline information
`read_user`	User identification

📦 Installation

1. Docker (recommended)

docker pull buildkite/mcp-server

Run:

docker run --pull=always -q -it --rm -e BUILDKITE_API_TOKEN=bkua_xxxxx buildkite/mcp-server stdio

2. Pre-built binary

Download the latest release from GitHub Releases. Binaries are fully-static and require no libc.

If you're on macOS, you can use Homebrew:

brew install buildkite/buildkite/buildkite-mcp-server

3. Build from source

go install github.com/buildkite/buildkite-mcp-server@latest
# or
goreleaser build --snapshot --clean
# or
make build    # uses goreleaser (snapshot)

4. Docker Desktop

docker mcp server enable buildkite

View on Docker MCP Hub

⚙️ Configuration & Usage

Docker (recommended):

# ~/.config/amp/settings.json
{
  "amp.mcpServers": {
    "buildkite": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run", "--pull=always", "-q",
        "-i", "--rm", "-e", "BUILDKITE_API_TOKEN",
        "buildkite/mcp-server", "stdio"
      ],
      "env": { "BUILDKITE_API_TOKEN": "bkua_xxxxxxxx" }
    }
  }
}

Local binary, with the Job Log Token Threshold flag enabled:

# ~/.config/amp/settings.json
{
  "amp.mcpServers": {
    "buildkite": {
      "command": "buildkite-mcp-server",
      "args": ["stdio"],
      "env": { "BUILDKITE_API_TOKEN": "bkua_xxxxxxxx", "JOB_LOG_TOKEN_THRESHOLD": "2000" }
    }
  }
}

Docker (recommended):

claude mcp add buildkite -- docker run --pull=always -q --rm -i -e BUILDKITE_API_TOKEN=bkua_xxxxxxxx buildkite/mcp-server stdio

Local binary:

claude mcp add buildkite --env BUILDKITE_API_TOKEN=bkua_xxxxxxxx -- buildkite-mcp-server stdio

Docker (recommended):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "buildkite": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run", "--pull=always", "-q",
        "-i", "--rm", "-e", "BUILDKITE_API_TOKEN",
        "buildkite/mcp-server", "stdio"
      ],
      "env": { "BUILDKITE_API_TOKEN": "bkua_xxxxxxxx" }
    }
  }
}

Local binary, with the Job Log Token Threshold flag enabled:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "buildkite": {
      "command": "buildkite-mcp-server",
      "args": ["stdio"],
      "env": { "BUILDKITE_API_TOKEN": "bkua_xxxxxxxx", "JOB_LOG_TOKEN_THRESHOLD": "2000" }
    }
  }
}

Add Buildkite MCP Server to Cursor

Docker (recommended):

{
  "buildkite": {
    "command": "docker",
    "args": [
      "run", "--pull=always", "-q",
      "-i", "--rm",
      "-e", "BUILDKITE_API_TOKEN",
      "buildkite/mcp-server",
      "stdio"
    ]
  }
}

Local binary:

{
  "buildkite": {
    "command": "buildkite-mcp-server",
    "args": ["stdio"],
    "env": { "BUILDKITE_API_TOKEN": "bkua_xxxxxxxx" }
  }
}

Optional (Local binary with Job Log Token Threshold):

{
  "buildkite": {
    "command": "buildkite-mcp-server",
    "args": ["stdio"],
    "env": {
      "BUILDKITE_API_TOKEN": "bkua_xxxxxxxx",
      "JOB_LOG_TOKEN_THRESHOLD": "2000"
    }
  }
}

Docker (recommended):

extensions:
  fetch:
    name: Buildkite
    cmd: docker
    args: ["run", "--pull=always", "-q", "-i", "--rm", "-e", "BUILDKITE_API_TOKEN", "buildkite/mcp-server", "stdio"]
    enabled: true
    envs: { "BUILDKITE_API_TOKEN": "bkua_xxxxxxxx" }
    type: stdio
    timeout: 300

Local binary, with the Job Log Token Threshold flag enabled:

extensions:
  fetch:
    name: Buildkite
    cmd: buildkite-mcp-server
    args: [stdio]
    enabled: true
    envs: { "BUILDKITE_API_TOKEN": "bkua_xxxxxxxx", "JOB_LOG_TOKEN_THRESHOLD": "2000" }
    type: stdio
    timeout: 300

{
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "BUILDKITE_API_TOKEN",
      "type": "promptString",
      "description": "Enter your Buildkite Access Token",
      "password": true
    }
  ],
  "servers": {
    "buildkite": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run", "--pull=always", "-q", 
        "-i", "--rm", "-e", "BUILDKITE_API_TOKEN",
        "buildkite/mcp-server", "stdio"
      ],
      "env": { "BUILDKITE_API_TOKEN": "${input:BUILDKITE_API_TOKEN}" }
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "buildkite": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run", "--pull=always", "-q", 
        "-i", "--rm", "-e", "BUILDKITE_API_TOKEN",
        "buildkite/mcp-server", "stdio"
      ],
      "env": { "BUILDKITE_API_TOKEN": "bkua_xxxxxxxx" }
    }
  }
}

Local binary, with the Job Log Token Threshold flag enabled:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "buildkite": {
      "command": "buildkite-mcp-server",
      "args": ["stdio"],
      "env": { "BUILDKITE_API_TOKEN": "bkua_xxxxxxxx", "JOB_LOG_TOKEN_THRESHOLD": "2000" }
    }
  }
}

The Buildkite MCP server is packaged and available in the Toolhive registry.

Before running the server, store your API token as a secret:

cat ~/path/to/your/buildkite-api-token.txt | thv secret set buildkite-api-key

Run the server:

thv run --secret buildkite-api-key,target=BUILDKITE_API_TOKEN buildkite

There is a Zed editor extension available in the official extension gallery. During installation it will ask for an API token which will be added to your settings.

Or you can manually configure:

// ~/.config/zed/settings.json
{
  "context_servers": {
    "mcp-server-buildkite": {
      "settings": {
        "buildkite_api_token": "your-buildkite-token-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

🔧 Environment Variables

Variable	Description	Default	Usage
`BUILDKITE_API_TOKEN`	Your Buildkite API access token	Required	Authentication for all API requests

🛠️ Tools & Features

Tool	Description
`get_cluster`	Get detailed information about a specific cluster including its name, description, default queue, and configuration
`list_clusters`	List all clusters in an organization with their names, descriptions, default queues, and creation details
`get_cluster_queue`	Get detailed information about a specific queue including its key, description, dispatch status, and hosted agent configuration
`list_cluster_queues`	List all queues in a cluster with their keys, descriptions, dispatch status, and agent configuration
`get_pipeline`	Get detailed information about a specific pipeline including its configuration, steps, environment variables, and build statistics
`list_pipelines`	List all pipelines in an organization with their basic details, build counts, and current status
`create_pipeline`	Set up a new CI/CD pipeline in Buildkite with YAML configuration, repository connection, and cluster assignment
`update_pipeline`	Modify an existing Buildkite pipeline's configuration, repository, settings, or metadata
`list_builds`	List all builds for a pipeline with their status, commit information, and metadata
`get_build`	Get detailed information about a specific build including its jobs, timing, and execution details
`get_build_test_engine_runs`	Get test engine runs data for a specific build in Buildkite. This can be used to look up Test Runs.
`create_build`	Trigger a new build on a Buildkite pipeline for a specific commit and branch, with optional environment variables, metadata, and author information
`current_user`	Get details about the user account that owns the API token, including name, email, avatar, and account creation date
`user_token_organization`	Get the organization associated with the user token used for this request
`get_jobs`	Get all jobs for a specific build including their state, timing, commands, and execution details
`list_artifacts`	List all artifacts for a build across all jobs, including file details, paths, sizes, MIME types, and download URLs
`get_artifact`	Get detailed information about a specific artifact including its metadata, file size, SHA-1 hash, and download URL
`list_annotations`	List all annotations for a build, including their context, style (success/info/warning/error), rendered HTML content, and creation timestamps
`list_test_runs`	List all test runs for a test suite in Buildkite Test Engine
`get_test_run`	Get a specific test run in Buildkite Test Engine
`get_failed_executions`	Get failed test executions for a specific test run in Buildkite Test Engine. Optionally get the expanded failure details such as full error messages and stack traces.
`get_test`	Get a specific test in Buildkite Test Engine. This provides additional metadata for failed test executions
`search_logs`	Search log entries using regex patterns with optional context lines
`tail_logs`	Show the last N entries from the log file
`get_logs_info`	Get metadata and statistics about the Parquet log file
`read_logs`	Read log entries from the file, optionally starting from a specific row number
`access_token`	Get information about the current API access token including its scopes and UUID

🔍 Job Log Analysis Tools

Inspect Buildkite job logs in milliseconds, with full-text search, tail, and structured reads – all from one endpoint.

The server ships with four log analysis tools that convert Buildkite job output to structured Parquet data for efficient querying:

search_logs – Regex search with context lines for debugging failures
tail_logs – Show last N lines for recent errors and status checks
read_logs – Stream log entries from specific positions
get_logs_info – File metadata and statistics before reading content

Smart Caching & Storage

The first request downloads and converts logs to Parquet format; subsequent requests are zero-API calls with near-instant response times. All tools return token-efficient JSON by default for optimal AI/LLM performance.

Environment	Default Cache Location
Desktop/Laptop	`file://$HOME/.bklog`
Docker/K8s/CI	`file:///tmp/bklog`
Custom override	`$BKLOG_CACHE_URL` (any gocloud URL)

💡 Zero-config setup: Don't set anything for local testing—the server auto-picks the right directory. Set BKLOG_CACHE_URL to override with S3 (s3://bucket/path), GCS, Azure, or custom storage backends.

Examples:

# Local development with persistent cache
export BKLOG_CACHE_URL="file:///Users/me/bklog-cache"

# Shared cache across build agents  
export BKLOG_CACHE_URL="s3://ci-logs-cache/buildkite/"

🌐 Streamable HTTP / SSE transport

You can also run the MCP server using the Streamable HTTP Transport, and connect to the MCP server at http://localhost:3000/mcp.

buildkite-mcp-server http --listen "localhost:3000" --api-token=${BUILDKITE_API_TOKEN}

Or with the legacy HTTP/SSE transport, and connect to the MCP server at http://localhost:3000/sse.

buildkite-mcp-server http --listen "localhost:3000" --use-sse --api-token=${BUILDKITE_API_TOKEN}

📸 Screenshots

Get Pipeline Tool

🤖 AGENTS.md

We recommend adding a hint to your AGENTS.md, or equivalent agent configuration file, for example CLAUDE.md ect. This will typically be under an architecture section.

This hint will orientate the agent towards using the buildkite MCP to quickly diagnose build issues, or return project level CI/CD insights quickly. You should replace the organization, pipeline slug(s) and pipeline files based on your project.

- **CI/CD**: `buildkite` organization, `buildkite-mcp-server` pipeline slug for build and test (`.buildkite/pipeline.yml`), `buildkite-mcp-server-release` pipeline slug for releases (`.buildkite/pipeline.release.yml`)

📚 Library Usage

The exported Go API of this module should be considered unstable, and subject to breaking changes as we evolve this project.

🔒 Security

To ensure the MCP server is run in a secure environment, we recommend running it in a container.

This image is built from cgr.dev/chainguard/static and runs as an unprivileged user.

🤝 Contributing

Development guidelines are in DEVELOPMENT.md.

Run the test suite:

go test ./...

📝 License

SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT

buildkite-mcp-server