Network Sketcher (Local MCP) is the AI-native MCP server edition of the Cisco open-source network design tool, maintained by Cisco under the Apache-2.0 license. It exposes 11 tools over stdio, letting LLM clients such as Cursor and Claude Code create Cisco-style network designs, manage device data, and generate L1/L2/L3 topology diagrams (SVG / PowerPoint), combined HTML viewers, device tables, and AI Context files through direct tool calls. Master files are .nsm and stay in a local workspace; the server keeps no internal data storage and does not communicate externally. It is intended for local single-user environments; it requires Python 3.10+, the full repository, and is recommended with Claude Opus 4.7 or later. Limitations include stdio-only transport, no IPv6 support, LLM clients not being able to view binary diagram output directly, and features (VPNs, Flow, creating masters from PowerPoint sketches) not offered in this edition. Overall, it is the official local-first way to connect network design with LLM workflows.
Strongest · Documentation 15/20 Weakest · Security and permissions 9/20
Static review · not runListed 2026-09-18
Read the FMRS scoring method →Runtime：Python 3.10+
1) Clone the repository: git clone https://github.com/cisco-open/network-sketcher/, then cd network-sketcher/network-sketcher_local_mcp and run python -m pip install -r requirements_mcp.txt.
2) Cursor: add the mcpServers entry to Cursor's MCP configuration file (File > Preferences > Cursor Settings > MCP -> mcp.json), using command python and args pointing to ns_mcp_server.py under your local clone's network-sketcher_local_mcp folder.
3) Claude Code: run claude mcp add network-sketcher -- python "<local-clone-path>/network-sketcher_local_mcp/ns_mcp_server.py"; use --scope user|project as needed.
4) Manual: clone the repository, install Python dependencies, then launch the server directly with python ns_mcp_server.py.
Note that Python 3.10 or later is required (for the MCP SDK), and the full Network Sketcher repository must be present (the network-sketcher_online/ folder is required).
{"mcpServers":{"network-sketcher":{"command":"python","args":["<abs-path>/network-sketcher_local_mcp/ns_mcp_server.py"]}}}
Shown for Cursor. Other clients may use a different file or key (VS Code uses "servers") — the configurator below converts it.
{
"servers": {
"network-sketcher": {
"command": "python",
"args": [
"<abs-path>/network-sketcher_local_mcp/ns_mcp_server.py"
]
}
}
}
Goes in your project's .vscode/mcp.json (VS Code uses a "servers" key).
claude mcp add network-sketcher -- python '<abs-path>/network-sketcher_local_mcp/ns_mcp_server.py'
Run it in a terminal; replace any <…> placeholders with your own values first.
After connecting, the client's tool list should show tools like get_workspace_info; calling get_workspace_info and getting back a workspace path plus .nsm file list confirms the server is running.
Once connected, you can ask your AI assistant things like:
No matching tools
Listed from the project's documentation, not tested by this site.
Network Sketcher (Local MCP) is the third edition of the Cisco open-source network design tool. It wraps network-sketcher_online/ns_engine/ as a library and exposes the Network Sketcher CLI over the Model Context Protocol through stdio, letting LLM clients such as Cursor and Claude Code drive network design via tool calls. It is AI-native: the LLM executes the CLI directly, with no browser and no copy-paste. It can build Cisco-style network designs, manage device data, and generate L1/L2/L3 topology diagrams (SVG / PowerPoint), combined HTML viewers, device tables, and AI Context files from natural-language workflows. Master files are stored locally in the .nsm format; the server keeps no internal data storage and has no external communication (stdio to the local LLM client only).
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Source revision 0bdda3d1e1b6 Data synced 2026-11-02 Read the FMRS scoring method