Istio MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides AI assistants and developers with read-only access to Istio service mesh resources in Kubernetes clusters. This server enables intelligent querying of Istio configurations, Virtual Services, Destination Rules, service mesh hosts, and Envoy proxy configurations through a safe, non-destructive interface.

🚀 Overview

The Istio MCP Server bridges the gap between AI assistants and Istio service mesh operations by implementing the Model Context Protocol. It provides comprehensive tools for querying Istio resources including Virtual Services, Destination Rules, service mesh hosts, and proxy configurations without any risk of modifying or deleting resources.

Key Benefits:

• 🔒 100% Read-Only Operations - No destructive commands allowed
• 🤖 AI Assistant Friendly - Designed for MCP protocol integration
• 🔍 Comprehensive Istio Access - Covers all major Istio resource types
• 🛡️ Safe by Design - Zero risk of accidental resource modifications
• 🌐 Multi-Protocol Support - STDIO, SSE, and HTTP protocols
• 📊 Rich Observability - Access to Envoy proxy configurations and telemetry

✨ Features

🔧 Core Istio Resources (Read-Only)

• Virtual Services: Query specific Istio Virtual Services and routing rules by name
• Destination Rules: Query specific Istio Destination Rules and traffic policies by name
• Service Mesh Hosts: Comprehensive overview of all hosts in the service mesh

📊 Observability & Telemetry (Read-Only)

• Proxy Status: Get Envoy proxy health and status information
• Configuration Summaries: Comprehensive Istio configuration overviews
• External Dependency Checks: Verify external service accessibility

🌐 Envoy Proxy Access (Read-Only)

• Cluster Configuration: Access Envoy cluster configurations
• Listener Configuration: Access Envoy listener configurations
• Route Configuration: Access Envoy route configurations
• Endpoint Configuration: Access Envoy endpoint configurations
• Bootstrap Configuration: Access Envoy bootstrap configurations
• Full Configuration Dumps: Complete Envoy configuration snapshots

🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Go 1.24+ for building from source
• Kubernetes cluster with Istio installed
• kubectl configured with appropriate permissions
• istioctl installed (for advanced proxy configuration features)

Installation

# Install via npm (recommended)
npm install -g istio-mcp-server

# Or build from source
git clone https://github.com/krutsko/istio-mcp-server.git
cd istio-mcp-server
make build

Claude Desktop

Using npx

If you have npm installed, this is the fastest way to get started with istio-mcp-server on Claude Desktop.

Open your claude_desktop_config.json and add the mcp server to the list of mcpServers:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "istio": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "istio-mcp-server@latest"
      ]
    }
  }
}

VS Code / VS Code Insiders

Install the Istio MCP server extension in VS Code Insiders manually by running the following command:

# For VS Code
code --add-mcp '{"name":"istio","command":"npx","args":["istio-mcp-server@latest"]}'
# For VS Code Insiders
code-insiders --add-mcp '{"name":"istio","command":"npx","args":["istio-mcp-server@latest"]}'

Cursor

Install the Istio MCP server extension in Cursor by pressing the following link:

Alternatively, you can install the extension manually by editing the mcp.json file:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "istio-mcp-server": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "istio-mcp-server@latest"]
    }
  }
}

Goose CLI

[Go

... View full README on GitHub