Cisco NX-OS CLI MCP Server

Cisco NX-OS CLI MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that lets you interact with Cisco NX-OS devices. You can send arbitrary CLI commands to one or more switches via their NX-API interface. This server exposes MCP tools for executing commands on one or more devices with comprehensive error handling. The output format can also be selected (text or JSON).

Features

• Single Device Commands: Execute CLI commands on individual NX-OS switches
• Multi-Device Commands: Execute the same commands across multiple switches concurrently
• Text-Based I/O: Commands are sent as text (cli_show_ascii), responses default to text format
• JSON Option: Optional JSON response format for structured parsing
• Simple Authentication: Credentials collected from .env file or on a per-request override
• Error Handling: Clear, actionable error messages
• Batch Operations: Execute up to 100 commands per request
• Concurrent Execution: Parallel command execution on multiple devices (up to 50)

Requirements

• Python 3.10 or higher
• Cisco NX-OS devices with NX-API enabled (feature nxapi)
• Network connectivity between the MCP host (Claude Desktop, etc.) to target devices via HTTPS

Installation

Prerequisites

• Python 3.10 or higher
• uv - Fast Python package installer (recommended)
• Cisco NX-OS devices with NX-API enabled (feature nxapi)
• Network connectivity to target devices via HTTPS

Setup

1. Install uv (if not already installed):

# macOS/Linux
curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

# Windows
powershell -c "irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | iex"

2. Install dependencies using uv:

# With uv and pyproject.toml (recommended)
uv sync

3. Set up authentication credentials:

Create a .env file from the template:

cp .env.example .env

Edit .env and add your credentials:

NXOS_USERNAME=admin
NXOS_PASSWORD=your_secure_password

Important: Never commit your production .env file to version control. .gitignore is configured to prevent this but be cautious!

Registering with MCP Hosts

Claude Desktop

macOS:

Edit the Claude Desktop configuration file:

code ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Add the NX-OS CLI MCP server to the mcpServers section:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "nxos-cli": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": [
        "--directory",
        "/absolute/path/to/nxos-cli-mcp",
        "run",
        "nxos_cli_mcp.py"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Windows:

Edit the Claude Desktop configuration file:

notepad %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

Add the NX-OS CLI MCP server to the mcpServers section:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "nxos-cli": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": [
        "--directory",
        "C:\\absolute\\path\\to\\nxos-cli-mcp",
        "run",
        "nxos_cli_mcp.py"
      ]
    }
  }
}

After saving, restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect.

Visual Studio Code

macOS:

Edit the VS Code MCP settings file:

code ~/Library/Application\ Support/Code/User/globalStorage/rooveterinaryinc.roo-cline/settings/cline_mcp_settings.json

Add the server configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "nxos-cli": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": [
        "--directory",
        "/absolute/path/to/nxos-cli-mcp",
        "run",
        "nxos_cli_mcp.py"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Windows:

Edit the VS Code MCP settings file:

notepad %APPDATA%\Code\User\globalStorage\rooveterinaryinc.roo-cline\settings\cline_mcp_settings.json

Add the server configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "nxos-cli": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": [
        "--directory",
        "C:\\absolute\\path\\to\\nxos-cli-mcp",
        "run",
        "nxos_cli_mcp.py"
      ]
    }
  }
}

After saving, reload the VS Code window (Command/Ctrl + Shift + P → "Developer: Reload Window").

Important Notes:

• Replace /absolute/path/to/nxos-cli-mcp (or C:\absolute\path\to\nxos-cli-mcp) with the actual full path to your project directory
• Ensure the .env file with your credentials is in the project directory
• The server will automatically load credentials from the .env file when started by the MCP client

Available Tools

1. nxos_execute_commands

Execute CLI commands on a single NX-OS device.

Parameters:

• ip_address (required): IP address or hostname of the device
• commands (required): List of CLI commands to execute
• response_format (optional): "text" (default, human-readable) or "json" (structured data)
• username (optional): Username for authentication
• password (optional): Password for authentication
• timeout (optional): Request timeout in seconds (default: 30)

2. nxos_execute_commands_multi

Execute the same CLI commands on multiple NX-OS devices concurrently.