<div align="center">

<img src="https://www.netacad.com/skillsforall/img/desktop/cisco_packet_tracer.png" width="36" align="center"/> Packet Tracer MCP Server

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.

<br/> <table> <tr> <td align="center"><strong>22 MCP Tools</strong></td> <td align="center"><strong>5 MCP Resources</strong></td> <td align="center"><strong>74 Device Models</strong></td> <td align="center"><strong>150 Modules</strong></td> <td align="center"><strong>15 Cable Types</strong></td> </tr> </table> </div>

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Showcase

<p align="center"> <img src="demo/topology-screenshot.png" alt="3-router OSPF topology deployed to Packet Tracer" width="720"/> </p> <p align="center">_{3-router linear topology with OSPF, DHCP, and 6 PCs — planned and deployed via MCP tools}</p> <table> <tr> <td width="50%"> <p align="center"><img src="demo/mcp-client.png" alt="MCP tools executing in VS Code" width="100%"/></p> <p align="center">_{Full build + live deploy pipeline in VS Code}</p> </td> <td width="50%"> <p align="center"><img src="demo/cli-config.png" alt="Generated IOS CLI configs" width="100%"/></p> <p align="center">_{Auto-generated IOS CLI configs with OSPF & DHCP}</p> </td> </tr> </table> <details> <summary><strong>More screenshots — MCP server in different clients</strong></summary> <br/> <p align="center"> <img src="img/Foto1.png" alt="MCP server connected in OpenAI Codex CLI" width="700"/> </p> <p align="center">_{MCP server running — tools and resources exposed in OpenAI Codex CLI}</p> <p align="center"> <img src="img/Foto2.png" alt="MCP server connected in Claude Code" width="700"/> </p> <p align="center">_{MCP server connected in Claude Code — ready to receive tool calls}</p> <p align="center"> <img src="img/LinuxCapture.png" alt="MCP server connected in Claude Code using Arch Linux" width="700"/> </p> <p align="center">_{MCP server connected in Claude Code on Arch Linux}</p> </details> <p align="center"> <img src="demo/live-deploy.gif" alt="Live deploy demo — from prompt to Packet Tracer in real time" width="720"/> </p> <p align="center">_{Live deploy — from natural-language prompt to running topology in Packet Tracer}</p>

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Table of Contents

• What It Does
• Installation
• Quick Start
• How It Works
• MCP Tools (22)
• MCP Resources (5)
• Live Deploy Setup
• Supported Devices (74)
• Cable Types (15)
• Expansion Modules (150)
• IP Addressing
• Routing Protocols
• Topology Templates
• Architecture
• Testing
• Requirements

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◈ What It Does

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that gives any LLM (GitHub Copilot, Claude, Codex, etc.) full programmatic control over Cisco Packet Tracer. 22 MCP tools and 5 MCP resources cover the complete workflow:

Natural language prompt
        │
  LLM (GitHub Copilot / Claude)
        │  MCP tools
  Packet Tracer MCP Server   (:39000)
        │  HTTP bridge
  PTBuilder in Packet Tracer  (:54321)
        │  Script Engine
  Cisco Packet Tracer
  ── devices created
  ── cables connected
  ── IOS configs applied

Key capabilities:

| | Feature | Details | |---|---------|---------| | Planning | Natural-language to topology | From a single prompt to a complete TopologyPlan | | IP Addressing | Automatic /24 LANs + /30 WAN links | Sequential assignment, gateway at .1 | | DHCP | Auto pool generation | One pool per LAN, gateway excluded | | Routing | Static / OSPF / EIGRP / RIP | Full IOS command generation | | Validation | 15 typed error codes + auto-fixer | Wrong cables, missing ports, model upgrades | | Deploy | Real-time HTTP bridge to Packet Tracer | No copy-paste — commands stream directly | | Export | Plans, JS scripts, CLI configs to disk | Reusable project files | | Catalog | 74 devices · 150 modules · 15 cables | 34 categories, 101 aliases |

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◈ Installation

git clone https://github.com/Mats2208/MCP-Packet-Tracer
cd MCP-Packet-Tracer
pip install -e .

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◈ Quick Start

1 — Start the server

python -m packet_tracer_mcp

This starts two services automatically:

| Service | Endpoint | Purpose | |---------|----------|---------| | MCP Server | http://127.0.0.1:39000/mcp | Receives tool calls from your editor/LLM | | HTTP Bridge | http://127.0.0.1:54321 | Sends commands to PTBuilder inside Packet Tracer |

For stdio mode (debug/legacy): python -m packet_tracer_mcp --stdio

2 — Connect your MCP client

<details> <summary><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/VS%20Code-007ACC?style=flat-square&logo=visualstudiocode&logoColor=white" alt="VS Code"/> &ensp; <code>.vscode/mcp.json</code></summary>

{
  "servers": {
    "packet-tracer": {
      "url": "http://127.0.0.1:39000/mcp"
    }
  }
}

</details> <details> <summary><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Claude%20Desktop-D97757?style=flat-square&logo=anthropic&logoColor=white" alt="Claude Desktop"/> &ensp; <code>claude_desktop_config.json</code></summary>

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "packet-tracer": {
      "url": "http://127.0.0.1:39000/mcp"
    }
  }
}

</details>

3 — Ask your LLM to build a network

"Create a network with 2 routers, 2 switches, 4 PCs, DHCP and static routing"

The server handles the rest: planning → validation → generation → deploy.

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◈ How It Works

Data Flow

TopologyRequest
      │
  Orchestrator ─── IPPlanner (assigns /24 LANs + /30 inter-router links)
      │
  Validator    ─── 15 typed error codes, port/cable/IP checks
      │
  AutoFixer    ─── fixes wrong cables, upgrades routers, reassigns ports
      │
  TopologyPlan (validated, fully addressed)
      │
  ┌──────────────────┬──────────────────────┬──────────────────────┐
  ▼                  ▼                      ▼                      ▼
addDevice()      addModule()            addLink()        configureIosDevice()
(place device)   (HWIC/NIM/NM)          (cable)          configurePcIp()
  │                  │                      │                      │
PTBuilder Script ── sent via HTTP bridge ─▶ Packet Tracer Script Engine

Why Port 39000?

<details> <summary>Design rationale</summary>

The server uses streamable-http instead of stdio. This means:

• Persistent — stays running, not restarted per editor session
• Multiple clients — VS Code, Claude Desktop, and others can connect simultaneously
• Shared state — the HTTP bridge to Packet Tracer stays alive across requests
• Debuggable — curl http://127.0.0.1:39000/mcp or tail logs in the terminal
• Decoupled — server lifecycle is independent from the editor

Port 39000 was chosen to avoid collisions with common ports (3000, 5000, 8000, 8080) and the internal bridge at 54321.

</details>

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◈ MCP Tools

22 tools across 7 groups.

Catalog

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | pt_list_devices | Lists all 74 supported devices with their port specs | | pt_list_templates | Lists available topology templates | | pt_get_device_details | Full port/interface details for a specific model |

Estimation

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | pt_estimate_plan | Dry-run: counts devices, links, configs without generating the full plan |

Planning

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | pt_plan_topology | Generates a complete TopologyPlan — devices, links, IPs, DHCP, routes, modules |

pt_plan_topology returns machine-readable JSON. Use its output as input for all downstream tools.

Validation & Fixing

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | pt_validate_plan | Validates a plan against 15 typed error codes | | pt_fix_plan | Auto-corrects common errors (wrong cables, missing ports, model upgrades) | | pt_explain_plan | Returns a natural-language explanation of every decision in the plan |

Generation

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | pt_generate_script | Generates the PTBuilder JavaScript script (addDevice, addModule, addLink) | | pt_generate_configs | Generates per-device IOS CLI config blocks |

Full Pipeline

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | pt_full_build | All-in-one: plan + validate + generate + explain + estimate in a single call |

pt_full_build returns a human-readable report. It includes the JSON plan at the end for reference but is not intended as direct JSON input for other tools. Use pt_plan_topology for that.

Live Deploy

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | pt_deploy | Copies the script to clipboard with paste-in in