Devops Practices

DevOps Practices - MCP Server

mcp-name: io.github.ai-4-devops/devops-practices

Purpose: Productivity framework for DevOps engineers using AI assistance (Claude Code) while working on PoCs.

Type: Model Context Protocol (MCP) Server for Claude Code

Version: 1.4.0

Status: 🎉 Officially Published in the MCP Registry (Published: February 18, 2026)

Published Versions:

• 📦 PyPI: v1.4.0 → Git tag v1.4.0 (34ca572)
• 🌐 MCP Registry: v1.4.0 → Git tag v1.4.0 (34ca572)
• 🚀 Latest Development: main branch (may include unreleased features)

---

Who is this for? DevOps engineers using Claude Code (VS Code plugin) for PoC development.

What it does: Provides structure (TRACKER, ISSUES, docs, SoPs) so you can focus on building without worrying about documentation overhead.

What it's NOT: Not a DevOps tutorial - it's a productivity framework for AI-assisted development.

---

Why This MCP Server?

Solves the CLAUDE.md Bloat Problem

Tired of maintaining massive CLAUDE.md files (1000+ lines) across multiple projects? This MCP centralizes reusable DevOps instructions for engineers working on multiple PoCs, eliminating repeated instructions across projects and folders.

The Problem:

• ❌ Large CLAUDE.md files eat up context window
• ❌ Same practices duplicated across every project
• ❌ Reinventing TRACKER.md, ISSUES.md, docs, SoPs for every PoC
• ❌ Inconsistent standards across projects
• ❌ Context wasted on instructions instead of actual work

The Solution:

• ✅ Pre-built structure - Templates for TRACKER, ISSUES, docs, SoPs
• ✅ Focus on work - Not on "how should I document this?"
• ✅ Consistency - Same standards across all your PoCs
• ✅ Team alignment - Same patterns enable seamless collaboration and easy handovers across sessions, systems, and team members
• ✅ Faster startup - Copy template, start working
• ✅ Context saved - No bloated CLAUDE.md files

What you get (structure, not knowledge):

• 📋 TRACKER.md template - Start tracking immediately, don't design tracking
• 🐛 ISSUES.md system - Start logging issues, don't setup Jira
• 📚 Documentation standards - Start writing docs, don't debate structure
• 📖 Runbook templates - Start documenting ops, don't create SoP formats
• 🔄 Session continuity - Start handoffs, don't design handoff protocols

When searching "devops" in the MCP Registry (as of February 2026), this is the only result. While other MCPs focus on:

• 🔧 Development tools (code generation, testing, debugging)
• 📊 Data analysis (databases, APIs, analytics)
• 🎨 Content creation (writing, design, media)

This MCP provides:

• 🏗️ Configuration structure - How to organize configs per environment, generate new env configs from completed ones, create and validate SoPs
• 📚 Documentation patterns - TRACKER, ISSUES, docs, runbook templates ready to copy
• 🔄 Operations templates - Session handoff, runbook formats, documentation standards
• 🎯 Structured guidance - GG-SS organized practices for quick discovery

What makes it different:

• Prescriptive, not generative - Provides proven practices, not generated code
• Infrastructure-first - Built for ops teams, not developers
• Reusable patterns - Templates and standards across all your projects
• AI-native design - Organized for Claude to query and apply contextually
• R&D optimized - Accelerates proof-of-concept development and experimentation

Perfect for: DevOps engineers using Claude Code (VS Code plugin) to build PoCs and conduct R&D with AI assistance.

---

How It Works

No server management required:

• ✅ Auto-start: Spawns when Claude Code/Desktop starts
• ✅ Background: Runs silently while you work
• ✅ On-demand: Claude queries practices as needed
• ✅ Auto-stop: Shuts down when Claude closes
• ✅ Fallback: Access practices via GitHub/local if MCP unavailable (see Troubleshooting)

Configuration Options:

You can configure the MCP server globally (all projects) or per-project:

Option 1: Global Configuration (~/.claude.json)

{

"mcpServers": { "devops-practices": { "command": "python3", "args": ["-u", "~/.mcp-servers/devops-practices/mcp-server.py"], "env": {"PYTHONUNBUFFERED": "1"} } } }

Option 2: Project-Level Configuration (.mcp.json in project root)

{

"mcpServers": { "devops-practices": { "command": "python3", "args": ["-u", "~/.mcp-servers/devops-practices/mcp-server.py"], "env": {"PYTHONUNBUFFERED": "1"} } } }

Setup Steps:

1. Install the MCP server (see Installation section below)
2. Add configuration to ~/.claude.json (global) or .mcp.json (per-project)
3. Restart Claude Code/Desktop
4. MCP server runs automatically - no manual startup needed

Note: The -u flag and PYTHONUNBUFFERED ensure real-time logging for debugging.

---

What This Provides

This MCP server provides shared DevOps practices that are common across infrastructure projects:

Available Practices (11)

Organized using GG-SS prefix pattern (Group-Sequence) for better discoverability:

Naming Pattern: GG-SS-practice-name

• GG = Group ID (01-04) - Functional category
• SS = Sequence ID (01-03) - Order within group
• Example: 03-02-air-gapped-workflow = Group 03, Sequence 02

Group Legend:

• 01 = Workflow & Processes (how to work effectively)
• 02 = Version Control & Project Management (git, issues)
• 03 = Infrastructure & Configuration (K8s, deployments, config)
• 04 = Documentation Standards (docs, READMEs, runbooks)

---

Group 01: Workflow & Processes

1. 01-01-session-continuity - State tracking, handoff protocols, CURRENT-STATE.md
2. 01-02-task-tracking - TRACKER.md, CURRENT-STATE.md, PENDING-CHANGES.md
3. 01-03-efficiency-guidelines - When to script vs copy-paste, batching commands

Group 02: Version Control & Project Management

1. 02-01-git-practices - Using git mv, commit conventions, backup protocols, GitLab Flow
2. 02-02-issue-tracking 🆕 - In-repository Jira-like issue tracking system (Advanced)

Group 03: Infrastructure & Configuration

1. 03-01-configuration-management ⭐ - Config organization, placeholders, environment isolation
2. 03-02-air-gapped-workflow - Working across laptop, CloudShell, bastion, and EKS
3. 03-03-standard-workflow - Common operational patterns and workflows

Group 04: Documentation Standards

1. 04-01-documentation-standards - HOW/WHAT/WHY structure, naming conventions
2. 04-02-readme-maintenance ⭐ - Directory documentation standards and best practices
3. 04-03-runbook-documentation ⭐ - Mandatory session log standards and requirements

Available Templates (7)

1. TRACKER.md - Task tracking template (milestones)
2. CURRENT-STATE.md - Session handoff template
3. CLAUDE.md - Simplified project instructions template
4. RUNBOOK.md ⭐ - Session log template with all required sections
5. ISSUE.md 🆕 - Individual issue template (Advanced)
6. ISSUES.md 🆕 - Issue index template with stats dashboard (Advanced)
7. issues/README.md 🆕 - How to use the issue system (Advanced)

---

Architecture

devops-practices-mcp/

├── README.md # This file ├── mcp-server.py # MCP server implementation ├── requirements.txt # Python dependencies ├── .github/workflows/ci.yml # GitHub Actions pipeline ├── health-check.sh # Health validation script ├── practices/ # Shared practice documents (11 files, GG-SS organized) │ ├── 01-01-session-continuity.md │ ├── 01-02-task-tracking.md │ ├── 01-03-efficiency-guidelines.md │ ├── 02-01-git-practices.md │ ├── 02-02-issue-tracking.md # 🆕 Advanced: In-repo issue tracking │ ├── 03-01-configuration-management.md │ ├── 03-02-air-gapped-workflow.md │ ├── 03-03-standard-workflow.md │ ├── 04-01-documentation-standards.md │ ├── 04-02-readme-maintenance.md │ └── 04-03-runbook-documentation.md ├── templates/ # File templates (7 files) │ ├── TRACKER-template.md │ ├── CURRENT-STATE-template.md │ ├── CLAUDE-template.md │ ├── RUNBOOK-template.md │ ├── ISSUE-TEMPLATE.md # 🆕 Individual issue template │ ├── ISSUES.md # 🆕 Issue index with dashboard │ └── issues-README.md # 🆕 Issue system guide ├── tools/ # Automation tools 🆕 │ └── issue-manager.sh # CLI for managing issues └── config/ # MCP configuration └── mcp-config.json # Server configuration

---

MCP Tools

The MCP server provides 5 tools for Claude to query practices and templates:

Template Variable Substitution

Templates support ${VARIABLE} placeholders that are automatically substituted:

Auto-provided variables:

• ${DATE} - Current date (YYYY-MM-DD format)
• ${TIMESTAMP} - UTC timestamp (YYYYMMDDTHHMMz format)
• ${USER} - Current system user
• ${YEAR} - Current year

Custom variables: Pass any additional variables when rendering:

render_template("RUNBOOK-template", {

"SESSION_NUMBER": "1", "TITLE": "Kafka Deployment", "CLUSTER_NAME": "example-eks-uat", "OBJECTIVE_DESCRIPTION": "Deploy Kafka cluster to UAT" })

All ${...} placeholders in the template are replaced with provided values.

---

CI/CD Pipeline

This repository includes a GitHub Actions pipeline (.github/workflows/ci.yml) that automatically validates changes:

Pipeline Jobs

On every merge request and commit to main/develop:

1. health-check - Runs the comprehensive health check script
2. python-validation - Validates Python syntax and dependencies
3. practice-validation - Ensures all practice files exist
4. template-validation - Ensures templates contain variable placeholders
5. link-checker - Checks documentation cross-references

Benefits

• ✅ Prevents breaking changes from reaching main branch
• ✅ Catches missing files or syntax errors automatically
• ✅ Ensures consistent quality standards
• ✅ No manual validation needed

Pipeline Status

Check pipeline status in GitHub:

• Green checkmark ✅ - All checks passed, safe to merge
• Red X ❌ - C