Tell your AI "create a network with 3 routers, OSPF and DHCP" — it plans, validates, generates, and deploys the topology directly into Cisco Packet Tracer in real time.
🌐 Website: https://www.mcpnetwork.top • 📚 Documentation: https://mats2208.github.io/MCP-Packet-Tracer/
Showcase
What it does
A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that gives any LLM (Claude, GitHub Copilot, Codex, …) full programmatic control over Cisco Packet Tracer.
| Feature | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Planning | Natural language → topology | A single prompt becomes a complete TopologyPlan |
| IP / DHCP | Auto /24 LANs + /30 links, DHCP pools | Sequential, gateway at .1 |
| Routing | Static · OSPF · EIGRP · RIP | Full IOS generation |
| Switching | VLANs, trunks, inter-VLAN routing (router-on-a-stick), STP, port-security | .1q subinterfaces + per-VLAN DHCP |
| Security | Device hardening (SSH, local users, enable-secret, banner), ACL/NAT | On live devices via the bridge |
| IPv6 | Dual-stack addressing | Routers via CLI, hosts via SLAAC |
| Wireless | WiFi laptops + auto-associated Access Points | NIC swap → Wireless0, default-SSID assoc |
| Validation | Typed errors + auto-fixer | Wrong cables, missing ports, model upgrades |
| Verification | Plan-vs-live diff, health check, real ping (pt_verify_connectivity) |
Drift, down links, duplicate IPs — and actual reachability |
| Deploy | Real-time bridge to PT (auto-reconciles) | No copy-paste — commands stream directly |
| Two channels | HTTP when the extension window is open, file-bridge when it's closed | PT keeps executing with the window minimized/closed |
| Projects | Save / open the real .pkt (pt_save_project / pt_open_project) |
Persist the running topology, not just the plan JSON |
| Export | Plans, JS scripts, CLI configs | Reusable project files on disk |
👉 Full tool reference, device catalog, networking guides and architecture live in the documentation site.
Installation
1. Install the server
git clone https://github.com/Mats2208/MCP-Packet-Tracer
cd MCP-Packet-Tracer
pip install -e .
2. Connect your MCP client (Claude Code shown)
Linux · macOS · Git Bash · Windows cmd.exe:
claude mcp add --scope user --transport stdio packet-tracer -- python -m packet_tracer_mcp --stdio
Windows PowerShell — quote the -- separator, or PowerShell swallows it and Claude aborts with error: unknown option '-m':
claude mcp add --scope user --transport stdio packet-tracer "--" python -m packet_tracer_mcp --stdio
Verify with claude mcp list (look for packet-tracer … ✓ Connected).
3. Install the live-deploy extension — only if you want real-time deploy into a running Packet Tracer
Download V5.pts from Releases, then in Packet Tracer go to Extensions → Scripting → Configure PT Script Modules → Add… and select it. Full walkthrough in Live deploy below.
v0.6.0+ requires V5. The bridge now authenticates with a per-machine token that the V5 extension reads automatically; builds before V5 can't authenticate.
4. Install the Claude Code Skill — recommended; makes the AI use the MCP correctly instead of guessing
The repo ships a companion Agent Skill that teaches the model the exact tool catalog, the discover→plan→validate→deploy workflow, and the precise Script-Engine API (so it never invents method/model/port names). Install it globally from the repo root:
Linux · macOS · Git Bash:
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/packet-tracer && cp skill/SKILL.md ~/.claude/skills/packet-tracer/SKILL.md
Windows PowerShell:
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force "$HOME\.claude\skills\packet-tracer" | Out-Null; Copy-Item skill\SKILL.md "$HOME\.claude\skills\packet-tracer\SKILL.md"
Then run /reload-skills in Claude Code (or restart it) and confirm with /skills. Details →
Skill docs.
Requires Python 3.11+ (deps
mcp[cli]>=1.13,pydantic>=2.11install automatically). Full setup for every client → Installation docs.
Quick start
Just talk to your AI:
"Build a network with 2 routers, 2 switches, 4 PCs, DHCP and static routing."
The LLM calls pt_full_build, which plans → validates → generates → deploys.
See the Quick Start guide.
Live deploy
Stream topologies into a running Packet Tracer in real time. Install this repo's
own MCP Control Center extension once — the .pts from
Releases — via
Extensions → Scripting → Configure PT Script Modules → Add…, then open
Extensions → MCP BUILDER. It auto-connects to the bridge — no snippet to paste.
📖 Full steps → Live Deploy Setup.
Credits & Acknowledgements
Live deploy runs through our own Packet Tracer extension — the MCP Control
Center (the .pts in Releases).
Its Script-Engine helper layer was inspired by
PTBuilder by
Kim Knight (@kimmknight), who pioneered driving
Packet Tracer's Script Engine from JavaScript — thanks for the groundwork. 🙏
PTBuilder and Packet Tracer MCP are separate, independent projects. You install our extension, not PTBuilder. Full Credits & Attribution.
Security
The live-deploy bridge requires a per-machine token as of v0.6.0. Earlier versions had an unauthenticated bridge — any web page open while Packet Tracer was running could execute code inside it. Upgrade.
Found a vulnerability? Report it privately via
GitHub Security Advisories,
not a public issue. SECURITY.md also documents the threat model —
worth reading before reporting, since some behaviour (like pt_send_raw
executing arbitrary JavaScript) is deliberate.
Contributing
See CONTRIBUTING.md. Tests run offline with
python -m pytest; no Packet Tracer needed.
License
Released under the MIT License — © 2026 Mateo (@Mats2208).
Built with MCP · Powered by Pydantic · Deploys to Cisco Packet Tracer · Script-engine logic inspired by PTBuilder
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