MCP Directory

MCP SSH Manager

Manage multiple SSH servers from Claude Code or OpenAI Codex — execute commands, transfer files, backups, DB ops, health monitoring.

Unverified
stdio (local)
No auth
JavaScript
View repo 278 Website npm

Add to your client

Copy the config for your MCP client and paste it into its config file.

Install / run
npm install -g mcp-ssh-manager

Paste into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-ssh-manager": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": [
        "/path/to/mcp-ssh-manager/src/index.js"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Step-by-step guides: Add to Claude Desktop · Add to Cursor · Add to Windsurf

Before you start

  • Node.js v18 or higher
  • npm
  • Claude Code CLI (for Claude Code) or Codex CLI (for OpenAI Codex)
  • Bash 4.0+ for the optional CLI management tools
  • rsync for file synchronization (ssh_sync)
  • sshpass (optional, for rsync with password authentication)
  • SSH access and credentials for the remote servers you want to manage

About MCP SSH Manager

A Model Context Protocol server that turns Claude Code or OpenAI Codex into an SSH operations console: it connects to multiple remote servers and exposes 37 tools for command execution, file transfer, database management, backup/restore, and health monitoring. Configuration is via .env (Claude Code) or TOML (Codex), with support for password / SSH key / ssh-agent auth, ProxyJump bastions, ProxyCommand/SOCKS5 proxies, persistent sessions, server groups, and SSH tunnels. Optional per-server security modes and an audit log add a server-side authorization layer on top of the client's autoApprove.

Tools & capabilities (24)

ssh_list_servers

List all configured SSH servers with their details.

ssh_execute

Execute a command on a remote server. Params: server, command, cwd (optional; falls back to the server's default directory).

ssh_upload

Upload a file to a remote server. Params: server, local_path, remote_path.

ssh_download

Download a file from a remote server. Params: server, remote_path, local_path.

ssh_sync

Bidirectional file synchronization between local and remote using rsync.

ssh_backup_create

Create a backup of a database (MySQL/PostgreSQL/MongoDB) or files on a remote server, with compression and metadata. Params: server, type, name, database, paths, retention.

ssh_backup_list

List available backups on a remote server with size, date, and retention info. Params: server, type (optional filter).

ssh_backup_restore

Restore from a previous backup, with cross-database support. Params: server, backupId, database, targetPath.

ssh_backup_schedule

Schedule automatic backups via cron with retention-based cleanup. Params: server, schedule (cron), type, name.

ssh_health_check

Run a comprehensive health check (CPU, memory, disk, network, uptime, load) and return healthy/warning/critical status.

ssh_service_status

Check the running/stopped status of services (nginx, mysql, docker, etc.) via systemd or sysv. Params: server, services (array).

ssh_process_manager

List, monitor, or kill processes on a remote server; sort by CPU or memory and filter by name. Actions: list, kill, info.

ssh_alert_setup

Configure health-monitoring alerts and thresholds for CPU, memory, and disk. Actions: set, get, check.

ssh_db_dump

Create a database dump (MySQL/PostgreSQL/MongoDB) on a remote server, optionally compressed and limited to specific tables. Params: server, type, database, outputFile, dbUser, dbPassword, dbHost, dbPort, compress, tables.

ssh_db_import

Import a SQL dump or restore a database, auto-decompressing .gz files. Params: server, type, database, inputFile, dbUser, dbPassword, dbHost, dbPort, drop (MongoDB).

ssh_db_list

List databases (filtering system DBs) or, when a database is given, its tables/collections. Params: server, type, database (optional), dbUser, dbPassword, dbHost, dbPort.

ssh_db_query

Execute a read-only SQL query (SELECT only) on a remote database; use the collection param for MongoDB finds. Params: server, type, database, query, dbUser, dbPassword, dbHost, dbPort.

ssh_deploy

Deploy files with automatic permission handling and backups. Params: server, files (array), options (owner, permissions, backup, restart).

ssh_execute_sudo

Execute a command with sudo privileges, handling the sudo password without exposing it in logs. Params: server, command, password (optional), cwd (optional).

ssh_alias

Manage server aliases for easier access. Params: action (add/remove/list), alias, server.

ssh_command_alias

Manage command aliases for frequently used commands, loaded from the active profile. Params: action (add/remove/list/suggest), alias, command.

ssh_hooks

Manage automation hooks for SSH operations, loaded from the active profile. Params: action (list/enable/disable/status), hook.

ssh_profile

Manage configuration profiles for different project types (default, frappe, docker, nodejs). Params: action (list/switch/current), profile.

ssh_connection_status

Check connection status and force reconnection of pooled/stale SSH connections (reconnect action).

What this server can do

MCP SSH Manager provides tools for these capabilities — tap one to see every MCP server that does the same:

Deploy & manage cloud infra

When to use it

  • Run commands and inspect logs across multiple production/staging servers from Claude Code or Codex
  • Deploy files and restart services with automatic permission handling and backups
  • Create, schedule, and restore database and file backups (MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB)
  • Monitor server health (CPU, RAM, disk, services) and manage processes
  • Reach servers behind bastion/jump hosts or SOCKS5 proxies via ProxyJump/ProxyCommand
  • Safely delegate SSH access to a CI bot or third-party agent using readonly/restricted security modes and an audit log

Security notes

Grants an AI assistant the ability to run arbitrary shell commands, transfer files, and operate databases over SSH on remote servers. Store SSH credentials in a `.env` file that is never committed; prefer SSH keys or ssh-agent over inline passwords. Use the optional per-server security modes (v3.5.0+): `readonly` blocks mutating tools and destructive commands, `restricted` requires every `ssh_execute` command to match an `ALLOW_PATTERNS` regex and no `DENY_PATTERNS` (DENY wins, fail-closed). An opt-in JSONL audit log records each invocation and redacts sensitive args (password, passphrase, sudoPassword, token, secret, apikey). `autoApprove` in the client config is all-or-nothing per tool, so enabling it for ssh_execute trusts any command.

MCP SSH Manager FAQ

Which AI clients does it support?

Claude Code (configured via .env and `claude mcp add` / an mcpServers JSON block) and OpenAI Codex (configured via a `[mcp_servers.ssh-manager]` block in ~/.codex/config.toml plus a TOML ssh-config). Both expose the same set of MCP tools.

How are SSH servers configured?

For Claude Code, add `SSH_SERVER_<NAME>_HOST/_USER/_PASSWORD/_KEYPATH/_PASSPHRASE/_PORT/_DEFAULT_DIR/...` entries to a `.env` file. For Codex, define `[ssh_servers.<name>]` tables in a TOML file. The `ssh-manager` CLI can convert between the two formats, and config changes are hot-reloaded without restarting the server (v3.6.0+).

Can I limit which tools or commands the AI can run?

Yes. Tool activation lets you enable only specific tool groups (minimal mode is 5 tools, ~92% less context). Per-server security modes (v3.5.0+) add server-side filtering: `readonly` blocks mutating tools and destructive commands, and `restricted` requires each command to match an ALLOW_PATTERNS regex with DENY_PATTERNS taking precedence. An opt-in JSONL audit log records and redacts each invocation.

What authentication methods are supported?

Password, SSH key, and ssh-agent (including passphrase-protected keys, either via SSH_AUTH_SOCK or a stored passphrase field). It also supports ProxyJump bastion chains and ProxyCommand/SOCKS5 proxies, and works against Linux, macOS, and Windows OpenSSH hosts.

#ssh#devops#remote-server#backup#database#monitoring#deployment#automation#claude-code#openai-codex

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