kubectl-mcp-server CLI

Command-line interface for kubectl-mcp-server operations.

When to Apply

Use this skill when:

• User mentions: "CLI", "command line", "tool discovery", "server health"
• Operations: listing tools, calling tools directly, checking dependencies
• Keywords: "doctor", "tools list", "call", "grep", "info"

Priority Rules

Priority	Rule	Impact	Tools
1	Run doctor to check dependencies	CRITICAL	kubectl-mcp-server doctor
2	Use tools -d for descriptions	HIGH	kubectl-mcp-server tools -d
3	Use grep for tool discovery	MEDIUM	kubectl-mcp-server grep
4	Use call for direct invocation	MEDIUM	kubectl-mcp-server call

Quick Reference

Task	Command	Example
List tools	tools -d	kubectl-mcp-server tools -d
Search tools	grep	kubectl-mcp-server grep "*pod*"
Call tool	call	kubectl-mcp-server call kubectl_get '{"namespace": "default"}'
Check health	doctor	kubectl-mcp-server doctor

Server Commands

Start Server

# stdio transport (for Claude Desktop)
kubectl-mcp-server serve

# HTTP transport (for remote clients)
kubectl-mcp-server serve --transport streamable-http --port 8000

# With debug logging
MCP_DEBUG=true kubectl-mcp-server serve

Check Health

# Verify dependencies
kubectl-mcp-server doctor

# Shows:
# ✓ kubectl: found
# ✓ helm: found
# ✓ kubeconfig: valid
# ✓ cluster: connected

Tool Discovery

List Tools

# List all tools
kubectl-mcp-server tools

# List with descriptions
kubectl-mcp-server tools -d

# JSON output
kubectl-mcp-server tools --json

Search Tools

# Search by pattern
kubectl-mcp-server grep "*pod*"
kubectl-mcp-server grep "*helm*"
kubectl-mcp-server grep "*velero*"

# Results show matching tool names

Tool Schema

# Show tool parameters
kubectl-mcp-server tools kubectl_get
kubectl-mcp-server tools install_helm_chart

# Shows:
# - Description
# - Parameters (name, type, required)
# - Return type

Direct Tool Invocation

Call Tools

# Call with JSON arguments
kubectl-mcp-server call kubectl_get '{"namespace": "default"}'

# Call with stdin
echo '{"namespace": "kube-system"}' | kubectl-mcp-server call kubectl_get

# Call with no arguments
kubectl-mcp-server call kubectl_get '{}'

Examples

# Get pods
kubectl-mcp-server call kubectl_get '{"namespace": "default"}'

# Describe pod
kubectl-mcp-server call kubectl_describe '{"name": "nginx-xxx", "namespace": "default"}'

# Get logs
kubectl-mcp-server call kubectl_logs '{"name": "nginx-xxx", "namespace": "default"}'

# Scale deployment
kubectl-mcp-server call kubectl_scale '{"name": "nginx", "namespace": "default", "replicas": 3}'

# Install helm chart
kubectl-mcp-server call install_helm_chart '{
  "name": "my-release",
  "chart": "bitnami/nginx",
  "namespace": "default"
}'

Context Management

# Show current context
kubectl-mcp-server context

# Switch context
kubectl-mcp-server context production

# List available contexts
kubectl-mcp-server call list_contexts '{}'

Server Info

# Show server information
kubectl-mcp-server info

# Shows:
# - Version
# - Tool count
# - Resource count
# - Prompt count

MCP Resources

# List available resources
kubectl-mcp-server resources

# Resources:
# - cluster://status
# - namespaces://list
# - pods://{namespace}
# - deployments://{namespace}
# - services://{namespace}
# - events://{namespace}
# - nodes://list
# - contexts://list

MCP Prompts

# List available prompts
kubectl-mcp-server prompts

# Prompts:
# - troubleshoot-pod
# - deploy-application
# - security-audit
# - cost-optimization
# - incident-response
# - helm-workflow
# - gitops-sync
# - multi-cluster-compare

Environment Variables

# Core
export MCP_DEBUG=true           # Enable debug logging
export MCP_LOG_FILE=/var/log/mcp.log  # Log to file
export NO_COLOR=1               # Disable colors

# Safety
export MCP_SAFETY_MODE=read-only   # read-only | disable-destructive | confirm | normal
export MCP_MASK_SECRETS=true       # Redact Secret values in tool output (default)

Claude Desktop Configuration

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "kubectl": {
      "command": "kubectl-mcp-server",
      "args": ["serve"]
    }
  }
}

Shell Aliases

# Add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc
alias kmcp='kubectl-mcp-server'
alias kmcp-tools='kubectl-mcp-server tools -d'
alias kmcp-call='kubectl-mcp-server call'
alias kmcp-grep='kubectl-mcp-server grep'

Related Skills

• k8s-core - Core resource tools
• k8s-diagnostics - Diagnostic tools