Chapter 11. Using the MCP server for RHEL to enable AI assistants to run, discover, and troubleshoot complex issues

Using the Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for RHEL, you can enable LLMs to act as system administrators, capable of discovering and troubleshooting complex issues across your infrastructure.

You can use an AI assistant of your preference, such as Goose or Gemini CLI, and by using SSH through your own account, the tools that your AI assistant runs are subject to the same security restrictions. The MCP server provides a protected way for AI models to perform system administration tasks, troubleshoot issues, and read configuration files on the target system machines.

Use the MCP server for RHEL for read-only Linux system administration with an agent-based AI of your choice on RHEL 10 Base operating system, on-premise hosts. The MCP server for RHEL is available through the RHEL Developer Subscription for production testing and can run on RHEL or Linux, macOS, and Windows 11 operating systems.

Important

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) command-line assistant is Developer Preview software only. Developer Preview software is not supported by Red Hat in any way and is not functionally complete or production-ready. Do not use Developer Preview software for production or business-critical workloads. Developer Preview software provides early access to upcoming product software in advance of its possible inclusion in a Red Hat product offering. Customers can use this software to test functionality and provide feedback during the development process. This software might not have any documentation, is subject to change or removal at any time, and has received limited testing. Red Hat might provide ways to submit feedback on Developer Preview software without an associated SLA.

For more information about the support scope of Red Hat Developer Preview software, see Developer Preview Support Scope.

The MCP server for RHEL has the following capabilities:

Inspect local and target systems for troubleshooting.
Public key discovery to list available public keys from the local ~/.ssh directory.
Comprehensive error handling with clear error messages for connection and execution issues.

The MCP server for RHEL has the following system management features:

Read-only operations: All tools are strictly read-only for safe diagnostics.
Remote SSH execution: Inspect systems by using SSH with key-based authentication.
Local execution: Inspect the local system (when the MCP server is not running in a container).
Multi-host management: Connect to different target system hosts in the same LLM session.
Comprehensive diagnostics: System information, services, processes, logs, network, and storage.
Configurable log access: Use environment variables to control which log files are accessible.

11.1. Using SSH to authenticate the RHEL MCP server to a target machine
リンクのコピー

To enable the RHEL MCP server to connect to your target machine by using SSH, you must use an account with key-based authentication.

Prerequisites

A client machine with the operating system of your choice.
A RHEL target machine.
SSH connectivity between the host running the MCP server and the RHEL target machine.

Procedure

On the client machine, generate an SSH keypair:

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "<your-email@example.com>" -f id_ed25519_mcp

$ ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "<your-email@example.com>" -f id_ed25519_mcp

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On the RHEL target machine, create a non-root user:
1. Access the VM by SSH and run the following commands:
  $ sudo useradd mcp $ sudo passwd tester
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On the client machine, add the target machine to your SSH configuration file:

Edit the ~/.ssh/config configuration file and add the following information:

Host <rhel-10-0>
HostName <target-machine-ip-address>
User <user-test>
Port 22
IdentityFile <path-to-your-ssh-pub-key>
StrictHostKeyChecking no

Host <rhel-10-0>
HostName <target-machine-ip-address>
User <user-test>
Port 22
IdentityFile <path-to-your-ssh-pub-key>
StrictHostKeyChecking no

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Copy your public key from your client machine to the target machine.

ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_mcp.pub mcp@<vm_ip_address>

$ ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_mcp.pub mcp@<vm_ip_address>

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Restart the SSH service:
```
sudo systemctl restart sshd
```
```
$ sudo systemctl restart sshd
```
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11.2. Installing the RHEL MCP server
リンクのコピー

You can install the RHEL MCP server on your host to use it with any AI client. Choose one of the following methods to perform the installation based on your security requirements.

Running the MCP server from a container for enhanced security.
Installing the MCP server locally by using pip package manager for direct host administration.

11.2.1. Running the MCP server for RHEL from a container image
リンクのコピー

You can run the MCP server on your system by using a container image. The MCP server uses SSH to connect to target system hosts. You must make the SSH keys available inside the container. If the SSH key is encrypted, you must provide a passphrase to decrypt the key.

Note

In container-based scenarios, you cannot use the MCP server for RHEL to inspect the local system.

Prerequisites

The container-tools meta-package is installed.
Podman is installed on your host machine.
A target machine where the MCP server for RHEL executes commands by SSH.

Procedure

On the LLM client, run the container image:

podman run --rm --interactive --userns keep-id:uid=1001,gid=0 -e LINUX_MCP_KEY_PASSPHRASE -e LINUX_MCP_USER -v $HOME/.ssh/id_ed25519_mcp:/var/lib/mcp/.ssh/id_ed25519:ro,Z -v $HOME/.local/share/linux-mcp-server/logs:/var/lib/mcp/.local/share/linux-mcp-server/logs:rw,Z quay.io/redhat-services-prod/rhel-lightspeed-tenant/linux-mcp-server:latest

podman run --rm --interactive --userns keep-id:uid=1001,gid=0 -e LINUX_MCP_KEY_PASSPHRASE -e LINUX_MCP_USER -v $HOME/.ssh/id_ed25519_mcp:/var/lib/mcp/.ssh/id_ed25519:ro,Z -v $HOME/.local/share/linux-mcp-server/logs:/var/lib/mcp/.local/share/linux-mcp-server/logs:rw,Z quay.io/redhat-services-prod/rhel-lightspeed-tenant/linux-mcp-server:latest

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The --rm option removes the container image after the container exits.

Verification

List the running containers:
```
podman ps
```
```
$ podman ps
```
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11.2.2. Installing the MCP server for RHEL by using pip
リンクのコピー

The MCP server for RHEL runs locally on the same machine as your AI agent. The MCP server for RHEL is responsible for connecting to your target RHEL machine. Your AI agent communicates with this local server by standard I/O (stdio).

Prerequisites

Python 3.10 or higher.
```
sudo dnf install python3 python3-pip
```
```
$ sudo dnf install python3 python3-pip
```
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Procedure

Install the package from PyPI:
```
pip install --user linux-mcp-server
```
```
$ pip install --user linux-mcp-server
```
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Verification

Test the server:
```
~/.local/bin/linux-mcp-server
```
```
$ ~/.local/bin/linux-mcp-server
```
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The server starts and displays initialization messages.
To stop the MCP server, press the Ctrl+C keys, then the Return key.

Next steps

Configure the MCP server for RHEL for use with your AI client.

11.2.3. Configuring the MCP server for RHEL in your AI client
リンクのコピー

To integrate your AI clients with the RHEL MCP server, use a JSON configuration and embed it directly into the AI application settings file or include it as a separate JSON file.

The MCP server for RHEL JSON configuration requires the following parameters:

Expand

MCP Server or Connection Type	Standard IO (STDIO)
ID / Name	`linux-tools`
Description	Linux system diagnostics
Command	`/home/<your-username>/.local/bin/linux-mcp-server`
Arguments	[] (Empty array)
Environment Variables	`LINUX_MCP_USER=<your-ssh-username>`

Prerequisites

AI client of your choice.

Procedure

Add the mcpServers JSON configuration to integrate into your AI application:

{
 "mcpServers": {
   "linux-mcp-server": {
     "command": "~/.local/bin/linux-mcp-server",
     "args": [],
     "env": {
       "LINUX_MCP_USER": "<your-ssh-username>"
     }
   }
 }
}

{
 "mcpServers": {
   "linux-mcp-server": {
     "command": "~/.local/bin/linux-mcp-server",
     "args": [],
     "env": {
       "LINUX_MCP_USER": "<your-ssh-username>"
     }
   }
 }
}

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11.3. Using the MCP server for RHEL to query information from a RHEL system
リンクのコピー

You can use the MCP server for RHEL to enable an LLM to obtain and analyze RHEL system logs, including journald and syslog data, to detect advanced anomalies, security threat identification, and AI-driven root cause analysis, turning log data into actionable intelligence.

You can also use the MCP server for RHEL to enable an LLM to run commands on the RHEL system.

Prerequisites

You installed the MCP server for RHEL.

Procedure

Optional: Configure environment variables to select which log files the MCP server for RHEL can access, and the logging level required.

export LINUX_MCP_ALLOWED_LOG_PATHS="/var/log/messages,/var/log/secure,/var/log/audit/audit.log"
export LINUX_MCP_LOG_LEVEL="INFO"

export LINUX_MCP_ALLOWED_LOG_PATHS="/var/log/messages,/var/log/secure,/var/log/audit/audit.log"
export LINUX_MCP_LOG_LEVEL="INFO"

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Run the RHEL MCP server.
```
linux-mcp-server
```
```
$ linux-mcp-server
```
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Ask questions, for example:

"What version of RHEL is this system running?"
"Show me the current CPU load and usage per core."
"How much memory is being used on this system?"
"Which filesystems are running out of space?"
"What hardware is installed in this system?"
"Show me all critical and error logs since yesterday."

"What version of RHEL is this system running?"
"Show me the current CPU load and usage per core."
"How much memory is being used on this system?"
"Which filesystems are running out of space?"
"What hardware is installed in this system?"
"Show me all critical and error logs since yesterday."

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Warning

Current known issues and limitations:

You might experience issues getting the SSH authentication working in the container, especially with Docker, because it does not support user namespace mapping. To workaround this issue, the SSH key file must be owned by UID 1001 on the container host.
When you run the MCP server for RHEL in a container, it cannot inspect the local system due to the isolation of containerized environments.

Chapter 11. Using the MCP server for RHEL to enable AI assistants to run, discover, and troubleshoot complex issues

11.1. Using SSH to authenticate the RHEL MCP server to a target machine
リンクのコピー

11.2. Installing the RHEL MCP server
リンクのコピー

11.2.1. Running the MCP server for RHEL from a container image
リンクのコピー

11.2.2. Installing the MCP server for RHEL by using pip
リンクのコピー

11.2.3. Configuring the MCP server for RHEL in your AI client
リンクのコピー

11.3. Using the MCP server for RHEL to query information from a RHEL system
リンクのコピー

詳細情報

試用、購入および販売

コミュニティー

Red Hat ドキュメントについて

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Chapter 11. Using the MCP server for RHEL to enable AI assistants to run, discover, and troubleshoot complex issues

11.1. Using SSH to authenticate the RHEL MCP server to a target machineリンクのコピーリンクがクリップボードにコピーされました!

11.2. Installing the RHEL MCP serverリンクのコピーリンクがクリップボードにコピーされました!

11.2.1. Running the MCP server for RHEL from a container imageリンクのコピーリンクがクリップボードにコピーされました!

11.2.2. Installing the MCP server for RHEL by using pipリンクのコピーリンクがクリップボードにコピーされました!

11.2.3. Configuring the MCP server for RHEL in your AI clientリンクのコピーリンクがクリップボードにコピーされました!

11.3. Using the MCP server for RHEL to query information from a RHEL systemリンクのコピーリンクがクリップボードにコピーされました!

詳細情報

試用、購入および販売

コミュニティー

Red Hat ドキュメントについて

多様性を受け入れるオープンソースの強化

会社概要

Theme

Red Hat legal and privacy links

Red Hat legal and privacy links

11.1. Using SSH to authenticate the RHEL MCP server to a target machine
リンクのコピー

11.2. Installing the RHEL MCP server
リンクのコピー

11.2.1. Running the MCP server for RHEL from a container image
リンクのコピー

11.2.2. Installing the MCP server for RHEL by using pip
リンクのコピー

11.2.3. Configuring the MCP server for RHEL in your AI client
リンクのコピー

11.3. Using the MCP server for RHEL to query information from a RHEL system
リンクのコピー