Runbook

Runbook MCP Server lets you run your own runbooks from Claude Desktop, enabling automation of ops tasks (like deploying services or upgrading clusters) and handling manual test plans (such as provisioning a VM, connecting to it, and running tests). This server acts as a bridge to execute predefined runbooks against MCP-enabled endpoints from a centralized workflow.

How to use

You interact with the Runbook MCP Server through Claude Desktop by attaching an MCP integration and selecting the runbook you want to execute. Start by attaching the Runbook MCP integration, then pick the runbook you want to run and supply any required variables. The system will coordinate with the connected MCP servers to carry out the runbook steps across the configured endpoints.

How to install

Prerequisites: you should have Claude Desktop installed and ready to configure MCP servers. You also need to create a configuration file that tells Claude Desktop how to start the Runbook MCP Server.

1. Create the Claude Desktop configuration file named claude_desktop_config.json with the Runbook MCP Server configured to invoke the local runbook server using the uv runtime.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "runbook": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": [
        "--directory",
        "<ABSOLUTE_PATH>/runbook-mcp-server",
        "run",
        "runbook_server.py"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Additional configuration and usage notes

You can create runbooks as Markdown or plain text files. The system supports environment variable substitution, so you can define variables in an env.yaml file and reference them in your runbooks.

Example environment block in env.yaml:

env:
  key: value

Runbook creation and execution flow

To create a new runbook, you can use the dedicated create_runbook tool. For example, you can define a runbook named list_pods with content describing the steps to list pods and notify Slack about any not-ready pods.

To run a runbook from Claude Desktop, attach the Runbook MCP integration, select the get_runbook_as_prompt integration, provide the runbook name and any variables (as a comma-separated list like var1=key1,var2=key2), and submit the prompt. Claude Desktop will coordinate with the configured MCP servers to execute the runbook.

Available tools

create_runbook

Tool to create a new runbook by specifying its name and content. The runbook content is passed to the Runbook MCP Server for execution.

get_runbook_as_prompt

Tool to fetch a runbook by name and prepare it as a prompt for execution via Claude Desktop MCP integration.