MCP PVE

MCP server for Proxmox VE. Manage virtual machines, containers, storage, networking, and clusters through natural language in Cursor, Claude Code, and Claude Desktop.

Disclaimer: Most of this code has been AI-generated and has not been fully tested yet. I created this project for my own needs and plan to continue improving its quality, but it may be buggy in the early stages. If you find a bug, feel free to open an issue -- I'll try to work on it in my spare time.

Features

105 tools across 12 categories covering the Proxmox VE REST API
Three access tiers (read-only, read-execute, full) for granular control
Category filtering via PVE_CATEGORIES to expose only the tools you need
Zero HTTP dependencies -- uses native fetch (Node 18+)
Self-signed cert support via PVE_VERIFY_SSL=false
Docker images for linux/amd64 and linux/arm64 on GHCR
Remote MCP via HTTP transport (MCP_TRANSPORT=http) using the Streamable HTTP protocol
TypeScript/ESM with full type safety

Quick Start

Run the server directly with npx:

PVE_BASE_URL="https://pve.example.com:8006" \
PVE_TOKEN_ID="root@pam!mcp" \
PVE_TOKEN_SECRET="xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx" \
npx -y @samik081/mcp-pve

The server validates your PVE connection on startup and fails immediately with a clear error if credentials are missing or invalid.

Docker

Run with Docker (stdio transport, same as npx):

docker run --rm -i \
  -e PVE_BASE_URL=https://pve.example.com:8006 \
  -e PVE_TOKEN_ID=root@pam!mcp \
  -e PVE_TOKEN_SECRET=xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx \
  -e PVE_VERIFY_SSL=false \
  ghcr.io/samik081/mcp-pve

To run as a remote MCP server with HTTP transport:

docker run -d -p 3000:3000 \
  -e MCP_TRANSPORT=http \
  -e PVE_BASE_URL=https://pve.example.com:8006 \
  -e PVE_TOKEN_ID=root@pam!mcp \
  -e PVE_TOKEN_SECRET=xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx \
  -e PVE_VERIFY_SSL=false \
  ghcr.io/samik081/mcp-pve

The MCP endpoint is available at http://localhost:3000 and a health check at http://localhost:3000/health.

Configuration

Claude Code CLI (recommended):

# Using npx
claude mcp add --transport stdio pve \
  --env PVE_BASE_URL=https://pve.example.com:8006 \
  --env PVE_TOKEN_ID=root@pam!mcp \
  --env PVE_TOKEN_SECRET=xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx \
  --env PVE_VERIFY_SSL=false \
  -- npx -y @samik081/mcp-pve

# Using Docker
claude mcp add --transport stdio pve \
  --env PVE_BASE_URL=https://pve.example.com:8006 \
  --env PVE_TOKEN_ID=root@pam!mcp \
  --env PVE_TOKEN_SECRET=xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx \
  --env PVE_VERIFY_SSL=false \
  -- docker run --rm -i ghcr.io/samik081/mcp-pve

# Using remote HTTP (connect to a running Docker container or HTTP server)
claude mcp add --transport http pve http://localhost:3000

JSON config (works with Claude Code .mcp.json, Claude Desktop claude_desktop_config.json, Cursor .cursor/mcp.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pve": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@samik081/mcp-pve"],
      "env": {
        "PVE_BASE_URL": "https://pve.example.com:8006",
        "PVE_TOKEN_ID": "root@pam!mcp",
        "PVE_TOKEN_SECRET": "xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx",
        "PVE_VERIFY_SSL": "false"
      }
    }
  }
}

Docker (stdio):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pve": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": ["run", "--rm", "-i",
        "-e", "PVE_BASE_URL=https://pve.example.com:8006",
        "-e", "PVE_TOKEN_ID=root@pam!mcp",
        "-e", "PVE_TOKEN_SECRET=xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx",
        "-e", "PVE_VERIFY_SSL=false",
        "ghcr.io/samik081/mcp-pve"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Remote MCP (connect to a running Docker container or HTTP server):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pve": {
      "type": "streamable-http",
      "url": "http://localhost:3000"
    }
  }
}

Access Tiers

Control which tools are available using the PVE_ACCESS_TIER environment variable:

Tier	Tools	Description
`full` (default)	105	Read, execute, and write -- full control
`read-execute`	68	Read and execute -- no resource creation/deletion
`read-only`	51	Read only -- safe for exploration, no state changes

Tier details:

full: All 105 tools. Includes creating/deleting VMs, containers, storage, users, firewall rules, and more.
read-execute: 68 tools. All read tools plus power actions (start, stop, migrate), backup execution, and task management.
read-only: 51 tools. List, get, status, and log tools only. No state changes.

Tools that are not available in your tier are not registered with the MCP server. They will not appear in your AI tool's tool list, keeping the context clean.

Environment Variables

Variable	Required	Default	Description
`PVE_BASE_URL`	Yes	—	URL of your PVE instance (e.g. `https://pve:8006`)
`PVE_TOKEN_ID`	Yes	—	API token ID (`user@realm!tokenname`)
`PVE_TOKEN_SECRET`	Yes	—	API token UUID secret
`PVE_ACCESS_TIER`	No	`full`	`read-only`, `read-execute`, or `full`
`PVE_CATEGORIES`	No	all	Comma-separated category allowlist
`PVE_VERIFY_SSL`	No	`true`	Set `false` for self-signed certs
`DEBUG`	No	—	Set to any value to enable debug logging to stderr
`MCP_TRANSPORT`	No	`stdio`	Transport mode: `stdio` (default) or `http`
`MCP_PORT`	No	`3000`	HTTP server port (only used when `MCP_TRANSPORT=http`)
`MCP_HOST`	No	`0.0.0.0`	HTTP server bind address (only used when `MCP_TRANSPORT=http`)
`MCP_EXCLUDE_TOOL_TITLES`	No	`false`	Set `true` to omit tool titles from registration (saves tokens)

Create API tokens in the PVE UI under Datacenter > Permissions > API Tokens. Make sure to uncheck "Privilege Separation" if you want the token to inherit the user's full permissions.

Available Categories

nodes, qemu, lxc, storage, cluster, access, pools, network, firewall, backup, tasks, ha

Tools

mcp-pve provides 105 tools organized by category. Each tool's Access column shows the minimum tier required: read-only (available in all tiers), read-execute (requires read-execute or full), or full (requires full tier only).

Nodes (8 tools)

Tool	Description	Access
`pve_list_nodes`	List all nodes in the cluster	read-only
`pve_get_node_status`	Get detailed node status (CPU, memory, uptime, load)	read-only
`pve_get_node_version`	Get PVE version info for a node	read-only
`pve_get_node_dns`	Get DNS settings for a node	read-only
`pve_get_node_time`	Get time and timezone info for a node	read-only
`pve_get_node_syslog`	Get system log entries from a node	read-only
`pve_list_node_services`	List all system services on a node	read-only
`pve_manage_node_service`	Start, stop, restart, or reload a node service	read-execute

QEMU Virtual Machines (20 tools)

Tool	Description	Access
`pve_list_qemu_vms`	List all QEMU VMs on a node	read-only
`pve_get_qemu_status`	Get current VM status (CPU, memory, disk, network)	read-only
`pve_get_qemu_config`	Get VM configuration	read-only
`pve_get_qemu_rrddata`	Get RRD statistics over a time period	read-only
`pve_list_qemu_snapshots`	List all VM snapshots	read-only
`pve_start_qemu_vm`	Start a VM	read-execute
`pve_stop_qemu_vm`	Stop a VM (immediate)	read-execute
`pve_shutdown_qemu_vm`	Gracefully shut down a VM	read-execute
`pve_reboot_qemu_vm`	Reboot a VM	read-execute
`pve_suspend_qemu_vm`	Suspend a VM	read-execute
`pve_resume_qemu_vm`	Resume a suspended VM	read-execute
`pve_reset_qemu_vm`	Reset a VM (hard)	read-execute
`pve_migrate_qemu_vm`	Migrate a VM to another node	read-execute
`pve_create_qemu_vm`	Create a new VM	full
`pve_delete_qemu_vm`	Delete a VM and all its data	full
`pve_update_qemu_config`	Update VM configuration	full
`pve_clone_qemu_vm`	Clone a VM	full
`pve_create_qemu_snapshot`	Create a VM snapshot	full
`pve_delete_qemu_snapshot`	Delete a VM snapshot	full
`pve_rollback_qemu_snapshot`	Rollback a VM to a snapshot	full

LXC Containers (18 tools)

Tool	Description	Access
`pve_list_lxc_containers`	List all LXC containers on a node	read-only
`pve_get_lxc_status`	Get current container status	read-only
`pve_get_lxc_config`	Get container configuration	read-only
`pve_get_lxc_rrddata`	Get RRD statistics over a time period	read-only
`pve_list_lxc_snapshots`	List all container snapshots	read-only
`pve_start_lxc_container`	Start a container	read-execute
`pve_stop_lxc_container`	Stop a container (immediate)	read-execute
`pve_shutdown_lxc_container`	Gracefully shut down a container	read-execute
`pve_reboot_lxc_container`	Reboot a container	read-execute
`pve_suspend_lxc_container`	Suspend (freeze) a container	read-execute
`pve_resume_lxc_container`	Resume (unfreeze) a container	read-execute
`pve_create_lxc_container`	Create a new container	full
`pve_delete_lxc_container`	Delete a container and all its data	full
`pve_update_lxc_config`	Update container configuration	full
`pve_clone_lxc_container`	Clone a container	full
`pve_create_lxc_snapshot`	Create a container snapshot	full
`pve_delete_lxc_snapshot`	Delete a container snapshot	full
`pve_rollback_lxc_snapshot`	Rollback a container to a snapshot	full

Storage (8 tools)

Tool	Description	Access
`pve_list_storage`	List all configured storage backends	read-only
`pve_get_storage_config`	Get storage backend configuration	read-only
`pve_list_node_storage`	List available storage on a node with usage info	read-only
`pve_get_storage_status`	Get storage status and usage on a node	read-only
`pve_list_storage_content`	List storage content (images, ISOs, backups)	read-only
`pve_create_storage`	Create a new storage backend	full
`pve_update_storage`	Update storage configuration	full
`pve_delete_storage`	Delete a storage backend	full

Cluster (9 tools)

Tool	Description	Access
`pve_get_cluster_status`	Get cluster status (membership, quorum)	read-only
`pve_list_cluster_resources`	List all cluster resources with optional type filter	read-only
`pve_get_next_vmid`	Get the next available VMID	read-only
`pve_get_cluster_log`	Get recent cluster log entries	read-only
`pve_get_cluster_options`	Get datacenter options	read-only
`pve_list_cluster_backup_info`	List guests not covered by backup jobs	read-only
`pve_get_cluster_ha_status`	Get HA manager status	read-only
`pve_list_cluster_replication`	List all replication jobs	read-only
`pve_update_cluster_options`	Update datacenter options	full

Access Control (10 tools)

Tool	Description	Access
`pve_list_users`	List all users	read-only
`pve_get_user`	Get user details	read-only
`pve_list_roles`	List all roles and privileges	read-only
`pve_list_groups`	List all user groups	read-only
`pve_list_acls`	List all ACL entries	read-only
`pve_list_domains`	List authentication domains/realms	read-only
`pve_create_user`	Create a new user	full
`pve_update_user`	Update user properties	full
`pve_delete_user`	Delete a user	full
`pve_update_acl`	Grant or revoke ACL permissions	full

Pools (5 tools)

Tool	Description	Access
`pve_list_pools`	List all resource pools	read-only
`pve_get_pool`	Get pool details and members	read-only
`pve_create_pool`	Create a resource pool	full
`pve_update_pool`	Update pool members and settings	full
`pve_delete_pool`	Delete a resource pool	full

Network (5 tools)

Tool	Description	Access
`pve_list_networks`	List all network interfaces on a node	read-only
`pve_get_network`	Get network interface configuration	read-only
`pve_create_network`	Create a network interface	full
`pve_update_network`	Update network interface configuration	full
`pve_delete_network`	Delete a network interface	full

Firewall (8 tools)

Tool	Description	Access
`pve_get_firewall_options`	Get cluster firewall options	read-only
`pve_list_firewall_rules`	List cluster firewall rules	read-only
`pve_list_firewall_aliases`	List firewall aliases	read-only
`pve_list_firewall_ipsets`	List firewall IP sets	read-only
`pve_update_firewall_options`	Update cluster firewall options	full
`pve_create_firewall_rule`	Create a firewall rule	full
`pve_update_firewall_rule`	Update a firewall rule	full
`pve_delete_firewall_rule`	Delete a firewall rule	full

Backup (5 tools)

Tool	Description	Access
`pve_list_backup_jobs`	List all scheduled backup jobs	read-only
`pve_get_backup_job`	Get backup job configuration	read-only
`pve_run_backup`	Run an immediate backup (vzdump)	read-execute
`pve_create_backup_job`	Create a scheduled backup job	full
`pve_delete_backup_job`	Delete a scheduled backup job	full

Tasks (4 tools)

Tool	Description	Access
`pve_list_tasks`	List recent tasks on a node	read-only
`pve_get_task_status`	Get task status by UPID	read-only
`pve_get_task_log`	Get task log output by UPID	read-only
`pve_stop_task`	Stop a running task	read-execute

High Availability (5 tools)

Tool	Description	Access
`pve_list_ha_resources`	List all HA-managed resources	read-only
`pve_get_ha_resource`	Get HA configuration for a resource	read-only
`pve_create_ha_resource`	Add a VM/container to HA management	full
`pve_update_ha_resource`	Update HA resource configuration	full
`pve_delete_ha_resource`	Remove a resource from HA management	full

Verify It Works

After configuring your MCP client, ask your AI assistant:

"What nodes are in my Proxmox cluster?"

If the connection is working, the assistant will call pve_list_nodes and return your nodes with their current status.

Usage Examples

Once configured, ask your AI tool questions in natural language:

"List all VMs on node pve1" -- calls pve_list_qemu_vms to show VMs with their status, CPU, and memory usage.
"What's the status of VM 100?" -- calls pve_get_qemu_status to show real-time resource utilization.
"Start container 200 on pve1" -- calls pve_start_lxc_container to start the container and returns the task UPID.
"Create a snapshot of VM 100 called pre-upgrade" -- calls pve_create_qemu_snapshot to create a snapshot before changes.
"Show me the cluster resources" -- calls pve_list_cluster_resources to show all VMs, containers, storage, and nodes.
"Migrate VM 100 to node pve2" -- calls pve_migrate_qemu_vm to live-migrate the VM to another node.

Troubleshooting

Connection refused / ECONNREFUSED Check that PVE_BASE_URL is correct and includes the port (default: 8006). Ensure the PVE host is reachable from where the MCP server is running.

SSL certificate errors If your PVE instance uses a self-signed certificate, set PVE_VERIFY_SSL=false. This disables TLS verification for all requests.

Invalid credentials / 401 Unauthorized Verify your API token ID and secret are correct. The token ID format is user@realm!tokenname (e.g. root@pam!mcp). Check that "Privilege Separation" is unchecked if you need full user permissions.

Tools not showing up in your AI tool Check your access tier setting. In read-only mode, only 51 tools are registered. In read-execute mode, 68 tools are registered. Use full (or omit PVE_ACCESS_TIER) for all 105 tools. Check PVE_CATEGORIES -- only tools in listed categories are registered. Also verify the server started without errors by checking stderr output.

Node.js version errors mcp-pve requires Node.js >= 18.0.0. Check your version with node --version.

Parse errors or "invalid JSON" in MCP client This typically means something is writing to stdout besides the MCP server. Ensure no other tools, shell profiles, or startup scripts print to stdout when launching the server. The MCP protocol uses stdout for JSON-RPC communication. All mcp-pve logging goes to stderr.

Development

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build the project
npm run build

# Run in development mode (auto-reload)
npm run dev

# Open the MCP Inspector for interactive testing
npm run inspect

License

MIT

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 16 Commits
.github/workflows		.github/workflows
src		src
.dockerignore		.dockerignore
.env.example		.env.example
.gitignore		.gitignore
Dockerfile		Dockerfile
LICENSE		LICENSE
README.md		README.md
package-lock.json		package-lock.json
package.json		package.json
tsconfig.json		tsconfig.json
vitest.config.ts		vitest.config.ts

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MCP PVE

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