mcp-k8s-deployer

A production-ready Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that empowers LLMs to dynamically orchestrate containerized application deployments to a Kubernetes cluster.

It handles configuration validation, interactive storage resolution, multi-resource manifest generation (Namespace, PersistentVolumeClaim, Deployment, Service), dry-run plan reviews, actual apply actions, and service endpoint extraction optimized for cloudflared tunnel routing.

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Features

• Interactive Storage Resolution: Dynamically checks whether to create a new PVC, bind to an existing PV, or prompt the user for more details depending on whether the StorageClass matches the cluster's default NFS setup.
• Strict Input Validation: Enforces RFC 1123 compliant naming for apps, namespaces, and StorageClasses, validates port ranges, replicas, image tags, and Kubernetes storage sizes (e.g. 10Gi).
• Dry-run Planning & Actual Applying: Exposes separate planning (plan_deployment) and apply (apply_deployment) stages. Planning runs a Kubernetes server-side dry-run to catch configuration errors before changes are committed.
• Enforced Review Step: The apply_deployment tool requires an explicit approved=True parameter to enforce user verification of planned changes.
• Tunnel Mapping Helpers: Auto-formats endpoints to seamlessly configure public subdomains with cloudflared tunnels.

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Prerequisites

• Python: Version 3.10 or higher.
• Kubernetes Cluster: Access to a running cluster (e.g., k3s, minikube, GKE, EKS) with cluster credentials.
• Credentials: A valid kubeconfig file (defaults to ~/.kube/config).

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Installation

From PyPI (recommended)

pip install mcp-k8s-deployer

From source

git clone https://github.com/stwins60/mcp-k8s-deployer.git
cd mcp-k8s-deployer
python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt

Verify installation

python3 -m pytest -v

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Configuration

The server supports configuration through environment variables or a YAML configuration file.

Environment Variables

Variable	Description	Default
MCP_K8S_LOG_LEVEL	Logging level (DEBUG, INFO, WARNING, ERROR)	INFO
MCP_K8S_DEFAULT_NFS_STORAGE_CLASS	StorageClass name treated as default NFS-backed storage	nfs
MCP_K8S_ALLOWED_NAMESPACES	Comma-separated list of allowed namespaces. If empty, all are allowed.	""
KUBECONFIG or MCP_K8S_KUBECONFIG_PATH	Path to the active cluster kubeconfig file	~/.kube/config
MCP_K8S_DEFAULT_REPLICAS	Default pod replicas count if unspecified	1
MCP_K8S_DEFAULT_PORT	Default service port if unspecified	80
MCP_K8S_DEFAULT_STORAGE_SIZE	Default persistent volume size	10Gi

YAML Configuration File

Create a config.yaml file in the root of the project (or store it in /etc/mcp-k8s/config.yaml):

logging:
  level: "INFO"
kubernetes:
  kubeconfig_path: ""  # Empty uses default ~/.kube/config
  default_nfs_storage_class: "nfs"
  allowed_namespaces: []
defaults:
  replicas: 1
  container_port: 80
  storage_size: "10Gi"

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Exposed MCP Tools

1. choose_storage_option_tool

Assesses storage configuration based on StorageClass and PV requirements.

• Arguments:
  • storage_class (str, required): The target storage class name (e.g. nfs, local-path).
  • has_existing_pv (bool, required): Whether the user has an existing PersistentVolume (PV) created.
  • existing_pv_name (str, optional): The name of the existing PV to bind statically.
  • storage_size (str, optional): Desired disk size (e.g. 5Gi).
  • default_nfs_class (str, optional): Override the default NFS storage class config.
• Returns: A JSON dictionary advising on PVC generation, PV binding, or actions required.

2. deploy_app_tool

Gathers configurations, validates inputs, and generates Kubernetes manifests in YAML format.

• Arguments:
  • app_name (str, required)
  • image (str, required)
  • container_port (int, required)
  • replicas (int, optional)
  • namespace (str, optional)
  • use_persistence (bool, optional)
  • storage_class (str, optional)
  • storage_size (str, optional)
  • existing_pv_name (str, optional)
  • env_vars (dict, optional)
  • hostname (str, optional)
• Returns: A multi-document YAML string representing the Namespace, PVC, Deployment, and Service.

3. plan_deployment_tool

Validates inputs, generates manifests, and runs a server-side dry-run apply against the cluster.

• Arguments: Same as deploy_app_tool.
• Returns: The generated manifests, dry-run actions list (e.g., Created, Patched), and validation status.

4. apply_deployment_tool

Applies approved manifests to the Kubernetes cluster.

• Arguments:
  • manifests (str, required): The generated YAML manifests.
  • approved (bool, required): Must be set to True to confirm.
• Returns: Success status and array of resources created or patched.

5. create_namespace_tool

Creates a namespace if it doesn't already exist.

• Arguments:
  • namespace (str, required)
  • dry_run (bool, optional)

6. get_service_endpoint_tool

Computes the internal cluster Service DNS endpoint.

• Arguments: app_name (str), namespace (str), container_port (int).
• Returns: The service URL (e.g. http://app.namespace.svc.cluster.local:80).

7. build_cloudflared_target_tool

Generates the exact target string to paste into a cloudflared tunnel mapping configuration.

• Arguments: app_name (str), namespace (str), container_port (int).

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Claude Desktop Integration

Using the pip-installed package

Add the following to your Claude Desktop config (~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json on Linux):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "kubernetes-deployer": {
      "command": "mcp-k8s-deployer",
      "env": {
        "MCP_K8S_DEFAULT_NFS_STORAGE_CLASS": "nfs",
        "MCP_K8S_LOG_LEVEL": "INFO"
      }
    }
  }
}

Using a local source checkout

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "kubernetes-deployer": {
      "command": "/path/to/.venv/bin/python3",
      "args": [
        "/path/to/mcp-k8s-deployer/src/server.py"
      ],
      "env": {
        "MCP_K8S_DEFAULT_NFS_STORAGE_CLASS": "nfs",
        "MCP_K8S_LOG_LEVEL": "INFO"
      }
    }
  }
}

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Transport Selection (Stdio vs SSE)

By default, the server runs over standard input/output (stdio) transport, suitable for local integrations like Claude Desktop.

Running over Stdio (default)

python3 src/server.py --transport stdio

Running over SSE (HTTP web server)

python3 src/server.py --transport sse --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8000

Or use environment variables:

export MCP_TRANSPORT=sse
export MCP_PORT=8000
python3 src/server.py

The MCP endpoint will be accessible at http://<your-host>:8000/sse.

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Typical Execution Flow

1. User Request: "Deploy my Node.js app auth-service using node:18 in the dev namespace. It needs 5Gi of gp2 storage."
2. Storage Decision: The LLM calls choose_storage_option_tool(storage_class="gp2", has_existing_pv=False, storage_size="5Gi").
3. Storage Advice: The server advises that gp2 is non-default and will rely on dynamic provisioning. The LLM presents this to the user.
4. Planning: The user confirms. The LLM calls plan_deployment_tool(...), which returns the planned resources and dry-run status.
5. Confirmation: The LLM presents the YAML manifests for user review.
6. Execution: The user confirms. The LLM calls apply_deployment_tool(manifests="...", approved=True).
7. Mapping: The LLM calls build_cloudflared_target_tool(...) and prints the Cloudflare Tunnel ingress target (e.g., http://auth-service.dev.svc.cluster.local:80).

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Distribution

PyPI

The package is published to PyPI automatically via GitHub Actions on every new GitHub Release using OIDC trusted publishing — no API tokens required.

To release a new version:

1. Update version in pyproject.toml
2. Commit and push to master
3. Create a new GitHub Release with a version tag (e.g., v1.0.1)

The workflow at .github/workflows/publish.yml will build and upload to PyPI automatically.

Docker

# Build the container image
docker build -t your-dockerhub-username/mcp-k8s-deployer:latest .

# Push to Docker Hub
docker push your-dockerhub-username/mcp-k8s-deployer:latest

Docker Compose & Cloudflare Tunnel

1. Create a .env file with your Cloudflare token:

   CLOUDFLARE_TUNNEL_TOKEN=your_cloudflare_tunnel_token_here
   

2. Start the services:

   docker compose up -d
   

3. In your Cloudflare Zero Trust Dashboard, configure a Public Hostname:
   • Domain: mcp.yourdomain.com
   • Service Type: HTTP
   • URL: mcp-server:8000

Your MCP server will be accessible at https://mcp.yourdomain.com/sse.

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Links

• PyPI: https://pypi.org/project/mcp-k8s-deployer/
• GitHub: https://github.com/stwins60/mcp-k8s-deployer
• Issues: https://github.com/stwins60/mcp-k8s-deployer/issues

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License

MIT