mcp-tautulli

A single-file MCP server for Tautulli — Plex monitoring via Claude Code (or any MCP client).

19 read-only tools. No mutations. All configuration via environment variables.

Prerequisites

• Python 3.10+
• A running Tautulli instance with an API key
• Claude Code (or any MCP-compatible client)

Installation

pip install mcp-tautulli

Or install with uv:

uv tool install mcp-tautulli

Or from source:

git clone https://github.com/lodordev/mcp-tautulli.git
cd mcp-tautulli
pip install .

Configuration

Three environment variables:

Claude Code Setup

Add to your project's .mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tautulli": {
      "command": "mcp-tautulli",
      "env": {
        // Include the protocol (http:// or https://)
        "TAUTULLI_URL": "http://your-tautulli-host:8181",
        "TAUTULLI_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop Setup

Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tautulli": {
      "command": "mcp-tautulli",
      "env": {
        "TAUTULLI_URL": "http://your-tautulli-host:8181",
        "TAUTULLI_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Local Development Config

To point your MCP client at local source without reinstalling after every change, use uv run --directory instead of the installed binary:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tautulli-dev": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": ["run", "--directory", "/path/to/mcp-tautulli", "mcp-tautulli"],
      "env": {
        "TAUTULLI_URL": "http://your-tautulli-host:8181",
        "TAUTULLI_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

This works in both Claude Code (.mcp.json) and Claude Desktop (claude_desktop_config.json). Restart the client after code changes — no uv tool install needed.

Or run standalone:

export TAUTULLI_URL="http://localhost:8181"
export TAUTULLI_API_KEY="your-api-key"
mcp-tautulli

Tools

All tools are read-only — this server does not modify any Tautulli or Plex state. Each tool calls a fixed Tautulli get_*/search command; there is no passthrough that could reach a write/destructive endpoint.

Privacy: user-identifying data is minimized by default — usernames, user IDs, emails, and thumbnails are never emitted (users appear by friendly name only), server file paths are omitted, and client IP addresses are opt-in (include_ip=true on tautulli_history). Note that Tautulli itself has no read-only API key — the key you configure is a full-access master key, so this server's read-only guarantee lives in its fixed command set, not in the credential.

2 active stream(s):

  • Alice playing "The Bear S02E06 — Fishes" — 45%, on Apple TV (direct play)
  • Bob playing "Oppenheimer (2023)" — 12%, on Roku (transcode)

Bandwidth: 18.5 Mbps total (LAN: 12.2, WAN: 6.3)

Plays by day of week (last 30 days):

  Monday   :  91 ██████████████████████████████  (TV:62, Movies:18, Music:11)  ← peak
  Tuesday  :  76 █████████████████████████  (TV:56, Movies:15, Music:5)
  Wednesday:  62 ████████████████████  (TV:34, Movies:20, Music:8)
  Thursday :  45 ██████████████  (TV:32, Movies:8, Music:5)
  Friday   :  59 ███████████████████  (TV:37, Movies:14, Music:8)
  Saturday :  50 ████████████████  (TV:32, Movies:10, Music:8)
  Sunday   :  86 ████████████████████████████  (TV:60, Movies:16, Music:10)

Total: 469 plays, avg 67.0/day

Stream Performance Data:

Media: Game of Thrones — The Red Woman (episode)

Quality Profile: Original
Source Bitrate: 10617 kbps
Source Video Bitrate: 10233 kbps
Source Audio Bitrate: 384 kbps

Stream Bitrate: 10617 kbps
Stream Resolution: 1080p
Stream Video Codec: h264
Stream Framerate: 24p
Stream Audio Codec: ac3
Stream Audio Channels: 6

Source Container: mkv
Source Video Codec: h264
Source Audio Codec: ac3
Source Resolution: 1080

Video Decision: direct play
Audio Decision: direct play

Example Movie (2019) — movie

Library: Movies
Content Rating: PG-13
Aired: 2019-05-01
Duration: 2h 10m
Ratings: audience 7.9
Genres: Adventure, Sci-Fi
Resolution: 1080p
Container: mkv
Video Codec: h264
Audio: eac3 6ch
File Size: 18.5 GB
Dynamic Range: SDR

IDs: imdb://tt0000000, tmdb://00000

Library media info (section 1, 500 items, 4.2 TB total):

Resolutions (top 3): 1080:2, 4k:1

Items (sorted by file_size desc):
  • Example Feature (2021) — 4k, hevc, mkv, 42.0 GB
  • Another Movie (2018) — 1080, h264, mkv, 12.3 GB
  • A Third Film (2016) — 1080, h264, mp4, 9.8 GB

Search results for "breaking":

Movies:
  • Breaking (2012) — Movies

TV Shows:
  • Breaking Bad (2008) — TV Shows

Troubleshooting

"TAUTULLI_URL environment variable not set" Both TAUTULLI_URL and TAUTULLI_API_KEY must be set. Find your API key in Tautulli → Settings → Web Interface → API Key.

TLS/SSL errors If Tautulli is behind a reverse proxy with a self-signed certificate, set TAUTULLI_TLS_VERIFY=false.

"Tautulli unreachable" Verify the URL is accessible from the machine running the MCP server. Check firewalls and that Tautulli is running.

License

MIT