snapper-mcp 0.1.1

MCP server for managing BTRFS snapshots via Snapper

BTRFS Snapper MCP

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for managing BTRFS snapshots via Snapper and monitoring BTRFS filesystem health. Exposes two unified tools with action-based dispatch to minimize tool proliferation while providing full snapshot management and disk health monitoring.

Features

• Two-tool design: snapper for snapshots, btrfs_health for filesystem monitoring
• Full Snapper support: list, create, delete, rollback, cleanup, diff, status
• BTRFS health monitoring: usage, device stats, scrub status, balance status
• Flexible configuration: Environment variables for cross-system portability
• No hardcoded paths: Works with any Snapper configuration and mount points

Installation

From PyPI (recommended)

pip install snapper-mcp

Using uvx (no install required)

uvx snapper-mcp

From source

git clone https://github.com/danielrosehill/BTRFS-Snapper-MCP.git
cd BTRFS-Snapper-MCP
pip install -e .

Configuration

The server is configured via environment variables, making it portable across systems:

Variable	Default	Description
SNAPPER_MCP_USE_SUDO	true	Set to false if user has direct permissions
SNAPPER_MCP_SNAPPER_PATH	snapper	Path to snapper binary
SNAPPER_MCP_BTRFS_PATH	btrfs	Path to btrfs binary
SNAPPER_MCP_SUDO_PATH	sudo	Path to sudo binary
SNAPPER_MCP_DEFAULT_CONFIG	root	Default snapper config name
SNAPPER_MCP_DEFAULT_MOUNT	/	Default BTRFS mount point
SNAPPER_MCP_TIMEOUT	60	Command timeout in seconds

MCP Client Configuration

Claude Code / Claude Desktop

Add to your MCP settings (e.g., ~/.claude/settings.json or Claude Desktop config):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "btrfs-snapper": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["snapper-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

With custom configuration

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "btrfs-snapper": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["snapper-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "SNAPPER_MCP_DEFAULT_CONFIG": "root",
        "SNAPPER_MCP_DEFAULT_MOUNT": "/",
        "SNAPPER_MCP_USE_SUDO": "true"
      }
    }
  }
}

Tools

snapper - Snapshot Management

Manages BTRFS snapshots via Snapper.

Actions

Action	Description	Required Parameters
configs	List available snapper configurations	-
list	Show all snapshots for a config	config (optional)
create	Create a new snapshot	config, description (optional)
delete	Remove a snapshot by number	config, snapshot_id
rollback	Restore to a previous snapshot	config, snapshot_id
cleanup	Prune snapshots using an algorithm	config, cleanup_algorithm
diff	Show file differences between snapshots	config, snapshot_id, snapshot_id_end
status	List changed files between snapshots	config, snapshot_id, snapshot_id_end

Examples

// List configurations
{"action": "configs"}

// List snapshots
{"action": "list", "config": "root"}

// Create snapshot
{"action": "create", "config": "root", "description": "Before system update"}

// Delete snapshot
{"action": "delete", "config": "root", "snapshot_id": 5}

// Rollback (requires reboot)
{"action": "rollback", "config": "root", "snapshot_id": 3}

// Cleanup with algorithm
{"action": "cleanup", "config": "root", "cleanup_algorithm": "number"}

// Compare snapshots
{"action": "diff", "config": "root", "snapshot_id": 1, "snapshot_id_end": 5}

Cleanup algorithms:

• number: Keep a fixed number of snapshots
• timeline: Keep snapshots based on age (hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly)
• empty-pre-post: Remove empty pre/post snapshot pairs

btrfs_health - Filesystem Health Monitoring

Monitors BTRFS filesystem health and status.

Actions

Action	Description	Parameters
usage	Comprehensive filesystem space usage	mount_point (optional)
devices	List devices in the BTRFS array	mount_point (optional)
stats	Device error statistics	mount_point, device (optional)
scrub_status	Status of scrub operation	mount_point (optional)
balance_status	Status of balance operation	mount_point (optional)
df	Space allocation by data type	mount_point (optional)
filesystem_show	Filesystem information	mount_point (optional)

Examples

// Check filesystem usage
{"action": "usage", "mount_point": "/"}

// Check for device errors
{"action": "stats", "mount_point": "/"}

// Check scrub status
{"action": "scrub_status", "mount_point": "/"}

// Show data/metadata allocation
{"action": "df", "mount_point": "/"}

// Show filesystem info
{"action": "filesystem_show"}

Prerequisites

• Linux with BTRFS filesystem
• Snapper installed and configured (for snapshot management)
• Python 3.10+
• Sudo access (unless running as root or with appropriate permissions)

Installing Snapper

Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo apt install snapper

Fedora/openSUSE:

sudo dnf install snapper
# or
sudo zypper install snapper

Creating Snapper Configs

# For root filesystem
sudo snapper -c root create-config /

# For home partition
sudo snapper -c home create-config /home

Sudo Configuration

For passwordless operation, add to /etc/sudoers.d/btrfs-snapper:

yourusername ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: /usr/bin/snapper
yourusername ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: /usr/bin/btrfs

Or disable sudo if you have direct permissions:

{
  "env": {
    "SNAPPER_MCP_USE_SUDO": "false"
  }
}

Adapting for Other Systems

Different Snapshot Tools

The architecture can be adapted for other snapshot tools (e.g., Timeshift, ZFS snapshots) by:

1. Replacing the run_snapper_command() function with your tool's CLI
2. Adjusting the action handlers for your tool's command syntax
3. Updating environment variables as needed

Different Filesystems

For ZFS or other filesystems:

1. Replace run_btrfs_command() with your filesystem's CLI
2. Update BtrfsAction enum with relevant actions
3. Implement new handlers for your filesystem's commands

The action-dispatch pattern remains the same regardless of underlying tools.

License

MIT