Pi-hole MCP Server

Name: Pi-hole MCP Server
Author: hexamatic

by hexamaticversion 0.10.0i★ –iRuns on your computer

Registry nameio.github.hexamatic/pihole-mcp

Install

Overview

Description from the maker (original English)

Manage Pi-hole v6: DNS blocking, domains, clients, query analysis, DHCP, and multi-instance sync.

PopNx MCP’s three pillars

These three are never merged into one score: opinions, measurements and popularity are different things.

User voiceiNo reviews yetReviews open together with accounts in a later step
Our basic checksi1 of 1 passedChecked from public information; code not scanned yet
UsageiNot measured yet★ –

What you can do with it

We have not written a plain-language summary for this one yet. Below are the facts we read from the registry.

Connection: Runs on your computer
Transport: stdio
Category: Developer tools
You need to fill in: PIHOLE_URL, PIHOLE_PASSWORD

Install

Pick the AI app you use, then copy the settings.

Before you install

Basic checks: 1 of 1 passed
Runs on your computer with your user’s permissions (files, network, apps).
You fill in yourself: PIHOLE_URL, PIHOLE_PASSWORD, TZ, PIHOLE_READ_ONLY, PIHOLE_TLS_SKIP_VERIFY, PIHOLE_REQUEST_TIMEOUT, PIHOLE_MAX_RETRIES, PIHOLE_RETRY_MAX_DELAY

Values marked secret are keys to your account. Never share them or paste them into a chat.

You need

DockerDocker installed

Which app do you use?

ClaudeClaude CodeCursorVS CodeChatGPT

Pick your app above. We remember it, so next time the button says “Install in …”.

Open Claude Desktop → Settings → Developer → Edit Config, and paste this into claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pihole": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "-i",
        "--rm",
        "-e",
        "PIHOLE_URL",
        "-e",
        "PIHOLE_PASSWORD",
        "-e",
        "TZ",
        "-e",
        "PIHOLE_READ_ONLY",
        "-e",
        "PIHOLE_TLS_SKIP_VERIFY",
        "-e",
        "PIHOLE_REQUEST_TIMEOUT",
        "-e",
        "PIHOLE_MAX_RETRIES",
        "-e",
        "PIHOLE_RETRY_MAX_DELAY",
        "ghcr.io/hexamatic/pihole-mcp:0.10.0"
      ],
      "env": {
        "PIHOLE_URL": "your-value",
        "PIHOLE_PASSWORD": "your-value",
        "TZ": "your-value",
        "PIHOLE_READ_ONLY": "your-value",
        "PIHOLE_TLS_SKIP_VERIFY": "your-value",
        "PIHOLE_REQUEST_TIMEOUT": "your-value",
        "PIHOLE_MAX_RETRIES": "your-value",
        "PIHOLE_RETRY_MAX_DELAY": "your-value"
      }
    }
  }
}

Run this in your terminal

claude mcp add pihole --env PIHOLE_URL=your-value --env PIHOLE_PASSWORD=your-value --env TZ=your-value --env PIHOLE_READ_ONLY=your-value --env PIHOLE_TLS_SKIP_VERIFY=your-value --env PIHOLE_REQUEST_TIMEOUT=your-value --env PIHOLE_MAX_RETRIES=your-value --env PIHOLE_RETRY_MAX_DELAY=your-value -- docker run -i --rm -e PIHOLE_URL -e PIHOLE_PASSWORD -e TZ -e PIHOLE_READ_ONLY -e PIHOLE_TLS_SKIP_VERIFY -e PIHOLE_REQUEST_TIMEOUT -e PIHOLE_MAX_RETRIES -e PIHOLE_RETRY_MAX_DELAY ghcr.io/hexamatic/pihole-mcp:0.10.0

Fill in the empty values before running it.

Open in Cursor

Or copy the settings yourself

Paste into .cursor/mcp.json in your project, or ~/.cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pihole": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "-i",
        "--rm",
        "-e",
        "PIHOLE_URL",
        "-e",
        "PIHOLE_PASSWORD",
        "-e",
        "TZ",
        "-e",
        "PIHOLE_READ_ONLY",
        "-e",
        "PIHOLE_TLS_SKIP_VERIFY",
        "-e",
        "PIHOLE_REQUEST_TIMEOUT",
        "-e",
        "PIHOLE_MAX_RETRIES",
        "-e",
        "PIHOLE_RETRY_MAX_DELAY",
        "ghcr.io/hexamatic/pihole-mcp:0.10.0"
      ],
      "env": {
        "PIHOLE_URL": "your-value",
        "PIHOLE_PASSWORD": "your-value",
        "TZ": "your-value",
        "PIHOLE_READ_ONLY": "your-value",
        "PIHOLE_TLS_SKIP_VERIFY": "your-value",
        "PIHOLE_REQUEST_TIMEOUT": "your-value",
        "PIHOLE_MAX_RETRIES": "your-value",
        "PIHOLE_RETRY_MAX_DELAY": "your-value"
      }
    }
  }
}

Your browser asks to open the app, then the app shows the settings and asks you to confirm. Key values are left empty for you to fill in.

Open in VS Code

Or copy the settings yourself

Paste into .vscode/mcp.json in your project

{
  "servers": {
    "pihole": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "-i",
        "--rm",
        "-e",
        "PIHOLE_URL",
        "-e",
        "PIHOLE_PASSWORD",
        "-e",
        "TZ",
        "-e",
        "PIHOLE_READ_ONLY",
        "-e",
        "PIHOLE_TLS_SKIP_VERIFY",
        "-e",
        "PIHOLE_REQUEST_TIMEOUT",
        "-e",
        "PIHOLE_MAX_RETRIES",
        "-e",
        "PIHOLE_RETRY_MAX_DELAY",
        "ghcr.io/hexamatic/pihole-mcp:0.10.0"
      ],
      "env": {
        "PIHOLE_URL": "your-value",
        "PIHOLE_PASSWORD": "your-value",
        "TZ": "your-value",
        "PIHOLE_READ_ONLY": "your-value",
        "PIHOLE_TLS_SKIP_VERIFY": "your-value",
        "PIHOLE_REQUEST_TIMEOUT": "your-value",
        "PIHOLE_MAX_RETRIES": "your-value",
        "PIHOLE_RETRY_MAX_DELAY": "your-value"
      }
    }
  }
}

Your browser asks to open the app, then the app shows the settings and asks you to confirm. Key values are left empty for you to fill in.

This one runs on your computer, and ChatGPT can only connect to servers on the internet. Pick another app.

Your choice stays on this device in a cookie; no account needed.

Values you fill in

PIHOLE_URL required env
Base URL of your Pi-hole web interface. For multiple Pi-holes use PIHOLE_1_URL, PIHOLE_2_URL, ... instead.
PIHOLE_PASSWORD secret required env
Pi-hole admin password, or an application password (recommended — bypasses TOTP 2FA)
TZ env
IANA timezone for rendered timestamps, e.g. Australia/Adelaide. Defaults to UTC in the container.
PIHOLE_READ_ONLY env
Expose only inspection tools. Every tool that can change Pi-hole is hidden and rejected if called.
PIHOLE_TLS_SKIP_VERIFY env
Set to true only for a Pi-hole serving a self-signed HTTPS certificate. A trusted certificate is the better fix.
PIHOLE_REQUEST_TIMEOUT env
HTTP request timeout as a Go duration, e.g. 30s or 1m
PIHOLE_MAX_RETRIES env
Retries after a transient Pi-hole API failure; 0 disables retrying
PIHOLE_RETRY_MAX_DELAY env
Upper bound on a single exponential-backoff wait, as a Go duration

These settings are generated from the maker’s registry entry. If the README says otherwise, follow the README.

What it can do

Runs on your computer; the tool list appears in your AI app after you install it.

Basic checksi

We check information anyone can see; we have not read the code. Checks that do not apply are left out of the count. · Checked Nov 8, 2026

✓ Pass
Maker matches the repo
The registry name was verified with the GitHub account hexamatic, which owns the repo
… Not checked yet
Still maintained
We have not read this repo from GitHub yet
… Not checked yet
Has a licence
We have not read this repo from GitHub yet
– Not applicable
Endpoint responds
This one runs on your computer; there is no internet endpoint
– Not applicable
Sign-in with OAuth
Runs on your computer and uses local settings instead
… Not checked yet
No hidden instructions in tool descriptions
Runs on your computer; we can only read tool lists from internet endpoints

Compared with others in Developer toolsi

More stars than 0% of the other 4906 servers in this category
Published to the registry more recently than 85% of the other 4906 servers in this category
Basic checks equal to or better than 100% of the other 4906 servers in this category

Compared with every active server in this category in the registry. Stars count only when the publisher owns the repo.

Common questions

Is Pi-hole MCP Server safe?

It passed 1 of 1 applicable basic checks. We have not read the code. Before adding a key or token, see what access the server asks for and use a key with only the permissions you need.

What keys or codes does it need?

You need to fill in: PIHOLE_URL, PIHOLE_PASSWORD

Does it run on my computer or in the cloud?

It runs on your computer. Your AI app starts it when needed, and data does not pass through the maker’s servers (unless it calls an online service itself).

Is it still maintained?

The GitHub repo last changed –, and the latest version (0.10.0) reached the registry 6 days ago.

Which apps can use it?

Apps that support MCP, such as Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor and VS Code. You also need Docker on your computer.

What can I use instead?

In the same category: GitHub, Desktop Commander, Cloudflare MCP

Alternatives

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README from the maker

Open the README

Copied from the maker’s repo as written. PopNx MCP has not reviewed or endorsed it. HTML, images and scripts are removed. Links lead off this site.

pihole-mcp

A production-grade MCP server for Pi-hole v6.

Gives AI assistants full control over your Pi-hole instance: DNS blocking, domain management, query analysis, statistics, network devices, DHCP, and system administration. Compatible with the Pi-hole v6 REST API.

Why this one

Run it locked down. PIHOLE_READ_ONLY=true exposes only the tools that cannot change anything, enforced on every call, not just the tool list a client happens to cache. PIHOLE_TOOLSETS narrows further to just the families you need, so a client asking "what can I use" gets a smaller, cheaper answer.
82 tools (84 once a second Pi-hole is configured) covering roughly 95% of the Pi-hole v6 REST API, including domains, lists, groups, clients, DHCP, network, the query log, configuration, local DNS records, teleporter backup and restore, and session management.
Multi-instance diff and sync. Compare two Pi-holes and see exactly what differs, or reconcile one onto the other with a dry-run plan and a confirm token before anything is written.
Releases are signed and attested, not just built. Every archive and container image carries a keyless cosign signature, an SPDX SBOM and SLSA build provenance, and SECURITY.md has the one-line command to check each.
Listed in the official [MCP Registry](https://registry.modelcontextprotocol.io/) as io.github.hexamatic/pihole-mcp, installable by name from any client that supports registry install.
Shipped nine releases in five months since launch, each with real release notes describing what changed and why, not a commit-hash dump.

Quick Start

Most MCP clients use the same configuration format. Add this to your client's config:

"mcpServers": { "pihole": { "command": "pihole-mcp", "env": { "PIHOLE_URL": "http://192.168.1.2", "PIHOLE_PASSWORD": "your-password" } } } }

Then install the binary via one of the methods below.

What you can ask

The whole point is natural language, not tool names. A few examples of what to actually type:

You ask	What runs
"Is Pi-hole blocking right now, and for how long?"	`pihole_dns_get_blocking`
"Pause blocking for 10 minutes, I need to test something."	`pihole_dns_set_blocking`
"Why is reddit.com blocked? Check every list it could be on."	`pihole_search_domains`
"What are the top blocked domains today, and does anything look like a false positive?"	`pihole_stats_recent_blocked`, the `review_top_blocked` prompt
"Point nas.home at 192.168.1.50."	`pihole_local_dns_add`
"Which of my blocklists haven't updated in 30+ days?"	`pihole_lists_list`
"Show me devices on the network Pi-hole doesn't recognise."	`pihole_network_devices`, the `audit_network` prompt
"Compare my two Pi-holes and tell me what's different."	`pihole_instance_diff`
"Back up my configuration before I change anything."	`pihole_teleporter_export`
"Which upstream resolver is slowest, and is it worth switching?"	`pihole_stats_upstreams`, the `upstream_health` prompt

Set PIHOLE_READ_ONLY=true first if you want to ask questions without any risk of something being changed. See Scoping the tool surface.

Installation

MCP Registry

pihole-mcp is listed in the official MCP Registry as:

io.github.hexamatic/pihole-mcp

Clients that support registry install can add it by that name and will prompt for PIHOLE_URL and PIHOLE_PASSWORD. The listing points at the ghcr.io image, so the client needs a working Docker.

Homebrew

brew install hexamatic/tap/pihole-mcp

Installs on both macOS and Linux (Homebrew on Linux). On macOS the cask clears the quarantine attribute during install, so the binary runs without a Gatekeeper prompt. From v0.10.0 the macOS binaries need macOS 13 Ventura or later; v0.9.0 is the last release that runs on macOS 12.

Scoop (Windows)

scoop bucket add hexamatic https://github.com/hexamatic/scoop-bucket

scoop install pihole-mcp

Go Install

go install github.com/hexamatic/pihole-mcp/cmd/pihole-mcp@latest

Docker

docker pull ghcr.io/hexamatic/pihole-mcp:latest

Linux Packages

.deb and .rpm packages for Debian-based (Ubuntu, Raspberry Pi OS) and RPM-based (Fedora, RHEL) distributions are available on the Releases page.

# Debian / Ubuntu / Raspberry Pi OS

sudo dpkg -i pihole-mcp_X.Y.Z_linux_amd64.deb

Fedora / RHEL / CentOS

sudo rpm -i pihole-mcp_X.Y.Z_linux_amd64.rpm

Binary Download

Pre-built binaries for Linux, macOS 13 or later, and Windows (amd64 and arm64) are available on the Releases page.

Releases are checksummed, signed with keyless cosign, and ship SPDX SBOMs and SLSA build provenance. See SECURITY.md for the verification commands.

Check your setup

Once installed and configured, run the server directly with -check. It loads the configuration, contacts every Pi-hole you have configured, and reports each one by name:

PIHOLE_URL=http://192.168.1.2 PIHOLE_PASSWORD=your-password pihole-mcp -check

pihole-mcp 0.10.0

PASS primary (http://192.168.1.2) core v6.5, FTL v6.8

All 1 instance(s) reachable and authenticated.

It exits non-zero if any instance fails, and prints what to change. It also warns when a Pi-hole runs an FTL release affected by published security advisories, naming the release that fixes them. Worth running before you wire the server into a client: most clients hide the server's output, so a bad URL or password looks the same as a server that never started.

Configuration

Variable	Required	Default	Description
`PIHOLE_URL`	Yes	-	Pi-hole base URL (e.g. `http://192.168.1.2`)
`PIHOLE_PASSWORD`	Yes	-	Admin password or application password
`PIHOLE_READ_ONLY`	No	`false`	Expose only tools that cannot change Pi-hole. See Scoping the tool surface.
`PIHOLE_TOOLSETS`	No	all	Comma-separated toolset names to expose, e.g. `dashboard,domains`. Unset or `all` exposes everything.
`PIHOLE_REQUEST_TIMEOUT`	No	`30s`	HTTP request timeout
`PIHOLE_MAX_RETRIES`	No	`3`	Retries after a failed Pi-hole API call. `0` disables.
`PIHOLE_RETRY_MAX_DELAY`	No	`8s`	Upper bound on a single backoff wait.
`PIHOLE_HTTP_AUTH_TOKEN`	No	-	Shared bearer token required on every HTTP/SSE request. Minimum 16 characters. Unset means no authentication.
`PIHOLE_HTTP_AUTH_TOKEN_FILE`	No	-	Path to a file holding the bearer token, so it stays out of `ps`. Mutually exclusive with `PIHOLE_HTTP_AUTH_TOKEN`.
`PIHOLE_RATE_LIMIT`	No	`120`	Requests per minute per MCP session on the HTTP/SSE transports, under a per-address ceiling of four times that. Clients on MCP revision `2026-07-28` send no session, so only the ceiling applies to them. `0` disables.
`PIHOLE_ALLOWED_ORIGINS`	No	`localhost,127.0.0.1,[::1]`	Comma-separated Origin/Host allowlist for HTTP/SSE transports. The literal `*` disables enforcement (unsafe). Not authentication.
`PIHOLE_TRUSTED_PROXIES`	No	-	Comma-separated IPs or CIDR blocks whose `X-Forwarded-For` the rate limiter believes. Unset means the header is ignored.
`PIHOLE_BACKUP_DIR`	No	-	Absolute path of an existing directory to keep teleporter backups in. When set, `pihole_teleporter_export` writes only inside it and `pihole_teleporter_import` reads only from it, and the server never removes anything there. Unset, backups go to the system temp directory by default, where the server removes its own after a day, and any absolute path is accepted.
`PIHOLE_TLS_SKIP_VERIFY`	No	`false`	Disable TLS certificate verification for Pi-hole connections. Only for instances serving self-signed certificates. A trusted certificate is preferable where possible.
`TZ`	No	System timezone (UTC in Docker)	IANA timezone for rendered timestamps (e.g. `Australia/Adelaide`). Timezone data is embedded in the binary, so this works in the Docker image out of the box.
`OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT`	No	-	OpenTelemetry collector endpoint. Setting it enables tracing; ignored in slim builds.

Application passwords are recommended for automation: they bypass TOTP 2FA and can be revoked independently.

PIHOLE_HTTP_AUTH_TOKEN, PIHOLE_HTTP_AUTH_TOKEN_FILE, PIHOLE_RATE_LIMIT, PIHOLE_ALLOWED_ORIGINS and PIHOLE_TRUSTED_PROXIES only apply to the http and sse transports; stdio is a single-process, single-user channel by definition and isn't gated. See Security before exposing either transport beyond loopback.

Scoping the tool surface

By default the server offers every tool, including 34 that change Pi-hole and 27 that are destructive. Two variables narrow that.

PIHOLE_READ_ONLY=true exposes only tools that cannot change anything, on Pi-hole or on the host the server runs on, so it leaves out pihole_teleporter_export, which writes a file. Write tools are absent from tools/list and rejected if called anyway, so a client working from a cached listing cannot reach one either.

PIHOLE_READ_ONLY=true    # 48 tools instead of 82

PIHOLE_TOOLSETS selects which families of tools exist at all, which is worth doing on its own because tools/list is a cost paid in every conversation:

PIHOLE_TOOLSETS=dashboard,domains,lists    # blocklist curation, and nothing else

PIHOLE_TOOLSETS=all # the default, stated explicitly

The two intersect, and read-only always wins. PIHOLE_READ_ONLY=true with PIHOLE_TOOLSETS=dns,stats gives the 14 tools that are in those toolsets *and* read-only.

The toolset names, what each contains and how many tools it holds are in docs/TOOLS.md, generated from the same table the server filters with. An unknown name fails at startup and lists every valid one; run pihole-mcp -check to see it, along with how many tools your configuration actually exposes:

scope: read-only=true, toolsets=dns,stats  14 of 82 tools exposed

A published toolset name is never removed, renamed or narrowed. See CONTRIBUTING.md for the full promise.

Multiple instances

To manage more than one Pi-hole, configure numbered instances instead of PIHOLE_URL/PIHOLE_PASSWORD:

Variable	Required	Description
`PIHOLE_1_URL`, `PIHOLE_2_URL`, …	Yes	Base URL of each instance (contiguous from 1)
`PIHOLE_1_PASSWORD`, `PIHOLE_2_PASSWORD`, …	Yes	Password for the matching instance

| PIHOLE_1_NAME, PIHOLE_2_NAME, … | No | Fri

Only the beginning is shown; read the rest in the repo

Pi-hole MCP Server

Overview

PopNx MCP’s three pillars

What you can do with it

Install

Before you install

Values you fill in

What it can do

Basic checksi

Maker matches the repo

Still maintained

Has a licence

Endpoint responds

Sign-in with OAuth

No hidden instructions in tool descriptions

Compared with others in Developer toolsi

Common questions

Alternatives

GitHub

Desktop Commander

Cloudflare MCP

README from the maker

pihole-mcp

Why this one

Quick Start

What you can ask

Installation

MCP Registry

Homebrew

Scoop (Windows)

Go Install

Docker

Linux Packages

Fedora / RHEL / CentOS

Binary Download

Check your setup

Configuration

Scoping the tool surface

Multiple instances