GKE MCP Server Usage

The GKE MCP server provides 23 structured tools for cluster management, Kubernetes resource operations, and diagnostics — without requiring shell access or kubeconfig setup.

Connecting to the GKE MCP Server

The GKE remote MCP server is available for AI clients that support the Model Context Protocol. For setup instructions, see https://docs.cloud.google.com/kubernetes-engine/docs/how-to/use-gke-mcp.

Available Tools

All tools use hierarchical resource paths:

Project+Region:  projects/{PROJECT}/locations/{REGION}
Cluster:         projects/{PROJECT}/locations/{REGION}/clusters/{CLUSTER}
Node Pool:       projects/{PROJECT}/locations/{REGION}/clusters/{CLUSTER}/nodePools/{POOL}
Operation:       projects/{PROJECT}/locations/{REGION}/operations/{OP_ID}

Use locations/- to match all regions when listing.

Cluster Management

Tool	Mode	Purpose
`list_clusters`	READ	Discover clusters in a project/region
`get_cluster`	READ	Inspect cluster config. Use `readMask` to select fields
`create_cluster`	MUTATE	Create a cluster from JSON config
`update_cluster`	DESTRUCTIVE	Change Day-1 cluster settings

Node Pool Management

Tool	Mode	Purpose
`list_node_pools`	READ	List pools in a cluster
`get_node_pool`	READ	Get pool details
`create_node_pool`	MUTATE	Add a pool (Standard clusters)
`update_node_pool`	DESTRUCTIVE	Modify a pool

Kubernetes Resources

Tool	Mode	Purpose
`get_k8s_resource`	READ	List/get any K8s resource (supports label/field selectors)
`describe_k8s_resource`	READ	Detailed info with events and conditions
`apply_k8s_manifest`	DESTRUCTIVE	Apply YAML manifests (supports `dryRun`)
`patch_k8s_resource`	DESTRUCTIVE	JSON patch resource fields
`delete_k8s_resource`	DESTRUCTIVE	Remove resources (supports `cascade`, `dryRun`)
`list_k8s_api_resources`	READ	Discover available resource types

Diagnostics & Observability

Tool	Mode	Purpose
`list_k8s_events`	READ	Scheduling failures, OOM kills, evictions
`get_k8s_logs`	READ	Container logs (supports `tail`, `since`, `previous`)
`get_k8s_cluster_info`	READ	Control plane and service endpoints
`get_k8s_version`	READ	Kubernetes server version
`get_k8s_rollout_status`	READ	Deployment/StatefulSet rollout progress
`check_k8s_auth`	READ	Verify RBAC permissions for a user/SA

Operations

Tool	Mode	Purpose
`list_operations`	READ	Pending/running cluster operations
`get_operation`	READ	Track create/upgrade progress
`cancel_operation`	DESTRUCTIVE	Abort stuck operations

Tool Preference

Default: MCP tools > gcloud CLI > kubectl. See cli-reference.md for the full coverage comparison, CLI fallback commands, and user preference override options.

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