Wiring a local network scanner into an AI assistant with MCP

I build DeviceShelf, a local-first network scanner. Its Server edition is the headless, always-on one, and as of build 1.5.3 it speaks the . Keep --allow-http (it's plain http on your LAN) and pass the token via an env var, which sidesteps a Windows argument-quoting bug:

{

  "mcpServers": {

    "deviceshelf": {

      "command": "npx",

      "args": ["-y", "mcp-remote", "http://<your-server>:8088/mcp",

               "--transport", "http-only", "--allow-http",

               "--header", "Authorization:${AUTH}"],

      "env": { "AUTH": "Bearer <your-token>" }

    }

  }

}

Any MCP client that speaks Streamable HTTP can connect directly. It's available from deviceshelf-server 1.5.3 (Docker image ghcr.io/wealthwallet/deviceshelf-server:1.5.3, .deb, or later), off by default and fully additive, so existing servers are untouched until you set DEVICESHELF_MCP_ENABLE.

Where it stands

MCP is part of the Server edition rather than a separate purchase, and it works during the 7-day trial so you can evaluate it; the endpoint returns 402 once an unlicensed trial expires. The Server edition itself is still public beta, so treat it as early, and if a tool returns something wrong or a check behaves oddly I'd genuinely like the report. The full write-up with the client configs (Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf, Cline, Gemini CLI) is on the DeviceShelf blog, and the project lives at https://deviceshelf.app.