Shell Command
Executes whitelisted shell commands on your local system with security controls and timeout protection. Only allows pre-approved commands to run for safety.
Secure shell command execution server that allows running system commands in a controlled environment through an allowlist system, returning results in YAML format.
What it does
- Execute whitelisted shell commands
- Pass input to commands via stdin
- Return stdout, stderr, and exit codes
- Set execution timeouts
- Validate commands after shell operators
Best for
About Shell Command
Shell Command is a community-built MCP server published by egoist that provides AI assistants with tools and capabilities via the Model Context Protocol. Shell Command offers secure shell command execution via an allowlist, using SSH secure shell for safe, YAML-formatted sy It is categorized under developer tools.
How to install
You can install Shell Command in your AI client of choice. Use the install panel on this page to get one-click setup for Cursor, Claude Desktop, VS Code, and other MCP-compatible clients. This server runs locally on your machine via the stdio transport.
License
Shell Command is released under the MIT license. This is a permissive open-source license, meaning you can freely use, modify, and distribute the software.
shell-command-mcp
MCP server for executing shell commands.
This project is sponsored by ChatWise, an all-in-one LLM chatbot with first-class MCP support.
Usage
Configure manually
# stdio server
npx -y shell-command-mcp
JSON config
{
"mcpServers": {
"shell-command": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "shell-command-mcp"],
"env": {
"ALLOWED_COMMANDS": "cat,ls,echo"
}
}
}
}
Allowed commands
Use ALLOWED_COMMANDS environment variable to explictly allow the commands that this server can run, separate each command by ,. You can use * to allow any command, but this is potentially dangerous.
License
MIT.
Alternatives
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