Sheridan Lab Jack

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that exposes 6 network management tools for a Nokia SR Linux device running in ContainerLab. Designed to be used with Claude Code as the AI agent.

Architecture

┌──────────────┐      MCP (stdio)      ┌──────────────────┐      SSH       ┌──────────────┐
│  Claude Code │ ◄──────────────────► │  sheridan-lab-jack │ ◄──────────► │  Nokia SR    │
│  (AI Agent)  │                      │  (MCP Server)      │              │  Linux       │
└──────────────┘                      └──────────────────┘              │  (ContainerLab)│
                                                                        └──────────────┘

Tools (6 total)

Read Tools (5)

Tool	Description
get_device_info	Returns hostname, software version, chassis type, uptime
get_interfaces	Lists all interfaces with admin/oper state and IP addresses
get_routes	Shows the full routing table
get_running_config	Retrieves running configuration (full or by section)
get_network_instances	Lists all VRFs/network-instances and their interfaces

Write Tools (1)

Tool	Description
configure_interface	Sets IP address, admin state, and description on an interface

Prerequisites

• Linux (Ubuntu 20.04+ recommended)
• Docker (20.10+)
• ContainerLab (0.44+)
• Python 3.10+
• Claude Code CLI (requires Anthropic Pro subscription)
• sshpass (sudo apt install sshpass)

Quick Start

1. Install ContainerLab

sudo bash -c "$(curl -sL https://get.containerlab.dev)"

2. Start the Lab

cd sheridan-lab-jack
sudo containerlab deploy --topo topology.yml

Wait ~60 seconds for SR Linux to fully boot. Verify with:

sudo docker ps  # should show clab-sheridan-lab-jack-srl running

3. Install Python Dependencies

pip install -r requirements.txt
sudo apt install sshpass -y

4. Test SSH Connectivity

sshpass -p 'NokiaSrl1!' ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no admin@clab-sheridan-lab-jack-srl -- "info from state /system information"

5. Connect Claude Code

cd sheridan-lab-jack
claude

Claude Code automatically reads .mcp.json from the project directory. Once inside Claude Code, verify with:

> use get_device_info to check the device

Environment Variables

Variable	Default	Description
DEVICE_HOST	clab-sheridan-lab-jack-srl	Hostname or IP of the SR Linux container
DEVICE_USERNAME	admin	SSH username
DEVICE_PASSWORD	NokiaSrl1!	SSH password

Credentials are never hardcoded in the server code. They are read from environment variables at runtime and passed via .mcp.json.

Input Validation

All write tools validate inputs before execution:

• IP addresses: Dotted-decimal regex validation
• Prefix lengths: Range check (0-32)
• Interface names: Pattern matching for SR Linux format (ethernet-X/Y, lo0, mgmt0, system0)
• Hostnames: RFC-compliant alphanumeric + hyphens, 1-63 chars
• Descriptions: Alphanumeric with basic punctuation, max 80 chars
• Config section names: Alphanumeric and hyphens only

Cleanup

sudo containerlab destroy --topo topology.yml

Example Claude Code Session

You: get device info
Claude: [calls get_device_info] The device is a Nokia SR Linux running version...

You: show me all interfaces
Claude: [calls get_interfaces] Here are the interfaces...

You: configure ethernet-1/1 with IP 192.168.50.1/24 and description "uplink"
Claude: [calls configure_interface] Successfully configured ethernet-1/1...

You: verify the change by showing interfaces again
Claude: [calls get_interfaces] Confirmed — ethernet-1/1 now has IP 192.168.50.1/24...

License

MIT