Operator SDK MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that enables AI assistants to interact with the Operator SDK for Kubernetes operator development.

This server exposes operator-sdk commands as MCP tools, allowing you to build, test, and manage Kubernetes operators through natural language conversations with AI assistants.

Why This Exists

The Operator SDK is powerful but has many commands with complex flags. This MCP server lets you:

• Ask AI to scaffold operators instead of remembering operator-sdk init flags
• Generate APIs naturally - "Create a Database API for group cache.example.com v1alpha1"
• Get help with bundles - AI validates, explains errors, and fixes issues
• Test with scorecard - AI interprets results and suggests fixes
• Learn operator development - AI guides you through the workflow

Features

• Project Initialization: Scaffold new Go, Ansible, or Helm operators
• API Management: Create APIs, controllers, and webhooks
• Bundle Operations: Generate and validate OLM bundles
• Testing: Run scorecard tests and validation
• OLM Integration: Local operator installation with run bundle
• Safety First: Read-only mode by default prevents accidental changes
• Modular: Enable only the toolsets you need

Prerequisites

• Go 1.23+ - Install Go
• operator-sdk - Install operator-sdk
• MCP Client - Any MCP-compatible client (e.g., Claude Desktop, Continue, etc.)
• (Optional) Kubernetes cluster with OLM - For run_bundle operations

Verify operator-sdk is installed:

operator-sdk version

Installation

Option 1: Build from Source

git clone https://github.com/operator-framework/operator-sdk-mcp-server.git
cd operator-sdk-mcp-server
make build

The binary will be created at bin/operator-sdk-mcp-server.

Option 2: Install to GOPATH

git clone https://github.com/operator-framework/operator-sdk-mcp-server.git
cd operator-sdk-mcp-server
make install

This installs the binary to $GOPATH/bin/operator-sdk-mcp-server.

Configuration

MCP Client Integration

Claude Desktop

Add this to your configuration file:

macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "operator-sdk": {
      "command": "/absolute/path/to/operator-sdk-mcp-server",
      "args": [
        "--read-only=false",
        "--working-dir=/path/to/your/operator"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Important: Use absolute paths! Example:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "operator-sdk": {
      "command": "/Users/yourname/go/bin/operator-sdk-mcp-server",
      "args": [
        "--read-only=false",
        "--working-dir=/Users/yourname/projects/my-operator"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Other MCP Clients

For other MCP-compatible clients, configure the server with:

• Command: Path to operator-sdk-mcp-server binary
• Transport: stdio (default)
• Arguments: See Configuration Options below

Configuration Options

Available Toolsets

• init: Project initialization (init_operator, init_go, init_ansible, init_helm)
• api: API and webhook management (create_api, create_webhook)
• bundle: Bundle operations (generate_bundle, validate_bundle, generate_kustomize)
• scorecard: Testing (run_scorecard)
• run: OLM integration (run_bundle,

... View full README on GitHub