Linux

You have a read‑only MCP server designed for Linux system diagnostics and remote troubleshooting. It lets you inspect a host or multiple remote hosts via SSH, gather system information, services, processes, logs, network data, and storage details, all without modifying the targets. This setup focuses on safe, read‑only diagnostics while providing flexible multi‑host support and structured audit logging.

How to use

Connect to the MCP server from an MCP client in your environment. You can run diagnostic tools against the local machine or target remote hosts using SSH. In a single session you can manage multiple hosts, and each tool call returns structured results for quick analysis.

Typical usage patterns include: running system information checks, listing and inspecting services, enumerating processes, querying logs, inspecting network status, and analyzing storage. You can scope each operation to a specific host by providing a host and username, or run purely local checks.

How to install

Prerequisites: you need Python 3.10 or higher and the uv package manager.

Install and run in development or testing environments using one of the supported runtimes.

uv run linux-mcp-server

uvx --from /path/to/linux-mcp-server linux-mcp-server

python -m linux_mcp_server

Configuration

Control access to log files via a whitelist of allowed paths to ensure safe reads. You can set environment variables to tailor log access, log level, and where logs are stored.

Key environment variables include: allowed log paths, log level, log directory, log retention, and SSH key path for remote connections.

# Comma-separated list of allowed log file paths
export LINUX_MCP_ALLOWED_LOG_PATHS="/var/log/messages,/var/log/secure,/var/log/audit/audit.log"

# Optional: Set log level (DEBUG, INFO, WARNING, ERROR, CRITICAL)
export LINUX_MCP_LOG_LEVEL="INFO"

# Optional: Custom log directory (default: ~/.local/share/linux-mcp-server/logs/)
export LINUX_MCP_LOG_DIR="/var/log/linux-mcp-server"

# Optional: Log retention in days (default: 10)
export LINUX_MCP_LOG_RETENTION_DAYS="30"

# Optional: Specify SSH private key path (defaults to ~/.ssh/id_ed25519, ~/.ssh/id_rsa, etc.)
export LINUX_MCP_SSH_KEY_PATH="/path/to/your/private/key"

Security considerations

All operations are read‑only to minimize impact on targets. Log access is whitelisted, and SSH uses key‑based authentication only. Host key verification can be disabled for flexibility, but use caution in untrusted networks.

Input validation is performed for all parameters, and remote users must have appropriate permissions for diagnostic commands.

Available tools

get_system_info

Retrieve OS version, kernel, hostname, and uptime.

get_cpu_info

Fetch CPU details and load averages.

get_memory_info

Report RAM usage and swap details.

get_disk_usage

Show filesystem usage and mount points.

get_hardware_info

Provide hardware details such as architecture and devices.

list_services

List all systemd services with their status.

get_service_status

Return detailed information for a specific service.

get_service_logs

Fetch recent logs for a specific service.

list_processes

List running processes with CPU/memory usage.

get_process_info

Show detailed information about a specific process.

get_journal_logs

Query systemd journal with filters.

get_audit_logs

Read audit logs if available.

read_log_file

Read a specific log file with whitelist enforcement.

get_network_interfaces

Display network interface information.

get_network_connections

Show active network connections.

get_listening_ports

List ports that are listening on the system.

list_block_devices

Enumerate block devices and partitions.

list_directories_by_size

List directories sorted by size with a top-N option.

list_directories_by_name

List directories sorted alphabetically.

list_directories_by_modified_date

List directories by modification date.