Catalyst Center MCP Server

Connect an MCP-compatible AI client to your Cisco Catalyst Center instance. This standalone server exposes the APIs in its bundled Catalyst Center tool catalog over a local, streamable HTTP Model Context Protocol (MCP) endpoint.

Use it to let an AI client retrieve and analyze Catalyst Center data, such as inventory, device health, wireless experience, software, and compliance information, without building a custom integration for each API.

What Is MCP?

MCP is an open standard that lets AI clients discover and call structured tools at runtime. In this integration, the client chooses a Catalyst Center tool, supplies its parameters, and the server authenticates to Catalyst Center and returns the API result. The client can then sequence multiple tools to answer a broader operational question.

This server exposes a versioned bundle of generated Catalyst Center API tools, aligned with the Catalyst Center release and its API operations.

Before You Start

Select the release branch that matches your Catalyst Center version before building or running the server:

git clone https://github.com/cisco-en-programmability/catc-mcp-oss
cd catc-mcp-oss
git checkout release/<M.N.P.Q>

You need:

Network access from the server host to your Catalyst Center instance
A Catalyst Center username and password
Docker
An MCP-compatible client, such as Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code, or Codex

Use a Dedicated, Least-Privilege Account

The server authenticates to Catalyst Center with the configured username and password and executes tools with that account's permissions. It does not add an authorization layer or enforce read-only access. The bundled catalog includes generated API operations and may include operations that change configuration.

Create a dedicated Catalyst Center account with the minimum permissions needed for the tasks you intend to perform. Treat every client connected to this server as able to request any bundled operation that account is allowed to execute.

Keep the MCP endpoint private. The examples bind it to 127.0.0.1; do not expose it on an untrusted network without adding appropriate network controls and authentication in front of it.

Quick Start

From a clone of this repository, configure the target controller and account:

export CATALYST_CENTER_HOST="https://catalyst-center.example.com"
export CATALYST_CENTER_USERNAME="mcp-service-account"
export CATALYST_CENTER_PASSWORD="replace-with-a-password"
export CATALYST_CENTER_VERIFY_SSL=false

CATALYST_CENTER_HOST may be a hostname, IP address, or URL. When no scheme is provided, the server uses https://.

Build the image and start the server on the local loopback interface:

docker build -t catalyst-center-mcp:local .
docker run --rm -p 127.0.0.1:7001:7001 \
  -e CATALYST_CENTER_HOST \
  -e CATALYST_CENTER_USERNAME \
  -e CATALYST_CENTER_PASSWORD \
  -e CATALYST_CENTER_VERIFY_SSL=false \
  catalyst-center-mcp:local

The MCP endpoint is:

http://localhost:7001/v1/mcp

In a second terminal, verify the process and required credential configuration:

curl http://localhost:7001/v1/health
curl http://localhost:7001/v1/readiness

/v1/health confirms that the server process is running. /v1/readiness validates that the required Catalyst Center configuration is present; it does not make a Catalyst Center API request.

TLS note: Keep CATALYST_CENTER_VERIFY_SSL=true for controllers with a trusted certificate. Set it to false only when you understand and accept the risk of bypassing certificate validation, such as a lab controller with a self-signed certificate.

Runtime Modes

The examples below use the Docker image built in Quick Start.

HTTP(S)

The Quick Start command runs the streamable HTTP endpoint on the local loopback interface:

http://localhost:7001/v1/mcp

Use plain HTTP for local testing or when TLS is terminated by external infrastructure. HTTPS is recommended when exposing the MCP server beyond the local machine. For enterprise deployments, prefer terminating TLS outside this container using the organization's standard ingress, reverse proxy, service mesh, API gateway, or load balancer. Use centrally managed certificates, rotation, policy enforcement, and audit controls there, while keeping this container on its default internal HTTP listener unless direct TLS termination in the container is explicitly required.

For direct container TLS termination, mount the certificate and key read-only and pass Uvicorn SSL options:

docker run --rm -p 127.0.0.1:7001:7001 \
  -v "$PWD/certs:/certs:ro" \
  -e CATALYST_CENTER_HOST \
  -e CATALYST_CENTER_USERNAME \
  -e CATALYST_CENTER_PASSWORD \
  -e CATALYST_CENTER_VERIFY_SSL=false \
  catalyst-center-mcp:local \
  python3 -m uvicorn catalyst_center_mcp.main:app \
    --host 0.0.0.0 \
    --port 7001 \
    --ssl-keyfile /certs/localhost-key.pem \
    --ssl-certfile /certs/localhost-cert.pem

The direct HTTPS endpoint is:

https://localhost:7001/v1/mcp

Generating SSL Certificates

For local development or test environments, you can generate a self-signed certificate with OpenSSL:

mkdir -p certs
openssl req -x509 -newkey rsa:2048 -nodes \
  -keyout certs/localhost-key.pem \
  -out certs/localhost-cert.pem \
  -days 365 \
  -subj "/CN=localhost" \
  -addext "subjectAltName=DNS:localhost,IP:127.0.0.1"

This creates the certificate and key expected by the direct HTTPS Docker example:

certs/localhost-cert.pem
certs/localhost-key.pem

Use enterprise-managed certificates for shared, production, or externally reachable deployments.

STDIO

Use STDIO when your MCP client launches and communicates with the server as a child process instead of connecting to an already-running HTTP server:

docker run --rm -i \
  -e CATALYST_CENTER_HOST \
  -e CATALYST_CENTER_USERNAME \
  -e CATALYST_CENTER_PASSWORD \
  -e CATALYST_CENTER_VERIFY_SSL \
  catalyst-center-mcp:local \
  fastmcp run catalyst_center_mcp/main.py:mcp --transport stdio

Use -i so stdin remains attached. Do not publish ports for STDIO mode.

Connect an MCP Client

Start the server first, then add http://localhost:7001/v1/mcp as an HTTP MCP server in your client. The local server does not require an inbound header; it authenticates to Catalyst Center with the environment variables above.

Claude Desktop

Add this server to claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "catalyst-center": {
      "url": "http://localhost:7001/v1/mcp"
    }
  }
}

For STDIO access, add this server to claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "catalyst-center": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "--rm",
        "-i",
        "-e", "CATALYST_CENTER_HOST",
        "-e", "CATALYST_CENTER_USERNAME",
        "-e", "CATALYST_CENTER_PASSWORD",
        "-e", "CATALYST_CENTER_VERIFY_SSL",
        "catalyst-center-mcp:local",
        "fastmcp",
        "run",
        "catalyst_center_mcp/main.py:mcp",
        "--transport",
        "stdio"
      ],
      "env": {
        "CATALYST_CENTER_HOST": "https://catalyst-center.example.com",
        "CATALYST_CENTER_USERNAME": "mcp-service-account",
        "CATALYST_CENTER_PASSWORD": "replace-with-a-password",
        "CATALYST_CENTER_VERIFY_SSL": "false"
      }
    }
  }
}

Cursor

Add this server to .cursor/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "catalyst-center": {
      "url": "http://localhost:7001/v1/mcp"
    }
  }
}

For STDIO access, use:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "catalyst-center": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "--rm",
        "-i",
        "-e", "CATALYST_CENTER_HOST",
        "-e", "CATALYST_CENTER_USERNAME",
        "-e", "CATALYST_CENTER_PASSWORD",
        "-e", "CATALYST_CENTER_VERIFY_SSL",
        "catalyst-center-mcp:local",
        "fastmcp",
        "run",
        "catalyst_center_mcp/main.py:mcp",
        "--transport",
        "stdio"
      ],
      "env": {
        "CATALYST_CENTER_HOST": "https://catalyst-center.example.com",
        "CATALYST_CENTER_USERNAME": "mcp-service-account",
        "CATALYST_CENTER_PASSWORD": "replace-with-a-password",
        "CATALYST_CENTER_VERIFY_SSL": "false"
      }
    }
  }
}

VS Code

Add this server to .vscode/mcp.json:

{
  "servers": {
    "catalyst-center": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "http://localhost:7001/v1/mcp"
    }
  }
}

For STDIO access, use:

{
  "servers": {
    "catalyst-center": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "--rm",
        "-i",
        "-e", "CATALYST_CENTER_HOST",
        "-e", "CATALYST_CENTER_USERNAME",
        "-e", "CATALYST_CENTER_PASSWORD",
        "-e", "CATALYST_CENTER_VERIFY_SSL",
        "catalyst-center-mcp:local",
        "fastmcp",
        "run",
        "catalyst_center_mcp/main.py:mcp",
        "--transport",
        "stdio"
      ],
      "env": {
        "CATALYST_CENTER_HOST": "https://catalyst-center.example.com",
        "CATALYST_CENTER_USERNAME": "mcp-service-account",
        "CATALYST_CENTER_PASSWORD": "replace-with-a-password",
        "CATALYST_CENTER_VERIFY_SSL": "false"
      }
    }
  }
}

Codex

Add this server to ~/.codex/config.toml:

[mcp_servers.catalyst_center]
url = "http://localhost:7001/v1/mcp"

For STDIO access, use:

[mcp_servers.catalyst_center]
command = "docker"
args = [
  "run",
  "--rm",
  "-i",
  "-e", "CATALYST_CENTER_HOST",
  "-e", "CATALYST_CENTER_USERNAME",
  "-e", "CATALYST_CENTER_PASSWORD",
  "-e", "CATALYST_CENTER_VERIFY_SSL",
  "catalyst-center-mcp:local",
  "fastmcp",
  "run",
  "catalyst_center_mcp/main.py:mcp",
  "--transport",
  "stdio",
]

[mcp_servers.catalyst_center.env]
CATALYST_CENTER_HOST = "https://catalyst-center.example.com"
CATALYST_CENTER_USERNAME = "mcp-service-account"
CATALYST_CENTER_PASSWORD = "replace-with-a-password"
CATALYST_CENTER_VERIFY_SSL = "false"

Example Use Cases

The examples below tell the client the outcome you need. It will select the generated Catalyst Center tools and sequence calls as needed. The exact tools available depend on the checked-in bundle.

Inventory and Device Health Review

"Summarize device inventory and health for the Global/San Jose site. Identify devices with POOR health, group them by device role, and show the highest priority issues to investigate first. Include the device name, management IP, and health category."

The client can resolve the site, retrieve device-health data, then use device details to make the results actionable.

Wireless Client Experience Investigation

"Investigate wireless client experience at the HQ building over the last 24 hours. Identify the access points, SSIDs, or clients with the most degraded experience, explain the apparent pattern from the available data, and list the next checks an engineer should perform."

The client can first resolve the site and then retrieve the appropriate wireless, client, and health records for the requested time range.

Software and Compliance Review

"Review the network for software and compliance risk. List devices with compliance issues, relevant field notices or security advisories, and their current software details. Prioritize the findings by likely operational impact. Do not make any changes."

Explicitly state the intended safety boundary in prompts. The client can use read-oriented tools to gather the evidence, but the server does not prevent it from selecting a bundled operation that the configured account can execute.

Policies and Support

LICENSE contains more information about the Apache 2.0 license under which this software is distributed.
NOTICE describes the Cisco Catalyst Center and API terms that apply when this software communicates with Catalyst Center. Those terms are separate from the open-source license governing this code.
SECURITY explains how to report a security issue privately.
CONTRIBUTING describes the project's issue and contribution policy.

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 17 Commits
.github		.github
.gitignore		.gitignore
CHANGELOG.md		CHANGELOG.md
CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md		CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md
CONTRIBUTING.md		CONTRIBUTING.md
LICENSE.md		LICENSE.md
MAINTAINERS.md		MAINTAINERS.md
NOTICE.md		NOTICE.md
README.md		README.md
SECURITY.md		SECURITY.md

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Catalyst Center MCP Server

What Is MCP?

Before You Start

Use a Dedicated, Least-Privilege Account

Quick Start

Runtime Modes

HTTP(S)

Generating SSL Certificates

STDIO

Connect an MCP Client

Claude Desktop

Cursor

VS Code

Codex

Example Use Cases

Inventory and Device Health Review

Wireless Client Experience Investigation

Software and Compliance Review

Policies and Support

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Catalyst Center MCP Server

What Is MCP?

Before You Start

Use a Dedicated, Least-Privilege Account

Quick Start

Runtime Modes

HTTP(S)

Generating SSL Certificates

STDIO

Connect an MCP Client

Claude Desktop

Cursor

VS Code

Codex

Example Use Cases

Inventory and Device Health Review

Wireless Client Experience Investigation

Software and Compliance Review

Policies and Support

About

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Code of conduct

Contributing

Security policy

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