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Nutanix MCP Server

Nutanix MCP Server

by jkmills

Nutanix MCP Server

WARNING

Use at your own risk. MCP servers grant AI models the ability to execute actions against your infrastructure. AI-driven management of production environments carries inherent risk — models can misinterpret intent, hallucinate parameters, or trigger destructive operations. This software is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. The authors accept no liability for data loss, downtime, or any damages arising from use of this tool. Always review AI-proposed actions before execution and maintain proper backups.

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that exposes Nutanix Prism Central and Prism Element APIs as tools for AI assistants like GitHub Copilot, Claude, and others.

Features

  • 65 tools — Full coverage of Prism Central v4 and Prism Element v2 APIs

  • Prism Central (v4 API) — VM lifecycle, snapshots, clusters, hosts, networking, categories, alerts, tasks

  • Prism Element (v2 API) — Direct cluster access for storage, disks, data protection, system config, health checks

  • Tool annotations — Every tool carries MCP readOnlyHint/destructiveHint/idempotentHint metadata, so clients can require approval for destructive operations (delete_vm, power_off_vm, …) and fast-track read-only ones

  • Structured output — Results are returned as MCP structuredContent with a JSON text fallback; failures return proper isError results with actionable messages

  • ETag concurrency control — All v4 mutations send If-Match automatically, as required by Nutanix v4 APIs

  • AsBuilt Reports — Generate comprehensive HTML reports with interactive TOC, Mermaid topology diagrams, and print-to-PDF support

  • API version routing — Prefers v4, falls back to v3/v2 when needed

  • Async — Non-blocking HTTP client using httpx; official Nutanix SDK calls run off the event loop

Related MCP server: nutanix-mcp

Available Tools (65)

VM Management — Prism Central v4

Tool

Description

list_vms

List all VMs with OData filtering (auto-paginates)

get_vm

Get full VM config — CPU, memory, disks, NICs

power_on_vm

Power on a VM

power_off_vm

Power off a VM (ACPI guest shutdown or force)

create_vm

Create a new VM with name, cluster, CPU, memory, disk

update_vm

Update VM config — CPU, memory, name, description

delete_vm

Permanently delete a VM (requires confirmation)

clone_vm

Clone a VM with a new name

VM Snapshots — Prism Central v4

Tool

Description

snapshot_vm

Create an on-demand recovery point of a VM

list_vm_snapshots

List all recovery points for a VM

restore_vm_snapshot

Restore a VM to a previous recovery point

Cluster & Host Management — Prism Central v4

Tool

Description

list_clusters

List all registered Nutanix clusters

get_cluster

Get cluster config, network, storage, and health details

list_hosts

List all hypervisor hosts across clusters

get_host

Get host hardware specs, hypervisor info, and resource usage

list_storage_containers

List storage containers across clusters

Networking & Images — Prism Central v4

Tool

Description

list_subnets

List subnets/VLANs with CIDR, VLAN ID, and cluster

get_subnet

Get subnet details including IP pools and DHCP config

list_images

List disk images (ISOs, QCOW2) in the image library

get_image

Get image details — size, type, source, cluster placement

list_categories

List all category keys and values

get_category

Get all values for a specific category key

Categories & Tagging — Prism Central v4

Tool

Description

assign_category

Tag a VM with a category key:value pair

remove_category

Remove a category assignment from a VM

list_entities_by_category

Find all VMs tagged with a specific category

Alerts & Tasks — Prism Central v4

Tool

Description

list_alerts

List all alerts from Prism Central

get_alert

Get full alert details — entities, resolution guidance

acknowledge_alert

Acknowledge or resolve an alert

list_tasks

List recent async tasks with status

get_task

Get task completion status and error details

Prism Element — Cluster & Hosts (v2 direct access)

Tool

Description

pe_get_cluster_info

Cluster AOS version, capacity, and health

pe_list_hosts

Hosts with hardware specs and CVM info

pe_get_host_disks

Per-host physical disk inventory (model, serial, firmware, tier)

pe_get_host_nics

Per-host NIC details — speed, link state, MAC, LLDP

pe_list_cvms

Controller VMs — IP, memory, power state

pe_get_cluster_health

Data resiliency and fault tolerance status

pe_list_health_checks

NCC-style health check results

pe_list_alerts

Active/resolved alerts on a PE cluster

Prism Element — Storage

Tool

Description

pe_list_containers

Storage containers with replication factor and policies

pe_list_storage_pools

Storage pools and disk composition

pe_list_disks

Physical disk inventory — type, status, capacity

pe_list_volume_groups

Volume groups — iSCSI IQN, attached VMs, CHAP

pe_get_volume_group

Detailed volume group config

Prism Element — VMs, Networks & Images

Tool

Description

pe_list_vms

VMs on a specific cluster

pe_list_networks

VLANs — managed/unmanaged, IP pool config

pe_list_images

Disk images and ISOs on a cluster

Prism Element — Data Protection

Tool

Description

pe_list_protection_domains

Protection domains — schedules, replication state

pe_get_protection_domain

Detailed PD config — consistency groups, VMs, schedules

pe_list_snapshots

Snapshots for a protection domain

pe_list_remote_sites

DR partner clusters — addresses, capabilities

pe_get_replication_status

Active replication progress, lag, and bandwidth

pe_list_dr_snapshots

DR snapshots across remote sites

pe_list_pd_replications

All active PD replications cluster-wide

pe_list_unprotected_vms

VMs not in any protection domain (compliance gaps)

Prism Element — System Configuration

Tool

Description

pe_get_auth_config

Auth types, directory services (LDAP/AD)

pe_get_smtp_config

SMTP relay server configuration

pe_get_snmp_config

SNMP traps, users, and community strings

pe_get_syslog_config

Remote syslog targets and severity levels

pe_get_alert_email_config

Alert email recipients and notification rules

pe_get_nfs_whitelists

Global NFS export ACLs

pe_get_licensing_info

License type (Starter/Pro/Ultimate) and features

pe_get_metro_witness

Metro Availability witness server config

AsBuilt Reports

Tool

Description

generate_asbuilt

Generate a comprehensive infrastructure report from a PE cluster — overview, system config, hosts, storage, VMs, networks, data protection, alerts, health checks, and Mermaid topology diagram

export_asbuilt_html

Convert AsBuilt Markdown to self-contained HTML with interactive TOC sidebar and print-optimized CSS for PDF export

get_project_architecture

Get the Nutanix MCP Server project architecture documentation

AsBuilt reports include 9 sections: overview, system, hosts (with per-host disk inventory), VMs, networks, storage, data protection (with remote sites and unprotected VM detection), alerts, and health checks. Hypervisor names are mapped automatically (kKvm → AHV). The HTML export features an interactive table of contents with scroll-spy that is hidden when printing to PDF.

MCP Resources (URI-based browsing)

The server exposes resources via nutanix:// URIs, allowing LLMs to browse entities without explicit tool calls:

URI Pattern

Description

nutanix://vms

Browse all VMs

nutanix://vms/{uuid}

Get a specific VM

nutanix://clusters

Browse all clusters

nutanix://clusters/{uuid}

Get a specific cluster

nutanix://hosts/{uuid}

Get a specific host

nutanix://subnets/{uuid}

Get a specific subnet

nutanix://images/{uuid}

Get a specific image

MCP Prompts

Prompt

Description

set_credentials

Interactive credential configuration (for clients without env var support)

nutanix_overview

Guided environment overview — clusters, hosts, storage, alerts

Setup

Prerequisites

  • Python 3.10+

  • Network access to your Prism Central instance (port 9440)

  • Nutanix credentials with API access

Install

cd mcp/nutanix-mcp-server
pip install -e .

Or with dev dependencies:

pip install -e ".[dev]"

Configure

Copy .env.example to .env and fill in your credentials:

cp .env.example .env
NUTANIX_HOST=your-prism-central.example.com
NUTANIX_PORT=9440
NUTANIX_USERNAME=your-username
NUTANIX_PASSWORD=your-password
NUTANIX_VERIFY_SSL=true
NUTANIX_TIMEOUT=30

# Optional: restrict which Prism Element hosts may receive credentials
# NUTANIX_ALLOWED_PE_HOSTS=10.0.0.1,10.0.0.2

# Optional: stderr diagnostic verbosity (DEBUG, INFO, WARNING, ERROR)
# NUTANIX_LOG_LEVEL=INFO

Run

nutanix-mcp

Or directly:

python -m nutanix_mcp

MCP Client Configuration

This server uses stdio transport — it communicates via stdin/stdout. Each client configures a command to launch the server process.

Tip: Store credentials in environment variables or a .env file, never in config files committed to source control.


Claude Code (CLI)

Add the server to your project with the claude mcp add command:

claude mcp add nutanix -- python -m nutanix_mcp

Or manually create/edit .mcp.json in your project root:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "nutanix": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "python",
      "args": ["-m", "nutanix_mcp"],
      "cwd": "/path/to/mcp/nutanix-mcp-server",
      "env": {
        "NUTANIX_HOST": "your-prism-central.example.com",
        "NUTANIX_USERNAME": "your-username",
        "NUTANIX_PASSWORD": "your-password",
        "NUTANIX_VERIFY_SSL": "true"
      }
    }
  }
}

For user-wide availability (all projects), add to ~/.claude.json instead.


Claude Desktop

Edit the config file at:

  • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

  • Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

  • Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "nutanix": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "python",
      "args": ["-m", "nutanix_mcp"],
      "cwd": "/path/to/mcp/nutanix-mcp-server",
      "env": {
        "NUTANIX_HOST": "your-prism-central.example.com",
        "NUTANIX_USERNAME": "your-username",
        "NUTANIX_PASSWORD": "your-password",
        "NUTANIX_VERIFY_SSL": "true"
      }
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop fully after editing.


GitHub Copilot (VS Code)

Add to .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace:

{
  "servers": {
    "nutanix": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "python",
      "args": ["-m", "nutanix_mcp"],
      "cwd": "${workspaceFolder}/mcp/nutanix-mcp-server",
      "env": {
        "NUTANIX_HOST": "your-prism-central.example.com",
        "NUTANIX_USERNAME": "your-username",
        "NUTANIX_PASSWORD": "your-password",
        "NUTANIX_VERIFY_SSL": "true"
      }
    }
  }
}

OpenCode (sst/opencode)

Add to opencode.json (or opencode.jsonc) in your project root:

{
  "$schema": "https://opencode.ai/config.json",
  "mcp": {
    "nutanix": {
      "type": "local",
      "command": ["python", "-m", "nutanix_mcp"],
      "environment": {
        "NUTANIX_HOST": "your-prism-central.example.com",
        "NUTANIX_USERNAME": "your-username",
        "NUTANIX_PASSWORD": "your-password",
        "NUTANIX_VERIFY_SSL": "true"
      },
      "enabled": true
    }
  }
}

Note: OpenCode uses "command" as an array and "environment" instead of "env".


Docker MCP Gateway

The Docker MCP Gateway can proxy this server inside a container. Two approaches:

Option A: Run directly via Docker

Build a container image and reference it in your MCP client config:

FROM python:3.12-slim
WORKDIR /app
COPY mcp/nutanix-mcp-server/ .
RUN pip install --no-cache-dir -e .
CMD ["python", "-m", "nutanix_mcp"]

Then in any MCP client config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "nutanix": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run", "-i", "--rm",
        "-e", "NUTANIX_HOST=your-prism-central.example.com",
        "-e", "NUTANIX_USERNAME=your-username",
        "-e", "NUTANIX_PASSWORD=your-password",
        "-e", "NUTANIX_VERIFY_SSL=true",
        "nutanix-mcp-server"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Option B: Register with Docker MCP Gateway

If you have Docker Desktop with the MCP Toolkit:

docker mcp gateway run

Configure the gateway profile to include the nutanix server. The gateway then exposes all registered MCP servers as a single unified endpoint.

In your AI client, point to the gateway:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "MCP_DOCKER": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": ["mcp", "gateway", "run"]
    }
  }
}

The gateway handles routing, lifecycle management, and credential isolation.

API Version Strategy

Version

Endpoint Pattern

Use Case

v4 (preferred)

/api/{namespace}/v4.0/{path}

VMs, clusters, hosts, networking

v3 (fallback)

/api/nutanix/v3/{resource}/list

Resources not yet in v4

v2 (PE direct)

https://{pe_ip}:9440/api/nutanix/v2.0/{resource}

Per-cluster storage, disks, alerts

Discovering Prism Element Hosts

Use list_clusters to find cluster UUIDs, then list_hosts to find CVM IPs. Those CVM IPs can be used as pe_host in the Prism Element tools.

Development

# Lint
ruff check src/

# Type check
mypy src/

# Test
pytest

References

Available Tools

28 tools
create_vmB

Create a new virtual machine. Requires name, cluster UUID, and basic specs.

Inputs: name (required), cluster_uuid (required), num_vcpus, memory_mb, +1 more.

generate_cluster_reportB

Generate a detailed As-Built report for one or more Nutanix clusters. Covers cluster configuration, hosts, storage containers, VMs, and networking. Returns Markdown with an Excalidraw cluster architecture diagram.

Inputs: cluster_uuids, include_diagram.

generate_environment_reportA

Generate a comprehensive As-Built report for the full Nutanix environment. Covers all clusters, hosts, storage, networking, and VM inventory registered with Prism Central. Returns Markdown with an Excalidraw topology diagram.

Inputs: include_vms, include_diagram.

generate_vm_reportB

Generate a detailed As-Built report for one or more VMs. Covers VM configuration, compute resources, disks, NICs, categories, and host placement. Returns Markdown with an Excalidraw VM layout diagram.

Inputs: vm_uuids (required), include_diagram.

get_categoryB

Get all values for a specific category key. Example: category 'Environment' may have values 'Production', 'Dev', 'Test'.

Inputs: category_uuid (required).

get_clusterA

Get detailed information about a specific cluster by UUID. Returns configuration, network, storage, and health details.

Inputs: cluster_uuid (required).

get_hostA

Get detailed information about a specific host by UUID. Returns hardware specs, hypervisor info, and resource usage.

Inputs: host_uuid (required).

get_imageA

Get detailed information about a specific disk image by UUID. Returns size, type, source, and cluster placement.

Inputs: image_uuid (required).

get_subnetA

Get detailed subnet configuration including IP pools, DHCP config, and virtual switch assignment.

Inputs: subnet_uuid (required).

get_vmA

Get detailed information about a specific VM by its UUID. Returns full configuration including CPU, memory, disks, and NICs.

Inputs: vm_uuid (required).

list_categoriesA

List category keys and their values used for resource tagging. Categories enable policy-based management (Flow, DR, etc.).

Inputs: filter, limit.

list_clustersA

List all Nutanix clusters registered with Prism Central. Returns cluster names, UUIDs, versions, and health status.

Inputs: filter.

list_hostsA

List hypervisor hosts across clusters. Returns host names, IPs, resource capacity, and health. Optionally filter by cluster.

Inputs: cluster_uuid, filter, limit.

list_imagesA

List disk images (ISOs, QCOW2) available in the image library. Returns image names, types, sizes, and source URIs.

Inputs: filter, limit.

list_storage_containersA

List storage containers available across clusters. Returns names, capacity, usage, and associated cluster.

Inputs: cluster_uuid, limit.

list_subnetsB

List subnets/VLANs configured in Prism Central. Returns subnet names, VLAN IDs, CIDRs, IP pools, and associated clusters.

Inputs: filter, limit.

list_vmsA

List virtual machines on Nutanix. Returns VM names, UUIDs, power states, and resource allocation. Supports OData filtering.

Inputs: filter, limit.

pe_get_cluster_infoA

Get cluster info directly from a Prism Element node. Returns AOS version, cluster name, storage capacity, and health.

Inputs: pe_host (required).

pe_list_alertsB

List alerts on a Prism Element cluster. Returns alert titles, severity, timestamps, and affected entities.

Inputs: pe_host (required), resolved, count.

pe_list_containersB

List storage containers on a Prism Element cluster. Returns names, capacity, usage, replication factor, and policies.

Inputs: pe_host (required).

pe_list_disksA

List physical disks on a Prism Element cluster. Returns disk type (SSD/HDD), status, capacity, and location.

Inputs: pe_host (required).

pe_list_hostsA

List hypervisor hosts on a Prism Element cluster. Returns host names, IPs, hardware specs, and CVM info.

Inputs: pe_host (required).

pe_list_protection_domainsC

List protection domains on a Prism Element cluster. Returns PD names, protected entities, schedules, and replication state.

Inputs: pe_host (required).

pe_list_snapshotsA

List snapshots for a protection domain on a Prism Element cluster.

Inputs: pe_host (required), protection_domain (required).

pe_list_storage_poolsA

List storage pools on a Prism Element cluster. Returns pool names, capacity, and disk composition.

Inputs: pe_host (required).

pe_list_vmsA

List VMs on a specific Prism Element cluster. Returns VM names, UUIDs, power states, and resource allocation.

Inputs: pe_host (required), count.

power_off_vmA

Power off a virtual machine. Uses ACPI shutdown by default (guest-initiated).

Inputs: vm_uuid (required), force.

power_on_vmB

Power on a virtual machine.

Inputs: vm_uuid (required).

Tool Schema Changelog

Recent tool additions, removals, and schema changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

Loading tool schema changelog…

    TDQS

    B3.4/5.0

    Scored across 28 tools

    Disambiguation4/5

    Most tools target distinct resources or actions. However, list_vms and pe_list_vms both list VMs but from different scopes (Prism Central vs Prism Element), which could cause confusion if descriptions are not read carefully. Similarly, get_cluster and pe_get_cluster_info overlap, but descriptions clarify the source difference.

    Naming Consistency3/5

    The naming convention is mixed: some tools use verb_noun (create_vm, list_vms), some use generate_*_report, and there's a pe_ prefix for Prism Element tools. While each sub-pattern is consistent internally, the overall set lacks a uniform style, with verbs like 'power_on' and 'generate' alongside 'get' and 'list'.

    Tool Count4/5

    28 tools is somewhat high for an MCP server, but given the complexity of Nutanix infrastructure covering clusters, VMs, storage, networking, and both Prism Central and Element APIs, the number is justifiable. It feels slightly heavy but not excessive.

    Completeness3/5

    The tool set covers many core Nutanix operations (CRUD for VMs, listing resources, generating reports) but has notable gaps: no update or delete for VMs, no VM migration, no backup/restore, and limited network configuration beyond listing subnets. This leaves agents with dead ends for common tasks.

    Maintenance

    ActivityNo data
    ResponsivenessOutdated data

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