AI via MCP

Radar includes a built-in Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that lets AI assistants query your Kubernetes cluster. For the design rationale and what the tools return, see the MCP deep dive. Looking for the built-in AI investigations instead - where Radar drives your agent CLI against a failing resource for you? That’s Diagnose.

Why MCP instead of raw kubectl?

Giving an AI assistant raw kubectl access has problems:

Token waste - kubectl get pod -o yaml returns verbose YAML full of managed fields, status conditions, and metadata noise that burns through LLM context windows
No enrichment - raw output lacks topology relationships, health assessments, or cross-resource correlation
Write access risk - kubectl can modify and delete resources

Radar’s MCP server solves these:

Token-optimized - resources are minified, stripping noise (managed fields, internal annotations, redundant status) while preserving what matters
Enriched data - topology graphs, health assessments, deduplicated events, filtered logs (prioritizing errors/warnings)
Safe operations - read tools are read-only (readOnlyHint); write tools (restart, scale, rollback, sync, apply, cordon/drain) are RBAC-enforced and annotated destructiveHint so AI clients can prompt for confirmation
Secret-safe - Secret data is never exposed, environment values are redacted, log output is scrubbed for API keys and tokens
RBAC-aware - respects your cluster’s RBAC permissions
Vendor-neutral - works with any MCP-compatible AI tool

Enabling / Disabling

The MCP server is enabled by default when Radar starts. To disable it:

radar --no-mcp

MCP Endpoint

http://localhost:9280/mcp

The port matches your --port flag (default 9280). The MCP server uses HTTP transport with JSON-RPC.

Catalog Introspection

MCP registries and inspectors can start Radar without a Kubernetes cluster when they only need the tool and resource catalog:

radar --mcp-catalog-only --no-browser

This mode skips Kubernetes initialization and starts the /mcp endpoint for schema introspection. Cluster-backed tool calls still require a normal Radar process connected to Kubernetes. For registries that launch MCP servers over stdio, use:

radar --mcp-catalog-stdio

This exposes the same tool and resource catalog over stdio without starting the HTTP UI server. The stdio mode is intended only for catalog introspection; normal Radar sessions use the HTTP endpoint above.

Setup Instructions

Connect your AI tool to Radar’s MCP server. Radar must be running first (radar or kubectl radar).

Claude Code

Run this command:

claude mcp add radar --transport http http://localhost:9280/mcp

Claude Desktop

Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "radar": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "http://localhost:9280/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Cursor

Add to ~/.cursor/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "radar": {
      "url": "http://localhost:9280/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Windsurf

Add to ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "radar": {
      "serverUrl": "http://localhost:9280/mcp"
    }
  }
}

VS Code Copilot

Add to .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace:

{
  "servers": {
    "radar": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "http://localhost:9280/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Cline

Add via the Cline MCP settings UI:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "radar": {
      "url": "http://localhost:9280/mcp",
      "type": "streamableHttp"
    }
  }
}

JetBrains AI

Add via Settings > Tools > AI Assistant > MCP:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "radar": {
      "url": "http://localhost:9280/mcp"
    }
  }
}

OpenAI Codex

Add to ~/.codex/config.toml:

[mcp_servers.radar]
url = "http://localhost:9280/mcp"

Gemini CLI

Add to ~/.gemini/settings.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "radar": {
      "httpUrl": "http://localhost:9280/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Available Tools

Read Tools

Tool	Description	Parameters
`issues`	”What’s broken right now?” - a ranked, curated stream of live operational failures: failing workloads/pods, active native Helm release failures or stuck pending operations (`kind=HelmRelease`, `group=helm.sh`), dangling references, pod-startup blockers (unschedulable / admission-rejected / stuck post-bind), and False CRD conditions. No source filter; each row carries a `source` label sliceable via `filter`. Recovered Helm rollbacks are deploy history, not live issues; use `get_changes` for Helm deployment history and `get_helm_release` for native Helm full revision/history/hook diagnostics. Flux `HelmRelease` rows (`group=helm.toolkit.fluxcd.io`) are GitOps reconcilers and should use `diagnose`. For static posture use `get_cluster_audit`; for raw events use `get_events`.	`namespace` (optional), `severity` (optional: `critical,warning`), `kind` (optional), `filter` (optional CEL), `limit` (optional, default 200, max 1000)
`diagnose`	Root-cause one workload or GitOps reconciler in a single call. Pod/Deployment/StatefulSet/DaemonSet get minified resource + `resourceContext` + current AND previous container logs across pods + filtered events + `startupBlockers`; Application/Kustomization/Flux HelmRelease get reconciler status + related parsed issues.	`kind` (required: workload or GitOps reconciler), `namespace` (required), `name` (required)
`get_dashboard`	Cluster/namespace health overview - resource counts, failing pods, unhealthy workloads, warning events, Helm status. Inventory-style triage before drilling in.	`namespace` (optional)
`top_resources`	Live metrics ranked like `kubectl top	sort`, joined with K8s context (status, restarts, owner, requests/limits). Use for CPU/memory/OOM/load symptoms.	`kind` (optional: `pods` default, `workloads`, `nodes`), `namespace` (optional), `sort` (optional: `cpu` default, `memory`), `limit` (optional, default 20, max 100)
`list_resources`	List resources of a kind with minified summaries + per-row `summaryContext` (managedBy / health / issueCount).	`kind` (required), `group` (optional), `namespace` (optional), `context` (optional: default / `none`)
`search`	Find resources by content/term match (config keys, env refs, images, label values, CRD fields, status messages). Tokens AND’d; secret values never indexed. Supports `kind:`/`ns:`/`label:`/`image:` modifiers and CEL `filter`.	`query` (required), `filter` (optional CEL), `limit` (optional)
`get_resource`	Detailed view of a single resource - minified spec + status + metadata + default-on `resourceContext` (managedBy / exposes / selectedBy / uses / runsOn / issue+audit rollups). Optionally include heavier supplemental data (events / metrics). For logs use `get_pod_logs` / `get_workload_logs` / `diagnose`.	`kind` (required), `namespace` (optional - omit for cluster-scoped kinds: Node, ClusterRole, IngressClass, etc.), `name` (required), `group` (optional, for ambiguous kinds), `include` (optional: `events,metrics`), `context` (optional: `basic` default, `none` for bare minified output)
`get_topology`	Whole-namespace/cluster topology graph (nodes + edges). Use `summary` format for LLM-friendly text chains. Once you have a suspect root, prefer `get_neighborhood`.	`namespace` (optional), `view` (optional: `traffic` or `resources`), `format` (optional: `graph` or `summary`)
`get_neighborhood`	BFS-expanded topology neighborhood around one known root - cheaper and clearer than `get_topology` for cross-resource failures (routing, selector/endpoint, refs, owner chains). RBAC-filtered.	`kind` (required), `namespace` (optional), `name` (required), `profile` (optional: `auto` default / `all`), `hops` (optional, default 1, max 2)
`get_events`	Recent Kubernetes Warning events, deduplicated and sorted by recency. Filter by resource kind/name to scope.	`namespace` (optional), `limit` (optional, default 20, max 100), `kind` (optional), `name` (optional)
`get_changes`	Recent meaningful changes from the Kubernetes cluster timeline plus native Helm release deployment/operation history (`source: helm`). Use to investigate what changed before an incident, including failed upgrades, rollbacks, and current Helm revisions. If the response includes `sourcesErrored`, treat it as partial data for those sources. Use `get_helm_release include=history,operations` for the full Helm revision trail.	`namespace` (optional), `kind` (optional), `name` (optional), `since` (optional, e.g. `1h`, `30m`; default `1h`), `limit` (optional, default 20, max 50)
`get_pod_logs`	Filtered pod logs prioritizing errors/warnings, with secret redaction. Set `grep` for server-side filtering.	`namespace` (required), `name` (required), `container` (optional), `tail_lines` (optional, default 200), `grep` (optional)
`get_workload_logs`	Aggregated, AI-filtered logs from all pods of a workload (Deployment, StatefulSet, DaemonSet)	`kind` (required), `namespace` (required), `name` (required), `container` (optional), `tail_lines` (optional, default 100 per pod), `grep` (optional)
`get_cluster_audit`	Static config posture - best-practice findings (Security / Reliability / Efficiency) with remediation. INDEPENDENT of operational health; for “what’s broken right now?” use `issues`.	`namespace` (optional), `category` (optional), `severity` (optional)
`list_packages`	Installed packages (Helm releases, label-managed workloads, CRDs, Argo Applications, Flux HelmReleases + Kustomizations) with source provenance, versions, and health, in one call. Response includes `sourceLegend` for the stable source codes.	`namespace` (optional), `source` (optional: `H`/`helm`, `L`/`labels`, `C`/`crds`, `A`/`argocd`, `F`/`fluxcd`), `chart` (optional substring)
`list_helm_releases`	List Helm releases with status, resource health, storage namespace, Flux ownership, current `lastOperation`, and a capped `operations` trail when Helm history indicates failed upgrades, rollback-after-failure, rollbacks, or stuck pending operations. Use this first for Helm deployment debugging.	`namespace` (optional)
`get_helm_release`	Detailed Helm release info with owned resources, resource health, Flux ownership, current `lastOperation`, hooks, and failed/running hook diagnostics with live Job/Pod/Event/redacted-log evidence when still available. Use `include=history,operations` for the full Helm revision trail; `include=values` for key-aware redacted user values; `include=diff,values_diff,notes_diff,resource_diff` for revision comparison. For releases with `storageNamespace`, pass that value as `namespace`.	`namespace` (required: Helm storage namespace), `name` (required), `include` (optional: `values,history,operations,diff,values_diff,notes_diff,resource_diff`), `diff_revision_1` (required when `include` contains a diff token) / `diff_revision_2` (optional, defaults to current)
`list_namespaces`	List all namespaces with status	(none)
`get_subject_permissions`	Effective RBAC permissions of a ServiceAccount / User / Group: bindings (each with `inheritedFromGroup` set when applicable), deduplicated flat rule list, and (for SAs) the Pods running as it. Use to answer “is this SA over-privileged?” or “what’s the blast radius if this Pod is compromised?”	`kind` (required: `ServiceAccount`, `User`, or `Group`), `namespace` (required for ServiceAccount; omit for User/Group), `name` (required)
`query_prometheus`	Execute PromQL against the cluster’s Prometheus (auto-discovered or `--prometheus-url`; works with PromQL-compatible backends: Thanos, VictoriaMetrics, Mimir). `type=instant` returns current values; `type=range` returns time-series history with automatic step adjustment. Oversized results return a label-cardinality summary + suggested `topk` rewrite instead of raw data.	`query` (required), `type` (optional: `instant` default, `range`), `since` (optional, e.g. `30m`, `1h`, `24h`, `7d`; default `1h`), `start` / `end` (optional RFC3339, override `since`), `step` (optional, auto-calculated when omitted), `max_points` (optional, default 300, max 600), `timeout` (optional seconds, default 30, max 180)
`discover_metrics`	Discover exact metric names (enriched with type/help from Prometheus metadata) or values of one label before writing PromQL. Lists active series from the last hour; `truncated: true` means narrow the `match` selector.	`match` (PromQL series selector; required when `label` is empty), `label` (optional: list values of this label instead of metric names), `limit` (optional, default 100, max 500)
`get_prometheus_rules`	List Prometheus alerting/recording rules with PromQL definitions, state, labels, annotations, and active alert instances. Alert-investigation entry point: fetch the rule definition, then run its query with `query_prometheus`.	`type` (optional: `alert`, `record`), `name` / `group` (optional substring filters), `state` (optional: `firing`, `pending`, `inactive`), `limit` (optional, default 50, max 200)

Write Tools

Tool	Description	Parameters
`apply_resource`	Create or update a Kubernetes resource from YAML. Supports multi-document YAML, per-document partial-failure results, server-side dry-run preview, and SSA ownership-conflict reporting.	`yaml` (required), `mode` (optional: `apply` or `create`, default `apply`), `dry_run` (optional, default false), `namespace` (optional, override), `verify` (optional, default true: post-mutation state, submitted-vs-live diff, dry-run preview diff, workload rollout/pods, and related issues), `force` (optional, default false: take SSA field ownership from other managers)
`patch_resource`	Patch one existing Kubernetes resource with JSON Patch, JSON Merge Patch, or strategic merge patch. Use for precise field/list edits when you know the exact path and do not want to rewrite the full manifest or take broad server-side-apply ownership. Strategic patch is for built-in Kubernetes kinds and name-keyed list edits, such as changing one container.	`kind` (required), `name` (required), `namespace` (required for namespaced resources), `group` (optional), `patch_type` (optional: `json` default, `merge`, or `strategic`), `patch` (required JSON string), `dry_run` (optional), `verify` (optional, default true: compact post-patch state, dry-run preview diff, and JSON Patch field checks)
`manage_workload`	Restart, scale, or rollback a Deployment, StatefulSet, or DaemonSet. Note: `scale` is not supported for DaemonSets.	`action` (required: `restart`, `scale`, `rollback`), `kind` (required), `namespace` (required), `name` (required), `replicas` (for scale), `revision` (for rollback)
`manage_cronjob`	Trigger, suspend, or resume a CronJob	`action` (required: `trigger`, `suspend`, `resume`), `namespace` (required), `name` (required)
`manage_gitops`	Manage ArgoCD and FluxCD resources - sync, refresh, terminate, suspend, resume, rollback (Argo), reconcile (Flux), reconcile-with-source (Flux)	`action` (required), `tool` (required: `argocd` or `fluxcd`), `namespace` (required), `name` (required), `kind` (FluxCD only). For `sync`: `revision`, `prune`, `dryRun`, `force`, `applyOnly`, `syncOptions`. For `rollback` (Argo only): `historyId` (required), `prune`, `dryRun`. Per-action input validation rejects flags that don’t apply to the action (e.g. `force` on `suspend`) so callers fail loudly instead of silently.
`manage_node`	Cordon, uncordon, or drain a Kubernetes node	`action` (required: `cordon`, `uncordon`, `drain`), `name` (required), `delete_empty_dir_data` (optional, default true), `force` (optional), `timeout` (optional, seconds, default 60)

Available Resources

URI	Description
`cluster://health`	Cluster health summary (same data as `get_dashboard`)
`cluster://topology`	Full cluster topology graph
`cluster://events`	Recent warning events (up to 50)

Security

Safe by design - read tools are strictly read-only and annotated with readOnlyHint; write tools (restart, scale, rollback, sync, apply, cordon/drain) are RBAC-enforced and annotated with destructiveHint so AI clients can prompt for confirmation. Some are genuinely destructive - apply_resource force=true can take field ownership from Helm/Flux, manage_node drain evicts pods, and rollback/terminate overwrite or abort desired state
RBAC-aware - every call enforces RBAC at the same boundary as the REST API:
- Local binary: the cache uses your kubeconfig identity, so MCP can only see what kubectl can see for that user
- In-cluster (auth enabled): read tools intersect namespaced reads with the calling user’s RBAC-allowed namespaces; cluster-scoped reads (Nodes, PVs, ClusterRoles, cluster-scoped CRDs) are gated per-kind via SubjectAccessReview, so cluster-wide pod visibility doesn’t implicitly grant Node read; write tools, exec, and logs are fully impersonated so the apiserver enforces the user’s RBAC end-to-end
- In-cluster (no auth): every MCP caller shares the pod ServiceAccount’s view - only deploy this way when MCP isn’t exposed beyond a trusted boundary
Prometheus metric data is NOT namespace-filtered - PromQL cannot be namespace-scoped server-side (arbitrary queries can aggregate across namespaces), so query_prometheus and discover_metrics follow the same stance as the REST /prometheus/query endpoint: any authenticated user may run PromQL. Deploy with auth enabled when Prometheus contains sensitive label values
Secret redaction - Secret .data and .stringData are never exposed; only key names are shown
Value redaction - environment variable values and Helm values returned through MCP are scrubbed for known secret patterns; Helm values also use key-aware redaction for names like password, token, privateKey, and secretKey
Log redaction - pod log output and Helm hook log evidence are scrubbed for secret patterns before being returned

Get started

Views

In-cluster capabilities

Integrations

Self-hosted setup

Cloud

Reference

Why MCP instead of raw kubectl?

Enabling / Disabling

MCP Endpoint

Catalog Introspection

Setup Instructions

Claude Code

Claude Desktop

Cursor

Windsurf

VS Code Copilot

Cline

JetBrains AI

OpenAI Codex

Gemini CLI

Available Tools

Read Tools

Write Tools

Available Resources

Security

​Why MCP instead of raw kubectl?

​Enabling / Disabling

​MCP Endpoint

​Catalog Introspection

​Setup Instructions

​Claude Code

​Claude Desktop

​Cursor

​Windsurf

​VS Code Copilot

​Cline

​JetBrains AI

​OpenAI Codex

​Gemini CLI

​Available Tools

​Read Tools

​Write Tools

​Available Resources

​Security

Why MCP instead of raw kubectl?

Enabling / Disabling

MCP Endpoint

Catalog Introspection

Setup Instructions

Claude Code

Claude Desktop

Cursor

Windsurf

VS Code Copilot

Cline

JetBrains AI

OpenAI Codex

Gemini CLI

Available Tools

Read Tools

Write Tools

Available Resources

Security