LDAP Assistant

Version License: GPL v3

Beta — read-only 389 Directory Server diagnostics, suitable for evaluation and internal troubleshooting. Tool schemas, output formats, and configuration fields may still change before 1.0.0.

LDAP Assistant MCP turns your AI assistant into a 389 Directory Server support engineer. Point it at live servers, stopped instances, or an SOS report from a customer case, and ask:

• "What's wrong with my directory servers?"
• "Summarize this SOS report before I open the case."
• "Replication looks broken between these servers — why?"

It answers with prioritized findings (severity, impact, remediation) from 42 read-only diagnostic tools built on lib389, the official 389 DS administration library. Privacy mode is on by default: DNs, hostnames, and IPs are redacted before anything reaches the LLM.

Supported provider: 389 Directory Server. (OpenLDAP provider code exists experimentally behind an opt-in flag, with no privacy guarantees, and is not part of the support contract — see Environment Variables.)

Install

Prerequisites

• Linux (primary) or macOS. Windows is not supported natively (python-ldap has no official Windows wheels) — use WSL2 (see the install playbook)

• Python 3.11+ (3.13 is what CI tests against)

• uv package manager

• MCP client (Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, Gemini CLI, etc.)

• System development libraries (needed to build python-ldap):

  Fedora / RHEL / CentOS:

  sudo dnf install python3-devel openldap-devel cyrus-sasl-devel openssl-devel gcc
  

  Ubuntu / Debian:

  sudo apt install python3-dev libldap2-dev libsasl2-dev libssl-dev gcc
  

  macOS (Homebrew):

  brew install openldap
  export LDFLAGS="-L$(brew --prefix openldap)/lib"
  export CPPFLAGS="-I$(brew --prefix openldap)/include"
  

Anything failing during install? → Installation troubleshooting playbook

From PyPI (recommended)

No clone needed — your MCP client runs the published package via uvx. Skip ahead to Configure your servers, then use this client configuration (Claude Desktop: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json on macOS):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ldap-assistant-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["ldap-assistant-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "LDAP_SERVERS_CONFIG": "/absolute/path/to/servers.json"
      }
    }
  }
}

Use an absolute path for LDAP_SERVERS_CONFIG — relative paths resolve against the MCP client's working directory, which is usually not where you think.

From source (development)

git clone https://github.com/droideck/ldap-assistant-mcp.git
cd ldap-assistant-mcp
uv venv && source .venv/bin/activate
uv pip install -e .[dev]

# Register with your MCP client via FastMCP:
fastmcp install claude-desktop fastmcp.json   # or: fastmcp install claude-code fastmcp.json

Then set LDAP_SERVERS_CONFIG in the generated client entry as above. See the Development Guide for test containers and architecture.

Configure your servers

Create a servers.json with your LDAP server(s). Note: the name field is never redacted in privacy mode — it is passed as-is to AI agents so they can reference servers across tool calls. Do not put hostnames, IPs, or other private information in server names.

{
  "servers": [
    {
      "name": "local-ds",
      "ldap_url": "ldap://localhost:389",
      "base_dn": "dc=example,dc=com",
      "bind_dn": "cn=Directory Manager",
      "bind_password": "your-password",
      "provider_type": "389ds",
      "is_local": true,
      "serverid": "localhost"
    },
    {
      "name": "remote-ds",
      "ldap_url": "ldap://ldap.example.com:389",
      "base_dn": "dc=example,dc=com",
      "bind_dn": "cn=Directory Manager",
      "bind_password": "your-password",
      "provider_type": "389ds"
    },
    {
      "name": "stopped-ds",
      "ldap_url": "ldap://localhost:389",
      "base_dn": "dc=example,dc=com",
      "bind_dn": "cn=Directory Manager",
      "bind_password": "unused-in-offline-mode",
      "provider_type": "389ds",
      "is_local": true,
      "serverid": "localhost",
      "is_offline": true
    },
    {
      "name": "sos-report",
      "provider_type": "389ds",
      "is_archive": true,
      "archive_path": "/path/to/sosreport-host-2025/",
      "instance_name": "slapd-instance"
    }
  ]
}

Note: serverid is the instance name without the slapd- prefix (e.g. localhost for the instance slapd-localhost).

The four server modes

Mode	Config	What you get
Remote	ldap_url only	Health, replication, performance, config, and entry tools over LDAP. No log/disk/cert access
Local	+ is_local: true, serverid	Everything above plus log analysis, disk monitoring, certificate checks, process metrics
Offline	+ is_offline: true	A stopped local instance, analyzed via dse.ldif and log files — no LDAP connection. For post-mortems and instances that won't start
Archive	is_archive: true, archive_path	An SOS report or config/log extract from any machine (tarball or directory, auto-detected layout). No LDAP, no local instance required

Tools that need a live connection tell you so — the error names the tools that do work in that server's mode, so the investigation continues instead of dead-ending.

Remote LDAPS certificate verification: remote ldaps:// servers verify the server certificate by default ("tls_verify": true, or the LDAP_TLS_VERIFY environment variable for env-based config). To connect to a server with a self-signed or otherwise untrusted certificate, set "tls_verify": false on that server entry — this disables certificate verification entirely, so use it only for trusted lab environments. Local instances (is_local: true) instead use the instance's own NSS certificate directory.

After editing the client config or servers.json, restart your MCP client, then verify: ask "Which LDAP servers are configured?"

Privacy mode

By default, privacy mode is enabled — sensitive data (DNs, hostnames, IPs, user details) is redacted from tool outputs. Tools that expose individual entries (get_user_details, ldap_search) are disabled; list tools return counts only. Diagnostic metrics (counts, ratios, percentages) remain visible.

To enable full data access in trusted environments only:

{
  "env": {
    "LDAP_MCP_EXPOSE_SENSITIVE_DATA": "true"
  }
}

Important: Only enable this with local models, private cloud LLM instances, or when working with test/sample data. Avoid enabling with public LLMs when connected to production directories — your directory information could be included in their training data or logs.

When privacy mode is enabled (default):

• Hostnames, DNs, IP addresses, and suffixes are anonymized
• Configuration values are redacted
• Sensitive tools are disabled
• Diagnostic metrics (counts, ratios, percentages) remain visible
• Server names (the name field in servers.json) are never redacted — they are user-chosen labels that must remain stable across tool calls. Do not put hostnames, IPs, or other private information in server names.

Data handling

• No telemetry. The server collects nothing and phones home to no one.
• Everything runs locally. Directory data is read from your LDAP servers, local instances, or archive files and returned only to your MCP client — which forwards tool results to whatever LLM you have configured. Privacy mode (on by default) redacts sensitive values before they leave the server process.
• Credentials stay in your local servers.json / environment variables; they are never included in tool output and tool errors are sanitized.

First questions to ask

You want	Ask / use	Behind it
A health overview of everything	"What's wrong with my directory servers?"	first_look
An SOS report summarized	"Analyze the sos-report archive" or the archive_investigation prompt	analyze_archive → archive playbook
To know which tool fits a goal	the tool_navigator prompt	tool map for a stated goal
Guided replication triage	the diagnose_replication prompt	replication tool sequence
Guided performance triage	the performance_investigation prompt	performance tool sequence
A morning ops review	the daily_health_check prompt	health + monitoring sweep

Playbooks (symptom → tools → what they can't know → how to verify by hand):

• Summarize an SOS report before opening the case
• Installation troubleshooting

Tools by group

42 read-only tools — full reference with parameters in TOOLS.md.

Group	Tools	Highlights
Health	first_look, run_healthcheck, list_healthchecks, server_health	Multi-server overview; full dsctl healthcheck equivalent
Replication	get_replication_status, get_replication_topology, check_replication_lag, list_replication_conflicts, get_agreement_status	RUV/CSN analysis, topology mapping, conflict entries
Performance	get_performance_summary, cache/connection/operation/thread/resource statistics	Bottleneck detection and tuning recommendations
Indexes	list_indexes, analyze_index_configuration, find_unindexed_searches	Access-log-driven unindexed search hunting
Configuration	get_server_configuration, compare_server_configurations, list_plugins, get_backend_configuration	Live and offline (dse.ldif) paths
Logs	analyze_access_log / analyze_error_log / analyze_audit_log (stats, privacy-safe), parse_*_log (full entries, requires sensitive-data mode)	Traditional and JSON log formats
Archive / SOS	analyze_archive, validate_configuration, compare_dse_configs	Inventory, offline config lint, full dse.ldif diff
Users & Groups	list/search/inspect users, active/locked filters, groups	Count-only in privacy mode
Advanced	ldap_search, run_monitor, list_servers, cn=config resources	Generic search (sensitive-data mode only)

Environment Variable Reference

Variable	Default	Purpose
LDAP_SERVERS_CONFIG	–	Absolute path to servers.json (multi-server config; preferred)
LDAP_PROVIDER	dirsrv	Server implementation. Only dirsrv (389 DS) is supported; openldap requires the opt-in flag below
LDAP_MCP_EXPERIMENTAL_OPENLDAP	false	Opt in to the experimental OpenLDAP provider (two tools, no privacy guarantees)
LDAP_MCP_EXPOSE_SENSITIVE_DATA	false	Disable privacy mode (see Privacy Mode)
LDAP_MCP_DEBUG	false	Enable debug logging and tracebacks in tool errors
LDAP_MCP_TOOL_TIMEOUT	30	Per-tool-call timeout in seconds
LDAP_MCP_MAX_TOOL_TIMEOUT	120	Timeout ceiling for heavy tools (first_look, archive comparison, …)
LDAP_CONNECT_TIMEOUT	30	LDAP network/operation timeout in seconds (prevents hangs on unreachable servers)

Single-server fallback (used only when LDAP_SERVERS_CONFIG is not set):

Variable	Default	Purpose
LDAP_URL	–	Full LDAP URL (alternative to hostname/port/SSL vars)
LDAP_HOSTNAME / LDAP_PORT / LDAP_USE_SSL	localhost / 389 / false	Connection parameters
LDAP_BASE_DN	–	Default search base
LDAP_BIND_DN / LDAP_BIND_PASSWORD	cn=Directory Manager / –	Bind credentials (no default password)
LDAP_AUTH_METHOD	simple	simple or anonymous (the only implemented binds; LDAPI/SASL EXTERNAL is selected via LDAP_USE_LDAPI, not here)
LDAP_IS_LOCAL / LDAP_SERVERID	false / –	Enable local-instance features (logs, disk, certs)
LDAP_USE_LDAPI	false	Connect over the LDAPI unix socket
LDAP_IS_OFFLINE	false	Treat the local instance as stopped (offline mode)
LDAP_TLS_VERIFY	true	Verify the server certificate on remote ldaps:// connections (set false only for trusted labs)

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Cause / Fix
python-ldap fails to build during install	Missing system headers — see the install playbook
Tools report a default localhost server instead of your config	LDAP_SERVERS_CONFIG not set or not loadable in the MCP client config — see servers.json path resolution
list_* tools return only counts; ldap_search/get_user_details refuse to run	That's privacy mode (default, working as intended) — see Privacy Mode
"requires a running server with a live LDAP connection" errors	The target is an offline/archive server — the error message lists the tools that do work there
LDAPI connection fails for a local server	Check serverid has no slapd- prefix and the instance socket exists

No LDAP server to test against? The Development Guide spins up test containers with Docker.

Limitations

• Beta — Tool schemas, output formats, and configuration fields may change before 1.0.0
• LLM interpretation — Tools return accurate data, but the LLM interprets it. Hallucinations are possible. Always verify recommendations before acting.
• Read-only — No write operations yet
• Plain text passwords — Use restrictive file permissions on config files
• STDIO transport only — No HTTP/SSE support yet

Documentation

Document	Description
Changelog	Version history and release notes
Archive / SOS playbook	Summarize an SOS report before opening the case
Install playbook	python-ldap builds, WSL2, uvx, config path resolution
Development Guide	Dev environment setup, configuration, architecture
Testing Guide	Running and writing tests
Contributing Guide	How to contribute
Release Checklist	How releases are cut and verified
389 DS Tools	389 Directory Server tools reference
OpenLDAP Tools	OpenLDAP tools reference (experimental, opt-in only)

License

GPL-3.0-or-later. Built on lib389 (the official 389 Directory Server administration library) and FastMCP.

References

• PyPI package
• Official MCP Registry — listed as io.github.droideck/ldap-assistant-mcp
• Model Context Protocol
• 389 Directory Server
• FastMCP 2.0