network-mcp-chat

A web-based AI chat application that connects a local LLM (via Ollama) to multiple MCP servers using streamable HTTP transport. Chat with your network infrastructure, run security assessments, and query Forward Networks — all from a browser UI.

Architecture

Browser
  │
  │ HTTP :3000
  ▼
server.js  (Node.js — serves chat UI)
  │
  │ spawns / communicates
  ▼
main_cisco.py          main_fwdnetwork.py       main_hexstrike.py
(Cisco SSH client)     (Forward Networks)       (HexStrike Security)
  │                          │                          │
  │ SSH (netmiko)            │ API                      │ HTTP
  ▼                          ▼                          ▼
Cisco C2960CX        Forward Networks          hexstrike_mcp.py
IOS 15.2             (NQE / topology)          (MCP HTTP :8000)
                                                        │
                                                        │ HTTP
                                                        ▼
                                               hexstrike_server.py
                                               (Flask API :8888)
                                               150+ security tools

        All modes share:
        ┌─────────────────────┐
        │  Ollama :11434      │
        │  (qwen2.5:7b)       │
        └─────────────────────┘

Three Modes

Mode	Python backend	What it does
Cisco	`main_cisco.py`	SSH into Cisco C2960CX, run read-only show commands
Forward Networks	`main_fwdnetwork.py`	NQE queries, device inventory, compliance, path tracing
HexStrike	`main_hexstrike.py`	150+ security tools — nmap, nuclei, gobuster, sqlmap, metasploit and more

All three modes use the same server.js frontend on :3000.

Prerequisites

Python 3.10+
Node.js 18+
Ollama installed and running
Ollama model pulled: qwen2.5:7b
(Cisco mode) Cisco C2960CX accessible over SSH
(Forward Networks mode) Forward Networks instance with API access
(HexStrike mode) macOS with Homebrew or Linux/Kali

Quick Start

1. Clone the repo

git clone https://github.com/KrishnaMuddala/network-mcp-chat.git
cd network-mcp-chat

2. Configure environment variables

Create .env in the project root:

# Ollama
OLLAMA_BASE_URL=http://localhost:11434/v1
OLLAMA_MODEL=qwen2.5:7b

# Cisco switch
CISCO_DEVICE_HOST=192.168.1.1
CISCO_DEVICE_USER=admin
CISCO_DEVICE_PASS=yourpassword
CISCO_DEVICE_PORT=22

# Forward Networks
FORWARD_HOST=https://your-instance.forwardnetworks.com
FORWARD_API_KEY=your_api_key

# HexStrike
HEXSTRIKE_API_URL=http://localhost:8888
HEXSTRIKE_MCP_URL=http://localhost:8000/mcp

3. Start Ollama

ollama serve
ollama pull qwen2.5:7b

4. Install dependencies

Python:

# with uv (recommended)
pip install uv
uv venv
source .venv/bin/activate     # Windows: .venv\Scripts\activate
uv pip install -e .

# or with pip
pip install -e .

Node.js:

npm install

Running

Demo MCP server

MCP Chat running with qwen2.5:7b via Ollama on Windows

Cisco Mode

# Terminal 1
python main_cisco.py

# Terminal 2
node server.js

Open http://localhost:3000

Example queries:

show interfaces status on the switch
what vlans are configured?
show the mac address table
check power inline status
show cdp neighbors

CISCO Demo

Ciscos IOS-XE MCP Chat running with qwen2.5:7b via Ollama on Windows

Forward Networks Mode

# Terminal 1
python main_fwdnetwork.py

# Terminal 2
node server.js

Open http://localhost:3000

Example queries:

list all devices in the network
run a compliance check on network 123
check OS support status for all devices
find path between 10.0.0.1 and 10.0.0.2
search configs for interface shutdown

Forward Networks Demo

Forward Networks MCP Chat running with qwen2.5:7b via Ollama on Windows

Document summary Chat running with qwen2.5:7b via Ollama on Windows

HexStrike Security Mode

Platform: macOS or Linux/Kali recommended. Windows has limited tool support.

# Terminal 1 — HexStrike Flask API
python hexstrike_server.py

# Terminal 2 — HexStrike MCP server
python hexstrike_mcp.py

# Terminal 3 — Web UI
node server.js

Open http://localhost:3000

Example queries:

run an nmap scan on 192.168.1.1
check for vulnerabilities on example.com
run a nuclei scan with critical severity
enumerate subdomains for example.com
check the server health and available tools

Installing Security Tools

macOS (Homebrew)

brew install nmap gobuster nikto hydra sqlmap amass subfinder httpx nuclei ffuf
brew install masscan hashcat feroxbuster
brew install exploitdb
brew install --cask metasploit

Linux / Kali

Most tools are pre-installed on Kali Linux. For Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install nmap gobuster nikto hydra john sqlmap amass
pip install nuclei-tools subfinder httpx-toolkit

Windows: HexStrike is not recommended on Windows — which command doesn't exist and most security tools aren't available natively. Use WSL or macOS instead.

HexStriket MCP chat Demo

HexStrike MCP Chat running with qwen2.5:7b via Ollama on macOS

Project Structure

network-mcp-chat/
├── server.js                  # Node.js web server — chat UI on :3000
├── main_cisco.py              # MCP client — Cisco C2960CX mode
├── main_fwdnetwork.py         # MCP client — Forward Networks mode
├── main_hexstrike.py          # MCP client — HexStrike security mode
├── mcp_ciscoserver.py         # MCP server — Cisco SSH tools (FastMCP HTTP)
├── mcp_client.py              # Shared MCP client base (streamable HTTP)
├── hexstrike_server.py        # HexStrike Flask API server (:8888)
├── hexstrike_mcp.py           # HexStrike MCP server (:8000)
├── pyproject.toml             # Python dependencies
├── package.json               # Node.js dependencies
├── .env                       # Credentials (not committed)
└── command.txt                # Slash command definitions

MCP Tools

Cisco C2960CX

Runs at http://localhost:8000/mcp

Tool	Description
`cisco_show`	SSH read-only show command (credentials from `.env`)
`cisco_list_commands`	List all allowed commands

Allowed commands include: show version, show interfaces, show interfaces status, show vlan brief, show mac address-table, show arp, show cdp neighbors, show spanning-tree, show ip route, show running-config, show logging, show inventory, show power inline, show processes cpu, and more.

Write commands are blocked at the server level.

Forward Networks

Tool	Description
`list_nqe_queries`	Discover NQE queries
`run_nqe_query_by_id`	Run a predefined NQE query
`get_device_basic_info`	Full device inventory
`get_device_hardware`	Hardware lifecycle info
`get_os_support`	OS security compliance
`get_hardware_support`	Hardware EOL/support status
`search_paths`	Trace packet paths
`search_configs`	Search device configurations

HexStrike Security (150+ tools)

Category	Tools
Network scanning	nmap, rustscan, masscan, autorecon
Web security	gobuster, nikto, nuclei, sqlmap, ffuf, feroxbuster, dalfox
Cloud security	prowler, trivy, checkov, kube-hunter, docker-bench
Password attacks	hydra, john, hashcat
Exploitation	metasploit, msfvenom, pwntools
Reconnaissance	amass, subfinder, httpx, katana, gau
Binary analysis	ghidra, radare2, gdb, binwalk, angr
Forensics	volatility, foremost, steghide, exiftool
AI-powered	payload generation, attack chains, CVE monitoring

Python Dependencies

Package	Purpose
`openai>=1.0.0`	OpenAI-compatible client for Ollama
`mcp[cli]>=1.8.0`	MCP client/server (streamable HTTP)
`prompt-toolkit>=3.0.51`	CLI input with Tab autocomplete
`python-dotenv>=1.1.0`	Load credentials from `.env`
`netmiko>=4.6.0`	SSH to Cisco IOS devices

Troubleshooting

Ollama not running

ollama serve
ollama list    # confirm qwen2.5:7b is pulled

Cisco SSH fails

python -c "
from netmiko import ConnectHandler
c = ConnectHandler(device_type='cisco_ios', host='192.168.1.1',
                   username='admin', password='pass')
print(c.send_command('show version'))
"

HexStrike which error on Windows

HexStrike uses Linux commands — use macOS or WSL instead:

wsl --install   # Windows: enable WSL

HexStrike Unicode errors on Windows

Add to top of hexstrike_server.py:

import sys, io, os
os.environ["PYTHONIOENCODING"] = "utf-8"
sys.stdout = io.TextIOWrapper(sys.stdout.buffer, encoding="utf-8", errors="replace")
sys.stderr = io.TextIOWrapper(sys.stderr.buffer, encoding="utf-8", errors="replace")

MCP server not reachable

curl http://localhost:8000/mcp    # HexStrike MCP
curl http://localhost:8888/health # HexStrike Flask API

Module not found

pip install -e .    # run from repo root

Platform Support

Feature	macOS	Linux/Kali	Windows
Cisco SSH	✅	✅	✅
Forward Networks	✅	✅	✅
HexStrike tools	✅ via brew	✅ pre-installed	⚠️ limited
Unicode/emoji	✅	✅	⚠️ needs fix
`which` command	✅	✅	❌

License

MIT

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 36 Commits
app.egg-info		app.egg-info
assets		assets
core		core
public		public
.gitignore		.gitignore
.python-version		.python-version
Dockerfile		Dockerfile
Dockerfile.python		Dockerfile.python
README.md		README.md
agent.py		agent.py
agent_class.py		agent_class.py
autonomous_agent.py		autonomous_agent.py
chat_server.py		chat_server.py
chat_ui.html		chat_ui.html
docker-compose.prod.yml		docker-compose.prod.yml
docker-compose.yaml		docker-compose.yaml
env.example		env.example
graph_test.html		graph_test.html
hash_password.js		hash_password.js
hexstrike_mcp.py		hexstrike_mcp.py
hexstrike_server.py		hexstrike_server.py
main.py		main.py
main.tf		main.tf
main_cisco.py		main_cisco.py
main_fwdnetwork.py		main_fwdnetwork.py
main_hexstrike.py		main_hexstrike.py
mcp_cisco_c2960cx_server.py		mcp_cisco_c2960cx_server.py
mcp_ciscoclient.py		mcp_ciscoclient.py
mcp_client.py		mcp_client.py
mcp_fwdnetworkserver.py		mcp_fwdnetworkserver.py
mcp_server.py		mcp_server.py
netopsAgent.py		netopsAgent.py
nginx.conf		nginx.conf
package.json		package.json
pyproject.toml		pyproject.toml
server.js		server.js
variables.tf		variables.tf

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network-mcp-chat

Architecture

Three Modes

Prerequisites

Quick Start

1. Clone the repo

2. Configure environment variables

3. Start Ollama

4. Install dependencies

Running

Demo MCP server

Cisco Mode

CISCO Demo

Forward Networks Mode

Forward Networks Demo

HexStrike Security Mode

Installing Security Tools

macOS (Homebrew)

Linux / Kali

HexStriket MCP chat Demo

HexStrike MCP Chat running with qwen2.5:7b via Ollama on macOS

Project Structure

MCP Tools

Cisco C2960CX

Forward Networks

HexStrike Security (150+ tools)

Python Dependencies

Troubleshooting

Platform Support

License

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