gns3-server/docs/features/mcp-service.md

MCP (Model Context Protocol) Service

Overview

GNS3 Server provides a standard Model Context Protocol (MCP) interface, allowing AI assistants like Claude to interact with GNS3 network simulations through SSE (Server-Sent Events) transport.

The MCP service exposes GNS3 project management operations as MCP tools that can be discovered and called by MCP clients.

Endpoints

Path	Method	Description
/v3/mcp/	GET	MCP service metadata
/v3/mcp/transport/sse	GET	SSE stream (MCP connection)
/v3/mcp/transport/messages/	POST	JSON-RPC messages

Authentication

The SSE endpoint supports two types of credentials, passed the same way.

1. Authorization header (recommended):

   Authorization: Bearer <jwt_or_api_key>
   

2. Query parameter (for clients that don't support custom headers):

   GET /v3/mcp/transport/sse?token=<jwt_or_api_key>
   

Option 1: JWT Token (24h expiry)

curl -X POST http://localhost:3080/v3/access/users/authenticate \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"username": "admin", "password": "admin"}'

Default lifetime is 1440 minutes (24 hours). Configurable in gns3_server.conf:

jwt_access_token_expire_minutes = 1440  ; 24 hours

Option 2: API Key (permanent, revocable) — Recommended for MCP

API keys never expire and can be revoked individually. Format: gns3_<api_key_id>_<random_secret> — the embedded UUID enables O(1) lookup without scanning all keys.

Create one via the REST API:

# Create an API key (requires a JWT to authenticate)
curl -X POST http://localhost:3080/v3/access/api-keys \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <your_jwt>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name": "MCP Production"}'
# Response: {"api_key": "gns3_550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000_a1b2c3d4...", ...}
# ⚠️ The key is only shown once — save it immediately.

API key management endpoints:

Endpoint	Description
POST /v3/access/api-keys	Create a new key (returns plaintext once)
GET /v3/access/api-keys	List all your keys
POST /v3/access/api-keys/{id}/revoke	Revoke a key (can be restored)
POST /v3/access/api-keys/{id}/restore	Restore a revoked key
DELETE /v3/access/api-keys/{id}	Permanently delete a key

Both JWT tokens and API keys work for MCP and REST API endpoints interchangeably.

Authentication Flow

When connecting with an API key:

SSE connect → Authorization: Bearer gns3_<uuid>_<secret>
  ↓
MCP auth wrapper extracts UUID → single DB query → 1 bcrypt (thread pool)
  ↓
Generates a fresh short-lived JWT → stored in ContextVar for the session
  ↓
All subsequent tool handler REST API calls use this JWT → zero extra bcrypt

Concurrency

Setting	Value
MCP batch workers	100 (BATCH_MAX_WORKERS)
MCP HTTP client timeout	30s
HTTP connection pool (pool_connections/pool_maxsize)	500 / 1000
REST API node/link creation pool	100 (Pool(concurrency=100))

Available Tools

82 tools across 12 categories:

Project (15)

Tool	Description
project_list	List all projects
project_get	Get project details
project_create	Create a project
project_delete	Delete a project
project_open	Open a closed project
project_close	Close an open project
project_stats	Get project statistics
project_update	Update project properties
project_duplicate	Duplicate a project
project_readme_get	Get project README content
project_readme_update	Update project README
project_lock	Lock project (prevent edits)
project_unlock	Unlock project
project_load	Load project from path
project_locked	Check if project is locked

Node (22)

Tool	Description
node_list	List all nodes (fields to filter columns, e.g. ["name","status"])
node_get	Get node details (fields to filter columns)
node_create	Create node(s) — single via template_id or batch via nodes array. Supports fields to filter response. Top-level template_id applies as default in batch mode. Pass name to override template naming. Coordinates: left-handed Cartesian (origin at canvas center, X right-positive, Y down-positive).
node_delete	Delete a node
node_update	Update node properties
node_start	Start node(s) — node_id or node_ids array
node_stop	Stop node(s) — node_id or node_ids array
node_suspend	Suspend node(s) — node_id or node_ids array
node_console	Get WebSocket console URL
node_file_list	List files in node directory
node_file_get	Read a file (with offset/limit)
node_file_write	Write a file
node_file_delete	Delete a file
node_start_all	Start all nodes
node_stop_all	Stop all nodes
node_suspend_all	Suspend all nodes
node_duplicate	Duplicate a node
node_isolate	Isolate a node (suspend links)
node_unisolate	Un-isolate a node (resume links)
node_links	List links connected to a node

Link (9)

Tool	Description
link_list	List all links (fields to filter columns)
link_get	Get link details
link_create	Create link(s) — single via nodes or batch via links array. Nodes support compact [id, ad, pt, id, ad, pt] format. Supports fields to filter response.
link_delete	Delete link(s) — link_id or link_ids array
link_update	Update link (suspend, filters)
link_reset	Reset link(s) — link_id or link_ids array
link_capture_start	Start capture(s) — link_id or link_ids array
link_capture_stop	Stop capture(s) — link_id or link_ids array
link_capture_download	Get PCAP download URL(s) — link_id or link_ids array

Template (5)

Tool	Description
template_list	List all templates. Supports fields to filter response columns.
template_get	Get template details
template_create	Create a template (Docker needs image)
template_update	Update a template
template_delete	Delete a template

Compute (3)

Tool	Description
compute_list	List registered remote computes
compute_get	Get compute details (requires UUID)
compute_images	List emulator images on a compute

Snapshot (4)

Tool	Description
snapshot_list	List snapshots
snapshot_create	Create a snapshot
snapshot_delete	Delete a snapshot
snapshot_restore	Restore a snapshot

Drawing (5)

Tool	Description
drawing_list	List drawings on canvas
drawing_get	Get drawing details
drawing_create	Create drawing (SVG label/shape/image)
drawing_update	Update drawing (position, rotation, SVG)
drawing_delete	Delete a drawing

Symbol (6)

Tool	Description
symbol_list	List all symbols
symbol_get	Get symbol download URL
symbol_dimensions	Get symbol dimensions
symbol_defaults	Get default symbol mapping
symbol_upload	Upload a custom symbol (SVG content)
symbol_delete	Delete a custom symbol (built-in: 403)

Appliance (3)

Tool	Description
appliance_list	List appliances (fields to filter, e.g. ["name","category"])
appliance_get	Get appliance details
appliance_install	Create template from appliance (images must exist locally)

Image (5)

Tool	Description
image_list	List all images
image_get	Get image details
image_delete	Delete an image
image_prune	Remove images not referenced by any template
image_install	Auto-create templates from uploaded images by checksum

Server (2)

Tool	Description
server_version	Get GNS3 server version
server_statistics	Get server statistics (computes, projects, nodes)

Device Config (3)

Tool	Description
device_config_send	Push config commands to devices via console (Nornir + Netmiko). Supports Jinja2 template + vars
device_show_run	Run read-only show commands on devices. Supports Jinja2 template + vars
vpcs_config_set	Configure VPCS devices (IP, gateway, etc.)

The tool connects to each device's console via telnet/SSH. Nodes must be in the started state (use node_start or node_start_all). Device type is auto-detected from the node's device_type:<type> tag in GNS3.

Jinja2 Template Mode

Both device_config_send and device_show_run support an optional template parameter. When provided, each device's vars dict is rendered against the template to produce commands. Entries with the same device_name are merged into a single device session.

# Direct commands (single/batch)
device_config_send(project_id, device_configs=[
    {"device_name": "R1", "config_commands": ["int lo0", "ip add 1.1.1.1 255.255.255.255"]},
])

# Jinja2 template (reduces token usage for batch)
device_config_send(project_id,
    template="interface lo{{ n }}\nip address {{ ip }} 255.255.255.255",
    device_configs=[
        {"device_name": "R1", "vars": {"n": 0, "ip": "1.1.1.1"}},
        {"device_name": "R2", "vars": {"n": 0, "ip": "2.2.2.2"}},
    ])

# Show commands with template
device_show_run(project_id,
    template="show ip route {{ protocol }}",
    device_configs=[
        {"device_name": "R1", "vars": {"protocol": "ospf"}},
        {"device_name": "R2", "vars": {"protocol": "bgp"}},
    ])

Best Practices

Prefer template over direct commands for batch. When ≥2 nodes share the same config structure with different values, use template+vars instead of writing config_commands per node. This reduces token usage and transcription errors.

Batch merging. Multiple entries with the same device_name are merged into a single Nornir session. The output contains all commands' results in one block. Match results by device_name, not list index.

Don't rely on status: success alone. It only means commands entered config mode. IOS errors (% Invalid input, % overlaps, % Incomplete command) appear inside output text — always scan for % lines.

Pilot before full rollout. Test template + vars on 1–2 devices first to verify rendering and syntax, then expand to all nodes.

Config backup via file operations. IOU and Dynamips nodes save startup config as a plain text file (startup-config.cfg) in the node directory after write memory. These can be backed up and restored via node_file_get/node_file_write.

# Save config on device
device_show_run(project_id, device_configs=[
    {"device_name": "R1", "commands": ["write memory"]},
])
# Backup
config = node_file_get(project_id, node_id, "startup-config.cfg")
# Restore if config breaks
node_file_write(project_id, node_id, "startup-config.cfg", config)
node_stop(project_id, node_id)
node_start(project_id, node_id)

Device Config Workflow

sequenceDiagram
    participant AI as AI Agent
    participant MCP as MCP Handler
    participant TM as Template Renderer
    participant DP as Device Discovery
    participant NR as Nornir
    participant NM as Netmiko
    participant D as Device Console

    Note over AI: Decide: template or direct commands?

    alt Direct commands
        AI->>MCP: device_config_send(config_commands=[...])
    else Jinja2 template
        AI->>MCP: device_config_send(template + vars)
        MCP->>TM: Render template per device
        TM->>TM: Jinja2.render(**vars)
        TM-->>MCP: device_configs with rendered commands
    end

    MCP->>DP: get_device_ports_from_topology()
    DP-->>MCP: hosts_data (console port, device_type)

    Note over MCP: Prepare Nornir inventory

    MCP->>NR: InitNornir(hosts, threaded runner)
    par Device 1 to N (parallel, max 10)
        NR->>NM: netmiko_send_config(commands)
        NM->>D: telnet/SSH console session
        D-->>NM: command output
        NM-->>NR: execution result
    end
    NR-->>MCP: aggregated results
    MCP-->>AI: per-device results with output

Configuration

Claude Code (CLI)

# Option A: Using API key (recommended — never expires)
claude mcp add --transport sse My_GNS3_Server \
  http://localhost:3080/v3/mcp/transport/sse \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer gns3_a1b2c3d4..."

# Option B: Using JWT token (expires after 24h)
TOKEN=$(curl -s -X POST http://localhost:3080/v3/access/users/authenticate \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"username": "admin", "password": "admin"}' | python3 -c \
  "import sys,json; print(json.load(sys.stdin)['access_token'])")

claude mcp add --transport sse My_GNS3_Server \
  http://localhost:3080/v3/mcp/transport/sse \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN"

Transport Security

MCP server uses FastMCP's DNS rebinding protection to prevent attackers from exploiting DNS resolution to access the MCP endpoint through unauthorized domains.

Default Behaviour

DNS rebinding protection is disabled by default, allowing connections from any host. This aligns with GNS3 server's default host = 0.0.0.0 binding policy, which is designed for VM distribution scenarios where users access the server from various network locations.

Enabling Protection

Add to gns3_server.conf under the [Server] section:

; Enable DNS rebinding protection for MCP server
mcp_enable_dns_rebinding_protection = True

; Allowed hosts (comma-separated, "host:*" port wildcard patterns only)
mcp_allowed_hosts = 127.0.0.1:*,localhost:*,192.168.1.3:*

; Allowed origins (comma-separated)
mcp_allowed_origins = http://127.0.0.1:*,http://localhost:*,http://192.168.1.3:*

Note

: The MCP library only supports "host:*" port wildcard patterns (e.g., "192.168.1.3:*"). Standalone "*" wildcards are not supported.

Protection Mechanism

When protection is enabled, the MCP server validates the Host header of incoming SSE connection requests:

# Verify the request's Host header matches allowed patterns
validate_request → check Host header → 421 Misdirected Request if invalid

This prevents DNS rebinding attacks:

1. Attacker registers evil.com pointing to your server's IP
2. User's browser makes requests to evil.com:3080
3. MCP server checks Host header = "evil.com:3080"
4. "evil.com:3080" is not in allowed_hosts → connection rejected

Behaviour Summary

mcp_enable_dns_rebinding_protection	Result
False (default)	All hosts allowed
True + correct hosts configured	Only configured hosts allowed
True + missing/wrong hosts	Connections rejected with 421

For public-facing MCP servers, set allowed_hosts to your server's domain name.

Architecture

sequenceDiagram
    participant Client as Claude Code
    participant MCP as MCP Service
    participant Auth as Auth
    participant GNS3 as GNS3 REST API

    Note over Client: 1. Connect with API Key or JWT
    Client->>MCP: GET /sse (Authorization: Bearer <key>)
    
    alt API Key (gns3_&lt;uuid&gt;_&lt;secret&gt;)
        MCP->>Auth: Extract UUID → DB lookup → 1 bcrypt (thread pool)
        Auth-->>MCP: Generate fresh JWT
    else JWT
        MCP->>Auth: Decode JWT
        Auth-->>MCP: Token valid
    end
    
    MCP-->>Client: event: endpoint /messages/?session_id=xxx

    Note over Client: 2. Initialize & Call Tools
    Client->>MCP: POST /messages/ (tools/call ...)
    MCP->>GNS3: HTTP request (with JWT from step 1)
    GNS3-->>MCP: Response
    MCP-->>Client: event: message (tool result)

Internal Implementation

• FastMCP (Anthropic MCP SDK) is used for tool registration and SSE transport
• The SSE app is mounted as a Starlette sub-application under /v3/mcp/transport
• Auth: JWT validation via auth_service. API key (gns3_<uuid>_<secret>) extracts UUID for O(1) DB lookup, runs bcrypt in thread pool, returns a fresh JWT — subsequent calls use the JWT with zero extra bcrypt.
• Tool handlers use Gns3Connector (from custom_gns3fy) to call GNS3's own REST API, keeping the MCP layer decoupled
• The JWT token is stored in a contextvars.ContextVar so it is available within tool handler threads (Python ≥ 3.9 propagates contextvars through asyncio.to_thread)

Console WebSocket

The node_console tool returns a WebSocket URL for connecting to a node's console. The URL includes a short-lived JWT (10 min) — reconnect if it expires. This endpoint is protocol-agnostic — it works for telnet, ssh, and vnc console types alike. The WebSocket simply proxies raw byte streams between the client and the compute node; protocol negotiation (e.g. SSH key exchange) happens on the compute side.

The WebSocket URL is constructed using the server's _server_url(), which resolves the host as follows:

Server.host value	Resolved host in URL
Specific IP or hostname (e.g. 192.168.1.3)	Used as-is
0.0.0.0 (IPv4 any, default)	Detected via default route interface IP
:: (IPv6 any)	Detected via default route interface IP
Detection failure	Fallback to 127.0.0.1

When Server.host is 0.0.0.0 (listen on all interfaces), the MCP server discovers the default route interface IP using a UDP socket connect to 8.8.8.8:80 — no network data is sent, the operating system simply selects the interface that would be used for the default route. This ensures the returned WebSocket URL uses a reachable address (e.g. 192.168.1.3 instead of 127.0.0.1).

If the configured host is already a specific IP or hostname (not 0.0.0.0), it is used directly in the URL without modification.

Use websocat to connect from the command line:

# The host in the URL is automatically resolved to a reachable address
websocat ws://192.168.1.3:3080/v3/projects/{project_id}/nodes/{node_id}/console/ws?token=<jwt>

Source Files

File	Purpose
gns3server/api/routes/mcp/__init__.py	FastMCP server, tool decorators, SSE transport, JWT auth wrapper
gns3server/api/routes/mcp/projects.py	Project tool handlers
gns3server/api/routes/mcp/nodes.py	Node tool handlers
gns3server/api/routes/mcp/links.py	Link tool handlers
gns3server/api/routes/mcp/templates.py	Template tool handlers
gns3server/api/routes/mcp/computes.py	Compute tool handlers
gns3server/api/server.py	Mounts MCP routes via register_starlette_routes()