pihole-mcp

README

pihole-mcp

A production-grade MCP server for Pi-hole v6.

77 tools | 9 prompts | 5 resources | Multi-instance + sync | Single Go binary | ~6MB compressed (slim: ~3.5MB)

Gives AI assistants full control over your Pi-hole instance — DNS blocking, domain management, query analysis, statistics, network devices, DHCP, and system administration. Compatible with the Pi-hole v6 REST API.

Quick Start

Most MCP clients use the same configuration format. Add this to your client's config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pihole": {
      "command": "pihole-mcp",
      "env": {
        "PIHOLE_URL": "http://192.168.1.2",
        "PIHOLE_PASSWORD": "your-password"
      }
    }
  }
}

Then install the binary via one of the methods below.

Installation

Homebrew

brew install hexamatic/tap/pihole-mcp

Scoop (Windows)

scoop bucket add hexamatic https://github.com/hexamatic/scoop-bucket
scoop install pihole-mcp

Go Install

go install github.com/hexamatic/pihole-mcp/cmd/pihole-mcp@latest

Docker

docker pull ghcr.io/hexamatic/pihole-mcp:latest

Linux Packages

.deb and .rpm packages for Debian-based (Ubuntu, Raspberry Pi OS) and RPM-based (Fedora, RHEL) distributions are available on the Releases page.

# Debian / Ubuntu / Raspberry Pi OS
sudo dpkg -i pihole-mcp_X.Y.Z_linux_amd64.deb

# Fedora / RHEL / CentOS
sudo rpm -i pihole-mcp_X.Y.Z_linux_amd64.rpm

Binary Download

Pre-built binaries for Linux, macOS, and Windows (amd64 and arm64) are available on the Releases page.

Configuration

Variable	Required	Default	Description
PIHOLE_URL	Yes	—	Pi-hole base URL (e.g. http://192.168.1.2)
PIHOLE_PASSWORD	Yes	—	Admin password or application password
PIHOLE_REQUEST_TIMEOUT	No	30s	HTTP request timeout
PIHOLE_RATE_LIMIT	No	120	Per-session requests-per-minute cap on the HTTP/SSE transports. 0 disables.
PIHOLE_ALLOWED_ORIGINS	No	localhost,127.0.0.1,[::1]	Comma-separated Origin/Host allowlist for HTTP/SSE transports. The literal * disables enforcement (unsafe).

Application passwords are recommended for automation — they bypass TOTP 2FA and can be revoked independently.

PIHOLE_RATE_LIMIT and PIHOLE_ALLOWED_ORIGINS only apply to the http and sse transports; stdio is a single-process, single-user channel by definition and isn't gated.

Multiple instances

To manage more than one Pi-hole, configure numbered instances instead of PIHOLE_URL/PIHOLE_PASSWORD:

Variable	Required	Description
PIHOLE_1_URL, PIHOLE_2_URL, …	Yes	Base URL of each instance (contiguous from 1)
PIHOLE_1_PASSWORD, PIHOLE_2_PASSWORD, …	Yes	Password for the matching instance
PIHOLE_1_NAME, PIHOLE_2_NAME, …	No	Friendly name (default instance-1, instance-2, …)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pihole": {
      "command": "pihole-mcp",
      "env": {
        "PIHOLE_1_URL": "http://192.168.1.2",
        "PIHOLE_1_PASSWORD": "primary-password",
        "PIHOLE_1_NAME": "downstairs",
        "PIHOLE_2_URL": "http://192.168.1.3",
        "PIHOLE_2_PASSWORD": "secondary-password",
        "PIHOLE_2_NAME": "upstairs"
      }
    }
  }
}

Every tool then accepts an optional instance argument, and every result is labelled with the instance it came from. Omit the argument to target the first instance; pass a name to target a specific one; pass instance=all on a read-only tool (e.g. pihole_padd, pihole_stats_summary) to query every instance concurrently and get back a single structured aggregate (per-instance results plus a success/failure summary — one slow or unreachable instance no longer fails the whole call). State-changing tools require a single named instance. PIHOLE_URL and PIHOLE_1_URL are mutually exclusive.

Keeping instances in sync

When you run more than one Pi-hole, two extra tools appear for keeping them aligned:

• pihole_instance_diff — compare two instances and see exactly what differs across adlists/allowlists, allow/deny rules (exact and regex), groups, clients, local DNS A/AAAA records, and CNAME records. It is read-only and writes nothing.
• pihole_instance_sync — push a source instance's configuration onto a target. It is deliberately cautious:
  • One direction only. You name the source of truth and the target; only the target is ever written to.
  • Dry-run first. It returns a plan and a confirm_token by default; nothing changes until you re-run with mode=apply and that token. If the configuration drifts between planning and applying, the token no longer matches and the apply is refused.
  • Add/update by default. Entries on the target but not the source are left alone unless you pass prune=true.
  • Backed up. A teleporter backup of the target is taken before any change (disable with snapshot=false).
  • Safe by omission. Host-specific and identity settings — DHCP, interface bindings, passwords, TLS certificates, sessions, 2FA — are never synced. Group membership associations are not synced either, because Pi-hole group IDs are local to each instance.

Example: preview what the upstairs Pi-hole is missing relative to downstairs, then apply it.

pihole_instance_diff   { "source": "downstairs", "target": "upstairs" }
pihole_instance_sync   { "source": "downstairs", "target": "upstairs" }            → returns a plan + confirm_token
pihole_instance_sync   { "source": "downstairs", "target": "upstairs",
                         "mode": "apply", "confirm_token": "<token from the plan>" }

Client Setup

The Quick Start config above works for most clients. Expand the section below for client-specific instructions.

Claude Desktop

Add to your Claude Desktop configuration file:

OS	Path
macOS	~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Windows	%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
Linux	~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pihole": {
      "command": "pihole-mcp",
      "env": {
        "PIHOLE_URL": "http://192.168.1.2",
        "PIHOLE_PASSWORD": "your-password"
      }
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop after saving.

Claude Code

claude mcp add pihole \
  -e PIHOLE_URL=http://192.168.1.2 \
  -e PIHOLE_PASSWORD=your-password \
  -- pihole-mcp

Verify with:

claude mcp list

VS Code (GitHub Copilot)

Add to .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace:

{
  "servers": {
    "pihole": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "pihole-mcp",
      "env": {
        "PIHOLE_URL": "http://192.168.1.2",
        "PIHOLE_PASSWORD": "your-password"
      }
    }
  }
}

Or add via the command palette: MCP: Add Server.

Note: VS Code uses "servers" as the top-level key (not "mcpServers"), and requires "type": "stdio".

Cursor

Add to ~/.cursor/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pihole": {
      "command": "pihole-mcp",
      "env": {
        "PIHOLE_URL": "http://192.168.1.2",
        "PIHOLE_PASSWORD": "your-password"
      }
    }
  }
}

Windsurf

Add to ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pihole": {
      "command": "pihole-mcp",
      "env": {
        "PIHOLE_URL": "http://192.168.1.2",
        "PIHOLE_PASSWORD": "your-password"
      }
    }
  }
}

Cline

Open Cline settings > MCP Servers > Configure, and add:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pihole": {
      "command": "pihole-mcp",
      "env": {
        "PIHOLE_URL": "http://192.168.1.2",
        "PIHOLE_PASSWORD": "your-password"
      }
    }
  }
}

Docker (any client)

For clients that support Docker-based MCP servers:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pihole": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": ["run", "-i", "--rm",
        "-e", "PIHOLE_URL=http://192.168.1.2",
        "-e", "PIHOLE_PASSWORD=your-password",
        "ghcr.io/hexamatic/pihole-mcp:latest"]
    }
  }
}

Useful when you don't have Go installed or want to run the server on a remote host.

Tools

Dashboard

Tool	Description
pihole_padd	One-call snapshot: queries, blocking, top domain/client, cache, versions, host health

DNS Control

Tool	Description
pihole_dns_get_blocking	Get current DNS blocking status and timer
pihole_dns_set_blocking	Enable/disable blocking with optional timer

Statistics

Tool	Description
pihole_stats_summary	Queries, blocking rate, clients, gravity size
pihole_stats_top_domains	Top queried or blocked domains
pihole_stats_top_clients	Most active clients by query count
pihole_stats_upstreams	Upstream DNS server performance
pihole_stats_query_types	Query type distribution (A, AAAA, MX, etc.)
pihole_stats_recent_blocked	Recently blocked domains
pihole_stats_database	Long-term database statistics

Domain Management

Tool	Description
pihole_domains_list	List allow/deny domains
pihole_domains_add	Add domains (bulk supported)
pihole_domains_update	Update domain entry
pihole_domains_delete	Remove a domain
pihole_domains_batch_delete	Remove multiple domains

Groups, Clients, Lists

Tool	Description
pihole_groups_list/add/update/delete/batch_delete	Manage groups
pihole_clients_list/suggestions/add/update/delete	Manage clients
pihole_lists_list/add/update/delete/batch_delete	Manage blocklists/allowlists

Query Log

Tool	Description
pihole_queries_search	Search queries with 12 filters + cursor pagination
pihole_queries_suggestions	Available filter values

System

Tool	Description
pihole_info_system	Host, CPU, memory, disk, load, temperature
pihole_info_version	Pi-hole component versions
pihole_info_database	Database size and query count
pihole_info_messages	FTL diagnostic messages
pihole_search_domains	Cross-list domain search
pihole_config_get/set	Read/modify Pi-hole configuration
pihole_config_get_value/add_value/remove_value	Granular dotted-path config access
pihole_config_properties	List read-only config keys (Pi-hole v6.6.1+)

Actions and Network

Tool	Description
pihole_action_gravity_update	Re-download blocklists
pihole_action_restart_dns	Restart FTL DNS resolver
pihole_action_flush_logs/network	Flush logs or network table
pihole_network_devices/gateway/info	Network device discovery
pihole_dhcp_leases/delete_lease	DHCP lease management
pihole_logs_dns/ftl/webserver	Log retrieval
pihole_teleporter_export/import	Configuration backup and restore
pihole_history_graph/clients	Activity history

Multi-instance (only with more than one Pi-hole configured)

Tool	Description
pihole_instance_diff	Compare configuration between two instances
pihole_instance_sync	Reconcile a target instance towards a source (dry-run plan, then confirmed apply)

Response Options

Most tools accept optional parameters for controlling output:

• detail (minimal | normal | full) — Controls response depth. Default: normal. Use minimal for one-line summaries, full for complete API data.
• format (text | csv) — Output format for tabular data. Default: text. CSV saves ~29% tokens. Available on pihole_domains_list, pihole_lists_list, pihole_clients_list, pihole_queries_search, pihole_network_devices, pihole_stats_top_domains, pihole_stats_top_clients, pihole_stats_upstreams, pihole_stats_query_types, pihole_stats_recent_blocked, pihole_stats_database_top_domains, pihole_stats_database_top_clients, pihole_stats_database_upstreams, pihole_dhcp_leases, and pihole_config_properties.

Prompts

Pre-built multi-step workflows for common tasks:

Prompt	Description
diagnose_slow_dns	Analyse upstream performance and identify bottlenecks
investigate_domain	Check why a domain is blocked/allowed across all lists
review_top_blocked	Identify false positives in top blocked domains
audit_network	Discover unknown devices and unconfigured clients
optimise_blocklists	Suggest list consolidation and cleanup
daily_report	Comprehensive daily Pi-hole health summary

Advanced Configuration

Transport

By default, pihole-mcp uses stdio (standard for MCP). HTTP and SSE transports are also available:

# Default stdio (for Claude Desktop, Cursor, etc.)
pihole-mcp

# HTTP transport (for web-based MCP clients)
pihole-mcp -transport http -address localhost:8080

# SSE transport
pihole-mcp -transport sse -address localhost:8080

Security (HTTP and SSE transports)

The http and sse transports apply two security middlewares to every request, in line with the MCP 2025-11-25 spec's DNS-rebinding protection guidance. stdio is unaffected (single-process, single-user).

• Origin and Host validation. Both headers must resolve to a host in PIHOLE_ALLOWED_ORIGINS (default loopback only). Missing Origin is allowed for non-browser MCP clients. Mismatches return HTTP 403. To expose pihole-mcp on a LAN, extend the allowlist:

  export PIHOLE_ALLOWED_ORIGINS="localhost,127.0.0.1,[::1],pihole-mcp.lan"
  

  The literal * disables enforcement entirely — only use it if you're behind a reverse proxy doing its own access control.

• Per-session rate limiting. A token bucket keyed by Mcp-Session-Id (fallback to client IP) caps requests at PIHOLE_RATE_LIMIT per minute (default 120, burst max(120/4, 30)). Throttled requests return HTTP 429 with Retry-After: 1. 0 disables.

  # Tighter limit for a small fleet
  export PIHOLE_RATE_LIMIT=60
  
  # Disable (only when running behind a proxy with its own rate limit)
  export PIHOLE_RATE_LIMIT=0
  

OpenTelemetry

Tracing is opt-in. Set OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT to enable:

export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT=http://localhost:4318
pihole-mcp

All tool calls are automatically traced with tool name, duration, and error status.

If you don't need tracing, you can build a slim binary that strips the OpenTelemetry SDK, gRPC, protobuf, and grpc-gateway dependencies entirely (~45% smaller — from 17 MB to 9 MB stripped, 6 MB to 3.5 MB compressed):

just build-slim
# or
go build -tags slim -o bin/pihole-mcp-slim ./cmd/pihole-mcp

The slim binary is functionally identical apart from OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT being ignored.

Development

# Prerequisites: Go 1.26+, Docker, mise, just

# One-command setup
just setup

# Start local Pi-hole (http://localhost:8081, password: test)
just dev-up

# Run quality checks (format + lint + test)
just check

# Run integration tests against local Pi-hole
just integration

# Build binary
just build

See CONTRIBUTING.md for full development guidelines.

---

Pi-hole is a registered trademark of Pi-hole LLC. This project is independently maintained and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Pi-hole LLC.

Licence

MIT