Network Device Assistant

A local MCP server that gives Claude Code direct access to network devices via serial console and SSH, with a built-in safety layer and persistent knowledge base.

What it does

• Connect to devices over serial (COM ports) or SSH
• Send CLI commands with automatic safety classification
• Build a growing knowledge base from every session (device profiles, known issues, command library)
• Search scripts, manuals, and customer configs from a shared folder

Safety model

Risk level	Example commands	Behaviour
Safe	show, ping, display, traceroute	Executes immediately
Dangerous	configure, reload, write, delete	Requires confirmed=true
Blocked	format flash, erase startup-config, factory-default	Always blocked

Quick start

1. Install dependencies

pip install -r requirements.txt

2. Configure paths

cp mcp-server/config.example.yaml mcp-server/config.yaml

Edit config.yaml and set onedrive_root to your shared folder path.

3. Register with Claude Code

cp mcp_config.example.json mcp_config.json

Edit mcp_config.json with the full path to mcp-server/server.py, then:

claude mcp add network-assistant --config mcp_config.json

4. Create your context folder

cp -r context.example context

Fill in context/device_profiles.md with your devices.

Project structure

SSH Plugin/
  mcp-server/
    server.py              MCP entry point
    safety.py              Command risk classifier
    config.example.yaml    Config template (copy to config.yaml)
  local-api/
    session_manager.py     Session tracking
    serial_service.py      pyserial serial console
    ssh_service.py         paramiko SSH
    file_service.py        Context file search and read/write
  context.example/         Safe template context files
  context/                 Your knowledge base (gitignored)
  sessions/                Session logs (gitignored)
  requirements.txt

Knowledge base

Operational knowledge lives in context/ as plain markdown files:

File	Contents
device_profiles.md	Per-device connection details, baud rates, interface maps
known_issues.md	Documented symptoms and resolutions
command_library.md	CLI command reference by device family
troubleshooting_history.md	Log of past sessions

Claude writes to these automatically during sessions — baud rates, working commands, resolved issues — so every session is smarter than the last.

Device notes

RAD ETX

• Use info for running config (not show running-config — that is Cisco syntax)
• To check router interfaces: configure router 1 → info → exit
• ETX devices often use non-standard baud rates — confirm before connecting

Requirements

• Python 3.11+
• Claude Code with MCP support
• Windows (serial port access via pyserial)