Linode MCP server

The Linode MCP Server provides a standardized interface for Large Language Models (LLMs) like Claude to manage Linode cloud resources. It allows AI assistants to list, create, view, delete, and reboot Linode instances through the Model Context Protocol (MCP).

Installation and Configuration

Before using Linode MCP, you need to set up your Linode API key. You can get this from the Linode Cloud Manager.

Set your API key as an environment variable:

export LINODE_API_KEY=your_api_key_here

Alternatively, you can use a .env file in your project directory:

LINODE_API_KEY=your_api_key_here

Install from PyPI (Recommended)

pip install linode-mcp

Install using uv

uvx pip install linode-mcp
uvx linode-mcp --api-key $LINODE_API_KEY

Usage

Command Line Tool

Run the server with default settings:

linode-mcp

With debug logging enabled:

linode-mcp --debug

Specify your API key directly:

linode-mcp --api-key your_api_key_here

Integration with Claude for Desktop

1. Install the package:

pip install linode-mcp

2. Edit your Claude Desktop configuration file:

On MacOS:

~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

On Windows:

%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

Add the following configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "linode": {
      "command": "linode-mcp",
      "args": ["--api-key", "your_api_key_here"]
    }
  }
}

3. Restart Claude for Desktop

Using with Claude

Once set up, you can ask Claude to perform various Linode management tasks:

• List instances: "Show me all my Linode instances"
• Create instances: "Create a new 2GB Linode in the Frankfurt region with Debian 11"
• Manage instances: "Reboot my instance with ID 12345"

Available Tools

The Linode MCP server provides the following capabilities:

• list_regions - Shows all available Linode data center locations

Coming soon:

• list_instance_types - View available Linode configurations and pricing
• list_instances - See all your current Linode instances
• create_instance - Provision new Linode instances
• get_instance - Get detailed information about a specific instance
• delete_instance - Remove unwanted instances
• reboot_instance - Restart an instance

How to install this MCP server

For Claude Code

To add this MCP server to Claude Code, run this command in your terminal:

claude mcp add-json "linode" '{"command":"linode-mcp","args":["--api-key","your_api_key_here"]}'

See the official Claude Code MCP documentation for more details.

For Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > Tools & Integrations and click "New MCP Server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "linode": {
            "command": "linode-mcp",
            "args": [
                "--api-key",
                "your_api_key_here"
            ]
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explicitly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.

For Claude Desktop

To add this MCP server to Claude Desktop:

1. Find your configuration file:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add this to your configuration file:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "linode": {
            "command": "linode-mcp",
            "args": [
                "--api-key",
                "your_api_key_here"
            ]
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect