WiFi Scanner MCP

A Model Context Protocol server that lets Claude Desktop, Claude Code and any other MCP client scan Wi-Fi networks on macOS and Windows (plus Linux as a bonus). One-click install, zero dependencies, 100% local and read-only.

You:     Which Wi-Fi networks are around me, and which channel should my router use?

Claude:  I found 14 networks. The strongest are HomeNet (−48 dBm, 5 GHz, WPA3, you're
         connected), Office-Guest (−61 dBm, 2.4 GHz, WPA2) and CoffeeShop Free (−70 dBm,
         open, no encryption).
         Your router is on 2.4 GHz channel 6, which shares airtime with 7 other access
         points. Channel 1 is the least crowded right now, and on 5 GHz channel 149 is
         nearly empty.

Features

• 📡 Scan nearby networks: SSID, BSSID, signal (dBm, %, quality, 1–4 bars), channel, channel width, 2.4 / 5 / 6 GHz band, PHY mode (802.11ac/ax/be) and security.

• 🔌 Current connection: network, signal, channel, security and link speed.

• 📊 Channel analyzer: overlap-aware interference scores for 2.4 GHz (1/6/11) and 5 GHz, a recommended router channel, and congestion on your channel.

• 🔐 Security check: flags open, WEP and legacy WPA networks nearby.

• 🧩 Filters: by band, minimum signal, grouped per network or per access point, sorted by signal/name/channel.

• 🌍 Any Windows language: the netsh parser does not rely on English labels (tested with English and Swedish output).

• 🪶 Zero dependencies: plain Node.js (bundled with Claude Desktop), no npm install needed.

• 🔒 Private by design: no internet access, no telemetry, nothing stored. It only reads what your OS already knows.

Related MCP server: MikroTik WiFi Users

Install

Claude Desktop (one click, recommended)

1. Download wifi-scanner-x.y.z.mcpb from the latest release.

2. Double-click it (or drag it into Claude Desktop, or Settings → Extensions → Install Extension…).

3. Click Install. Ask Claude: "Scan for Wi-Fi networks near me."

macOS: the first scan opens a system dialog asking to let WifiScanHelper use your location. Click Allow. macOS only shows Wi-Fi names to apps with Location access (why?). WifiScanHelper never reads your actual location.

Windows 11 24H2+: Wi-Fi scanning requires Settings → Privacy & security → Location → Location services and Let desktop apps access your location to be on.

Claude Code

git clone https://github.com/Swedishwizards/wifi-scanner-mcp.git
cd wifi-scanner-mcp
npm run build:mac        # macOS only: builds the helper (needs Xcode Command Line Tools)
claude mcp add wifi-scanner -- node "$(pwd)/server/index.js"

On Windows (PowerShell), skip the build step:

claude mcp add wifi-scanner -- node "$PWD\server\index.js"

Any other MCP client (Cursor, Windsurf, VS Code, Cline, …)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "wifi-scanner": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/wifi-scanner-mcp/server/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Tools

All tools are annotated readOnlyHint: true. Results are cached for 15 seconds so a scan followed by an analysis does not scan twice (fresh: true forces a new scan).

{
  "platform": "darwin",
  "source": "corewlan-helper",
  "access_points_seen": 9,
  "count": 3,
  "networks": [
    {
      "ssid": "HomeNet",
      "bssid": "a4:2b:b0:11:22:33",
      "signal_dbm": -48,
      "signal_percent": 100,
      "signal_quality": "excellent",
      "signal_bars": 4,
      "channel": 36,
      "channel_width_mhz": 80,
      "band": "5 GHz",
      "security": "WPA3",
      "connected": true,
      "access_points": 2,
      "bands": ["2.4 GHz", "5 GHz"]
    }
  ],
  "notes": []
}

Prompts to try

• "What Wi-Fi networks can you see? Which is the strongest?"

• "Is there an open Wi-Fi network nearby?"

• "Why is my Wi-Fi slow? Check for channel congestion."

• "Which channel should I set my router to?"

• "List every access point on 5 GHz stronger than −70 dBm."

How it works

Claude ⇄ (stdio, JSON-RPC) ⇄ server/index.js ⇄ macOS: WifiScanHelper.app (CoreWLAN)
                                            ⇄ Windows: netsh wlan
                                            ⇄ Linux: nmcli

Why does macOS ask for Location?

Since macOS 14.4 Apple removed the airport command and redacts Wi-Fi names (SSIDs/BSSIDs) for any app without Location Services, because nearby network names can reveal where you are. A command-line Node process cannot request that permission, so this project ships a tiny helper app that can. It only calls CoreWLAN to scan; it never asks CoreLocation for coordinates.

Privacy & security

• Read-only: the tools never connect to, join or change any network.

• Local-only: no HTTP requests, no analytics, no telemetry, no files kept (the helper's temp file is deleted right after reading).

• Small and auditable: about 1,300 lines of plain JavaScript and Swift, no third-party packages.

Troubleshooting

Development

npm test                 # parser + protocol tests (any OS, no Wi-Fi needed)
npm run build:mac        # build macos/WifiScanHelper.app (universal: arm64 + x86_64)
npm run pack             # build dist/wifi-scanner-<version>.mcpb
node server/index.js     # run the server on stdio

Quick manual test without a client:

printf '%s\n' \
  '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"initialize","params":{"protocolVersion":"2025-06-18"}}' \
  '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":2,"method":"tools/call","params":{"name":"scan_wifi_networks","arguments":{}}}' \
  | node server/index.js

Project layout:

server/index.js            MCP server (JSON-RPC over stdio) and tool definitions
server/platforms/*.js      macOS / Windows / Linux backends
server/lib/normalize.js    common network format, signal and security helpers
server/lib/analyze.js      channel congestion and security analysis
macos/                     Swift helper source, Info.plist, build script
test/                      node:test suites with real-format fixtures
.github/workflows/         CI on macOS/Windows/Linux and release packaging

Releasing

Push a tag like v1.0.0. The release workflow runs the tests, builds the universal macOS helper, packs the .mcpb and attaches it to a GitHub release. To sign the helper with your Apple Developer ID, add it as repository secrets (see .github/workflows/release.yml).

Support the project

WiFi Scanner MCP is free and always will be. If it saved you a call to your ISP or helped you pick a better router channel, you can say thanks here:

A ⭐ on the repo helps too: it makes the project easier for others to find.

Contributing

Issues and pull requests are welcome, especially netsh output samples from Windows in other languages (put them in test/fixtures/ and add a test).

License

MIT