Two open-source tools for Cisco Packet Tracer. An MCP server that gives any AI client 61 tools over the simulator, and PacketSmith, a terminal agent that draws the topology while it works.
Use either one. Or both — the second runs on the first.
> "Build a 3-router OSPF lab with DHCP and 2 PCs per LAN"
pt_full_build 4.1s
pt_verify_connectivity 2.8s
Two-level star: the 3560 does the core with SVIs per VLAN.
Verified against the devices, not the plan:
VLANs 10/20/30 on SW-CORE all three present
Ping PC-VEN1 -> SRV-WEB OK (4/4) in the real app, the right-hand panel draws this as it happens
MCP-Packet-Tracer
PacketSmith
Two tools, one stack
Separate projects, and either works on its own. Together, one drives the other.
Gives the AI hands.
An MCP server exposing 61 tools over Packet Tracer: place devices, run cables, assign IPs, deploy and verify. Connect it to any MCP client — Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code — and that client can build networks.
And lets you watch it happen.
A terminal agent built for network labs. Conversation on the left; on the right, the topology drawing itself from every tool the agent runs. It brings its own agent loop, so it talks to 150 model providers as well as the Claude CLI.
you --> any MCP client you --> PacketSmith
Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code terminal, split screen
| |
v v
MCP-Packet-Tracer <---- same server ---- MCP-Packet-Tracer
| |
v v
Cisco Packet Tracer Cisco Packet Tracer
+ live topology panel The cockpit
Any MCP client can drive the server perfectly well. What none of them can do is show you the network while it is being built.
The panel is parsed from the raw result of every tool call. A device the agent says it created but did not, simply does not appear.
A fabric tree answers what hangs off what. A canvas plan, drawn from Packet Tracer own coordinates, answers how it is laid out.
Context, plan quota, and a turn split between time in Packet Tracer and time in the model. That last one is usually the answer to "why is this slow".
How it works
The flow is the same whether you drive the server from your editor or from PacketSmith.
Plain language, in any language. No commands, no device model names, no port syntax.
Devices, cables, IPs, DHCP, routing — planned, checked against what Packet Tracer actually supports, and refused early if it would not work.
The topology appears in Packet Tracer as it is built, and connectivity is checked against the devices — not against the plan. In PacketSmith you watch the panel fill in; from another client, you read the tool results.
Try these prompts
Real prompts, and they work the same from Claude Code, from Cursor or from PacketSmith — it is the same server underneath.
"Build me a 2-router OSPF lab with DHCP"
→ 2 routers, 2 switches, 4 PCs, DHCP pools, OSPF area 0
"I need a simple LAN with 1 router and 3 PCs"
→ 1 router, 1 switch, 3 PCs, static IP addresses
"Create a branch office topology with 4 routers and WAN"
→ 4 routers, 4 switches, 8 PCs, WAN cloud, EIGRP routing
"3-router triangle with redundant links and OSPF"
→ 3 routers in mesh, 3 switches, 6 PCs, full redundancy
The catalog
Every model verified against Packet Tracer 8.2+ with its real port names. You never type a device name or pick a cable — the server does, and it refuses what would not work.
10 types. You do not choose.
straight Router ↔ Switch, Switch ↔ PC cross Router ↔ Router, Switch ↔ Switch serial WAN serial connections fiber High-speed uplinks console Management access wireless WiFi connections 127 in the catalog, installed on demand.
HWIC-2T 2-port Serial WAN card HWIC-4ESW 4-port Ethernet Switch NIM-2T 2-port Serial for ISR 4000 HWIC-1GE-SFP 1-port GigE SFP NM-4A/S 4-port Async/Sync Serial NM-ESW-161 16-port Ethernet Switch module IPs, DHCP pools and configs, generated.
OSPF Open Shortest Path First EIGRP Enhanced Interior Gateway Static Static routes generated for each router based on topology RIP Routing Information Protocol Get started
Already living in Claude Code or Cursor? Install the server. Want the topology in front of you instead of buried in a scrollback? Install PacketSmith.
A compiled binary with its runtime inside. No Bun, no Node, no npm needed on the machine.
npm
npm i -g packetsmith
bun
bun add -g packetsmith
macOS · Linux · WSL
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Mats2208/packetsmith/main/scripts/install.sh | sh
Windows
irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Mats2208/packetsmith/main/scripts/install.ps1 | iex
Then packetsmith setup once, to install the MCP server and the
Packet Tracer extension.
For any MCP client you already use. It is not on PyPI yet, so it installs from the repo.
From the repo
git clone https://github.com/Mats2208/MCP-Packet-Tracer cd MCP-Packet-Tracer pip install -e .
Register it with your client
claude mcp add --scope user --transport stdio packet-tracer \ -- python -m packet_tracer_mcp --stdio
Works with Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code / Copilot, or anything else that speaks MCP.
Full install guideOne thing neither can automate: Packet Tracer only accepts its extension through its own menu — Extensions ▸ Scripting ▸ Configure PT Script Modules. Both installers print the exact path to select.
MIT, open source, and built in the open. A star helps people find them — and if you want to contribute, issues and PRs are welcome on either repo.