VirusTotal MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for querying the VirusTotal API. This server provides comprehensive security analysis tools with automatic relationship data fetching. It integrates seamlessly with MCP-compatible applications like Claude Desktop.

Quick Start (Recommended)

Claude Code

claude mcp add --transport stdio --env VIRUSTOTAL_API_KEY=your-key virustotal -- npx -y @burtthecoder/mcp-virustotal

Codex CLI

codex mcp add virustotal --env VIRUSTOTAL_API_KEY=your-key -- npx -y @burtthecoder/mcp-virustotal

Gemini CLI

gemini mcp add -e VIRUSTOTAL_API_KEY=your-key virustotal npx -y @burtthecoder/mcp-virustotal

Installing via Smithery

To install VirusTotal Server for Claude Desktop automatically via Smithery:

npx -y @smithery/cli install @burtthecoder/mcp-virustotal --client claude

Installing Manually

1. Install the server globally via npm:

npm install -g @burtthecoder/mcp-virustotal

2. Add to your Claude Desktop configuration file:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "virustotal": {
      "command": "mcp-virustotal",
      "env": {
        "VIRUSTOTAL_API_KEY": "your-virustotal-api-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

Configuration file location:

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

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

3. Restart Claude Desktop

Using with VS Code

To use this MCP server in VS Code with GitHub Copilot:

1. Install the server globally via npm:

npm install -g @burtthecoder/mcp-virustotal

2. Create or update your VS Code MCP configuration file at:

   • macOS/Linux: ~/.vscode/mcp.json

   • Windows: %USERPROFILE%\.vscode\mcp.json

3. Add the following configuration:

{
  "servers": {
    "virustotal": {
      "command": "mcp-virustotal",
      "env": {
        "VIRUSTOTAL_API_KEY": "your-virustotal-api-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

4. Reload VS Code to activate the MCP server

You can then use the VirusTotal tools through GitHub Copilot in VS Code by referencing the available tools in your prompts.

Related MCP server: MCP Tunnel

Alternative Setup (From Source)

If you prefer to run from source or need to modify the code:

1. Clone and build:

git clone <repository_url>
cd mcp-virustotal
npm install
npm run build

2. Add to your Claude Desktop configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "virustotal": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/mcp-virustotal/build/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "VIRUSTOTAL_API_KEY": "your-virustotal-api-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

HTTP Streaming Transport

The server supports HTTP streaming transport in addition to the default stdio transport. This is useful for running the server as a standalone HTTP service that multiple clients can connect to.

Running in HTTP Streaming Mode

Set the MCP_TRANSPORT environment variable to httpStream:

MCP_TRANSPORT=httpStream MCP_PORT=3000 VIRUSTOTAL_API_KEY=your-key node build/index.js

Environment Variables

Docker with HTTP Streaming

docker build -t mcp-virustotal .
docker run -p 3000:3000 \
  -e VIRUSTOTAL_API_KEY=your-key \
  -e MCP_TRANSPORT=httpStream \
  mcp-virustotal

The server exposes a health check endpoint at /health when running in HTTP streaming mode.

Features

• Comprehensive Analysis Reports: Each analysis tool automatically fetches relevant relationship data along with the basic report using VirusTotal's ?relationships= query, batched to minimize API calls

• URL Analysis: Cached-report-first lookups with automatic fallback to scanning, plus contacted domains, downloaded files, and threat actors

• File Analysis: Detailed analysis of file hashes including behaviors, dropped files, and network connections

• IP Analysis: Security reports with historical data, resolutions, and related threats

• Domain Analysis: DNS information, WHOIS data, SSL certificates, and subdomains

• Detailed Relationship Analysis: Dedicated tools for querying specific types of relationships with pagination support

• Corpus Search: Free-form search across files, URLs, domains, IPs, and comments, including VTI-style modifier syntax (type:peexe positives:5+)

• Sandbox Behaviour Summary: Cross-sandbox merged view of processes, files, registry, network, MITRE ATT&CK, IDS alerts, and signature matches

• Threat Collections: Read APT, malware-family, campaign, and intel-report objects referenced from any report's relationships

• Rich Formatting: Clear categorization and presentation of analysis results and relationship data

Tools

Report Tools (with Automatic Relationship Fetching)

1. URL Report Tool

• Name: get_url_report

• Description: Get a comprehensive URL analysis report including security scan results and key relationships (communicating files, contacted domains/IPs, downloaded files, redirects, threat actors). Returns the cached VirusTotal report when available; only submits the URL for scanning and polls for completion on a cache miss

• Parameters:

  • url (required): The URL to analyze

2. File Report Tool

• Name: get_file_report

• Description: Get a comprehensive file analysis report using its hash (MD5/SHA-1/SHA-256). Includes detection results, file properties, and key relationships (behaviors, dropped files, network connections, embedded content, threat actors)

• Parameters:

  • hash (required): MD5, SHA-1 or SHA-256 hash of the file

3. IP Report Tool

• Name: get_ip_report

• Description: Get a comprehensive IP address analysis report including geolocation, reputation data, and key relationships (communicating files, historical certificates/WHOIS, resolutions)

• Parameters:

  • ip (required): IP address to analyze

4. Domain Report Tool

• Name: get_domain_report

• Description: Get a comprehensive domain analysis report including DNS records, WHOIS data, and key relationships (SSL certificates, subdomains, historical data)

• Parameters:

  • domain (required): Domain name to analyze

  • relationships (optional): Array of specific relationships to include in the report

Relationship Tools (for Detailed Analysis)

1. URL Relationship Tool

• Name: get_url_relationship

• Description: Query a specific relationship type for a URL with pagination support. Choose from 22 relationship types including analyses, communicating files, contacted domains/IPs, downloaded files, graphs, referrers, redirects, threat actors, collections, and votes

• Parameters:

  • url (required): The URL to get relationships for

  • relationship (required): Type of relationship to query

    • Available relationships: analyses, collections, comments, communicating_files, contacted_domains, contacted_ips, downloaded_files, embedded_js_files, graphs, last_serving_ip_address, network_location, referrer_files, referrer_urls, redirecting_urls, redirects_to, related_comments, related_references, related_threat_actors, submissions, urls_related_by_tracker_id, user_votes, votes

  • limit (optional, default: 10): Maximum number of related objects to retrieve (1-40)

  • cursor (optional): Continuation cursor for pagination

2. File Relationship Tool

• Name: get_file_relationship

• Description: Query a specific relationship type for a file with pagination support. Choose from 40 relationship types including behaviors, network connections, dropped files, embedded content, execution chains, and threat actors

• Parameters:

  • hash (required): MD5, SHA-1 or SHA-256 hash of the file

  • relationship (required): Type of relationship to query

    • Available relationships: analyses, behaviours, bundled_files, carbonblack_children, carbonblack_parents, ciphered_bundled_files, ciphered_parents, collections, comments, compressed_parents, contacted_domains, contacted_ips, contacted_urls, dropped_files, email_attachments, email_parents, embedded_domains, embedded_ips, embedded_urls, execution_parents, graphs, itw_domains, itw_ips, itw_urls, memory_pattern_domains, memory_pattern_ips, memory_pattern_urls, overlay_children, overlay_parents, pcap_children, pcap_parents, pe_resource_children, pe_resource_parents, related_references, related_threat_actors, similar_files, submissions, screenshots, urls_for_embedded_js, votes

  • limit (optional, default: 10): Maximum number of related objects to retrieve (1-40)

  • cursor (optional): Continuation cursor for pagination

3. IP Relationship Tool

• Name: get_ip_relationship

• Description: Query a specific relationship type for an IP address with pagination support. Choose from 15 relationship types including communicating files, historical SSL certificates, WHOIS records, resolutions, threat actors, and votes

• Parameters:

  • ip (required): IP address to analyze

  • relationship (required): Type of relationship to query

    • Available relationships: collections, comments, communicating_files, downloaded_files, graphs, historical_ssl_certificates, historical_whois, related_comments, related_references, related_threat_actors, referrer_files, resolutions, urls, user_votes, votes

  • limit (optional, default: 10): Maximum number of related objects to retrieve (1-40)

  • cursor (optional): Continuation cursor for pagination

4. Domain Relationship Tool

• Name: get_domain_relationship

• Description: Query a specific relationship type for a domain with pagination support. Choose from 24 relationship types including SSL certificates, subdomains, historical data, DNS records, and collections

• Parameters:

  • domain (required): Domain name to analyze

  • relationship (required): Type of relationship to query

    • Available relationships: caa_records, cname_records, collections, comments, communicating_files, downloaded_files, graphs, historical_ssl_certificates, historical_whois, immediate_parent, mx_records, ns_records, parent, referrer_files, related_comments, related_references, related_threat_actors, resolutions, soa_records, siblings, subdomains, urls, user_votes, votes

  • limit (optional, default: 10): Maximum number of related objects to retrieve (1-40)

  • cursor (optional): Continuation cursor for pagination

Search & Pivot Tools

1. Corpus Search

• Name: search_vt

• Description: Search the VirusTotal corpus for files, URLs, domains, IPs, or comments matching a query. Accepts plain IOCs (hash, URL, domain, IP), free text against comments, or VTI-style search modifiers

• Parameters:

  • query (required): Search query. Examples: a SHA-256 hash, evil.com, 8.8.8.8, type:peexe size:90kb+ tag:signed positives:5+

  • limit (optional, default: 20): Maximum number of results (1-300)

  • cursor (optional): Continuation cursor for pagination

2. File Behaviour Summary

• Name: get_file_behaviour_summary

• Description: Get a consolidated sandbox behaviour summary for a file, merged across every sandbox that analyzed it. Returns processes, files, registry, network activity, DNS lookups, MITRE ATT&CK techniques, IDS alerts, and signature matches in a single view — far more useful than iterating individual behaviour reports

• Parameters:

  • hash (required): MD5, SHA-1 or SHA-256 hash of the file

3. Collection Lookup

• Name: get_collection

• Description: Retrieve a VirusTotal collection by ID. Collections represent threat actors, malware families, campaigns, intel reports, and curated IOC sets — often referenced from the related_threat_actors and collections relationships on other tools. Optionally include relationships to fetch member IOCs in the same call

• Parameters:

  • id (required): Collection ID (e.g. threat-actor--<uuid>, malware-family--<id>)

  • relationships (optional): Array of relationship names to include

    • Available relationships: autogenerated_graphs, comments, domains, files, ip_addresses, owner, references, related_collections, related_references, threat_actors, urls

Requirements

• Node.js (v20 or later)

• A valid VirusTotal API Key

Troubleshooting

API Key Issues

If you see "Wrong API key" errors:

1. Check the log file at /tmp/mcp-virustotal-server.log (on macOS) for API key status

2. Verify your API key:

   • Should be a valid VirusTotal API key (usually 64 characters)

   • No extra spaces or quotes around the key

   • Must be from the API Keys section in your VirusTotal account

3. After any configuration changes:

   • Save the config file

   • Restart Claude Desktop

   • Check logs for new API key status

Development

To run in development mode with hot reloading:

npm run dev

Testing

Unit tests

Run the formatter test suite (no API key, no network):

npm test

Live smoke test

Exercise all 11 tools end-to-end against the real VirusTotal API:

VIRUSTOTAL_API_KEY=your-key npm run smoke

The smoke test paces calls at 20 s to stay under the 4-requests-per-minute public-tier rate limit. It is not compatible with heavily reduced free tiers (e.g. 1 lookup/day) — for those, run a single tool by editing scripts/smoke-test.mjs and pick the one you want to verify.

Error Handling

The server includes comprehensive error handling for:

• Invalid API keys

• Rate limiting

• Network errors

• Invalid input parameters

• Invalid hash formats

• Invalid IP formats

• Invalid URL formats

• Invalid relationship types

• Pagination errors

Version History

• v1.0.0: Initial release with core functionality

• v1.1.0: Added relationship analysis tools for URLs, files, and IP addresses

• v1.2.0: Added improved error handling and logging

• v1.3.0: Added pagination support for relationship queries

• v1.4.0: Added automatic relationship fetching in report tools and domain analysis support

• v1.5.0: Migrated to FastMCP framework with HTTP streaming transport support

• v1.6.0: Added search_vt, get_file_behaviour_summary, get_collection, and get_domain_relationship tools; synced relationship lists with current VirusTotal v3 docs (drops removed clues, adds collections/votes/user_votes/embedded_js_files/urls_related_by_tracker_id where applicable); get_url_report now returns the cached report when available instead of re-scanning on every call; report tools use batched ?relationships= queries for dramatically fewer API calls

Contributing

1. Fork the repository

2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)

3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')

4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)

5. Open a Pull Request

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.