Homebox MCP Server

An MCP server that exposes Homebox inventory management as tools for AI agents.

What it does

This server lets an AI agent (Claude, Hermes, OpenClaw, or any MCP-compatible client) read and write your Homebox inventory: search, add, update, and delete products and locations, manage tags and maintenance entries — all through the unified Homebox v0.26+ entities API.

It runs in two transports:

• stdio — for local agents that launch the server as a subprocess.

• Streamable HTTP (/mcp) — for remote agents that talk HTTP. Per-request credentials are passed via request headers.

Key behaviors:

• Targets Homebox v0.26.0+ (the entity-merge release) — items and locations share /api/v1/entities, with parentId denoting the parent entity. Older Homebox releases using /api/v1/items and /api/v1/locations are not supported.

• search_products with only name splits the phrase into terms and queries each in parallel for broader recall.

• add_product and update_product_by_id use grouped parameter objects (identity, location, identifiers, purchase, metadata, status) so large calls stay readable.

• Maintenance tools (create_maintenance_entry_for_product, list_maintenance_entries, update_maintenance_entry, delete_maintenance_entry) operate against /api/v1/maintenance.

• Multi-collection (tenant) support is exposed via the Homebox-native X-Tenant request header on the HTTP transport.

Related MCP server: mcp-homelab

Installation

Requirements

Older Homebox releases that still expose /api/v1/items and /api/v1/locations are not supported — the server talks to /api/v1/entities exclusively.

Install the server

git clone <repo-url> homebox-mcp
cd homebox-mcp
uv sync                 # installs runtime + dev dependencies
cp .env.example .env   # then edit .env with your Homebox credentials

.env.example:

HOMEBOX_BASE_URL=https://your-homebox-instance.com
HOMEBOX_USERNAME=your_email@example.com
HOMEBOX_PASSWORD=your_password
# Optional HTTP server settings (server_http.py)
# FASTMCP_HOST=0.0.0.0
# FASTMCP_PORT=8000

Docker

docker build -t homebox-mcp .
docker run -p 8000:8000 \
  -e HOMEBOX_BASE_URL="https://your-homebox-instance.com" \
  -e HOMEBOX_USERNAME="your_email@example.com" \
  -e HOMEBOX_PASSWORD="your_password" \
  homebox-mcp

Run the server

just start         # stdio mode (default for local agents)
just start-http    # Streamable HTTP mode at http://0.0.0.0:8000/mcp

Or directly:

uv run main.py            # stdio
uv run server_http.py     # streamable HTTP

Install inside an agent

Pick the snippet that matches your agent and copy-paste it into the agent's MCP configuration. Replace the values in <…> with your own.

The examples assume stdio mode (local agent) with credentials read from environment / .env. Streamable HTTP mode exposes the same tools but takes credentials through request headers instead.

Claude Desktop / Claude Code (claude_desktop_config.json)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "homebox": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": ["--directory", "/absolute/path/to/homebox-mcp", "run", "main.py"],
      "env": {
        "HOMEBOX_BASE_URL": "https://your-homebox-instance.com",
        "HOMEBOX_USERNAME": "your_email@example.com",
        "HOMEBOX_PASSWORD": "your_password"
      }
    }
  }
}

Hermes (stdio)

Add to your Hermes MCP servers configuration:

{
  "homebox": {
    "command": "uv",
    "args": ["--directory", "/absolute/path/to/homebox-mcp", "run", "main.py"],
    "env": {
      "HOMEBOX_BASE_URL": "https://your-homebox-instance.com",
      "HOMEBOX_USERNAME": "your_email@example.com",
      "HOMEBOX_PASSWORD": "your_password"
    }
  }
}

OpenClaw (stdio)

{
  "servers": {
    "homebox": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": ["--directory", "/absolute/path/to/homebox-mcp", "run", "main.py"],
      "env": {
        "HOMEBOX_BASE_URL": "https://your-homebox-instance.com",
        "HOMEBOX_USERNAME": "your_email@example.com",
        "HOMEBOX_PASSWORD": "your_password"
      }
    }
  }
}

Remote / Streamable HTTP

If you run the server with uv run server_http.py (or via the Docker image), any MCP-compatible HTTP client can reach it at http://host:8000/mcp and pass credentials via request headers:

HOMEBOX_USERNAME: your_email@example.com
HOMEBOX_PASSWORD: your_password
X-Tenant: 00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000   # optional, multi-collection

HOMEBOX_BASE_URL is read only from the runtime environment of the server process; it cannot be overridden per request.

Finding the X-Tenant value

Open Homebox, log in, then in DevTools → Network find the request GET /api/v1/users/self and copy the X-Tenant request header. Pass it on every MCP request via the X-Tenant header.

Available tools

17 tools are exposed. Grouped parameter objects accept both snake_case and camelCase keys.

Products (entities)

search_products

Search products via Homebox query plus local filters. Provide at least one filter; name is split into per-term queries when no other strict filter is provided.

• name (Optional[str]) — product name (or phrase) query

• item_id (Optional[str]) — exact product UUID

• asset_id (Optional[str]) — asset ID filter

• serial_number (Optional[str])

• model_number (Optional[str])

• manufacturer (Optional[str])

• query (Optional[str]) — generic full-text query

Returns: list of matching product dicts, or an error string.

add_product

Create a new product or subitem with grouped parameters. If both location and parent_item are provided, parent_item wins (subitem creation).

• identity (dict, required): {"name", "description", "asset_id"}

• location (Optional[dict]): {"id"} or {"name"} — for standalone products

• parent_item (Optional[dict]): {"id"} or {"name"} — for subitems

• identifiers (Optional[dict]): {"serial_number", "model_number", "manufacturer"}

• purchase (Optional[dict]): {"price", "seller", "date", "warranty_expires"}

• metadata (Optional[dict]): {"notes", "quantity", "tag_ids", "tag_names", "custom_fields"}

• status (Optional[dict]): {"archived", "insured", "lifetime_warranty"}

Returns: created product dict (after optional update pass), or error string.

update_product_by_id

Update an existing product. Pass IDs (item_id, location.id) — names are only resolved through list_locations outside this tool.

• item_id (str, required) — UUID of the item to update

• identity (Optional[dict]): {"new_name", "description", "asset_id"}

• location (Optional[dict]): {"id"} or {"name"}

• identifiers (Optional[dict]): {"serial_number", "model_number", "manufacturer"}

• purchase (Optional[dict]): {"price", "seller", "date", "warranty_expires"}

• metadata (Optional[dict]): {"notes", "quantity", "tag_ids", "tag_names", "custom_fields"}

• status (Optional[dict]): {"archived", "insured", "lifetime_warranty"}

Returns: updated product dict, or error string.

add_bulk_products

Add multiple products in one call. Each entry uses the grouped shape from add_product.

• items (list[dict], required) — each item must contain an identity.name

• Returns: list (one result per input item).

delete_product_by_id

Delete a single product by ID.

• item_id (str, required) — UUID of the item

• product_name (str, required) — used for the success/error message only

Returns: success message, or error string.

delete_bulk_products

Delete multiple products. Delegates to delete_product_by_id for each entry.

• items (list[dict], required) — each entry {item_id, product_name}

• Returns: list (one result message per input item).

Locations

list_locations

Return Homebox's location tree (GET /api/v1/entities/tree).

• No parameters.

• Returns: list of top-level tree nodes (each with nested children).

create_location

Create a new location (entity with isLocation implied by being parent-less).

• name (str, required)

• description (Optional[str])

• parent_id (Optional[str]) — UUID of a parent location

Returns: created location dict, or error string.

update_location_by_id

Update a location's editable fields. Fetches the current state first to preserve omitted fields.

• location_id (str, required) — UUID of the location

• new_name (Optional[str])

• new_description (Optional[str])

• new_parent_id (Optional[str]) — pass empty string "" to detach from parent

Returns: updated location dict, or error string.

delete_location_by_id

Delete a single location.

• location_id (str, required) — UUID of the location

• Returns: success message, or error string.

list_items_by_location

List direct child items of a location (uses ?parentIds=…).

• location_id (str, required) — UUID of the location

• Returns: list of {"id", "name"} items, or error string.

Tags

list_tags

Return all tags from /api/v1/tags.

• No parameters.

• Returns: list of {"id", "name"} tags, or error string.

create_tag

Create a tag if it does not already exist (case-folded de-dupe).

• name (str, required)

• Returns: created or pre-existing tag dict, or error string.

Maintenance

create_maintenance_entry_for_product

Create a maintenance entry for an existing product. Provide scheduled_date, completed_date, or both; if neither, both default to today.

• product_id (Optional[str]) — preferred if known

• product_name (Optional[str]) — resolved to a product ID if product_id is missing

• name (str, required) — title/summary of the task

• description (Optional[str])

• cost (Optional[float])

• scheduled_date (Optional[str]) — YYYY-MM-DD

• completed_date (Optional[str]) — YYYY-MM-DD

Returns: created maintenance entry dict, or error string.

list_maintenance_entries

List maintenance entries from Homebox. The global /api/v1/maintenance endpoint is broken on Homebox v0.26+; this tool falls back to enumerating per-entity maintenance lists and aggregating them.

• product_id (Optional[str]) — restrict to entries for one product

• product_name (Optional[str]) — used to resolve the entity when product_id is missing

• Returns: list of maintenance entry dicts, or error string.

update_maintenance_entry

Update an existing maintenance entry. Homebox v0.26+ exposes maintenance only per-entity, so the owning product must be supplied.

• entry_id (str, required) — UUID of the entry

• product_id (Optional[str]) — UUID of the owning entity (preferred)

• product_name (Optional[str]) — resolved to an entity when product_id is missing

• name (Optional[str])

• description (Optional[str])

• cost (Optional[float])

• scheduled_date (Optional[str]) — YYYY-MM-DD

• completed_date (Optional[str]) — YYYY-MM-DD

Returns: updated maintenance entry dict, or error string.

delete_maintenance_entry

Delete a maintenance entry.

• entry_id (str, required) — UUID of the entry

• Returns: success message, or error string.

Testing

The project ships unit tests and end-to-end tests.

Unit tests (no Docker required)

just test
# or: uv run pytest tests/ -v -k "not e2e"

End-to-end tests (requires Docker)

The E2E suite spins up a pinned Homebox v0.26.2 container, builds the MCP server image, registers a test user, and exercises all 17 tools through the Streamable HTTP transport. Each tool's effect is then verified against the real Homebox API (not just the MCP response envelope).

just test-e2e

What it does:

1. docker compose -f docker-compose.e2e.yml up -d — start Homebox v0.26.2 on port 31745 and the MCP server on port 31746.

2. Wait for the Homebox healthcheck.

3. Register a test user (idempotent).

4. Run pytest tests/e2e/ -m e2e.

5. Tear down all containers.

See docker-compose.e2e.yml for the pinned image and tests/e2e/ for the suite. The suite covers every tool:

Recommended workflow for adding items

1. Find a location for a standalone product — call list_locations to get a location UUID.

2. Find a parent for a subitem — call search_products(name=...) to resolve the parent item UUID.

3. Create or update — use add_product (new) or update_product_by_id (existing). If both location and parent_item are passed to add_product, parent_item is used and location is ignored for the creation target.

Justfile commands

just --list           # Show all commands
just start            # Start MCP server in stdio mode
just start-http       # Start MCP server in Streamable HTTP mode
just stop             # Stop running HTTP servers
just lint-format      # Run linting checks
just lint-fix         # Run linting and auto-fix issues
just test             # Run unit tests
just test-e2e         # Run E2E tests (requires Docker)
just wipe             # Clean cache/build artifacts
just docker-build     # Build Docker image
just docker-run       # Run Docker container

Repository layout

homebox-mcp/
├── main.py                          # FastMCP server, all 17 tools, helpers
├── models.py                        # Grouped dataclasses for tool inputs
├── server_http.py                   # Streamable HTTP transport entrypoint
├── request_config_middleware.py     # Per-request credential/tenant scoping
├── Dockerfile                       # HTTP server image
├── docker-compose.e2e.yml           # Pinned Homebox + MCP server stack
├── justfile                         # Dev/test commands
├── scripts/e2e-setup.sh             # Test user registration helper
├── tests/
│   ├── test_main.py                 # Unit tests (mocked HTTP)
│   ├── test_request_config_middleware.py
│   ├── test_transport_servers.py
│   └── e2e/                         # E2E tests against real Homebox v0.26.2
└── pyproject.toml