---
title: "Network maps with Pioneer AI and MCP"
description: "Ask Pioneer AI or an MCP-connected app to read a client's network map, trace a path, list changes, check a diagram for drift, or draw a diagram."
url: "https://support.outpostplatform.com/network-maps/pioneer-and-mcp/"
product: "depot"
type: "how-to"
status: "draft"
ai_summary: "Network map tools for Pioneer AI and MCP: get_network_topology, trace_network_path, topology_changes, check_diagram_drift, list_doc_diagrams, read_doc_diagram, list_network_diagrams, and get_diagram_drift, all read tier. Pioneer AI adds show_diagram and create_diagram, reads attached .drawio and .vsdx files, and its diagram card offers downloads, Save to documentation, and Save as network diagram."
availability:
  plans: ["home-lab", "essentials", "enterprise", "msp"]
  permission: "discovery:read"
  preview: false
source: "https://gitlab.com/outpostplatform/docs/-/edit/main/src/content/docs/network-maps/pioneer-and-mcp.md"
license: "CC BY 4.0"
---

# Network maps with Pioneer AI and MCP

[Pioneer AI](/pioneer-ai/) can read a client's network map and answer
questions about it, such as "where is the front desk printer plugged in?" or
"what changed on the HQ network this week?". It can draw the answer, compare
a diagram you attach with the live network, and draw a new diagram for you to
save. AI apps you [connect with MCP](/pioneer-ai/mcp-server/) can use the same
read tools.

## Before you begin

- You need `ai:use` and `discovery:read`. Endpoints appear only with
  `endpoint:read`. Pioneer AI and MCP apps see the map exactly as you do.
- Pioneer AI must be on for the client. See
  [Set up Pioneer AI](/pioneer-ai/set-up/).
- Saving a drawing to documentation needs `docs:write`. Saving it as a
  documented network diagram needs `network_map:edit`.

## Ask about the network

Open Pioneer AI on the client and ask in your own words. For example:

- "Trace the path from ACME-WS01 to the internet."
- "Which switch port is the server ACME-SQL01 on?"
- "What changed on the network since last Monday?"
- "Compare the HQ diagram in our documentation with the network."
- "Has the HQ L2 diagram drifted?"

When it traces a path, Pioneer AI shows the map in the conversation with the
path highlighted. **Open in Network map** opens the same view on
**Endpoints** > **Network map**.

## Work with a diagram you have

Attach a `.drawio` or `.vsdx` file to a message. Pioneer AI reads the devices,
links, and groups in it, and can then:

- compare it with the live network, with the same results as **Compare with
  document** on the map page;
- show it in the conversation, redrawn with Outpost's layout;
- change it on request, such as "remove the old core switch and add the new
  firewall pair", or convert it, such as "turn this Visio into a draw.io
  file".

An attached diagram is kept only in that conversation, and is deleted with
it.

## Ask for a new diagram

Ask Pioneer AI to draw what you need, such as "draw the HQ network with the
firewall pair at the top and each access switch with its hosts", or "draw a
logical diagram of the VPN links between our sites". Pioneer AI builds the
drawing, and Outpost lays it out.

The drawing appears on a card with:

| Control | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| **Expand** | Shows the drawing larger. |
| **Download** | Downloads it in any of the eight formats the map exports. See [Export network maps and diagrams](/network-maps/export/). |
| **Open in Network map** | Opens the map the drawing came from, when it came from one. |
| **Save to documentation** | Creates a documentation article with the .drawio file and a picture attached. Needs `docs:write`. |
| **Save as network diagram** | Saves it as a documented diagram that Outpost checks against the network from then on. Needs `network_map:edit`. See [Keep documented network diagrams](/network-maps/documented-diagrams/). |

## Tools

These tools read and change nothing, so they never ask for approval. On the
MSP plan, each takes a `clientId`.

| Tool | Pioneer AI | MCP | What it does |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `get_network_topology` | Yes | Yes | Reads the client's map, optionally for one site, network, or VLAN. |
| `trace_network_path` | Yes | Yes | Traces the path between two devices, or to the internet, hop by hop. |
| `topology_changes` | Yes | Yes | Lists what changed on the network since a time, such as `7d`. |
| `check_diagram_drift` | Yes | Yes | Compares a diagram with the live map: a documentation file, a documented diagram, or, in Pioneer AI only, a diagram attached to the conversation. |
| `list_doc_diagrams` | Yes | Yes | Lists .drawio, .vsdx, and image files in the client's documentation. |
| `read_doc_diagram` | Yes | Yes | Reads the devices and links in a .drawio or .vsdx documentation file. |
| `list_network_diagrams` | Yes | Yes | Lists the client's documented network diagrams. |
| `get_diagram_drift` | Yes | Yes | Reads a documented diagram's drift score and open proposals, as the last check found them. |
| `show_diagram` | Yes | No | Shows a map, a trace, or an attached diagram in the conversation. |
| `create_diagram` | Yes | No | Draws a new diagram, or changes an attached one. |

## Next steps

- [Use Pioneer AI](/pioneer-ai/use-pioneer-ai/)
- [Connect AI tools with MCP](/pioneer-ai/mcp-server/)
- [Use the network map](/network-maps/use-the-map/)