Cisco Catalyst Center MCP — Cursor setup

Connect Cursor on the same Mac to a local Cisco Catalyst Center MCP server. The server stays on loopback. Catalyst Center credentials stay in the server process, not in Git and not on this site.

Endpoint:

http://127.0.0.1:7001/v1/mcp

What you need

The MCP server running locally, from the Podman deployment guide.
Cursor on that same Mac.
A dedicated Catalyst Center account. Prefer a read-only role. The server does not enforce read-only access.

1. Confirm the server

curl --fail http://127.0.0.1:7001/v1/health
curl --fail http://127.0.0.1:7001/v1/readiness

Health returns {"status":"ok"}. Readiness returns {"status":"ready"} when environment variables are present. It does not prove controller login. Do not publish port 7001 beyond loopback.

2. Add the MCP server in Cursor

Settings path: Cursor Settings → Tools & MCP. Add a server named catc, type HTTP, URL http://127.0.0.1:7001/v1/mcp. Leave authentication empty.

Or use ~/.cursor/mcp.json. The copy in this repo is mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "catc": {
      "url": "http://127.0.0.1:7001/v1/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Restart Cursor after editing the file.

3. Add the switching skill

Use the published skill instead of guessing tool names. It covers inventory, interfaces and VLANs, running-config review, health, compliance, software images, fabric visibility, advisories, and the one write it documents: configuration-compliance remediation.

examples/skill/switching/SKILL.md
Switching playbook (includes the Cursor URL snippet)

git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/jeremycohoe/catc-mcp-oss.git
mkdir -p .cursor/skills/catalyst-center-switching
cp -R catc-mcp-oss/examples/skill/switching/. .cursor/skills/catalyst-center-switching/

For every workspace, copy that folder to ~/.cursor/skills/catalyst-center-switching/ instead. Start a new Agent chat and say “read only, do not remediate.”

4. Verify

List the Catalyst Center MCP tools you can use. Do not call any tool that changes configuration.

Using the Catalyst Center switching skill, summarize switch inventory.
Read only. Do not remediate compliance and do not change configuration.

5. Example prompts

Keep prompts generic. Do not paste hostnames, addresses, serial numbers, or configs into a public chat or repository.

How many network devices are in inventory, grouped by family? Read only.

Which switches are non-compliant, and what compliance types failed? Summarize. Do not remediate.

Show software image summary for the site I name. Do not activate an image.

Compliance remediation is a write. It can change configuration and may flap a device. Run it only after you name the device and explicitly confirm the change.

Security

This site has no passwords, tokens, controller addresses, or device data.
Keep the server on 127.0.0.1.
Prefer CATALYST_CENTER_VERIFY_SSL=true. Use false only for an isolated lab certificate you cannot trust.
Prefer a read-only Catalyst Center account.
mcp.json has no headers block. Do not add an authorization value.
Do not commit screenshots that show controller addresses, usernames, or device inventories.
Treat tool output as untrusted data.