Wireshark MCP Server

Packet capture and analysis for AI agents via the Model Context Protocol (MCP).

Works with any stdio MCP host: Cursor, Claude Desktop, Claude Code, VS Code / Copilot, Windsurf, custom agents, and similar tools. No vendor lock-in — the host only needs to launch:

python -m wireshark_mcp

Version 0.2.2

Docs (wiki)
Setup for novices	Install TShark + this package
MCP clients	Cursor, Claude, VS Code, generic
Troubleshooting	Offline server, PATH issues
Security	Safe capture rules

GitHub Pages (optional): set Settings → Pages → Source = GitHub Actions, then the Pages workflow publishes docs/ as HTML.

What you get

• Live capture and pcap/pcapng analysis through MCP tools
• Guided workflows via MCP prompts
• Startup preflight: if TShark is missing, the process exits so your host shows the server offline/error instead of a broken tool list
• setup / doctor CLIs so a new user can configure paths without guessing

Requirements

• Python 3.10+
• TShark (PATH or TSHARK_PATH)
• Npcap (Windows) or libpcap (Unix) for live capture
• Authorization to capture on the target network

Quick start (5 minutes)

git clone https://github.com/A-G-U-P-T-A/wireshark-mcp
cd wireshark-mcp
python -m venv .venv

# Windows:  .venv\Scripts\activate
# Unix:     source .venv/bin/activate

python -m pip install -e .
python -m wireshark_mcp doctor
python -m wireshark_mcp setup

setup detects TShark (or asks for its path) and writes or prints a standard mcpServers JSON block. Point your host at that config, then reload / restart the host.

Windows Wireshark install:

winget install --id WiresharkFoundation.Wireshark -e

MCP config (any host)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "wireshark": {
      "command": "/absolute/path/to/.venv/bin/python",
      "args": ["-m", "wireshark_mcp"],
      "env": {
        "TSHARK_PATH": "/absolute/path/to/tshark"
      }
    }
  }
}

Windows example paths:

• Python: C:\\Users\\YOU\\...\\wireshark-mcp\\.venv\\Scripts\\python.exe
• TShark: C:\\Program Files\\Wireshark\\tshark.exe

Ready-made template: examples/mcpServers.wireshark.json
Client-specific file locations: docs/Clients.md

CLI

Command	Purpose
python -m wireshark_mcp	Run the MCP server (stdio)
python -m wireshark_mcp doctor	JSON dependency report (exit 0/1)
python -m wireshark_mcp setup	Interactive TShark + host config
python -m wireshark_mcp setup --client print	Print JSON only

Project layout

src/wireshark_mcp/     # MCP server package (tools, prompts, preflight)
examples/              # Sample mcpServers JSON
docs/                  # Setup wiki for novices
tests/                 # pytest (no live capture by default)
.cursor/skills/        # Optional Cursor agent skill
pyshark_mcp.py         # Thin legacy shim

Tools (selected)

Area	Tools
Setup	check_environment, configure_tshark
Capture	list_interfaces, quick_capture, capture_live_packets, save_capture_to_file
Analysis	read_pcap_file, analyze_traffic, deep_packet_analysis, quick_traffic_analysis
App protocols	analyze_dns_traffic, analyze_http_traffic, analyze_http_traffic_tabular
Diagnostics	protocol_hierarchy_statistics, expert_information, filtered_packet_display

Prompts & resources

Prompts: packet_capture_help, investigate_live_traffic, analyze_pcap_file, security_traffic_review, safe_capture_rules

Resources: pyshark://version, pyshark://config (allow_simulation is always false)

Security

• Interfaces allowlisted from tshark -D; shell metacharacters rejected
• Subprocesses use argv + shell=False
• Failures return errors — no simulated packets

Details: docs/Security.md

Tests & CI

python -m pip install -e ".[dev]"
pytest -q -m "not live"

GitHub Actions installs TShark on Ubuntu and runs the non-live suite.

License

MIT