How To Install Cloudera NiFi MCP Server

3 minute read

Updated: May 18, 2026

The Cloudera NiFi MCP Server is a standard Model Context Protocol (MCP) server (an open protocol originally from Anthropic but now client-agnostic). The Cloudera NiFi MCP Server simply exposes tools for reading/writing Apache NiFi flows via Knox. Any MCP-compatible client can talk to it. In this post I am going to share how I used MCP Inspector to test the Cloudera NiFi MCP Server against a Cloudera on Cloud deployed NiFi Cluster.

Test with MCP Inspector in Read-Only Mode

Clone and install the NiFI MCP Server:

git clone https://github.com/cloudera/NiFi-MCP-Server.git
cd NiFi-MCP-Server
python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -e .

Set the required environment variables in your local environment:
- NIFI_API_BASE= https:///cdp-proxy/nifi-app/nifi-api
- KNOX_TOKEN= [token]
- NIFI_READONLY true
- KNOX_VERIFY_SSL false
```
NIFI_API_BASE=https://[datahub]-gateway.[env].cloudera.site/[datahub]/cdp-proxy/nifi-app/nifi-api
KNOX_TOKEN=
NIFI_READONLY=true
KNOX_VERIFY_SSL=false
```

Run the MCP Inspector:

npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector .venv/bin/python -m nifi_mcp_server.server

Connect NiFi MCP Server

Once the browser opens look at the “Command” text box in the left column of the MCP Inspector web page. Notice it is .venv/bin/python and next notice the arguments we supplied -m nifi_mcp_server.server.

Now click Connect and you should see Connected nifi-mcp-server Version 1.27.1. Once your MCP server is successfully Connected, the MCP Inspector acts as a GUI for the NiFi MCP Server’s capabilities.

Listing NiFi MCP Server NiFi Tools

Click on the “Tools” tab located at the top of the main interface.
Click the “List Tools” button.

The Tools panel should display the READ-ONLY NiFi tools the server supports (e.g., list_processors, get_nifi_version, create_process_group). Later we will take a look at the WRITE NiFi tools.

Running Your First Test (`get_nifi_version`)

Testing the version is the best “smoke test” because it doesn’t require complex JSON arguments and confirms the NiFi API connection is alive.

Select the Tool: Click on get_nifi_version from the tool list on the left.
Review Arguments: Since this tool requires no input, the “Arguments” box in the center of the screen will remain empty or show {}.
Execute: Click the “Run Tool” button.

You should see:

Tool Result: Success

Followed by the expected JSON output with the NiFi Version:

{
  "result": {
    "version_info": {
      "about": {
        "title": "NiFi",
        "version": "1.28.1.2.2.9.700-181",
        "uri": "https://...../cdp-proxy/nifi-app/nifi-api/",
        "contentViewerUrl": "../nifi-content-viewer/",
        "timezone": "UTC",
        "buildTag": "nifi-1.28.1-RC3",
        "buildRevision": "5b8a56d",
        "buildBranch": "UNKNOWN",
        "buildTimestamp": "06/16/2025 09:34:52 UTC"
      }
    },
    "parsed_version": "1.28.1",
    "is_nifi_2x": false,
    "major_version": 1
  }
}

Running a Parameterized Test

If the version check works, try list_processors:

Input: This tool requires a process_group_id.
Action: Paste a valid UUID from your NiFi canvas into the JSON argument box (e.g., {"process_group_id": "root"}).
Run: Click “Call Tool” to see the list of processors in that group.

Test with MCP Inspector in Write Mode

Set the env NIFI_READONLY environment variables to false:
- NIFI_READONLY false
Apply the changes:
```
set -a
source .env
set +a
```

Run the MCP Inspector:

npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector .venv/bin/python -m nifi_mcp_server.server

Listing NiFi MCP Server NiFi Tools in Write Mode

Click on the “Tools” tab located at the top of the main interface.
Click the “List Tools” button.

The Tools panel should now also display the WRITE NiFi tools the server supports (e.g., start_processor, stop_processor, create_processor).

Terminal History

git clone https://github.com/cloudera/NiFi-MCP-Server.git\
cd NiFi-MCP-Server
python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -e .
nano .env
set -a
source .env
set +a
env | grep -E 'NIFI|KNOX'
brew install node
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector uvx git+https://github.com/cloudera/NiFi-MCP-Server@main run-server\
python -m nifi_mcp_server.server
source .venv/bin/activate
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector python3 server.py
echo $NIFI_BASE_URL
cat .env
export $(grep -v '^#' .env | xargs)
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector .venv/bin/python nifi_mcp_server/server.py
.venv/bin/python -m nifi_mcp_server.server
source .venv/bin/activate\
# Check if your variables are actually in the environment\
echo $NIFI_API_BASE\
echo $KNOX_TOKEN
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector .venv/bin/python -m nifi_mcp_server.server
pkill -f nifi_mcp_server
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector $(pwd)/.venv/bin/python -m nifi_mcp_server.server
kill -9 $(lsof -ti:6274,6277)
DANGEROUSLY_OMIT_AUTH=true npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector $(pwd)/.venv/bin/python -m nifi_mcp_server.server
# Make sure you are in the root: NiFi-MCP-Server\
export $(grep -v '^#' .env | xargs)\
.venv/bin/python -m nifi_mcp_server.server