Ansible MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for Ansible automation. This server allows AI assistants to interact with Ansible, execute playbooks, manage inventory, and perform other Ansible operations directly.

Features

• Run Ansible Playbooks: Execute Ansible playbooks with support for parameters like inventory, extra vars, tags, and limits
• List Inventory: View hosts and groups from an Ansible inventory file
• Check Syntax: Validate Ansible playbook syntax without execution
• List Tasks: Preview tasks that would be executed by a playbook
• Access Default Inventory: Access the default Ansible inventory file via resource API

Requirements

• Node.js 18 or higher
• npm or yarn
• Ansible installed and in PATH
• @modelcontextprotocol/sdk (installed automatically)

Installation

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/your-username/mcp-ansible.git
cd mcp-ansible

2. Install dependencies

npm install

3. Build the server

npm run build

4. Configure MCP settings

Add the Ansible MCP server to your MCP settings configuration file.

For VSCode with Claude extension:

• Edit the file at ~/.config/Code/User/globalStorage/saoudrizwan.claude-dev/settings/cline_mcp_settings.json

For Claude Desktop app:

• macOS: Edit ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: Edit %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• Linux: Edit ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Add the following to the mcpServers section:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ansible": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/mcp-ansible/build/index.js"],
      "env": {}
    }
  }
}

Make sure to replace /absolute/path/to/mcp-ansible with the actual path to your installation.

Usage Examples

Once installed and configured, the MCP server provides the following tools to the AI assistant:

1. Run a Playbook

<use_mcp_tool>
<server_name>ansible</server_name>
<tool_name>run_playbook</tool_name>
<arguments>
{
  "playbook": "/path/to/your/playbook.yml",
  "inventory": "/path/to/inventory.ini",
  "extraVars": {
    "var1": "value1",
    "var2": "value2"
  },
  "tags": "setup,configure",
  "limit": "webservers"
}
</arguments>
</use_mcp_tool>

2. List Inventory

<use_mcp_tool>
<server_name>ansible</server_name>
<tool_name>list_inventory</tool_name>
<arguments>
{
  "inventory": "/path/to/inventory.ini"
}
</arguments>
</use_mcp_tool>

3. Check Playbook Syntax

<use_mcp_tool>
<server_name>ansible</server_name>
<tool_name>check_syntax</tool_name>
<arguments>
{
  "playbook": "/path/to/your/playbook.yml"
}
</arguments>
</use_mcp_tool>

4. List Tasks in a Playbook

<use_mcp_tool>
<server_name>ansible</server_name>
<tool_name>list_tasks</tool_name>
<arguments>
{
  "playbook": "/path/to/your/playbook.yml"
}
</arguments>
</use_mcp_tool>

5. Access Default Inventory Resource

<access_mcp_resource>
<server_name>ansible</server_name>
<uri>ansible://inventory/default</uri>
</access_mcp_resource>

Development

Project Structure

mcp-ansible/
├── src/
│   ├── index.ts                  # Main entry point
│   └── ansible-mcp-server/       
│       └── index.ts              # Ansible MCP server implementation
├── package.json                  # Project configuration and dependencies
├── tsconfig.json                 # TypeScript configuration
└── README.md                     # Documentation

Adding New Features

To add new Ansible capabilities to the MCP server:

1. Modify src/ansible-mcp-server/index.ts
2. Add your new tool in the setupToolHandlers method
3. Implement a handler function for your tool
4. Rebuild with npm run build

License

MIT License - See LICENSE for details