ContainerLab MCP Server

A Python MCP server for managing containerized network labs via the ContainerLab API.

Built for NetClaw using FastMCP.

Tools

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | authenticate | Authenticate with the ContainerLab API server (optional — auto-auth handles this) | | listLabs | List all available labs | | deployLab | Deploy a new lab with a topology definition | | inspectLab | Get lab details, node status, management IPs | | execCommand | Execute a command on one or all lab nodes | | destroyLab | Destroy a lab and clean up resources |

Prerequisites

A running ContainerLab API server with a Linux user configured for authentication.

# On the ContainerLab host:
sudo groupadd -f clab_admins && sudo groupadd -f clab_api
sudo useradd -m -s /bin/bash netclaw 2>/dev/null || true
sudo usermod -aG clab_admins netclaw && sudo passwd netclaw

# If the API server runs in Docker, restart it to pick up the new user:
docker restart clab-api-server

Installation

pip install -r requirements.txt

Environment Variables

| Variable | Default | Description | |----------|---------|-------------| | CLAB_API_SERVER_URL | http://localhost:8080 | ContainerLab API server URL | | CLAB_API_USERNAME | admin | API username | | CLAB_API_PASSWORD | password | API password |

Usage

Standalone (stdio MCP server)

python3 -u clab_mcp_server.py

With NetClaw's mcp-call.py

python3 mcp-call.py "python3 -u clab_mcp_server.py" listLabs '{}'
python3 mcp-call.py "python3 -u clab_mcp_server.py" deployLab '{"topologyContent":{"name":"demo","topology":{"nodes":{"srl1":{"kind":"nokia_srlinux","image":"ghcr.io/nokia/srlinux:latest"}},"links":[]}}}'
python3 mcp-call.py "python3 -u clab_mcp_server.py" inspectLab '{"labName":"demo","details":true}'
python3 mcp-call.py "python3 -u clab_mcp_server.py" execCommand '{"labName":"demo","nodeName":"srl1","command":"show version"}'
python3 mcp-call.py "python3 -u clab_mcp_server.py" destroyLab '{"labName":"demo","cleanup":true,"graceful":true}'

Supported Node Kinds

ContainerLab supports a wide range of network operating systems. Common examples:

| Kind | Platform | Example Image | |------|----------|---------------| | cisco_iosxr | Cisco IOS XR | ios-xr/xrd-control-plane:latest | | cisco_iosxe | Cisco IOS XE (Cat8000v) | c8000v:latest | | cisco_nxos | Cisco NX-OS (Nexus 9000v) | n9kv:latest | | cisco_ftdv | Cisco Firepower FTDv | ftdv:latest | | cisco_csr1000v | Cisco CSR 1000v | csr1000v:latest | | nokia_srlinux | Nokia SR Linux | ghcr.io/nokia/srlinux:latest | | ceos | Arista cEOS | ceos:latest | | juniper_crpd | Juniper cRPD | crpd:latest | | juniper_vjunosswitch | Juniper vJunos Switch | vrnetlab/vr-vjunosswitch:latest | | juniper_vjunosrouter | Juniper vJunos Router | vrnetlab/vr-vjunosrouter:latest | | frr | FRRouting | frrouting/frr:latest | | linux | Generic Linux | alpine:latest | | paloalto_panos | Palo Alto PAN-OS | panos:latest | | fortinet_fortigate | Fortinet FortiGate | fortigate:latest |

For the full list, see the ContainerLab documentation.

License

MIT