How do I connect Kubernetes MCP Server to Claude?

Run `claude mcp add kubernetes-mcp-server -- npx -y kubernetes-mcp-server@latest --help` in Claude Code, or add the same command and arguments under mcpServers in Cursor's mcp.json or Claude Desktop's claude_desktop_config.json, then restart the client. The blocks above are ready to paste.

Is Kubernetes MCP Server free?

The listed licence is Apache-2.0. Check the upstream terms for permitted use and commercial requirements; a public repository does not by itself mean the software is free or open source. Connected APIs and hosted services may have separate charges.

What can Kubernetes MCP Server do?

Kubernetes MCP Server documents 40 tools to the agent, including apiVersion, configuration_contexts_list, configuration_view. The descriptions above come from project documentation. A live handshake does not test individual tool behavior.

Kubernetes MCP Server

Unclaimed

by containers

Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for Kubernetes and OpenShift

Set up this server

Compare servers My Stack

01 / Choose your client

02 / Before you connect

Authentication is not specified. Check the project instructions before connecting.

Install the runtime required by the project and make it available to your client.

Project instructionsEnvironment variable names (optional)

Use names from the project instructions, separated by commas. Enter names only, never secret values.

03 / Add the configuration

Source: generated from public install instructions

claude mcp add --transport stdio 'kubernetes-mcp-server' -- 'npx' '-y' 'kubernetes-mcp-server@latest' '--help'

Run in your terminal after replacing any placeholders.

04 / Check it in your client

Open your client’s MCP settings and confirm the server connects and lists its tools. A copied configuration does not confirm a working connection.

containerscontextkuberneteskubernetes-mcpmcpmodelmodelcontextprotocolopenshiftprotocol

Is this your MCP server?

This listing was auto-indexed from the public record. Claim it to edit the page, set compatibility and unlock growth tools. Takes under two minutes.

Claim this server

Security profile

Claimed and verified servers get a weekly static scan that shows what the code can reach: external services, environment variables, shell commands, agent configuration folders, plus any dependencies with known advisories. Claim this listing to get one. How the security profile works

40 of 40 tools

Documented tools (40)

From project documentation. A server handshake does not verify each tool’s description or behavior.

apiVersion

(string) (required) - apiVersion of the resources (examples of valid apiVersion are: v1, apps/v1, networking.k8s.io/v1)

configuration_contexts_list

List all available context names and associated server urls from the kubeconfig file

configuration_view

Get the current Kubernetes configuration content as a kubeconfig YAML

events_list

List Kubernetes events (warnings, errors, state changes) for debugging and troubleshooting in the current cluster from all namespaces

gracePeriodSeconds

(integer) - Optional duration in seconds before the object should be deleted. Value must be non-negative integer. The value zero indicates delete immediately. If this value is nil, the default grace period for the specified type will be used

helm_install

Install (deploy) a Helm chart to create a release in the current or provided namespace

helm_list

List all the Helm releases in the current or provided namespace (or in all namespaces if specified)

helm_uninstall

Uninstall a Helm release in the current or provided namespace

kcp_workspace_describe

Get detailed information about a specific kcp workspace

kcp_workspaces_list

List all available kcp workspaces in the current cluster

kiali_get_mesh_status

Retrieves the high-level health, topology, and environment details of the Istio service mesh. Returns multi-cluster control plane status (istiod), data plane namespace health (including ambient mesh status), observability stack health (Prometheus, Grafana...), and component connectivity. Use this to

kiali_get_mesh_traffic_graph

Returns service-to-service traffic topology, dependencies, and network metrics (throughput, response time, mTLS) for the specified namespaces. Use this to diagnose routing issues, latency, or find upstream/downstream dependencies.

kiali_get_pod_performance

Returns a human-readable text summary with current Pod CPU/memory usage (from Prometheus) compared to Kubernetes requests/limits (from the Pod spec). Useful to answer questions like 'Is this workload using too much memory?'

kiali_get_resource_details

Fetches a list of resources OR retrieves detailed data for a specific resource. If 'resourceName' is omitted, it returns a list. If 'resourceName' is provided, it returns details for that specific resource.

kiali_get_trace_details

Fetches a single distributed trace by traceid and returns its call hierarchy (service tree with duration, status, and nested calls). Use this after listtraces to drill into a specific trace.

kiali_list_mesh_clusters

Returns the list of Istio mesh clusters that Kiali can access. Each entry includes its name and whether it is the home cluster (where Kiali is deployed). Call this tool before using meshCluster on other Kiali tools when the target cluster is unknown.

kiali_list_traces

Lists distributed traces for a service in a namespace. Returns a summary (namespace, service, totalfound, avgdurationms) and a list of traces with id, durationms, spanscount, rootop, slowestservice, haserrors. Use gettracedetails with a trace id to get full hierarchy.

kiali_manage_istio_config

Create, patch, or delete Istio, Gateway API, and Inference API config. Supports Istio resources (networking.istio.io, security.istio.io), Gateway API resources (gateway.networking.k8s.io), and Inference API resources (inference.networking.k8s.io) when installed on the cluster. For list and get (read

kiali_manage_istio_config_read

Read Istio, Gateway API, and Inference API config. 'list' groups by namespace→'group/version/kind'→{valid:[...],invalid:[...]} where valid/invalid arrays contain resource names; omit group/kind to retrieve ALL config types in a single call. Supports Istio (networking.istio.io, security.istio.io), Ga

kind

(string) (required) - kind of the resources (examples of valid kind are: Pod, Service, Deployment, Ingress)

namespaces_list

List all the Kubernetes namespaces in the current cluster

nodes_log

Get logs from a Kubernetes node (kubelet, kube-proxy, or other system logs). This accesses node logs through the Kubernetes API proxy to the kubelet

nodes_stats_summary

Get detailed resource usage statistics from a Kubernetes node via the kubelet's Summary API. Provides comprehensive metrics including CPU, memory, filesystem, and network usage at the node, pod, and container levels. On systems with cgroup v2 and kernel 4.20+, also includes PSI (Pressure Stall Infor

nodes_top

List the resource consumption (CPU and memory) as recorded by the Kubernetes Metrics Server for the specified Kubernetes Nodes or all nodes in the cluster

pods_delete

Delete a Kubernetes Pod in the current or provided namespace with the provided name

pods_exec

Execute a command in a Kubernetes Pod (shell access, run commands in container) in the current or provided namespace with the provided name and command

pods_get

Get a Kubernetes Pod in the current or provided namespace with the provided name

pods_list

List all the Kubernetes pods in the current cluster from all namespaces

pods_list_in_namespace

List all the Kubernetes pods in the specified namespace in the current cluster

pods_log

Get the logs of a Kubernetes Pod in the current or provided namespace with the provided name

pods_run

Run a Kubernetes Pod in the current or provided namespace with the provided container image and optional name

pods_top

List the resource consumption (CPU and memory) as recorded by the Kubernetes Metrics Server for the specified Kubernetes Pods in the all namespaces, the provided namespace, or the current namespace

projects_list

List all the OpenShift projects in the current cluster

resource

(string) (required) - Complete YAML or JSON representation of the Kubernetes resource (full desired state, not a partial patch). Include apiVersion, kind, metadata, and the full spec.

resources_create_or_update

Create or update a Kubernetes resource via Server-Side Apply. The manifest is the complete desired state: any field this tool previously set and the new manifest omits is removed. To edit an existing resource, fetch it with resourcesget, modify it, then re-apply the full resource.

resources_delete

Delete a Kubernetes resource in the current cluster by providing its apiVersion, kind, optionally the namespace, and its name

resources_get

Get a Kubernetes resource in the current cluster by providing its apiVersion, kind, optionally the namespace, and its name

resources_list

List Kubernetes resources and objects in the current cluster by providing their apiVersion and kind and optionally the namespace and label selector

resources_scale

Get or update the scale of a Kubernetes resource in the current cluster by providing its apiVersion, kind, name, and optionally the namespace. If the scale is set in the tool call, the scale will be updated to that value. Always returns the current scale of the resource

targets_list

List all available targets

Tool change history

Compared across complete checks of the same configuration. Tools were listed, not invoked. Input-schema changes are not measured here.

No complete tool checks yet.

FAQ

Questions about Kubernetes MCP Server

How do I connect Kubernetes MCP Server to Claude?: Run `claude mcp add kubernetes-mcp-server -- npx -y kubernetes-mcp-server@latest --help` in Claude Code, or add the same command and arguments under mcpServers in Cursor's mcp.json or Claude Desktop's claude_desktop_config.json, then restart the client. The blocks above are ready to paste.
Is Kubernetes MCP Server free?: The listed licence is Apache-2.0. Check the upstream terms for permitted use and commercial requirements; a public repository does not by itself mean the software is free or open source. Connected APIs and hosted services may have separate charges.
What can Kubernetes MCP Server do?: Kubernetes MCP Server documents 40 tools to the agent, including apiVersion, configuration_contexts_list, configuration_view. The descriptions above come from project documentation. A live handshake does not test individual tool behavior.