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AWS-Hosted EKS MCP Server Setup

Part of: eks-mcp-server

Note: The AWS-Hosted EKS MCP Server is currently in preview.

The fully managed EKS MCP Server is hosted by AWS, providing enterprise-grade capabilities with zero local maintenance.

Prerequisites​

  • AWS account with EKS clusters
  • AWS CLI installed and configured (aws configure list)
  • Python 3.10+ (python3 --version)
  • uv package manager (uv --version) — install via curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

Step 1: Configure IAM Permissions​

Attach the appropriate managed policy to your IAM role/user:

Access LevelManaged Policy
Read-only (recommended to start)AmazonEKSMCPReadOnlyAccess
Full access (includes write ops)Create custom policy below

For read-only, attach via IAM console or CLI:

aws iam attach-user-policy --user-name YOUR_USER --policy-arn arn:aws:iam::aws:policy/AmazonEKSMCPReadOnlyAccess

Required IAM actions for the MCP proxy:

  • eks-mcp:InvokeMcp — initialization and tool discovery
  • eks-mcp:CallReadOnlyTool — read operations
  • eks-mcp:CallPrivilegedTool — write operations (optional)

Step 2: Configure Your AI Assistant​

Add the EKS MCP server to your assistant's MCP configuration. Replace {region} with your AWS region (e.g., us-west-2).

The same JSON below works for every supported assistant — only the config file path (or UI entry point) differs.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "eks-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-proxy-for-aws@latest",
        "https://eks-mcp.{region}.api.aws/mcp",
        "--service", "eks-mcp",
        "--region", "{region}"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Config File Locations by Assistant​

AssistantConfig File / Entry PointNotes
Amazon Q Developer CLI~/.aws/amazonq/mcp.json—
Claude Code.mcp.json (project) or ~/.claude.json (user)Prefer project-scope .mcp.json (checked in, shared with teammates). For user scope, run claude mcp add -s user — do not hand-edit ~/.claude.json.
Cursor IDESettings → Cursor Settings → Tools & MCP → New MCP Server—
Kiro IDE~/.kiro/settings/mcp.json or .kiro/settings/mcp.json—
VS Code (Cline Extension)Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+P → "MCP" → Add Server → Open User Configuration—

Optional: Read-Only Mode​

Add --read-only to args to disable write operations:

"args": [
  "mcp-proxy-for-aws@latest",
  "https://eks-mcp.{region}.api.aws/mcp",
  "--service", "eks-mcp",
  "--region", "{region}",
  "--read-only"
]

Optional: Multiple AWS Profiles​

Specify a profile with --profile:

"args": [
  "mcp-proxy-for-aws@latest",
  "https://eks-mcp.{region}.api.aws/mcp",
  "--service", "eks-mcp",
  "--profile", "production",
  "--region", "{region}"
]

Windows Users​

Use this format for the args array:

"args": [
  "--from", "mcp-proxy-for-aws@latest",
  "mcp-proxy-for-aws.exe",
  "https://eks-mcp.{region}.api.aws/mcp",
  "--service", "eks-mcp",
  "--region", "{region}"
]

Step 3: Verify Setup​

  1. Restart your AI assistant
  2. Ask: "List my EKS clusters" or "What EKS MCP tools are available?"

Troubleshooting​

IssueSolution
"Access Denied"Check IAM policy has eks-mcp:* actions
Tools not appearingRestart IDE/CLI after config change
Connection timeoutVerify region matches your EKS clusters
Proxy issuesSet HTTP_PROXY/HTTPS_PROXY env vars

References​