ellmos ControlCenter MCP

Part of the ellmos-ai family.

An alpha-stage Model Context Protocol (MCP) control plane for local MCP stacks. ControlCenter discovers local MCP servers, reads Claude profile files, groups servers into capability bundles, recommends profiles for a task, builds catalogs, and provides an optional local dashboard.

The first alpha release focuses on discovery, profile visibility, dashboard workflows, capability bundles, and initial policy audits. Gateway mode, enforced tool-level permissions, authentication, and hard security boundaries are planned, but are not implemented yet.

Alpha note: This version is useful for local administration and preview testing. It is not a hardened MCP gateway and should not be used as a security layer for untrusted tools or other users.

Status

Phase: Alpha
Version: 0.1.0-alpha.2
Repository: ellmos-ai/ellmos-controlcenter-mcp
npm: ellmos-controlcenter-mcp
CI checks: npm run test and npm run build
Goal: Make local MCP stacks visible, inspectable, and easier to control
Focus: Catalogs, profile overview, profile recommendation, bundle recommendation, and early audits

Tools

| Tool | Purpose | |---|---| | controlcenter_status | Show stack, profile, and detected-server status | | controlcenter_list_local_servers | Scan local MCP repositories below the MCP root | | controlcenter_list_bundles | Group local servers by capability bundle | | controlcenter_suggest_bundles | Recommend bundles for a task | | controlcenter_list_profiles | List Claude profiles from the profile root | | controlcenter_suggest_profile | Recommend a profile for a task | | controlcenter_resolve_profile | Resolve a profile including extends chains | | controlcenter_switch_profile | Prepare a generated --mcp-config file | | controlcenter_audit_profile | Run initial policy checks against a profile | | controlcenter_build_catalog | Build a JSON catalog of local MCP servers |

Dashboard

After building the project, start the local dashboard with:

npm run dashboard

Default address:

http://127.0.0.1:3737

The dashboard can currently show local servers and profiles, enable or disable servers per profile, summarize profile audits, and write a generated --mcp-config file. Write actions ask for confirmation and create a backup before overwriting an existing file.

Installation

Option 1: Install from npm

npm install -g ellmos-controlcenter-mcp

Start the MCP server:

ellmos-controlcenter

Start the dashboard:

ellmos-controlcenter-dashboard

Option 2: Install from source

git clone https://github.com/ellmos-ai/ellmos-controlcenter-mcp.git
cd ellmos-controlcenter-mcp
npm install
npm run build

Run the server from source:

node dist/index.js

Run the dashboard from source:

node dist/dashboard.js

Configuration

Claude Desktop / Claude Code

If installed globally from npm:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "controlcenter": {
      "command": "ellmos-controlcenter"
    }
  }
}

If installed from source:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "controlcenter": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": [
        "/absolute/path/to/ellmos-controlcenter-mcp/dist/index.js"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Optional environment variables:

ELLMOS_MCP_ROOT overrides the default MCP repository root
ELLMOS_PROFILE_ROOT overrides the Claude profile directory

Profile Switching

controlcenter_switch_profile does not change a running Claude session. It creates a resolved MCP configuration and returns a launch command:

claude --mcp-config ~/.claude/profiles/_generated/software.mcp.json

With write: false, the switch runs as a preview. With write: true, ControlCenter writes the generated file.

Capability Bundles

ControlCenter currently groups local servers into these bundles:

core-local
software
filesystem
automation
control-plane

This is the basis for future tool-bloat management: instead of exposing many individual tools immediately, an agent can first choose the capability bundle that fits the task.

Profile Audit

controlcenter_audit_profile is the first small policy layer. It currently flags:

npx starts
environment variables in server configurations
missing or invalid server commands
sensitive name fragments in arguments

Environment values are never printed.

Project Structure

ellmos-controlcenter-mcp/
├── src/
├── test/
├── data/
├── README.md
├── README_de.md
├── START.md
├── ARCHITECTURE.md
├── STATE.md
├── DECISIONS.md
└── TODO.md

Documentation

| For... | Read... | |---|---| | Quick start | START.md | | Current state | STATE.md | | Architecture | ARCHITECTURE.md | | Roadmap | ROADMAP.md | | Decisions | DECISIONS.md | | Open tasks | TODO.md | | Changes | CHANGELOG.md |

ellmos-ai Ecosystem

This MCP server is part of the ellmos-ai ecosystem: AI infrastructure, MCP servers, and intelligent tools.

MCP Server Family

| Server | Tools | Focus | npm | |--------|-------|-------|-----| | FileCommander | 43 | Filesystem, process management, interactive sessions | ellmos-filecommander-mcp | | CodeCommander | 17 | Code analysis, AST parsing, import management | ellmos-codecommander-mcp | | Clatcher | 12 | File repair, format conversion, batch operations | ellmos-clatcher-mcp | | n8n Manager | 18 | n8n workflow management via AI assistants | n8n-manager-mcp | | ControlCenter | 10 | MCP stack discovery, profile management, control plane | ellmos-controlcenter-mcp |

AI Infrastructure

| Project | Description | |---------|-------------| | BACH | Text-based OS for LLMs: handlers, tools, and skills | | clutch | Provider-neutral LLM orchestration with auto-routing and budget tracking | | rinnsal | Lightweight agent memory, connectors, and automation infrastructure | | ellmos-stack | Self-hosted AI research stack |

License

MIT - Lukas Geiger (ellmos-ai)

MCP Servers