DevConf.CZ 2026

From CLI to MCP in 20 Minutes
2026-06-18 , E104 (capacity 72)

I'm a developer on the Migration Toolkit for Virtualization (MTV) team. MTV is an Kubernetes operator that migrates workloads from platforms like vSphere and oVirt to KubeVirt on Kubernetes. I like writing CLI programs, so when I was tasked with creating an MCP server for MTV, I looked at how we can reuse our kubectl-mtv CLI tool code and structured output to auto-generate the server. In this talk I'll demystify MCP servers, explain how AI learns to use tools, how we let it ask for help the same way a human would, and why a CLI with clear command structure and helpful help text works well for both humans and machines. I'll cover the small gaps between how humans and machines read the same text and demo how we leveraged existing patterns of CLI design like help text, examples and flags to combine with new AI patterns and tool-chains. I'll demo the end result, the kubectl-mtv MCP browsing, planning, and running VM migrations through OpenShift Lightspeed.


Experience level: Intermediate - attendees should be familiar with the subject

Yaacov is a software engineer at Red Hat and a longtime contributor to free software projects. He volunteers with the Nitzanim project, where he helps prepare young adults from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds for successful careers in the high-tech industry. When he's not coding or volunteering, he is a big fan of cats.