VM Terminal MCP server

This MCP server allows you to access and control a VM machine's command line through the Model Context Protocol, complete with a web-based terminal interface and automatic tunneling for remote access.

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v18 or newer)

Installation

Quick Start with npx

The fastest way to use MCP Tunnel without installation:

npx mcp-cli

Global Installation

For regular use, install the package globally:

npm install -g mcp-cli
mcp-cli

Usage

Starting the Server

Start the MCP server with automatic tunneling (default):

npm start

Start without tunneling:

npm start -- --no-tunnel

The server will output information to stderr to avoid interfering with MCP communication on stdout.

Configuration

Create a .env file to configure server options:

# Server configuration
PORT=8080

# Localtunnel configuration
LOCALTUNNEL_SUBDOMAIN=your-preferred-subdomain

MCP Tools

The server provides several MCP tools for interaction:

Execute Commands

Run shell commands on the VM:

{
  "command": "your shell command"
}

Start Tunnel

Create a web tunnel to access the VM interface:

{
  "port": 8080, 
  "subdomain": "optional-subdomain"
}

Web Interface

After starting the tunnel, you can access the web-based terminal interface at the URL provided by the tunnel. This interface features:

• Real-time command execution
• Live output display
• Remote access from any device with web access

Security Recommendations

Since this tool provides direct VM command line access, consider these security measures:

• Implement strong authentication before exposing the tunnel
• Use command validation to limit what can be executed
• Run in a restricted environment when possible
• Avoid exposing sensitive information through the tunnel

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 "mcp-tunnel" '{"command":"npx","args":["-y","mcp-cli"]}'

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": {
        "mcp-tunnel": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "mcp-cli"
            ]
        }
    }
}

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": {
        "mcp-tunnel": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "mcp-cli"
            ]
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect