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Observability - official IBM server

MCP server for IBM Instana

MCP server that turns agent requests into Instana REST API calls, covering application, infrastructure, website, mobile and synthetic monitoring, events, SLOs, releases, dashboards and maintenance windows. It runs locally from mcp-instana (pypi) with API key auth.

Last verified 11 tools5 sources

Install

VS Code

JSON
{
  "servers": {
    "Instana MCP Server": {
      "command": "mcp-instana",
      "args": ["--transport", "stdio"],
      "env": {
        "INSTANA_BASE_URL": "https://your-instana-instance.instana.io",
        "INSTANA_API_TOKEN": "your_instana_api_token"
      }
    }
  }
}

Generic

JSON
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "Instana MCP Server": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run", "-i", "--rm",
        "-e", "INSTANA_API_TOKEN=your_instana_api_token",
        "-e", "INSTANA_BASE_URL=https://your-instana-instance.instana.io",
        "mcp-instana",
        "--transport", "stdio"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Tools

manage_applications
Application metrics, alert configs, settings and catalog.
manage_websites
Website analyze, catalog and configuration operations.
manage_custom_dashboards
Custom dashboard CRUD.
manage_infrastructure
Infrastructure analysis, catalog, smart alerts and snapshots.
manage_automation
Automation action catalog and execution history.
manage_events
Events, Kubernetes events and agent monitoring events.
manage_slo
SLO configurations, reports, alerts and correction windows.
manage_releases
Release tracking: list, get, create, update, delete.
manage_maintenance_windows
Maintenance window lifecycle management.
manage_mobile_apps
Mobile app monitoring, beacons, performance and session replay.
manage_synthetics
Synthetic monitoring catalog, metrics, settings and test results.

As documented on October 17, 2026. A running server reports its current list through tools/list.

Notes and caveats

  • stdio uses INSTANA_BASE_URL and INSTANA_API_TOKEN env vars; streamable HTTP mode takes credentials per request via headers (API token, session token or JWT).
  • Tool categories can be filtered.
  • The docker snippet assumes a locally built mcp-instana image.
  • SSL verification on by default since 1.0.3.

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Related reading

FAQ

What does the MCP server for IBM Instana do?

MCP server that turns agent requests into Instana REST API calls, covering application, infrastructure, website, mobile and synthetic monitoring, events, SLOs, releases, dashboards and maintenance windows. The vendor documents 11 tools, including manage_applications, manage_websites, manage_custom_dashboards and manage_infrastructure.

How do I add the MCP server for IBM Instana to VS Code?

IBM documents a VS Code config; copy it from the VS Code section of this page. Snippets for Generic are there too.

Does the MCP server for IBM Instana need authentication?

Yes, API key. Transport: stdio, Streamable HTTP. Status: Unlabelled, last checked October 17, 2026.

Sources

Last verified against 5 IBM pages, then re-checked independently.

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