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HomeButler MCP server

by Higangssh

Lets your AI check your home servers, containers, and ports, and tell you what changed since last time.

Flow diagram: you ask your AI “What changed on my homelab server since yesterday?”, the HomeButler MCP server keeps repeating: checks your machines, saves a snapshot, compares with last time, tells your AI, and you get back A plain answer in your chat.

HomeButler is a small helper program for people who run their own servers at home. It checks your machines over SSH and tells you what is running, which ports are open, and what changed since the last check. If you use an AI assistant, this MCP server lets it look at your homelab for you without giving it a full remote shell.

What is an MCP server? The 30-second version

On its own, your AI can only chat with you. An MCP server is a small helper program that gives your AI a new skill or a connection to something outside the chat. This one connects your AI to HomeButler, which in turn reaches your home servers over SSH. So when you ask a question about your homelab, the AI can look it up through HomeButler and answer with real information instead of guessing.

What this MCP server does

You ask your AI something about your servers, like what is running or what changed. The AI sends that request to the HomeButler MCP server. HomeButler then connects to your machines over SSH and collects the facts: system resources, Docker containers, open ports, and so on. It compares what it finds with the last saved snapshot and works out what actually moved. The AI gets a short, structured answer back and explains it to you in plain words.

Flow diagram: you ask your AI “What changed on my homelab server since yesterday?”, the HomeButler MCP server keeps repeating: checks your machines, saves a snapshot, compares with last time, tells your AI, and you get back A plain answer in your chat. Click to zoom

What you can do with it

  • Check CPU, memory, disk, and uptime on your servers
  • List running and stopped Docker containers
  • See which ports are open and which container owns them
  • Get a health report with changes since the last snapshot
  • Run a doctor check for common problems like full disks or stopped containers
  • See nodes and guests in a Proxmox cluster
  • Wake a machine on your network with Wake-on-LAN

Try asking your AI

  • “What changed on my homelab server since yesterday?”
  • “Which containers are running right now and which ports do they use?”
  • “Run a doctor check and tell me if anything needs attention”
  • “Is any port on my server open to the whole network?”

What it gives back to you

You get short, readable answers in the chat: lists of containers, open ports, resource numbers, and a summary of what changed since the last snapshot. Each change is described in a few words, like a container that was replaced or a port that changed hands. If you ask for details, the AI can show the full report or the JSON version behind it.

Before you start

What you need

  • HomeButler installed on the machine that will run it
  • SSH access to the servers you want it to check
  • A config file listing your servers (made with homebutler init)

Good to know

It reaches your servers over SSH and can run actions like installing apps or power actions on Proxmox, so only connect it to machines you are happy for your AI to touch.

Install it with your AI

Add HomeButler MCP server to your AI, no technical skills needed

You don't install anything by hand. You copy one prompt, paste it into an AI that can work on your computer, and it checks, installs and connects the server for you, asking you when it needs something.

Sign in to get the install prompt

Members get a ready-made prompt that lets the Claude desktop app check HomeButler MCP server, install it and connect it for them, step by step. You don't need any technical skills: you copy, paste and answer a few questions. Your connected AI can also find and install any of the 4,066 MCP servers here for you.

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Who it's for

People who run a home server or homelab and want an AI assistant to help keep an eye on it.