Nutanix V4 API MCP Server

Expose Nutanix V4 APIs as tools callable by AI assistants — Claude, Cursor, and any MCP-compatible client.

What is this?

MCP (Model Context Protocol) is an open standard that lets AI assistants call external tools safely and predictably. This server implements MCP over stdio transport, exposing Nutanix V4 APIs as callable tools. The V4 APIs are Nutanix's modern, versioned REST APIs for managing Prism Central — Nutanix's centralised management plane for multi-cluster infrastructure.

Once connected, an AI assistant like Claude or Cursor can discover available Nutanix operations, inspect their schemas and required permissions, and execute them against your Prism Central cluster, all from natural language.

Related MCP server: Nutanix MCP Server

Who should read what

Supported API namespaces

The server exposes one <namespace>_execute tool per namespace. Namespaces are fetched from your Prism Central during nutanix-mcp init — only namespaces that your PC version supports will have artifacts downloaded and tools registered at runtime.

Note: Not all namespaces listed above are available on every Prism Central deployment. Tool availability depends on your PC version and which V4 API namespaces it exposes. Run nutanix-mcp init with PC_HOST configured — only namespaces reported by your PC will be fetched and registered as tools.

Prerequisites

• Python 3.11 or higher

• Git (to clone the repository)

• Prism Central access with one of:

  • Username + password (PC_USERNAME / PC_PASSWORD)

  • API key (PC_API_KEY via X-ntnx-api-key header)

• Prism Central reporting a V4 API (check: https://<PC_HOST>:9440/api/prism/unversioned/info returns "data": "v4.x")

No Docker required. The server runs as a local Python process over stdio.

Quickstart

git clone https://github.com/nutanix/ntnx-api-mcp-server
cd ntnx-api-mcp-server
python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate          # Windows: .venv\Scripts\activate
pip install -e .
mv .env.example .env               # edit with your PC_HOST and credentials
nutanix-mcp init
nutanix-mcp run --validate-only

For a step-by-step walkthrough including client connection and your first tool call: quickstart guide.

Configuration

Settings are read from environment variables, a .env file in the project root, or a config file passed via --config-file. CLI flags take the highest precedence.

Key variables:

• PC_HOST — Prism Central IP or FQDN (required for live API execution)

• PC_USERNAME + PC_PASSWORD — basic auth credentials (use one auth method, not both)

• PC_API_KEY — API key sent as X-ntnx-api-key (alternative to username/password; takes priority if both are set)

• PC_INSECURE=false — enforces TLS verification by default; set to true only for dev/lab with self-signed certificates

• READ_ONLY_MODE=true — blocks all non-GET operations server-side (default; set to false to opt in to write operations)

• ARTIFACTS_DIR — must be an absolute path when set in AI client config files

For all configuration options, defaults, and validation behavior: configuration reference.

Config file support

Pass --config-file to run or serve-stdio to load settings from a file. Supported formats: .json, .yaml/.yml, .toml.

Commands

nutanix-mcp init

Downloads API YAML artifacts for all discovered (or overridden) namespaces. Uses pc_compatible mode when PC_HOST is set, or latest_release mode from the Nutanix developer portal when it is not.

nutanix-mcp init

nutanix-mcp refresh [--force]

Refreshes artifacts with backup/restore safety — existing artifacts are preserved if any namespace download fails.

nutanix-mcp refresh --force

nutanix-mcp run [--validate-only]

Runs startup checks and prints artifact loading state. Use --validate-only to verify config without starting the server.

nutanix-mcp run --validate-only

nutanix-mcp serve-stdio

Starts the MCP stdio server. AI clients (Cursor, Claude Desktop) invoke this automatically via their config file — you do not run it directly. Run it manually only when using MCP Inspector or a custom programmatic client.

nutanix-mcp serve-stdio

Connecting to AI clients

The server communicates over stdio. Any MCP-compatible client that supports subprocess-based stdio transport can connect by pointing its config at the nutanix-mcp serve-stdio command with credentials passed as environment variables.

For step-by-step config for Cursor, Claude Desktop, MCP Inspector, and custom Python clients — including exact JSON blocks, absolute path requirements, and verification steps — see the integration guide.

For a first-time walkthrough from install to first tool call: quickstart guide.

Tools reference

Discovery tools

These 4 tools are always registered regardless of which namespace artifacts are present. They query an in-memory index and make no Nutanix API calls.

Namespace execution tools

Each namespace has a corresponding <namespace>_execute tool registered at startup from the downloaded YAML artifacts. Two parameters apply to every call:

List and search operations additionally accept OData query parameters:

Example prompts

Discovery

List all operations in the prism namespace

What permissions do I need to run createConsistencyGroup?

Show me the schema for listTasks and give me a Python code sample

Execution

List the first 5 tasks in Prism Central

Get the recovery plan job details for job ID <extId>

Before creating a consistency group, show me the required roles and request body schema, then ask me to confirm before executing

For a volume group cleanup workflow: find the relevant delete operations, show permissions for each, and only execute after I explicitly confirm each write call

Logging

Each server restart creates a new timestamped log file in LOG_DIR (default: ./logs):

logs/nutanix-mcp-20260517-181407-382850.log

Set LOG_FORMAT=json for structured JSON output suitable for log aggregation pipelines. For all logging options: configuration reference.

Security notes

• At least one auth method is required — the server fails startup if neither PC_API_KEY nor PC_USERNAME/PC_PASSWORD is set when PC_HOST is configured.

• TLS verification is enforced by default (PC_INSECURE=false). Set PC_INSECURE=true only for dev or lab environments running Prism Central with self-signed certificates.

• Secrets are never logged — PC_PASSWORD and PC_API_KEY are stored as SecretStr and masked in all log output.

• Input validation — all tool call payloads are validated against the operation contract before execution. Unknown fields are rejected with a structured error.

For the full attack surface analysis, role requirements, and security hardening checklist: authentication and security guide.

Author

Nutanix Developer Team

Links

• Feature Spotlight

• Security and vulnerability reporting

• Changelog

• Nutanix V4 API Developer Portal

• Model Context Protocol Specification

• MCP Inspector

Technical Preview Disclaimer

This repository is an open-source project. Please note the following before using it:

• Non-Production Only: This project is in a tech preview state. It is not designed, tested, or supported for production workloads.

• Expect Changes: As a preview, breaking changes may occur. We encourage you to experiment, test, and share your feedback in non-production environments!