Introduction to ServBay MCP Server

ServBay MCP Server is a built-in server in ServBay, based on the Model Context Protocol (MCP). It allows AI tools that support MCP—such as Claude, Cursor, and VS Code—to directly "see" and "operate" your local ServBay development environment. With it, you can check service statuses, manage websites and domains, handle databases, issue certificates, create backups, read logs, access system metrics, and much more—all without constantly switching between conversations and the ServBay interface.

This article explores what the ServBay MCP Server is and what it can do. For details on integration and AI rule configuration, see:

• Integrate AI Clients (IDE Integration) — One-click MCP integration with Claude Code / Cursor / VS Code and more
• AI Rules — Ensuring AI uses ServBay MCP correctly and securely

What is MCP

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open protocol that allows AI applications to connect to external tools and data sources in a standardized way. ServBay encapsulates its environment management capabilities as an MCP Server, enabling any MCP-compatible AI client to access ServBay's features.

The MCP Server runs locally as a process (using stdio for communication) distributed with ServBay itself. It is launched by AI clients as needed, no additional installation or setup required.

What Can ServBay MCP Do

The ServBay MCP Server exposes core management functionalities of ServBay, including:

• Environment & Subscription — Read environment info, subscription or plan status, and run diagnostics.
• System Info & Metrics — Access real-time CPU, memory, disk, and network info and metrics (see System Info & Metrics for details).
• Service Management — List services, check status, start/stop/restart PHP, Node.js, MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, Redis, Memcached, Mailpit, MinIO, Ollama, and more.
• Service Configuration & Logs — Read/write service configurations and access service logs.
• Websites & Domains — List/view/create/update/delete local websites, enable/disable sites, manage hosts records, and dnsmasq domains.
• Ports — Check port usage.
• TLS/HTTPS Certificates — List, issue, reissue, and delete certificates.
• Databases — List databases, create new ones, set or reset database passwords.
• Packages — List installed/available packages, install/uninstall/enable/disable, and switch versions.
• Ollama Models — List and remove local Ollama models.
• Backups — List, create, restore, and delete backups, and view backup schedules.

With these capabilities, you can simply ask the AI to "Start PHP 8.3 and set up a new site," "Issue a certificate for this domain," or "Show me the MySQL error log," and the AI will use MCP to call ServBay to complete the request for you.

Security Notes

• MCP Server runs only on your local machine, communicating with local AI clients via stdio.
• For write or destructive operations (such as deleting websites, resetting database passwords, or restoring backups), it's recommended to have the AI explain the proposed changes for your review and confirmation before proceeding.
• Do not paste secrets, tokens, DNS API Keys, database passwords, or private keys in conversations—ServBay MCP is designed so you never need to provide these sensitive values manually.
• Pair with AI Rules for safer and more standardized AI usage of ServBay MCP.

Requirements

• ServBay is installed and running (macOS or Windows).
• You have an AI client that supports MCP, such as Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code with Copilot, Claude Desktop, Codex, etc.

Next Steps

• Go to Integrate AI Clients for one-click ServBay MCP integration with your AI tools.
• Install AI Rules to guide AIs to use ServBay MCP correctly and effectively.

Summary

ServBay MCP Server opens ServBay's environment management powers to AI tools—making it possible to "manage your local development environment with natural language." Distributed with ServBay, it integrates in one click without extra deployment, making it a key part of ServBay's AI-native development platform.