Manage Proxmox VE clusters, virtual machines, and containers via natural language
MCP PVE
MCP server for Proxmox VE. Manage virtual machines, containers, storage, networking, and clusters through natural language in Cursor, Claude Code, and Claude Desktop.
Features
- 105 tools across 12 categories covering the Proxmox VE REST API
- Three access tiers (
read-only,read-execute,full) for granular control - Category filtering via
PVE_CATEGORIESto expose only the tools you need - Zero HTTP dependencies -- uses native
fetch(Node 18+) - Self-signed cert support via
PVE_VERIFY_SSL=false - Docker images for
linux/amd64andlinux/arm64on GHCR - Remote MCP via HTTP transport (
MCP_TRANSPORT=http) using the Streamable HTTP protocol - TypeScript/ESM with full type safety
Quick Start
Run the server directly with npx:
PVE_BASE_URL="https://pve.example.com:8006" \
PVE_TOKEN_ID="root@pam!mcp" \
PVE_TOKEN_SECRET="xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx" \
npx -y @samik081/mcp-pve
The server validates your PVE connection on startup and fails immediately with a clear error if credentials are missing or invalid.
Docker
Run with Docker (stdio transport, same as npx):
docker run --rm -i \
-e PVE_BASE_URL=https://pve.example.com:8006 \
-e PVE_TOKEN_ID=root@pam!mcp \
-e PVE_TOKEN_SECRET=xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx \
-e PVE_VERIFY_SSL=false \
ghcr.io/samik081/mcp-pve
To run as a remote MCP server with HTTP transport:
docker run -d -p 3000:3000 \
-e MCP_TRANSPORT=http \
-e PVE_BASE_URL=https://pve.example.com:8006 \
-e PVE_TOKEN_ID=root@pam!mcp \
-e PVE_TOKEN_SECRET=xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx \
-e PVE_VERIFY_SSL=false \
ghcr.io/samik081/mcp-pve
The MCP endpoint is available at http://localhost:3000 and a health check at http://localhost:3000/health.
Configuration
Claude Code CLI (recommended):
# Using npx
claude mcp add --transport stdio pve \
--env PVE_BASE_URL=https://pve.example.com:8006 \
--env PVE_TOKEN_ID=root@pam!mcp \
--env PVE_TOKEN_SECRET=xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx \
--env PVE_VERIFY_SSL=false \
-- npx -y @samik081/mcp-pve
# Using Docker
claude mcp add --transport stdio pve \
--env PVE_BASE_URL=https://pve.example.com:8006 \
--env PVE_TOKEN_ID=root@pam!mcp \
--env PVE_TOKEN_SECRET=xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx \
--env PVE_VERIFY_SSL=false \
-- docker run --rm -i ghcr.io/samik081/mcp-pve
# Using remote HTTP (connect to a running Docker container or HTTP server)
claude mcp add --transport http pve http://localhost:3000
JSON config (works with Claude Code .mcp.json, Claude Desktop claude_desktop_config.json, Cursor .cursor/mcp.json):
{
"mcpServers": {
"pve": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@samik081/mcp-pve"],
"env": {
"PVE_BASE_URL": "https://pve.example.com:8006",
"PVE_TOKEN_ID": "root@pam!mcp",
"PVE_TOKEN_SECRET": "xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx",
"PVE_VERIFY_SSL": "false"
}
}
}
}
Docker (stdio):
{
"mcpServers": {
"pve": {
"command": "docker",
"args": ["run", "--rm", "-i",
"-e", "PVE_BASE_URL=https://pve.example.com:8006",
"-e", "PVE_TOKEN_ID=root@pam!mcp",
"-e", "PVE_TOKEN_SECRET=xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx",
"-e", "PVE_VERIFY_SSL=false",
"ghcr.io/samik081/mcp-pve"
]
}
}
}
Remote MCP (connect to a running Docker container or HTTP server):
{
"mcpServers": {
"pve": {
"type": "streamable-http",
"url": "http://localhost:3000"
}
}
}
Access Tiers
Control which tools are available using the PVE_ACCESS_TIER environment variable:
| Tier | Tools | Description |
|---|---|---|
full (default) |
105 | Read, execute, and write -- full control |
read-execute |
68 | Read and execute -- no resource creation/deletion |
read-only |
51 | Read only -- safe for exploration, no state changes |
Tier details:
- full: All 105 tools. Includes creating/deleting VMs, containers, storage, users, firewall rules, and more.
- read-execute: 68 tools. All read tools plus power actions (start, stop, migrate), backup execution, and task management.
- read-only: 51 tools. List, get, status, and log tools only. No state changes.
Tools that are not available in your tier are not registered with the MCP
Tools (1)
pve_toolsProvides 105 tools across 12 categories covering the Proxmox VE REST API for managing VMs, containers, storage, and clusters.Environment Variables
PVE_BASE_URLrequiredThe base URL of the Proxmox VE APIPVE_TOKEN_IDrequiredThe Proxmox API Token IDPVE_TOKEN_SECRETrequiredThe Proxmox API Token SecretPVE_VERIFY_SSLSet to false to allow self-signed certificatesPVE_ACCESS_TIERControls tool availability (full, read-execute, read-only)Configuration
{"mcpServers": {"pve": {"command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@samik081/mcp-pve"], "env": {"PVE_BASE_URL": "https://pve.example.com:8006", "PVE_TOKEN_ID": "root@pam!mcp", "PVE_TOKEN_SECRET": "xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx", "PVE_VERIFY_SSL": "false"}}}}