Alibaba Cloud Observability
Provides tools for accessing Alibaba Cloud observability products including SLS (Log Service) and ARMS (Application Real-time Monitoring Service), allowing any MCP-compatible AI assistants to quickly interact with these services.
What is Alibaba Cloud Observability?
Alibaba Cloud Observability is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that allows AI assistants like Claude, Cursor, and VS Code to provides tools for accessing alibaba cloud observability products including sls (log service) and arms (application real-time monitoring service), allowing any mcp-compatible ai assistants to quickly ...
Provides tools for accessing Alibaba Cloud observability products including SLS (Log Service) and ARMS (Application Real-time Monitoring Service), allowing any MCP-compatible AI assistants to quickly interact with these services.
This server falls under the Monitoring & Observability category on MCPgee, the world's largest MCP server directory with 33,000+ servers.
Features
- Provides tools for accessing Alibaba Cloud observability pro
Use Cases
Maintainer
Works with
Installation
Manual Installation
npx alibaba-cloud-observability-mcp-serverConfiguration
Configuration Details
claude_desktop_config.json
Performance
Response Metrics
Resource Usage
How to Set Up and Use Alibaba Cloud Observability
Alibaba Cloud Observability MCP Server is an open-source Go binary that connects AI assistants directly to Alibaba Cloud's observability stack — SLS (Log Service) and ARMS/CMS (Application Real-time Monitoring Service / CloudMonitor). It lets you query logs, analyse time-series metrics, and even convert natural language to SLS SQL or SPL queries through AI-powered tools. DevOps teams and SREs use it to investigate incidents and review performance trends without leaving their AI chat interface.
Prerequisites
- An Alibaba Cloud account with SLS or CMS services enabled
- Alibaba Cloud Access Key ID and Secret (from the RAM console)
- The pre-built binary downloaded for your platform (Linux, macOS, or Windows), or Go 1.20+ to build from source
- An MCP-compatible client such as Claude Desktop or Cursor
- Optional: Docker for containerised deployment
Download the pre-built binary
Download the binary matching your platform from the GitHub Releases page and make it executable.
# macOS (Apple Silicon)
wget https://github.com/aliyun/alibabacloud-observability-mcp-server/releases/latest/download/alibabacloud-observability-mcp-server-darwin-arm64.tar.gz
tar -xzf alibabacloud-observability-mcp-server-darwin-arm64.tar.gz
chmod +x alibabacloud-observability-mcp-server
# Linux (amd64)
wget https://github.com/aliyun/alibabacloud-observability-mcp-server/releases/latest/download/alibabacloud-observability-mcp-server-linux-amd64.tar.gz
tar -xzf alibabacloud-observability-mcp-server-linux-amd64.tar.gzSet up credentials
Export your Alibaba Cloud credentials as environment variables, or create a `.env` file using the provided `.env.example` template.
export ALIBABA_CLOUD_ACCESS_KEY_ID=your_access_key_id
export ALIBABA_CLOUD_ACCESS_KEY_SECRET=your_access_key_secretVerify the server starts correctly
Test that the server starts in stdio mode and list the registered tools to confirm your credentials and network connectivity.
# List all available tools
./alibabacloud-observability-mcp-server tools
# Test stdio mode startup
./alibabacloud-observability-mcp-server start --stdioConfigure your MCP client
Add the server to your MCP client configuration. The stdio mode is recommended for desktop clients; streamable-http is recommended for shared/remote deployments.
# Start in network mode with config file
./alibabacloud-observability-mcp-server start --config config.yamlOptional: enable AI-powered natural language tools
AI tools like sls_text_to_sql and cms_natural_language_query are available but incur STAROps charges. Confirm these are enabled in your Alibaba Cloud account before using them.
# Available paid AI tools:
# sls_text_to_sql - natural language to SLS SQL
# sls_text_to_spl - natural language to SLS SPL
# sls_sop - intelligent SLS operations assistant
# cms_natural_language_query - natural language metrics queryAlibaba Cloud Observability Examples
Client configuration (Claude Desktop — stdio mode)
Configure Claude Desktop to launch the binary in stdio mode with credentials passed as environment variables.
{
"mcpServers": {
"alibaba_cloud_observability": {
"command": "/path/to/alibabacloud-observability-mcp-server",
"args": ["start", "--stdio"],
"env": {
"ALIBABA_CLOUD_ACCESS_KEY_ID": "your_access_key_id",
"ALIBABA_CLOUD_ACCESS_KEY_SECRET": "your_access_key_secret"
}
}
}
}Prompts to try
These prompts leverage the SLS log query, CMS metrics, and AI-powered natural language tools.
- "Query SLS logs from the last hour and summarise any error patterns."
- "Compare application response times today versus yesterday using CMS metrics."
- "Use natural language to query how many 5xx errors occurred in the last 30 minutes."
- "Convert this description to an SLS SQL query: find all requests slower than 2 seconds."
- "Show me a trend analysis of CPU utilisation for my ECS instances over the past week."Troubleshooting Alibaba Cloud Observability
Authentication errors when starting the server
Verify that ALIBABA_CLOUD_ACCESS_KEY_ID and ALIBABA_CLOUD_ACCESS_KEY_SECRET are correctly set. Ensure the RAM user associated with the key has SLS and CMS read permissions. Check the Alibaba Cloud IAM console if in doubt.
AI tool calls (sls_text_to_sql, etc.) return billing or permission errors
These tools require the STAROps (Intelligent O&M) feature to be enabled on your Alibaba Cloud account, which incurs additional charges. Enable the feature in the Alibaba Cloud console before calling these tools.
Server exits immediately in stdio mode with no output
Ensure the binary has execute permissions (`chmod +x`). Run `./alibabacloud-observability-mcp-server tools` first to confirm the binary works. Check that no firewall or proxy is blocking outbound HTTPS to Alibaba Cloud API endpoints.
Frequently Asked Questions about Alibaba Cloud Observability
What is Alibaba Cloud Observability?
Alibaba Cloud Observability is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides tools for accessing alibaba cloud observability products including sls (log service) and arms (application real-time monitoring service), allowing any mcp-compatible ai assistants to quickly interact with these services. It connects AI assistants to external tools and data sources through a standardized interface.
How do I install Alibaba Cloud Observability?
Follow the installation instructions on the Alibaba Cloud Observability GitHub repository. Clone the repo, install dependencies, and add the server config to your AI client.
Which AI clients work with Alibaba Cloud Observability?
Alibaba Cloud Observability works with all major MCP-compatible AI clients including Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code (GitHub Copilot), Windsurf, and Cline.
Is Alibaba Cloud Observability free to use?
Yes, Alibaba Cloud Observability is open source and available under the MIT license. You can use it freely in both personal and commercial projects.
Alibaba Cloud Observability Alternatives — Similar Monitoring & Observability Servers
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Set Up Alibaba Cloud Observability in Your Editor
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Quick Config Preview
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