#!/usr/bin/env python3 """shellmcp: an MCP server with one tool, `run`, that runs a bash command. Stdlib only, stdio. --mode readonly (default) runs every command in a bubblewrap sandbox: the filesystem is read-only except a private /tmp, there is no network, no other process is visible, and the --hide paths (always ~/.ssh and ~/.gnupg) look empty. --mode all runs commands with the user's full permissions; let the MCP client ask before each call. """ import argparse import getpass import json import os import shutil import signal import socket import subprocess import sys ENV = {"PAGER": "cat", "GIT_PAGER": "cat", "NO_COLOR": "1", "TERM": "dumb"} def cut(text, limit): """text, or its head and tail around a note when it is longer than limit.""" if len(text) <= limit: return text half = limit // 2 return f"{text[:half]}\n[... {len(text) - 2 * half} characters cut ...]\n{text[-half:]}" def run(command, cwd, timeout=60, limit=8000, prefix=()): """The exit code and combined stdout and stderr of `bash -c command`, as one text.""" proc = subprocess.Popen([*prefix, "bash", "-c", command], cwd=cwd, stdin=subprocess.DEVNULL, stdout=subprocess.PIPE, stderr=subprocess.STDOUT, env={**os.environ, **ENV}, start_new_session=True) try: out, _ = proc.communicate(timeout=timeout) head = f"exit code {proc.returncode}" except subprocess.TimeoutExpired: os.killpg(proc.pid, signal.SIGKILL) try: out, _ = proc.communicate(timeout=5) except subprocess.TimeoutExpired: # a process left the group and holds the pipe out = b"" head = f"timed out after {timeout} s, killed" return f"{head}\n{cut(out.decode(errors='replace'), limit)}" def sandbox(cwd, hide=()): """The bwrap argv prefix of --mode readonly.""" argv = ["bwrap", "--ro-bind", "/", "/", "--dev", "/dev", "--proc", "/proc", "--tmpfs", "/tmp", "--tmpfs", "/run", "--unshare-net", "--unshare-ipc", "--unshare-pid", "--die-with-parent", "--new-session"] for path in hide: if os.path.isdir(path): argv += ["--tmpfs", path] elif os.path.exists(path): argv += ["--ro-bind", "/dev/null", path] return argv + ["--chdir", cwd] PREFERRED = { # named in the tool description when installed, in this order "rg": "search file contents (instead of grep)", "fd": "find files (instead of find)", "eza": "list files (instead of ls)", "sd": "find and replace (instead of sed)", "dust": "disk usage (instead of du)", "procs": "processes (instead of ps)", "jq": "query JSON", "ast-grep": "search code by syntax", "tokei": "count lines of code"} def describe(mode, cwd, timeout, limit): """The tool description: where commands run, the limits, and the modern tools installed.""" text = (f"Run a bash command on {socket.gethostname()} as {getpass.getuser()} in {cwd}. " f"Returns its exit code and combined stdout and stderr (at most {limit} characters; " f"the middle of longer output is cut). Commands are killed after {timeout} s. " "There is no terminal: interactive programs, pagers and prompts fail.") if mode == "readonly": text += (" Read-only sandbox: nothing can be written except /tmp, which is emptied " "after every command; no network; other processes are not visible. To change " "something, give the user the command to run instead.") else: text += (" Commands run with the user's full permissions: they can change files, " "processes and the network.") tools = [f"{name}: {what}" for name, what in PREFERRED.items() if shutil.which(name)] if tools: text += " Installed, prefer these: " + "; ".join(tools) + "." return text PROTOCOLS = ("2025-11-25", "2025-06-18", "2025-03-26", "2024-11-05") # newest first HIDDEN = ("~/.ssh", "~/.gnupg") def error(mid, code, message): return {"jsonrpc": "2.0", "id": mid, "error": {"code": code, "message": message}} def handle(message, tool, call): """The JSON-RPC response to one message; None for a notification.""" mid, method, params = message.get("id"), message.get("method"), message.get("params") or {} if mid is None: return None if method == "initialize": asked = params.get("protocolVersion") result = {"protocolVersion": asked if asked in PROTOCOLS else PROTOCOLS[0], "capabilities": {"tools": {}}, "serverInfo": {"name": "shellmcp", "version": "0.1.0"}} elif method == "ping": result = {} elif method == "tools/list": result = {"tools": [tool]} elif method == "tools/call": command = (params.get("arguments") or {}).get("command") if params.get("name") != "run" or not isinstance(command, str): return error(mid, -32602, "call the tool `run` with a string `command`") result = {"content": [{"type": "text", "text": call(command)}], "isError": False} else: return error(mid, -32601, f"unknown method {method}") return {"jsonrpc": "2.0", "id": mid, "result": result} def main(argv=None): p = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="MCP server with one tool, run: a bash command.") p.add_argument("--mode", choices=("readonly", "all"), default="readonly", help="readonly: bwrap sandbox (default); all: the user's full permissions") p.add_argument("--cwd", default=os.getcwd(), help="directory commands run in") p.add_argument("--timeout", type=int, default=60, help="seconds before a command is killed") p.add_argument("--max-output", type=int, default=8000, help="characters of output kept") p.add_argument("--hide", action="append", default=[], metavar="PATH", help="readonly: also make PATH look empty (repeatable; ~/.ssh and ~/.gnupg " "always are)") a = p.parse_args(argv) cwd = os.path.abspath(a.cwd) if a.mode == "readonly" and not shutil.which("bwrap"): sys.exit("shellmcp: --mode readonly needs bwrap (bubblewrap)") hide = [os.path.expanduser(h) for h in (*HIDDEN, *a.hide)] prefix = sandbox(cwd, hide) if a.mode == "readonly" else () tool = {"name": "run", "description": describe(a.mode, cwd, a.timeout, a.max_output), "inputSchema": {"type": "object", "required": ["command"], "properties": { "command": {"type": "string", "description": "a bash command line"}}}} # ponytail: one request at a time; a long command delays the next call (no cancellation) for line in sys.stdin: if not line.strip(): continue try: message = json.loads(line) except ValueError: message = None if not isinstance(message, dict): reply = error(None, -32700, "parse error") else: reply = handle(message, tool, lambda c: run(c, cwd, a.timeout, a.max_output, prefix)) if reply is not None: print(json.dumps(reply), flush=True) if __name__ == "__main__": main()