Kubernetes MCP server

The Kubernetes MCP server provides a powerful interface for interacting with Kubernetes clusters through the Model Context Protocol (MCP). This implementation allows AI tools and services to manage and monitor Kubernetes resources without requiring external dependencies like kubectl or helm.

Installation Options

Claude Desktop

To use the Kubernetes MCP server with Claude Desktop, add it to your claude_desktop_config.json file:

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

VS Code / VS Code Insiders

Install the server by running the following command:

# 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 editing your mcp.json file:

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

Goose CLI

Add the MCP server to your goose config.yaml:

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

Configuration

You can configure the MCP server using command-line arguments:

# Run with npx
npx kubernetes-mcp-server@latest --help

# Run with uvx (Python)
uvx kubernetes-mcp-server@latest --help

# Run a binary directly
./kubernetes-mcp-server --help

Available Configuration Options

Option	Description
--port	Starts the server in HTTP mode (path /mcp) and SSE mode (path /sse)
--log-level	Sets the logging level (0-9)
--kubeconfig	Path to Kubernetes config file
--list-output	Output format for list operations (yaml or table, default "table")
--read-only	Run in read-only mode (no write operations)
--disable-destructive	Disable destructive operations (delete, update, etc.)
--toolsets	Comma-separated list of toolsets to enable
--disable-multi-cluster	Disable multi-cluster support

Available Toolsets

The server supports different functional groups that can be enabled or disabled:

Core Toolset

Core functionality includes:

• Listing and managing pods
• Viewing events
• Managing namespaces/projects
• Generic resource operations (CRUD)

Example operations:

• List pods in a namespace: pods_list_in_namespace
• Get pod logs: pods_log
• Delete a pod: pods_delete
• Execute commands in a pod: pods_exec

Helm Toolset

For managing Helm charts and releases:

• Install charts: helm_install
• List releases: helm_list
• Uninstall releases: helm_uninstall

Config Toolset

For viewing and managing Kubernetes configurations:

• List available contexts: configuration_contexts_list
• View current configuration: configuration_view

Multi-Cluster Support

By default, the server supports working with multiple clusters. When using tools, you can specify which Kubernetes context to use through an optional context parameter. This allows you to manage resources across different clusters seamlessly.

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