Content
# Netbird MCP Server
A [Model Context Protocol](https://modelcontextprotocol.io) (MCP) server for [Netbird](https://netbird.io/).
This project is derived from the [MCP Server for Grafana](https://github.com/grafana/mcp-grafana) by Grafana Labs and is licensed under the same Apache License 2.0.
It also uses [MCP Go](https://github.com/mark3labs/mcp-go) by Mark III Labs.
**Note: this project is still in development.**
## Installing
### Installing from source
#### Clone the repository
```bash
git clone https://github.com/shinycongre/mcp-netbird
```
#### Build and install
```bash
cd mcp-netbird && \
make install
```
### Installing from GitHub
```bash
go install github.com/shinycongre/mcp-netbird/cmd/mcp-netbird@latest
```
### Installing via Smithery
[](https://smithery.ai/server/@aantti/mcp-netbird)
To install Netbird MCP Server for Claude Desktop automatically via [Smithery](https://smithery.ai/server/@aantti/mcp-netbird):
```bash
npx -y @smithery/cli install @aantti/mcp-netbird --client claude
```
## Configuration
The server requires the following environment variables:
- `NETBIRD_API_TOKEN`: Your Netbird API token
- `NETBIRD_HOST` (optional): The Netbird API host (default is `api.netbird.io`)
## Features
This server uses the Netbird API to provide LLMs information about Netbird network. Currently it's a 1:1 mapping of select read-only Netbird API resources to tools.
- [x] Uses Netbird API to access configuration and status
- [x] Configurable API endpoint
- [x] Secure token-based authentication for Netbird API
### Tools
| Tool | Description | Netbird API |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `list_netbird_peers` | All peers | [List all Peers](https://docs.netbird.io/api/resources/peers#list-all-peers) |
| `list_netbird_port_allocations` | All ingress ports for `peerId` | [List all Port Allocations](https://docs.netbird.io/api/resources/ingress-ports) |
| `list_netbird_groups` | All groups | [List all Groups](https://docs.netbird.io/api/resources/groups#list-all-groups) |
| `list_netbird_policies` | All policies | [List all Policies](https://docs.netbird.io/api/resources/policies#list-all-policies) |
| `list_netbird_posture_checks` | All posture checks | [List all Posture Checks](https://docs.netbird.io/api/resources/posture-checks#list-all-posture-checks) |
| `list_netbird_networks` | All networks | [List all Networks](https://docs.netbird.io/api/resources/networks#list-all-networks) |
| `list_netbird_nameservers` | All nameserver groups | [List all Nameserver Groups](https://docs.netbird.io/api/resources/dns) |
### Adding tools
To add new tools:
1. Create a new file in `tools` (e.g., `tools/users.go`), possibly use existing code as a template
2. Add API route and response specifics to the new file
3. Add the tool to `func newServer()` in `cmd/main.go`
## Usage
1. Get your [Netbird API token](https://docs.netbird.io/api/guides/authentication) from the Netbird management console.
2. Install the `mcp-netbird` binary using one of the installation methods above. Make sure the binary is in your PATH.
3. Add the server configuration to your client configuration file. E.g., for Codeium Windsurf add the following to `~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json`:
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"netbird": {
"command": "mcp-netbird",
"args": [],
"env": {
"NETBIRD_API_TOKEN": "<your-api-token>"
}
}
}
}
```
For more information on how to add a similar configuration to Claude Desktop, see [here](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/quickstart/user).
> Note: if you see something along the lines of `[netbird] [error] spawn mcp-netbird ENOENT` in Claude Desktop logs, you need to specify the full path to `mcp-netbird`. On macOS Claude Logs are in `~/Library/Logs/Claude`.
4. Try asking questions along the lines of "Can you explain my Netbird peers, groups and policies to me?"
## Docker
Build an image and tag it:
```bash
docker build -t mcp-netbird-sse:v1 -f Dockerfile.sse .
```
Run the image:
```bash
docker run --name mcp-netbird -p 8001:8001 -e NETBIRD_API_TOKEN=<your-api-token> mcp-netbird-sse:v1
```
## ToolHive
[ToolHive](https://github.com/StacklokLabs/toolhive) (thv) is a lightweight utility designed to simplify the deployment and management of MCP servers.
You can use ToolHive to deploy and run Netbird MCP as follows:
1. Install `thv` as described in [ToolHive README](https://github.com/StacklokLabs/toolhive#installation).
2. Add Netbird API token to `thv` secrets:
```bash
thv secret set netbird
```
3. Build an SSE image as described in the Docker section [above](#docker)
4. Start Netbird MCP with `thv run` on port 8080:
```bash
thv run --secret netbird,target=NETBIRD_API_TOKEN --transport sse --name thv-mcp-netbird --port 8080 --target-port 8001 mcp-netbird-sse:v1
```
5. When you want to stop the server, use:
```bash
thv stop thv-mcp-netbird
```
## Development
Contributions are welcome! Please open an issue or submit a pull request if you have any suggestions or improvements.
This project is written in Go. Install Go following the instructions for your platform.
To run the server manually, use:
```bash
export NETBIRD_API_TOKEN=your-token && \
go run cmd/mcp-netbird/main.go
```
Or in SSE mode:
```bash
export NETBIRD_API_TOKEN=your-token && \
go run cmd/mcp-netbird/main.go --transport sse --sse-address :8001
```
### Debugging
The **MCP Inspector** is an interactive developer tool for testing and debugging MCP servers. Read more about it [here](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/docs/tools/inspector).
Here's how to start the MCP Inspector:
```bash
export NETBIRD_API_TOKEN=your-token && \
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector
```
Netbird MCP Server can then be tested with either `stdio` or `SSE` transport type. For `stdio` specify the full path to `mcp-netbird` in the UI.
### Testing
**TODO: add more tests**
### Linting
To lint the code, run:
```bash
make lint
```
## License
This project is licensed under the [Apache License, Version 2.0](LICENSE).
This project includes software developed at Grafana Labs (https://grafana.com/).
This project includes software developed at Mark III Labs (https://github.com/mark3labs/mcp-go).
