ellmos ControlCenter MCP

Part of the ellmos-ai family.

An alpha-stage Model Context Protocol (MCP) control plane for local MCP stacks. ControlCenter discovers local MCP servers, reads Claude profile files, groups servers into capability bundles, recommends profiles for a task, builds catalogs, and provides an optional local dashboard.

The first alpha release focuses on discovery, profile visibility, dashboard workflows, capability bundles, and initial policy audits. Gateway mode, enforced tool-level permissions, authentication, and hard security boundaries are planned, but are not implemented yet.

Alpha note: This version is useful for local administration and preview testing. It is not a hardened MCP gateway and should not be used as a security layer for untrusted tools or other users.

Status

Phase: Alpha
Version: 0.1.0-alpha.2
Repository: ellmos-ai/ellmos-controlcenter-mcp
npm: ellmos-controlcenter-mcp
CI checks: npm run test and npm run build
Goal: Make local MCP stacks visible, inspectable, and easier to control
Focus: Catalogs, profile overview, profile recommendation, bundle recommendation, and early audits

Tools

| Tool | Purpose | |---|---| | controlcenter_status | Show stack, profile, and detected-server status | | controlcenter_list_local_servers | Scan local MCP repositories below the MCP root | | controlcenter_list_bundles | Group local servers by capability bundle | | controlcenter_suggest_bundles | Recommend bundles for a task | | controlcenter_list_profiles | List Claude profiles from the profile root | | controlcenter_suggest_profile | Recommend a profile for a task | | controlcenter_resolve_profile | Resolve a profile including extends chains | | controlcenter_switch_profile | Prepare a generated --mcp-config file | | controlcenter_audit_profile | Run initial policy checks against a profile | | controlcenter_build_catalog | Build a JSON catalog of local MCP servers |

Dashboard

After building the project, start the local dashboard with:

npm run dashboard

Default address:

http://127.0.0.1:3737

The dashboard can currently show local servers and profiles, enable or disable servers per profile, summarize profile audits, and write a generated --mcp-config file. Write actions ask for confirmation and create a backup before overwriting an existing file.

Installation

Option 1: Install from npm

npm install -g ellmos-controlcenter-mcp

Start the MCP server:

ellmos-controlcenter

Start the dashboard:

ellmos-controlcenter-dashboard

Option 2: Install from source

git clone https://github.com/ellmos-ai/ellmos-controlcenter-mcp.git
cd ellmos-controlcenter-mcp
npm install
npm run build

Run the server from source:

node dist/index.js

Run the dashboard from source:

node dist/dashboard.js

Configuration

Claude Desktop / Claude Code

If installed globally from npm:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "controlcenter": {
      "command": "ellmos-controlcenter"
    }
  }
}

If installed from source:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "controlcenter": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": [
        "/absolute/path/to/ellmos-controlcenter-mcp/dist/index.js"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Optional environment variables:

ELLMOS_MCP_ROOT overrides the default MCP repository root
ELLMOS_PROFILE_ROOT overrides the Claude profile directory

Profile Switching

controlcenter_switch_profile does not change a running Claude session. It creates a resolved MCP configuration and returns a launch command:

claude --mcp-config ~/.claude/profiles/_generated/software.mcp.json

With write: false, the switch runs as a preview. With write: true, ControlCenter writes the generated file.

Profile resolution supports single inheritance ("extends": "base"), multiple inheritance ("extends": ["base", "shared"]), and inherited-server removal via "remove", "disabled", or "disabledServers". Missing profiles, invalid JSON, invalid profile names, and inheritance cycles now return explicit profile errors with the affected file path or chain.

Capability Bundles

ControlCenter currently groups local servers into these bundles:

core-local
software
filesystem
automation
control-plane

This is the basis for future tool-bloat management: instead of exposing many individual tools immediately, an agent can first choose the capability bundle that fits the task.

Profile Audit

controlcenter_audit_profile is the first small policy layer. It currently flags:

npx starts
environment variables in server configurations
missing or invalid server commands
sensitive name fragments in arguments

Environment values are never printed.

Project Structure

ellmos-controlcenter-mcp/
├── src/
├── test/
├── data/
├── README.md
├── README_de.md
├── START.md
├── ARCHITECTURE.md
├── STATE.md
├── DECISIONS.md
└── TODO.md

Documentation

| For... | Read... | |---|---| | Quick start | START.md | | Current state | STATE.md | | Architecture | ARCHITECTURE.md | | Roadmap | ROADMAP.md | | Decisions | DECISIONS.md | | Open tasks | TODO.md | | Changes | CHANGELOG.md |

ellmos-ai Ecosystem

This MCP server is part of the ellmos-ai ecosystem: AI infrastructure, MCP servers, and intelligent tools.

MCP Server Family

| Server | Tools | Focus | npm | |--------|-------|-------|-----| | FileCommander | 43 | Filesystem, process management, interactive sessions | ellmos-filecommander-mcp | | CodeCommander | 17 | Code analysis, AST parsing, import management | ellmos-codecommander-mcp | | Clatcher | 12 | File repair, format conversion, batch operations | ellmos-clatcher-mcp | | n8n Manager | 18 | n8n workflow management via AI assistants | n8n-manager-mcp | | ControlCenter | 10 | MCP stack discovery, profile management, control plane | ellmos-controlcenter-mcp |

AI Infrastructure

| Project | Description | |---------|-------------| | BACH | Text-based OS for LLMs: handlers, tools, and skills | | clutch | Provider-neutral LLM orchestration with auto-routing and budget tracking | | rinnsal | Lightweight agent memory, connectors, and automation infrastructure | | ellmos-stack | Self-hosted AI research stack |

License

MIT - Lukas Geiger (ellmos-ai)

MCP Servers