MCP Server

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KSail MCP Server

io.github.devantler-tech/ksail

Kubernetes cluster creation, management, and operations through CLI, VS Code, AI chat, or MCP server.

What is the KSail MCP server?

KSail is an MCP server that bundles Kubernetes tooling into a single binary for creating, managing, and operating clusters and workloads. It supports multiple cluster provisioners (Kind, K3d, Talos, VCluster, KWOK, EKS), container orchestration tools (kubectl, Helm, Kustomize), GitOps engines (Flux, ArgoCD), and infrastructure providers (Docker, Kubernetes, Hetzner Cloud, AWS). Access it via CLI, VS Code extension, AI chat TUI, or MCP server with only Docker or cloud provider access required.

KSail simplifies Kubernetes operations by bundling common tooling—cluster provisioning, container orchestration, GitOps, secrets management, and cluster operations—into a unified interface. Use it to spin up local clusters with Docker, deploy workloads across distributions, and manage multi-tenant environments. It integrates with AI assistants (Copilot CLI, Claude Code) via MCP server and plugins, making Kubernetes accessible through chat and code editors.

How to install KSail

Copy-paste configuration for popular MCP clients.

transport: stdio

Config generated by PluginBench — verify against the source before use.

Claude Desktop

~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ksail": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "-i",
        "--rm",
        "ghcr.io/devantler-tech/ksail:v7.105.0"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Cursor

~/.cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ksail": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "-i",
        "--rm",
        "ghcr.io/devantler-tech/ksail:v7.105.0"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Windsurf

~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ksail": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "-i",
        "--rm",
        "ghcr.io/devantler-tech/ksail:v7.105.0"
      ]
    }
  }
}

VS Code

.vscode/mcp.json

{
  "servers": {
    "ksail": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "-i",
        "--rm",
        "ghcr.io/devantler-tech/ksail:v7.105.0"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Claude Code

claude mcp add ksail -- docker run -i --rm ghcr.io/devantler-tech/ksail:v7.105.0

Tools & capabilities

Tools this server exposes to the agent.

Cluster Provisioning — Create and manage Kubernetes clusters using Kind, K3d, Talos, VCluster (Vind), KWOK (kwokctl), or EKS
Container Orchestration — Deploy and manage workloads with kubectl, Helm, and Kustomize
GitOps Engines — Integrate Flux or ArgoCD for declarative cluster management
Secrets Management — Encrypt and manage secrets using SOPS with Age encryption
Manifest Validation — Validate Kubernetes manifests with Kubeconform
Cluster Operations — Operate clusters with K9s, backup/restore, and multi-tenancy support via ksail tenant
MCP Server — Expose KSail capabilities to AI assistants like Claude and Copilot

Use cases

Scaffold and spin up local Kubernetes clusters with a single command using Docker
Deploy and manage multi-tenant Kubernetes environments across different distributions and cloud providers
Integrate Kubernetes operations into AI chat assistants (Claude, GitHub Copilot) via MCP server
Validate and manage Kubernetes manifests with GitOps (Flux/ArgoCD) and secrets encryption
Backup, restore, and operate Kubernetes clusters through K9s and CLI tooling

KSail MCP server FAQ

What is KSail?

KSail is an MCP server that bundles Kubernetes tooling (cluster provisioning, orchestration, GitOps, secrets management) into a single binary. It lets you create, manage, and operate Kubernetes clusters via CLI, VS Code, AI chat, or MCP server.

Is KSail free?

KSail is licensed under PolyForm Shield 1.0.0. You can use, modify, and distribute it freely for any purpose except building a competing product. No license fees apply.

How do I install KSail in Claude or Cursor?

Install the ksail plugin for Claude Code (/plugin install ksail@ksail) or GitHub Copilot CLI (copilot plugin install ksail). Both auto-register the MCP server and ksail expertise skill. Requires ksail on PATH.

What cluster providers does KSail support?

KSail supports Kind, K3d, Talos, VCluster (Vind), KWOK (kwokctl), and EKS. For local development, use Docker with Kind or K3d. For cloud, use Hetzner Cloud, Sidero Omni, or AWS.

What are the system requirements?

KSail runs on Linux (amd64, arm64), macOS (arm64), and Windows (WSL2 recommended). For local clusters, Docker is required. For cloud clusters, you need access to a cloud provider.

Does KSail require authentication?

For local clusters with Docker, no authentication is needed. For cloud providers (AWS, Hetzner, Omni), you must provide credentials via environment variables or cloud provider configuration.

README (reference)

Source of truth, from the repository.

🛥️🐳 KSail

ksail

KSail bundles common Kubernetes tooling into a single binary. Spin up local clusters, deploy workloads, and operate cloud-native stacks across distributions and providers through a CLI, VS Code extension, AI chat TUI, or MCP server — with only Docker or access to a Cloud Provider required.

📖 Full documentation: https://ksail.devantler.tech

Quick Install

# macOS / Linux (Homebrew)
brew install --cask devantler-tech/tap/ksail

# Go (1.26.1+)
go install github.com/devantler-tech/ksail/v7@latest

See the Installation Guide for binary downloads and more options.

AI Assistant Plugins

Install the ksail plugin for GitHub Copilot CLI or Claude Code to auto-register ksail's MCP server and a ksail expertise skill.

Copilot CLI:

copilot plugin marketplace add devantler-tech/ksail
copilot plugin install ksail

Claude Code:

/plugin marketplace add devantler-tech/ksail
/plugin install ksail@ksail

Requires ksail on PATH.

Quick Start

ksail cluster init --name my-app   # scaffold project + native configs
ksail cluster create               # spin up the cluster (Docker only)
ksail cluster connect              # open K9s

Continue with the Getting Started guide for GitOps, workloads, and multi-tenancy.

What KSail Bundles

Category	Built-in Capabilities
Cluster Provisioning	Kind, K3d, Talos, VCluster (Vind), KWOK (kwokctl), EKS
Container Orchestration	kubectl, Helm, Kustomize
GitOps Engines	Flux, ArgoCD
Secrets Management	SOPS with Age encryption
Manifest Validation	Kubeconform
Cluster Operations	K9s, backup & restore, multi-tenancy (`ksail tenant`)
AI Integration	Chat assistant (Copilot SDK), MCP server, VS Code extension
Infrastructure Providers	Docker (local), Kubernetes (nested), Hetzner Cloud, Sidero Omni, AWS

See the feature overview and architecture guide for details.

Supported Platforms

OS	Architecture
🐧 Linux	amd64, arm64
🍎 macOS	arm64
⊞ Windows (native untested; WSL2 recommended)	amd64, arm64

Provider	Vanilla	K3s	Talos	VCluster	KWOK	EKS
Docker	✅ (Kind)	✅ (K3d)	✅	✅ (Vind)	✅ (kwokctl)	—
Kubernetes	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	—
Hetzner	—	—	✅	—	—	—
Omni	—	—	✅	—	—	—
AWS	—	—	—	—	—	🚧

Community & Support

💬 GitHub Discussions — questions, ideas, and community
🐛 Issue Tracker — bugs and feature requests
📖 Documentation — guides, CLI reference, architecture
🎓 Resources — presentations, blog posts, tutorials
⭐ Star the repo — help others discover KSail

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! See CONTRIBUTING.md for the development process, coding standards, and PR guidelines. Start with issues labeled good first issue.

Related Projects

Project	Description	Type
devantler-tech/platform	The maintainer's personal kubernetes platform	Platform

Using KSail in your project? Open a PR to add it here.

License

KSail is licensed under the PolyForm Shield License 1.0.0. You may use, modify, and distribute KSail for any purpose — except providing a product that competes with KSail. When redistributing, you must include the license terms and the required copyright notice.

What this means in practice:

✅ Use KSail as a CLI tool in any project (open-source or proprietary)
✅ Embed or link KSail as a library in your own software
✅ Fork and modify KSail for internal or non-competing use
✅ Use any license for your own project — no copyleft requirement
❌ Build and distribute a product that competes with KSail

For the full license text including notice and non-compete details, see LICENSE. For common questions, see the Licensing FAQ.

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