What is Mcp Ansible

mcp-ansible is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server designed for Ansible automation, enabling AI assistants to interact with Ansible to execute playbooks, manage inventory, and perform various Ansible operations directly.

Use cases

Use cases for mcp-ansible include automating server configurations, deploying applications across multiple environments, validating playbook syntax before execution, and providing a streamlined interface for AI assistants to manage Ansible tasks.

How to use

To use mcp-ansible, clone the repository, install dependencies using npm or yarn, build the server, and configure the MCP settings in your application. After setup, you can run Ansible playbooks and manage inventory through the AI assistant.

Key features

Key features of mcp-ansible include running Ansible playbooks with customizable parameters, listing inventory from Ansible files, checking playbook syntax without execution, previewing tasks to be executed, and accessing the default Ansible inventory via a resource API.

Where to use

mcp-ansible can be used in IT automation, DevOps processes, and environments where Ansible is employed for configuration management, application deployment, and orchestration.

MCP SysOperator

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for Infrastructure as Code operations. This server allows AI assistants to interact with Ansible and Terraform, execute playbooks and Terraform plans, manage cloud resources, and perform other infrastructure operations directly.
(Project previously known as mcp-ansible)

Demo Projects

All code in demos generated using Claude 3.7 Sonnet (via OpenRouter), Cline, and SysOperator

• AWS LAMP Stack - All Ansible code to deploy example LAMP stack in AWS
• AWS Terraform LAMP - Terraform and Ansible code to reply a LAMP stack

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
• AWS Integration: Manage AWS resources (EC2, S3, VPC, CloudFormation, etc.)
• Terraform Support: Execute Terraform commands (init, plan, apply, destroy, output, etc.)
• tflocal Integration: Test Terraform configurations with LocalStack for local cloud development
• LocalStack Support: Test AWS operations locally using LocalStack without real AWS credentials

Requirements

• Node.js 18 or higher
• npm or yarn
• Ansible installed and in PATH
• @modelcontextprotocol/sdk (installed automatically)
• For AWS operations: AWS CLI and valid credentials
• For LocalStack: LocalStack installed and running, awslocal CLI

Installation

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/tarnover/mcp-sysoperator.git
cd mcp-sysoperator

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

Make sure to replace /absolute/path/to/mcp-sysoperator 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>sysoperator</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>sysoperator</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>sysoperator</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>sysoperator</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>sysoperator</server_name>
<uri>sysoperator://inventory/default</uri>
</access_mcp_resource>

6. AWS S3 Operations

<use_mcp_tool>
<server_name>sysoperator</server_name>
<tool_name>aws_s3</tool_name>
<arguments>
{
  "action": "list_buckets",
  "region": "us-east-1"
}
</arguments>
</use_mcp_tool>

7. Terraform Init and Plan

<use_mcp_tool>
<server_name>sysoperator</server_name>
<tool_name>terraform</tool_name>
<arguments>
{
  "action": "init",
  "workingDir": "/path/to/terraform/project"
}
</arguments>
</use_mcp_tool>

<use_mcp_tool>
<server_name>sysoperator</server_name>
<tool_name>terraform</tool_name>
<arguments>
{
  "action": "plan",
  "workingDir": "/path/to/terraform/project",
  "vars": {
    "instance_type": "t2.micro",
    "region": "us-west-2"
  }
}
</arguments>
</use_mcp_tool>

8. Terraform Apply

<use_mcp_tool>
<server_name>sysoperator</server_name>
<tool_name>terraform</tool_name>
<arguments>
{
  "action": "apply",
  "workingDir": "/path/to/terraform/project",
  "autoApprove": true,
  "vars": {
    "instance_type": "t2.micro",
    "region": "us-west-2"
  }
}
</arguments>
</use_mcp_tool>

9. Terraform with LocalStack (tflocal)

<use_mcp_tool>
<server_name>sysoperator</server_name>
<tool_name>terraform</tool_name>
<arguments>
{
  "action": "apply",
  "workingDir": "/path/to/terraform/project",
  "useLocalstack": true,
  "autoApprove": true,
  "vars": {
    "instance_type": "t2.micro",
    "region": "us-west-2"
  }
}
</arguments>
</use_mcp_tool>

LocalStack Integration

This project includes integration with LocalStack for testing AWS operations locally without real AWS credentials. The LocalStack integration allows you to:

1. Test Ansible playbooks that use AWS services locally
2. Develop and test AWS operations without incurring AWS costs
3. Run tests without requiring real AWS credentials
4. Validate your infrastructure code before deploying to real AWS

Using LocalStack

See the LocalStack README for detailed instructions on using the LocalStack integration.

Quick start:

# Install LocalStack and awslocal CLI
pip install localstack awscli-local

# Start LocalStack
localstack start

# Run the sample playbook
node localstack/run_sample_playbook.mjs

Development

Project Structure

mcp-sysoperator/
├── src/
│   ├── index.ts                  # Main entry point
│   └── ansible-mcp-server/       # Will be renamed in filesystem in future updates
│       ├── index.ts              # MCP SysOperator server implementation
│       ├── common/               # Common utilities and types
│       │   ├── errors.ts         # Error definitions
│       │   ├── types.ts          # Type and schema definitions
│       │   ├── utils.ts          # Utility functions
│       │   └── version.ts        # Version information
│       └── operations/           # Operation handlers
│           ├── ad_hoc.ts         # Ansible ad-hoc commands
│           ├── aws.ts            # AWS operations
│           ├── inventory.ts      # Ansible inventory operations
│           ├── playbooks.ts      # Ansible playbook operations
│           ├── terraform.ts      # Terraform operations
│           └── vault.ts          # Ansible vault operations
├── localstack/                   # LocalStack integration
│   ├── README.md                 # LocalStack documentation
│   ├── sample_playbook.yml       # Sample playbook for LocalStack
│   ├── inventory.ini             # Sample inventory for LocalStack
│   ├── run_sample_playbook.mjs   # Script to run sample playbook
│   └── utils.localstack.ts       # Modified utils for LocalStack
├── package.json                  # Project configuration and dependencies
├── tsconfig.json                 # TypeScript configuration
└── README.md                     # Documentation

Adding New Features

To add new capabilities to the MCP server:

1. Modify src/ansible-mcp-server/index.ts (future: src/sysoperator/index.ts)
2. Add your new tool in the setupToolHandlers method
3. Implement a handler function for your tool in the appropriate operations file
4. Add the schema definition in common/types.ts
5. Rebuild with npm run build

⚠️ Disclaimer

SysOperator is currently in active development and undergoing extensive testing. It is not recommended for use in production environments at this time. The software may experience breaking changes, incomplete features, or unexpected behavior.

Use at your own risk.

License

MIT License - See LICENSE for details