AsusWRT MCP Server

Python 3.11+ MIT License Project Status: Active

mcp-name: io.github.teefloo/asuswrt-mcp

Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for secure, controlled administration of AsusWRT and AsusWRT-Merlin routers via SSH.

Overview

This MCP server provides AI assistants (like Claude, Cursor, etc.) with a safe interface to monitor and manage AsusWRT routers. It operates exclusively over SSH using allowlisted operations—no arbitrary command execution, no firmware modifications, and no factory resets.

Features

Read-Only Monitoring (42 tools)

Category	Tools
Identity & Health	Router model, firmware version, uptime, load, memory
Network	LAN/WAN details, DNS config, IPv6 status, routing table
Clients	Connected clients, DHCP leases, ARP neighbors
Wireless	Radio status, SSIDs, guest networks, client counts per band
Services	Running processes, open ports, cron jobs
Storage	USB devices, mounts, partitions, filesystem usage
Security	UPnP, DDNS, Samba status, conntrack usage
VPN	OpenVPN server, WireGuard, VPN client profiles
Administration	Web admin ports, SSH/telnet access settings
Diagnostics	SSH TCP/banner/auth diagnostics, config snapshot

Mutation Tools (with safety guards)

All mutation tools require:

confirm: true parameter
ASUSWRT_ALLOW_MUTATIONS=true environment variable
Support for dry_run: true to preview changes

Tool	Description
`asuswrt_restart_service`	Restart allowlisted services (httpd, firewall, wireless, dnsmasq, etc.)
`asuswrt_dhcp_server`	Enable/disable DHCP server
`asuswrt_upnp`	Enable/disable UPnP
`asuswrt_radio`	Enable/disable Wi-Fi radio bands
`asuswrt_guest_wifi`	Enable/disable guest Wi-Fi
`asuswrt_guest_lan_access`	Toggle LAN access for guest Wi-Fi
`asuswrt_port_forwarding`	List, add, remove, enable/disable port forwarding rules
`asuswrt_vpn_server`	Enable/disable OpenVPN server
`asuswrt_parental_access`	List, block, unblock, remove parental control rules
`asuswrt_parental_block_all`	Toggle block-all mode
`asuswrt_dhcp_reservation`	List, add, remove DHCP static reservations

Safety Model

No arbitrary SSH: Only allowlisted commands are executed via NVRAM and service calls
No firmware operations: No flash, reset, or bootloader access
Secret redaction: Passwords and sensitive data are never exposed in tool responses
Dry-run support: Every mutation can be previewed before applying
Confirmation required: Mutations require explicit confirm=True
SSH-only transport: No exposure of the router's web API

Prerequisites

Python 3.11+
An AsusWRT or AsusWRT-Merlin router with SSH access enabled
Network connectivity from the MCP client to the router

Installation

1. Clone and setup

git clone https://github.com/Teeflo/asuswrt-mcp.git
cd asuswrt-mcp

# Create virtual environment
python -m venv .venv

# Activate (Linux/macOS)
source .venv/bin/activate

# Activate (Windows)
.venv\Scripts\activate

# Install dependencies
pip install -e .

2. Configure environment

# Copy example configuration
cp .env.example .env

# Edit with your router credentials
# Use your favorite editor:
notepad .env        # Windows
nano .env           # Linux/macOS

3. Configure `.env`

# Required: Router connection
ASUSWRT_HOST=192.168.1.1
ASUSWRT_SSH_USERNAME=admin
ASUSWRT_SSH_PASSWORD=your_password

# Optional: SSH key authentication
# ASUSWRT_SSH_KEY_FILE=~/.ssh/id_rsa

# Optional: Enable mutations (disabled by default)
# ASUSWRT_ALLOW_MUTATIONS=true

# Optional: Connection settings
# ASUSWRT_SSH_PORT=22
# ASUSWRT_TIMEOUT_SECONDS=10

Usage

Run the MCP server

# Standard stdio mode
python -m asuswrt_mcp.server

# Or use the entry point
asuswrt-mcp

Configure in Claude Desktop / Cursor

Add to your claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "asuswrt-mcp": {
      "command": "C:\\path\\to\\asuswrt-mcp\\.venv\\Scripts\\python.exe",
      "args": ["-m", "asuswrt_mcp.server"],
      "env": {
        "ASUSWRT_HOST": "192.168.1.1",
        "ASUSWRT_SSH_USERNAME": "admin",
        "ASUSWRT_SSH_PASSWORD": "your_password"
      }
    }
  }
}

Using with npx Inspector (development)

npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector python -m asuswrt_mcp.server

Development

Run tests

pip install -e ".[dev]"
pytest

Run with live router integration tests

ASUSWRT_TEST_ROUTER=1 pytest

Project Structure

asuswrt-mcp/
├── src/asuswrt_mcp/
│   ├── server.py          # FastMCP entrypoint & tool definitions
│   ├── service.py         # Business logic & router operations
│   ├── config.py          # Settings management
│   ├── clients/
│   │   └── ssh.py         # SSH client wrapper
│   ├── nvram.py           # NVRAM parsing utilities
│   ├── ssh_parsers.py     # Output parsers for SSH commands
│   ├── security.py        # Mutation guards & redaction
│   ├── validators.py      # Input validation
│   ├── responses.py       # Tool response formatting
│   ├── errors.py          # Custom exceptions
│   └── serialization.py   # Safe serialization
├── tests/                 # Test suite (69 tests)
├── .env.example           # Example configuration
├── pyproject.toml         # Project metadata
└── README.md              # This file

License

MIT License - see LICENSE for details.

Acknowledgments

asusrouter for the underlying Python library
MCP for the protocol specification
AsusWRT-Merlin for the firmware