Kubernetes MCP server

The Kubernetes MCP Server is a powerful native implementation that interacts directly with Kubernetes and OpenShift clusters, eliminating the need for external dependencies like kubectl or helm. It provides a comprehensive set of tools for cluster management through the Model Context Protocol (MCP).

Installation Options

Using NPX (Fastest Method)

For Claude Desktop users, add the MCP server to your configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "kubernetes": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "kubernetes-mcp-server@latest"
      ]
    }
  }
}

VS Code / VS Code Insiders

Install the extension by clicking the installation link or manually with:

# For VS Code
code --add-mcp '{"name":"kubernetes","command":"npx","args":["kubernetes-mcp-server@latest"]}'
# For VS Code Insiders
code-insiders --add-mcp '{"name":"kubernetes","command":"npx","args":["kubernetes-mcp-server@latest"]}'

Cursor

Install by clicking the installation link or manually edit the mcp.json file:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "kubernetes-mcp-server": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "kubernetes-mcp-server@latest"]
    }
  }
}

Goose CLI

Add the server to your config.yaml:

extensions:
  kubernetes:
    command: npx
    args:
      - -y
      - kubernetes-mcp-server@latest

Configuration Options

Run the server with configuration options:

# Using npx
npx kubernetes-mcp-server@latest --port 8000 --log-level 3

Important configuration flags:

Option	Description
--port	Starts the server on the specified port
--log-level	Sets logging verbosity (0-9)
--kubeconfig	Path to Kubernetes configuration file
--read-only	Prevents write operations
--disable-destructive	Disables destructive operations
--toolsets	Comma-separated list of toolsets to enable

Available Toolsets

Control which functionalities are available by enabling specific toolsets:

• config: View and manage Kubernetes configuration (default)
• core: Common Kubernetes management tools (default)
• helm: Helm chart management (default)
• kiali: Kiali management tools

Common Operations

Working with Pods

List pods in all namespaces:

npx kubernetes-mcp-server@latest pods_list

Get logs from a specific pod:

npx kubernetes-mcp-server@latest pods_log --name my-pod --namespace my-namespace

Working with Resources

Create or update resources:

npx kubernetes-mcp-server@latest resources_create_or_update --resource "apiVersion: v1\nkind: ConfigMap\nmetadata:\n  name: my-configmap\n  namespace: default\ndata:\n  key1: value1"

List resources by type:

npx kubernetes-mcp-server@latest resources_list --apiVersion apps/v1 --kind Deployment

Helm Operations

Install a chart:

npx kubernetes-mcp-server@latest helm_install --chart bitnami/nginx --name my-nginx

List releases:

npx kubernetes-mcp-server@latest helm_list --all_namespaces true

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 "kubernetes" '{"command":"npx","args":["-y","kubernetes-mcp-server@latest"]}'

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": {
        "kubernetes": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "kubernetes-mcp-server@latest"
            ]
        }
    }
}

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": {
        "kubernetes": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "kubernetes-mcp-server@latest"
            ]
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect