pihole-mcp-server
Provides an MCP server (and CLI) to manage a Pi-hole DNS server from AI assistants/IDE clients, supporting both legacy Pi-hole (admin/api.php with API token) and modern Pi-hole (api/* with web interface password).
Score Breakdown
⚙ Agent Friendliness
🔒 Security
README claims HTTPS support with certificate verification and allows disabling SSL verification; credential storage uses OS keyring with an encrypted-file fallback (AES-256, PBKDF2) and restricts file permissions. However, there is no described authorization model at the MCP server level (no per-tool/action scopes, no approval workflow), so any user/process that can call the MCP server can perform Pi-hole admin actions. Rate limits and detailed error semantics are not documented.
⚡ Reliability
Best When
You run Pi-hole on a trusted LAN and want an MCP client to automate administrative tasks interactively.
Avoid When
You cannot store credentials securely on the host, or you need strict protections against an agent making destructive/unauthorized changes.
Use Cases
- • Enable/disable Pi-hole DNS blocking for scheduled troubleshooting
- • Query Pi-hole status and DNS blocking statistics
- • Find top blocked domains and view Pi-hole analytics
- • Allow natural-language operations from an MCP-capable IDE/agent
Not For
- • Public/Internet-exposed untrusted automation (without additional network controls)
- • Organizations needing centralized authorization/tenant isolation beyond Pi-hole itself
- • Use cases requiring fine-grained audit trails or approvals per action
Interface
Authentication
Authentication is with Pi-hole credentials stored locally by the MCP server/CLI; there is no end-user OAuth layer or fine-grained scopes at the MCP server interface described in the README.
Pricing
Open-source (MIT) with no pricing information provided.
Agent Metadata
Known Gotchas
- ⚠ Agent may disable Pi-hole for a duration; ensure it asks for/chooses durations carefully.
- ⚠ Correct auth method depends on Pi-hole version; if detection fails, credentials may need to be re-entered via login/logout.
- ⚠ If SSL verification is disabled (no-verify-ssl), network-in-the-middle risk increases; keep verification enabled when possible.
- ⚠ Because credentials are stored locally, ensure the MCP server host is access-controlled to prevent other users/processes from invoking it with stored secrets.
Alternatives
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Scores are editorial opinions as of 2026-04-04.