hcloud-mcp-server

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that exposes the Huawei Cloud CLI (hcloud) as a single tool that AI assistants can navigate interactively — just like a human would.

Usage Options

• MCP server: It maps the main hcloud functions as MCP functions and instructs for the use of --help in order to get the other functions, it uses hcloud cli in the background and as such, hcloud cli must be set up beforehand with hcloud configure init and configure obs as well. It works faster than the CLI + Skill vertion

• CLI + Skill: As stated by Microsoft: Modern coding agents increasingly favor CLI–based workflows exposed as SKILLs over MCP because CLI invocations are more token-efficient: they avoid loading large tool schemas and verbose accessibility trees into the model context, allowing agents to act through concise, purpose-built commands.

It is recommended to uses the CLI + Skill option, you'll only need to copy the skills folder to your tool's skills folder. .opencode/skills or .claude/skills

Related MCP server: k8s-mcp-server

How It Works

The server registers one tool: hcloud_cli. The AI navigates hcloud using --help at each level:

hcloud_cli("--help")                        → list all services
hcloud_cli("IAM --help")                    → list IAM operations
hcloud_cli("IAM ListCustomPolicies --help") → show parameters
hcloud_cli("IAM ListCustomPolicies")        → execute

This mirrors how a human discovers and uses the CLI, requires only 1 tool definition in the LLM context (~300 tokens), and works within any model's context window.

Features

• Single tool — minimal context footprint, works with any model size

• Interactive discovery — AI navigates --help menus naturally

• Safety layer — destructive operations (Delete, Detach, Revoke, etc.) require confirm=true; default is dry-run mode

• Structured output — JSON output forced automatically (--cli-output=json)

• Configurable — timeout, binary path, safety settings

Requirements

• Python 3.10+

• hcloud CLI installed and configured with authentication

Installation

pip install hcloud-mcp-server

Or from source:

git clone <repo-url>
cd hcloud-mcp-server
pip install -e .

Verify:

hcloud-mcp --help

Running

# Start the MCP server (stdio transport)
hcloud-mcp

# With a config file
hcloud-mcp --config /path/to/config.json

# With debug logging
hcloud-mcp --debug

Configuration

Config file

Create a JSON config file (see config.example.json):

{
  "execution": {
    "timeout_seconds": 30,
    "cli_output": "json",
    "hcloud_binary": "hcloud"
  }
}

Environment variables

Tool Reference

hcloud_cli

Navigation flow:

1. command="--help" — list all available services

2. command="<Service> --help" — list operations for a service

3. command="<Service> <Operation> --help" — show parameters and descriptions

4. command="<Service> <Operation> --param1=value1" — execute the operation

Parameter format: Always use --param=value (equals sign required by hcloud).

Safety: Operations containing Delete, Remove, Revoke, Detach, Disassociate, Cancel, or Force are classified as destructive. Without confirm=true, they run with --dryrun first.

Adding to AI Tools

The hcloud MCP server uses standard stdio transport, compatible with any MCP client.

opencode

Add to ~/.opencode/opencode.json:

{
  "mcp": {
    "hcloud": {
      "type": "local",
      "command": ["hcloud-mcp"],
      "enabled": true
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop

Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "hcloud": {
      "command": "hcloud-mcp",
      "args": []
    }
  }
}

Cursor

Add to ~/.cursor/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "hcloud": {
      "command": "hcloud-mcp",
      "args": []
    }
  }
}

VS Code (GitHub Copilot)

Add to .vscode/mcp.json:

{
  "servers": {
    "hcloud": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "hcloud-mcp",
      "args": []
    }
  }
}

Windsurf

Add to ~/.windsurf/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "hcloud": {
      "command": "hcloud-mcp",
      "args": []
    }
  }
}

Goose

Add to ~/.config/goose/config.yaml:

extensions:
  hcloud:
    type: stdio
    command: hcloud-mcp
    args: []

Any MCP Client (generic)

Example AI Session

User: How many custom IAM policies do I have?

AI: Let me check your IAM policies.

→ hcloud_cli(command="--help")
  [sees IAM in the service list]

→ hcloud_cli(command="IAM --help")
  [sees ListCustomPolicies in the operations list]

→ hcloud_cli(command="IAM ListCustomPolicies --help")
  [sees no required parameters]

→ hcloud_cli(command="IAM ListCustomPolicies")
  { "total_number": 2, "roles": [...] }

AI: You have 2 custom IAM policies.

User: Delete the policy with ID abc123

AI: This is a destructive operation. Let me run it in dry-run mode first.

→ hcloud_cli(command="IAM DeleteCustomPolicy --role_id=abc123")
  ⚠️ DRY RUN — no changes made.
  Set confirm=true to execute for real.

→ hcloud_cli(command="IAM DeleteCustomPolicy --role_id=abc123", confirm=true)
  ✅ Executed (confirmed destructive operation):
  { "message": "Delete success" }

AI: The policy has been deleted.

Development

# Install in editable mode
pip install -e .

# Run tests
pytest tests/ -v

# Run with debug logging
hcloud-mcp --debug

Troubleshooting

Server fails to start:

• Ensure hcloud is installed and in PATH: which hcloud

• Verify auth: hcloud IAM ListCustomPolicies

Tool calls return errors:

• Check hcloud profile: hcloud configure list

• Enable debug logging: hcloud-mcp --debug

AI doesn't know how to use the tool:

• The tool description includes navigation instructions

• Remind the AI: "Use hcloud_cli with --help to discover operations"