MCP server · Developer tools

cert-manager MCP server

Let your AI list, inspect, and renew TLS certificates managed by cert-manager in your Kubernetes cluster.

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This is a small helper that connects your AI assistant to cert-manager, the tool many teams use to keep website and service certificates up to date inside a Kubernetes cluster. It is handy if you already work with Kubernetes and cert-manager and want to check on certificates without clicking around dashboards. You do not need to be a developer, but you do need access to a cluster.

What is an MCP server? The 30-second version

On its own, your AI can only chat. An MCP server is a little helper program that gives your AI a new skill or a connection to another system. This one connects your AI to cert-manager and your Kubernetes cluster, so when you ask a question about certificates, the AI can actually look them up and, if you want, ask cert-manager to renew one. Think of it as giving your assistant a key to the certificate cupboard, but only for the things you ask about.

What this MCP server does

You ask your AI something like which certificates are about to expire. The AI passes that request to this helper, which talks to your Kubernetes cluster using your existing kube config. The helper asks cert-manager for the list of certificates and their status, then hands the answer back to the AI. The AI shows it to you in the chat as a tidy list or a short summary. If you ask it to renew a certificate, the helper tells cert-manager to do that and reports back what happened.

Flow diagram: you ask your AI “Which certificates are about to expire?”, the cert-manager MCP server connects it to cert-manager in Kubernetes, and you get back A tidy list in your chat.

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What you can do with it

List certificates in one namespace or across the whole cluster
Show details for a single certificate, including its status
Filter the list to show only expired certificates
List issuers and cluster issuers with their status
Force a renewal of a specific certificate
List namespaces in your cluster
See and switch between your kube config contexts

Try asking your AI

“List all certificates in the default namespace”
“Which certificates in my cluster are expired?”
“Show me the details of the certificate called my-site-tls in the web namespace”
“Renew the certificate my-site-tls in the web namespace”
“What issuers do I have and are they ready?”

What it gives back to you

You get back plain answers in the chat: lists of certificate names with their namespaces and status, details for one certificate, a list of issuers, or a short confirmation that a renewal was triggered. Long lists can be paged so the answer stays readable. When you ask for domains, they are included; otherwise they are left out to keep things short.

Before you start

What you need

Docker installed on your computer
A kube config file (usually at ~/.kube/config) that can reach your cluster
For Google Kubernetes Engine: the gcloud config folder and your project and region

Good to know

It can trigger a certificate renewal, which changes things in your live cluster, and it reads your kube config, so only point it at clusters you are allowed to touch.

Install it with your AI

Add cert-manager 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 cert-manager 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.