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