Stackhawk Official

Frequently asked questions

What does the Stackhawk MCP server do?

StackHawk MCP Server Current Version: 1.2.5 Requires Python 3.10 or higher A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for integrating with StackHawk's security scanning platform. Helps developers set up StackHawk, run security scans, and triage findings to fix vulnerabilities — all from within an LLM-powered IDE or chat. --- Table of Contents Features Installation Usage Configuration Available Tools Testing & Development Example Configurations Integrating with LLMs and IDEs Contributing License --- Features Setup: Detect your project, create a StackHawk application, and generate a ready-to-scan stackhawk.yml Scan: Run StackHawk scans directly from your IDE or chat (with install help if the CLI is missing) Triage: Get actionable findings at or above your failure threshold for remediation Validate: Check YAML configs against the official schema and validate field paths to prevent hallucination Custom User-Agent: All API calls include a versioned User-Agent header --- Installation Install via pip (make sure you have write permission to your current python environment): Or Install via pip in a virtual env: Or Install via pip using pyenv: Or Install locally from this repo: Set your StackHawk API key: --- Usage Running the MCP Server Running the HTTP Server (FastAPI) Running Tests Integrating with LLMs and IDEs StackHawk MCP can be used as a tool provider for AI coding assistants and LLM-powered developer environments, enabling security scanning setup, YAML validation, and vulnerability triage directly in your workflow. Cursor (AI Coding Editor) Setup: Follow the installation instructions above to install stackhawk-mcp in your python environment. In Cursor, go to Cursor Settings->Tools & Integrations->MCP Tools Add a "New MCP Server" with the following json, depending on your setup: Using a virtual env at /.virtualenvs/mcp : Using pyenv: Or use python directly: Then make sure the "stackhawk" MCP Tool is enabled Usage: Use Cursor's tool invocation to call StackHawk MCP tools (e.g., vulnerability search, YAML validation). Example prompt: Validate this StackHawk YAML config for errors. OpenAI, Anthropic, and Other LLMs Setup: Deploy the MCP HTTP server and expose it to your LLM system (local or cloud). Use the LLM's tool-calling or function-calling API to connect to the MCP endpoint. Pass the required arguments (e.g., org id, yaml content) as specified in the tool schemas. Example API Call: Best Practices: Use anti-hallucination tools to validate field names and schema compliance. Always check the tool's output for warnings or suggestions. IDEs like Windsurf Setup: Add StackHawk MCP as a tool provider or extension in your IDE, pointing to the local or remote MCP server endpoint. Configure environment variables as needed. Usage: Invoke setup, scanning, validation, and triage tools directly from the IDE's command palette or tool integration panel. General Tips Ensure the MCP server is running and accessible from your LLM or IDE environment. Review the Available Tools & API section for supported operations. For advanced integration, see the example tool usage in this README or explore the codebase for custom workflows. GitHub Copilot Agents StackHawk can be added to the GitHub Coding Agent as an MCP server or as its own GitHub Custom Agent. Add to GitHub Coding Agent You can add StackHawk MCP to the GitHub Copilot Coding Agent. This gives the agent all the stackhawk/ tools. StackHawk MCP installation into the Coding Agent General instructions on GitHub For StackHawk MCP, the MCP Configuration JSON should look something like this: Then in the Repository's Settings->Environments->copilot->Environment Secrets , add COPILOT MCP STACKHAWK API KEY with your StackHawk API Key. Installation verification instructions StackHawk Onboarding Agent as a GitHub Copilot Custom Agent You can the StackHawk Onboarding Agent as a custom agent at the enterprise, organization, or repository level in GitHub. When added, the StackHawk Onboarding Agent becomes a selectable option in the Copilot Agent Chat with context to help with onboarding, plus it installs stackhawk-mcp so the agent has access to all of those tools. StackHawk Onboarding Agent installation The general approach is to take the StackHawk Onboarding Agent defintion and apply it to either the desired repository, enterprise, or organization in GitHub. Instructions for installing into a repository on GitHub Instructions for installing into an enterprise on GitHub Instructions for installing into an organization GitHub Note that the mcp-servers block in the StackHawk Onboarding Agent definition references an environment variable called COPILOT MCP STACKHAWK API KEY . Go to the Repository's Settings->Environments->copilot->Environment Secrets , add COPILOT MCP STACKHAWK API KEY with your StackHawk API Key. --- Configuration All HTTP requests include a custom User-Agent header: The version is set in stackhawk mcp/server.py as STACKHAWK MCP VERSION . Set your API key via the STACKHAWK API KEY environment variable. --- Available Tools The MCP server exposes 7 tools organized around the developer workflow: Phase Tool Description ------- ------ ------------- Discover get organization info Get org details, teams, and applications Discover list applications List applications in an organization Setup setup stackhawk for project Detect language, find/create app, generate stackhawk.yml Validate validate stackhawk config Validate YAML against the official StackHawk schema Validate validate field exists Check if a field path is valid in the schema (anti-hallucination) Scan run stackhawk scan Run a StackHawk scan via the CLI (returns install help if CLI is missing) Triage get app findings for triage Get findings at/above the configured failure threshold Example Tool Usage Official Schema URL: --- Testing & Development Running All Tests Running Individual Tests Code Formatting Type Checking --- Example Configurations Basic Configuration Production Configuration with Authentication --- Contributing Contributions are welcome! Please open issues or pull requests for bug fixes, new features, or documentation improvements. --- License Apache License 2.0. See LICENSE for details. Release and Version Bumping Version bumps are managed via the "Prepare Release" GitHub Actions workflow. When triggering this workflow, you can select whether to bump the minor or major version. The workflow will automatically update version files, commit, and push the changes to main. > Note: The workflow is protected against infinite loops caused by automated version bump commits. GitHub Actions Authentication All CI/CD git operations use a GitHub App token for authentication. The git user and email are set from the repository secrets HAWKY APP USER and HAWKY APP USER EMAIL . Workflow Protections Workflows are designed to skip jobs if the latest commit is an automated version bump, preventing workflow loops. How to Trigger a Release Go to the "Actions" tab on GitHub. Select the "Prepare Release" workflow. Click "Run workflow" and choose the desired bump type (minor or major). The workflow will handle the rest!

How do I install Stackhawk?

Run the install command shown above, then paste the config for your client (Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code or Windsurf) into its MCP settings and restart the client.

Is Stackhawk free to use?

The MCP server itself is free to install. The source is public on https://github.com/stackhawk/stackhawk-mcp. Any third-party service it calls may require its own API key and account.

Which clients support Stackhawk?

Any MCP-compatible client can use it, including Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf and custom agents.