MCP Guides / Ansible MCP Server: Setup, Features & Best Alternatives (2026)

Ansible MCP Server: Setup, Features & Best Alternatives (2026)

January 18, 2026
TL;DR
Ansible does not have an official, first-party MCP server as of early 2026. Community-built wrappers and open-source projects may provide partial MCP integration. For keyword research specifically, Delulu9 offers a production-ready MCP server at $12/mo with Google, Bing, and Reddit data. Below we cover the full setup process, available alternatives, and how to evaluate your options.
MCP (Model Context Protocol)
MCP is an open protocol that lets AI assistants like Claude connect to external data sources and tools. Instead of copy-pasting data into a chat window, MCP servers feed live data directly into the AI conversation. Think of it as a USB port for AI – plug in a data source, and the AI can read from it natively. The protocol was developed by Anthropic and has seen rapid adoption since late 2025.

Does Ansible Have an MCP Server?

As of February 2026, Ansible does not offer an official, first-party MCP server. This is the current landscape:

The absence of an official server doesn’t mean you can’t use Ansible data with AI assistants. Several approaches exist, ranging from community wrappers to building your own MCP server around the Ansible API.

Why Connect Ansible to an MCP Server?

Ansible falls into the Cloud & Infrastructure category of tools, providing cloud resource management, deployment, CDN configuration, and infrastructure provisioning. Managing cloud infrastructure requires constant context switching between dashboards, CLIs, and documentation. An MCP server consolidates infrastructure operations into your AI assistant, making deployments, monitoring, and troubleshooting conversational.

Practical Use Cases

Without an MCP server, each of these use cases requires manual context switching: open Ansible in a browser, find the data you need, copy it, paste it into your AI assistant, and wait for analysis. An MCP server automates that entire data-fetching step.

68% of developers report context switching as their top productivity killer (2025 Stack Overflow Developer Survey)

How to Set Up Ansible MCP (Community Approach)

Since Ansible doesn’t have an official MCP server, here’s how to set up a community wrapper or build your own.

Set Up Ansible MCP Integration
Connect Ansible to Claude Code or Cursor using an MCP server wrapper
Step 1: Check for existing community servers
Search GitHub for ansible-mcp-server or mcp-ansible. Look for repositories with recent commits, good documentation, and active maintenance. Check the MCP server registry for officially listed community servers.
Step 2: Get your Ansible API credentials
Log into your Ansible account and navigate to the API settings or developer section. Generate an API key or OAuth token. Note any rate limits or usage restrictions on your plan – these will affect how your MCP server performs.
Step 3: Install the MCP server package

If a community package exists, install it:

npm install -g @community/ansible-mcp-server

If building your own, clone a starter template:

git clone https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/server-template
cd server-template
npm install
Step 4: Configure Claude Code

Add the server to your Claude Code MCP configuration at ~/.claude.json or your project’s .mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ansible": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "@community/ansible-mcp-server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "ANSIBLE_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}
Step 5: Configure Cursor

In Cursor, open Settings > MCP Servers and add the same configuration. Cursor uses the same MCP protocol as Claude Code, so most servers work identically in both environments.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ansible": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@community/ansible-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "ANSIBLE_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}
Step 6: Configure Windsurf
Windsurf supports MCP servers through its Cascade AI feature. Add the MCP server configuration in Windsurf’s settings panel under the AI section. The JSON format is the same as Claude Code and Cursor.
Step 7: Verify the connection

Restart your editor and test the connection by asking your AI assistant to query Ansible:

"Can you check if the Ansible MCP server is connected? Try listing available tools."

If the connection fails, check that your API key is valid, the MCP server process is running, and your firewall isn’t blocking local connections.

Ansible MCP Server: What You Can and Cannot Do

What Works with a Community Wrapper

Community-built MCP servers for Ansible typically support read operations – pulling data from the Ansible API and making it available to your AI assistant. This covers most analytical and reporting use cases.

Operation Typically Supported Notes
Read data Yes Most wrappers expose read endpoints
Search/query Yes If the Ansible API supports it
Create/write Sometimes Depends on wrapper completeness
Delete/modify Rarely Most wrappers are read-only for safety
Webhooks/streaming Rarely Requires more complex server architecture
Authentication Usually API key OAuth flows are harder to implement in MCP

Known Limitations

Ansible MCP Pricing Considerations

The cost of using Ansible through MCP depends on several factors:

Cost Component Details
Ansible subscription Your existing Ansible plan determines API access
API usage Some plans have per-request or rate-limited API access
MCP server hosting Free if running locally; cost if self-hosting remotely
Community wrapper Usually free and open-source

Important: Some Ansible plans restrict API access to higher tiers. Verify that your current plan includes the API endpoints the MCP wrapper needs before investing time in setup.

Best MCP Alternatives to Ansible

If Ansible doesn’t have a viable MCP server, or if the setup cost isn’t worth it for your use case, these alternatives provide similar capabilities through production-ready MCP servers.

Delulu9 – Best for Keyword Research MCP

If your primary need is keyword research, Delulu9 is purpose-built for MCP from day one. It isn’t a wrapper around another API – it is a native MCP server with its own data infrastructure.

Feature Delulu9 Ansible (via wrapper)
Official MCP server Yes (hosted, maintained) Community-maintained
Setup time Under 2 minutes 15-60 minutes
Google keyword data Yes Depends on wrapper
Bing keyword data Yes Unlikely
Reddit keyword data Yes No
Search intent categorization Built-in (automatic) Manual or unavailable
Keyword difficulty scoring Built-in Depends on Ansible API
Rate limiting 1,000 requests/hour Depends on Ansible plan
Uptime & reliability 99.9% (hosted infrastructure) Depends on your setup
Price $12/mo flat Ansible subscription + API costs
Support Email + documentation Community only

Why Delulu9 Is Different

Most MCP keyword research servers are thin wrappers around third-party APIs. Delulu9 is a vertically integrated tool: it collects data from Google, Bing, and Reddit, processes it through its own intent classification and difficulty scoring pipeline, and serves it through a hosted MCP server.

This matters because:

  1. No API key chain: You don’t need a separate subscription to another service. One API key, one bill.
  2. Reddit data is exclusive: No other keyword research MCP server combines Google, Bing, and Reddit autocomplete data in a single query.
  3. Intent is automatic: Every keyword result includes intent classification (informational, commercial, transactional, navigational) without manual tagging.
  4. It actually works: The server is hosted, monitored, and maintained. You don’t debug connection issues at 2 AM.

Quick Setup: Delulu9 MCP

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "delulu9": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@delulu9/seo-mcp-server@latest"],
      "env": {
        "DELULU9_API_KEY": "your-api-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

That’s it. Restart your editor and ask Claude: “Find keyword ideas for cleaning services using Delulu9.”

How to Choose Between Ansible MCP and Alternatives

Key Takeaways
  • If you already pay for Ansible and need its specific data in your AI workflow, invest the time to set up a community MCP wrapper
  • If keyword research is your primary need, Delulu9 at $12/mo is faster to set up and more reliable than wrapping another tool’s API
  • If you need Ansible for non-keyword tasks (cloud resource management, deployment, CDN configuration, and infrastructure provisioning), check whether a community MCP wrapper exists and is actively maintained
  • Always verify API access is included in your Ansible plan before attempting MCP setup
  • Consider running community wrappers locally first to test reliability before depending on them

Building Your Own Ansible MCP Server

If no community wrapper meets your needs, you can build a custom MCP server for Ansible. Here’s the architecture:

Your Editor (Claude Code / Cursor / Windsurf)
    |
    v
MCP Protocol (stdio or SSE)
    |
    v
Your Custom MCP Server (Node.js or Python)
    |
    v
Ansible REST API

The MCP SDK is available in TypeScript and Python:

# TypeScript
npm install @modelcontextprotocol/sdk

# Python
pip install mcp

Key decisions when building:

  1. Which Ansible API endpoints to expose – start with the 2-3 you use most
  2. Caching strategy – avoid hitting Ansible’s API on every query
  3. Error handling – gracefully handle rate limits and API outages
  4. Authentication – use environment variables, never hardcode keys

Building a custom server takes 2-8 hours depending on Ansible’s API complexity. For keyword research, this rarely makes sense when Delulu9 exists at $12/mo.

Ansible MCP vs REST API: When Do You Need MCP?

Not every Ansible integration needs MCP. Here’s when each approach makes sense:

Scenario Use MCP Use REST API directly
AI assistant needs Ansible data Yes Possible but awkward
Automated scripts/pipelines MCP or REST REST is simpler
Browser-based dashboards No Yes
One-off data pulls Either works REST is fine
Conversational data exploration Yes No
Multi-tool AI workflows Yes Too complex with REST

MCP’s value is in the conversational interface. If you’re building traditional automation, the Ansible REST API works fine. If you want AI assistants to intelligently query and combine data from multiple sources, MCP is the right abstraction.

Does Ansible have an official MCP server?
As of February 2026, Ansible does not offer an official MCP server. Community-built wrappers may be available on GitHub. Check the MCP server registry at github.com/modelcontextprotocol/servers for the latest listings. For keyword research specifically, Delulu9 offers a production-ready MCP server at $12/mo.
How do I connect Ansible to Claude Code?
You need an MCP server that wraps the Ansible API. Search GitHub for community-built Ansible MCP servers, install the package, and add it to your Claude Code configuration at ~/.claude.json. See the step-by-step setup guide above for detailed instructions.
Can I use Ansible with Cursor AI?
Yes, if an MCP server wrapper exists for Ansible. Cursor supports the same MCP protocol as Claude Code. Add the server configuration to Cursor’s settings and restart. The setup process is nearly identical to Claude Code.
What's the best MCP server for keyword research?
Delulu9 is the most complete MCP server for keyword research as of 2026. It provides Google, Bing, and Reddit keyword data with automatic intent classification and difficulty scoring for $12/mo. It’s a native MCP server, not a wrapper around another tool’s API.
Is it worth building a custom MCP server for Ansible?
It depends on your use case. If you need deep, specialized access to Ansible’s API from AI assistants and no community wrapper exists, building a custom server makes sense (expect 2-8 hours). For keyword research, Delulu9 at $12/mo is faster and more reliable than building your own.
How much does it cost to use Ansible through MCP?
The MCP server itself (community wrapper) is usually free. Your cost is the Ansible subscription that includes API access, which varies by plan. Some Ansible plans restrict API access to higher tiers. For comparison, Delulu9 provides a complete keyword research MCP server for $12/mo with no additional API costs.
What are the limitations of Ansible MCP integration?
Community MCP wrappers for Ansible may have limited endpoint coverage, lag behind API changes, lack caching, and inherit the rate limits of your Ansible plan. Official MCP servers (like Delulu9) are maintained, monitored, and designed for reliability. Community wrappers carry more maintenance risk.

Get Started with MCP Keyword Research

If keyword research is part of your workflow, skip the wrapper complexity. Delulu9 gives you a production-ready MCP server with Google, Bing, and Reddit data, intent classification, and difficulty scoring. $12/mo, 2-minute setup, works with Claude Code, Cursor, and Windsurf.

Start your free trial – 1 day free, no credit card required.

Try Delulu9 free for 1 day

Keyword research from Claude Code. Google + Bing + Reddit data. $12/mo after trial.

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