homebutler — Claude Code MCP server: server change reports
Keeps a snapshot of your homelab server and reports what moved since the last look: containers, ports, disks, backups.
claude mcp add homebutler -- npx -y homebutlerWhat homebutler does
A single Go binary that takes a snapshot of a server and diffs it against the previous one. You get a short summary: what is healthy now, which warnings stand out, which items changed, and the commands to check them. Snapshots live in ~/.homebutler/reports/snapshots/; old ones are pruned, the limit is set with --keep, and --no-save prints a preview without writing.
The point is that equal container counts prove nothing. Recreate a container under the same name and every number still matches while the workload underneath is different. Each change line therefore carries a kind (gone, new, replaced, image, state, port, disk, skipped), and --json exposes it as a field, so an agent branches on data instead of parsing prose.
The agent gets a narrow view of the server rather than a full shell. The binary has to sit on the machine being watched — without it there is nothing to compare. No daemon, no database.
What it helps with
- spot a container recreated under the same name
- find which process took over a port
- read a server summary without dashboards
- check what changed after a compose redeploy
- give an assistant server state without shell access
Example prompts for the agent
- Run a report on the server and tell me what changed since the last snapshot
- Which process listens on port 8080 now?
- Take a snapshot and keep only the last 7 reports
How to install homebutler
Platform CLI
claude mcp add homebutler -- npx -y homebutlerPlatform CLI
codex mcp add homebutler -- npx -y homebutlerConfig file
{
"mcpServers": {
"homebutler": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"homebutler"
]
}
}
}Config file
{
"servers": {
"homebutler": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"homebutler"
]
}
}
}Platform CLI
gemini mcp add homebutler npx -y homebutlerStep by step, with commands for each platform: How to add an MCP server to Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, VS Code, Gemini CLI and more
Questions about homebutler
How do I install homebutler in Claude Code?
Run claude mcp add homebutler -- npx -y homebutler.
What does homebutler do?
It compares the current server state with the previous snapshot and lists the differences: containers, images, states, ports, disks. You see what moved instead of a live graph.
What does a skipped change mean?
The comparison could not be made, for instance Docker was down during a snapshot. The report says so instead of claiming nothing changed.
