MCP SSH Server

MCP SSH Manager - SSH Remote Server Management via Model Context Protocol 🚀

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that enables Claude Code and OpenAI Codex to manage multiple SSH connections. Execute commands, transfer files, manage databases, create backups, monitor health, and automate DevOps tasks across your servers — directly from your AI assistant.

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🎉 What's New in v3.8.5

🔒 Security release — three command-injection advisories fixed, one of which defeated readonly mode (Released: August 28, 2026)

Upgrade if you use ssh_backup_*, ssh_db_dump, ssh_service_status or ssh_tail — and especially if you rely on the readonly / restricted security modes.

• 🔴 RCE bypassing readonly / restricted (GHSA-m793-whw6-f537) — ssh_service_status and ssh_tail are read-only, so they stay enabled on servers you locked down, and neither quoted its arguments nor consulted the policy layer. A service name like nginx; id > /tmp/pwned executed. This defeated the exact control those modes exist to provide.
• 🔴 RCE through ssh_db_dump (GHSA-796j-h5q5-jx6p) — the stat command run after the dump interpolated the output path raw. The v3.6.7 patch had stopped one line short.
• 🟠 RCE through every ssh_backup_* tool (GHSA-qwwm-vrm9-4mw8) — backup-manager.js had zero shell escaping across its 9 builders, while database-manager.js had 95. The v3.6.7 fix was never extended to it.

The quoting helper now lives in one module (src/shell-quote.js) so "did this builder quote its inputs?" has a single answer, and a new test drives 340 builder × argument × payload combinations through a real shell to prove none of them execute.

Read full changelog →

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🔐 Giving an agent SSH access, safely

An MCP SSH server is the most dangerous tool you can hand an AI agent: a shell on machines that matter. This one is built so you decide how far the agent can go — per server, not globally.

Mode	What the agent can do
unrestricted (default)	Everything. Same behaviour as any other SSH MCP server.
readonly	Mutating tools are refused outright — no deploy, no upload, no sudo, no database import. Read commands still work.
restricted	Every command must match an allow pattern and no deny pattern. Anything else is refused before it reaches the host.

SSH_SERVER_PROD_MODE=readonly
SSH_SERVER_STAGING_MODE=restricted
SSH_SERVER_STAGING_ALLOW_PATTERNS=^systemctl (status|restart) myapp$;^tail -n \d+ /var/log/

Alongside that:

• The sudo password never reaches the remote command line. It travels on the SSH channel's stdin, so it is not visible in ps, in /proc/<pid>/cmdline, or in an auditd trail — unlike the echo "$pass" | sudo -S pattern common in this category (#34).
• Every database argument is shell-quoted through one centralised helper, guarded by a 648-combination injection test.
• Read-only SQL is enforced, not suggested: ssh_db_query refuses anything that is not a SELECT.
• Vulnerabilities are published, not buried. See SECURITY.md for the reporting process and the advisories already fixed.
• Reproducible installs: the lockfile is committed, CI installs with npm ci, and a test enforces that every dependency resolves to registry.npmjs.org with an integrity hash and no unreviewed install scripts.

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Previous Releases

📜 Release history — v3.8.4 down to v1.0.0 (click to expand)

v3.8.4 - Secrets stop reaching the log, CodeQL on every commit (August 28, 2026)

• 🔒 The logger no longer writes secrets in clear text — it writes to ~/.ssh-manager.log and stderr (which your MCP host captures), so one call site handing it a server config would have persisted a production password. Redaction now happens inside the logger. Also: CodeQL on every push, every action pinned by SHA, and a broken example that never parsed. Full changelog →

v3.8.2 / v3.8.3 - Sudo password leak fixed, MCP Registry, signed releases (August 28, 2026)

• 🔒 The sudo password no longer reaches the remote command line (#34) — it travelled through echo "<password>" | sudo -S, readable in ps and /proc/<pid>/cmdline by every account on the host. It now goes over the SSH channel's stdin. Also: listed in the official MCP Registry as io.github.bvisible/mcp-ssh-manager, releases published from CI with SLSA provenance and a CycloneDX SBOM, and the per-server security modes documented at last. Full changelog →

v3.8.1 - Reproducible installs and blocking quality gates (August 28, 2026)

• Committed lockfile (#60 — contributed by @cudatuda) plus npm run test:lockfile guarding it against drift and tampering. CI installs with npm ci; ESLint and the JSDoc typecheck became blocking gates after being purely decorative. Full changelog →

v3.8.0 - Groups in your config, ssh_sync on Windows, tunnel crash fix (August 14, 2026)

• 👥 New optional group field per server (#56 — contributed by @ice616, requested in #55) — tag a server with group = "production" and it is in that group: ssh_execute_group resolves members straight from your .env/TOML, union'd with any .server-groups.json you already keep. Also: ssh_sync fixed from a Windows host (#59 — contributed by @2836603852), a tunnel on a busy port no longer takes the whole MCP server down, the @modelcontextprotocol/sdk floor raised to ^1.30.0 over three advisories, and JSDoc type-checking added to CI. Full changelog →

v3.7.0 - Per-server SSH agent forwarding (July 13, 2026)

• 🔗 New opt-in FORWARD_AGENT / forward_agent option (#53 — requested by @raphaelbahat in #52) — the equivalent of OpenSSH's ForwardAgent yes, per server: processes on the remote host authenticate to other SSH hosts with the keys in your local ssh-agent, without copying any private key. Requires a running agent and defaults to false. Full changelog →

v3.6.7 - Security: command injection fix in the database helpers (July 11, 2026)

• 🔒 Every ssh_db_* argument is now shell-quoted (#51 — responsibly disclosed by Ugur Ozer, Aeon AI Risk Management (http://airiskmanagement.ca), see #48) — caller-controlled values (ssh_db_list most notably, which stayed allowed in readonly/restricted modes) were interpolated into shell-evaluated strings, allowing arbitrary command execution on the SSH target. A centralized shellQuote() now wraps every value across all 15 builders, guarded by a 648-combination injection test. Full changelog →

v3.6.6 - SUDO_PASSWORD / DEFAULT_DIR / ssh_sync key auth work again (July 11, 2026)

• 🔑 camelCase config field reads (#50 — thanks @egoan82) — since the v3.0.0 ConfigLoader refactor, ssh_execute_sudo ignored SUDO_PASSWORD, DEFAULT_DIR was ignored by ssh_execute/ssh_group_execute/ssh_list_servers, and ssh_sync never passed the configured SSH key to rsync. All aligned with the loader's camelCase fields, with a regression test locking the loader output shape. Full changelog →

v3.6.5 - ssh_db_query shell-injection security fix + real row_count (June 30, 2026)

• 🔒 Queries are delivered on stdin via a single-quoted heredoc (#44, #45 — thanks @technophile77) — the remote shell no longer parses backticks/$(…) inside queries (which corrupted backtick identifiers and let the "SELECT-only" tool run arbitrary shell commands), and row_count now reflects each engine's real output instead of counting wrapper lines. Full changelog →

v3.6.4 - Internal cleanup + a dead-code quality gate (June 18, 2026)

• 🧹 Dead-code removal (−343 lines), zero behavioral change — removed 27 unused exports and 2 duplicate exports; the MCP server and CLI behave identically (command builders/parsers byte-identical, all 37 tools verified end-to-end). A calibrated knip.json plus a blocking knip CI step keep unused code from creeping back. Full changelog →

v3.6.3 - ssh_sync reports the real transfer count (June 18, 2026)

• 📊 No more false "No files needed to be transferred" (#42 — thanks @MakksSh) — fixed rsync --stats parsing: --stats is always passed now, and rsync 2.x/3.x wording, openrsync's B suffix, and locale separators are all handled. Full changelog →

v3.6.2 - Richer tool descriptions (June 9, 2026)

• 📝 All 37 tool descriptions rewritten — every MCP tool now documents its real behavior (side effects, destructive vs read-only nature, idempotency, sudo/auth requirements, security-mode gating, parameter semantics) instead of a 4-to-10-word summary. Agents now know the consequences before invoking a tool; no behavioral change — only description strings changed. Full changelog →

v3.6.1 - Teardown hygiene follow-up (June 9, 2026)

• 🔌 Module-level timers no longer pin the event loop (follow-up to #41) — tunnel-manager.js and session-manager.js registered module-level setIntervals that were never unref()'d, so importing either module kept Node's event loop alive. Both are now unref()'d. Full changelog →

v3.6.0 - Live config hot reload + stdio lifecycle fix (June 9, 2026)

• ♻️ Configuration hot reload (#40 — thanks @EnjoySR) — add or edit a server in your .env/TOML and the running MCP server picks it up on the next call, no restart. A ServerConfigManager reloads lazily on file-signature change (path + mtime + size); a failed reload keeps the last known-good config; real process.env vars keep top priority. No watcher, no polling.
• 🔌 No more orphaned stdio processes (#41 — thanks @LegendaryGatz) — a stdio MCP server is torn down by stdin EOF / SIGTERM, not SIGINT; with only a SIGINT handler every session leaked a ~83 MB node process. Shutdown is now idempotent across SIGINT/SIGTERM/SIGHUP/stdin-close, timers are unref()'d, and the process exits ~10 ms after teardown instead of never. Full changelog →

v3.5.1 - Robust SSH ping health-check on Windows/OpenSSH (May 26, 2026)

• 🪟 Healthy Windows sessions no longer reported as Dead (#39 — thanks @username77) — the liveness probe ran echo "ping" and cmd.exe echoed the quotes literally, failing a strict === 'ping' check and needlessly rebuilding live connections. Now uses echo ping parsed by a null-safe isPingAlive(stdout) helper (CRLF/quote/case-normalized), covered by tests/test-ssh-ping.js. Full changelog →

v3.5.0 - Per-server security modes — readonly / restricted + audit log (May 18, 2026)

A second authorization layer that filters tool invocations inside the MCP server, complementing the existing client-side autoApprove. Useful when sharing the MCP with a third-party agent, a CI bot, or any client where ssh_execute shouldn't be unconditionally trusted.

• 🔒 Three modes, opt-in per server (no MODE field = identical to v3.4.x):
  • unrestricted (default) — strict no-op. evaluatePolicy() early-returns on the first line, zero overhead.
  • readonly — blocks mutating tools (ssh_upload, ssh_deploy, ssh_sync, ssh_execute_sudo, ssh_backup_*, ssh_db_import/dump, plus action-gated ssh_key_manage accept|remove, ssh_alert_setup set, ssh_process_manager kill) AND applies a built-in denylist on ssh_execute (rm, mv, dd, mkfs, chmod, chown, sudo, systemctl restart/stop, docker rm/stop, pipe-to-sh, redirect outside /tmp, curl|sh, etc.).
  • restricted — every command must match at least one ALLOW_PATTERNS regex AND no DENY_PATTERNS regex. DENY wins. With no ALLOW_PATTERNS everything is refused (fail-closed).
• 📝 Audit log — opt-in JSONL per server (SSH_SERVER_<N>_AUDIT_LOG=/path/to/audit.jsonl). Records ts, server, tool, args, allowed, reason on denial, exitCode/success on execution. Sensitive arg fields (password, passphrase, sudoPassword, token, secret, apikey) are replaced with ***.
• 🪄 Command aliases expanded BEFORE policy evaluation — a DENY pattern can't be bypassed via an alias.
• ♻️ Backward-compatible by design — a v3.4.x .env or TOML loads identically. No MODE field → zero behavior change. The interactive wizard (ssh-manager server add) defaults all three new prompts to skip. All 13 pre-existing tests pass unmodified. New tests/test-policy.js adds 26 tests covering modes, DENY > ALLOW precedence, invalid-regex handling, redaction, and the backward-compat fast path. Full reference →

v3.4.1 - Modern OpenSSH 9.x compatibility (May 16, 2026)

• 🔐 Expanded SSH algorithm list — handshake against OpenSSH 9.x out of the box (#32)
  • KEX: curve25519-sha256 (+@libssh.org), diffie-hellman-group15-sha512, diffie-hellman-group16-sha512
  • Server host key: rsa-sha2-512, rsa-sha2-256 (RFC 8332)
  • Cipher: aes128-gcm@openssh.com, aes256-gcm@openssh.com
  • HMAC: hmac-sha2-256-etm@openssh.com, hmac-sha2-512-etm@openssh.com, hmac-sha1-etm@openssh.com
  • Backward-compatible — legacy algorithms preserved at lower preference, older servers (CentOS 7, Debian 10) keep working. Thanks @YoungHong1992.

v3.4.0 - Windows OpenSSH support + shell-agnostic session sync (May 7, 2026)

• 🪟 Windows OpenSSH encoding & syntax fixes — UTF-16LE base64 PowerShell payloads (Ansible-style) + Set-Location replacing cd && (#31, thanks @WenKingSu)
• 🎯 Marker-based SSH session sync — UUID v4 protocol boundaries with ECHO: 0 PTY, real $? exit codes, no more "Timeout waiting for shell prompt" on custom/slow/AIX shells (#30, thanks @MakksSh)

v3.3.0 - ProxyCommand & Critical Fixes (May 2, 2026)

• 🔌 ProxyCommand support for SOCKS5 / custom proxy commands (#24)
• ⏱️ ssh_execute timeout silently capped at 30 s — fixed (#28, #29)
• 🪟 Windows global install /bin/bash shim error — fixed (#22, #23)
• 🔧 server add blocked by missing rsync — rsync now optional (#26)
• 🔡 Hyphenated server names silently dropped — validation hardened (#25, #27)

v3.2.2 - Global Install Fix & CLI Binary (April 7, 2026)

• 🔧 Global install fixed: .env path resolution now uses a fallback chain instead of hardcoded __dirname — works correctly with npm install -g (#16, #19)
  • Fallback chain: ~/.ssh-manager/.env → cwd/.env → ~/.env → project .env
  • Auto-creates ~/.ssh-manager/.env on first ssh-manager server add
• 📦 ssh-manager CLI registered as binary: npm install -g now creates both mcp-ssh-manager and ssh-manager commands (#18)
• ⚡ Race condition fix: Server config is now fully loaded before the MCP server accepts requests

v3.2.0 - ProxyJump / Bastion Host Support (March 18, 2026)

• 🔀 ProxyJump support: Connect to servers behind bastion/jump hosts with a simple PROXYJUMP config field (#15)
  • Chain multiple jumps (A → B → C) via recursive connections
  • Circular dependency detection prevents infinite loops
  • All tools work transparently through jump hosts
• 📦 npx support fixed: npx mcp-ssh-manager now works correctly (#14)

v3.1.5 - SSH Agent & Passphrase Support (March 5, 2026)

• 🔑 SSH Agent support: Automatically uses ssh-agent when SSH_AUTH_SOCK is available — passphrase-protected keys work transparently
• 🔐 Passphrase configuration: New passphrase field for both .env and TOML formats

Thanks to @snjax for the original contribution (#12).

v3.1.4 - Windows SSH Host Support (February 22, 2026)

• 🪟 Windows SSH host fix: Commands no longer fail on Windows hosts running OpenSSH (#10)
• New per-server platform config field (SSH_SERVER_FOO_PLATFORM=windows or platform = "windows" in TOML)
• When platform=windows, the Linux timeout/sh -c command wrapper is skipped and the SSH library's native timeout is used instead
• All tools (ssh_execute, ssh_tail, ssh_monitor, ssh_deploy, ssh_execute_sudo, ssh_group_execute) are platform-aware

v3.1.2 - Windows Compatibility Fix (February 9, 2026)

• 🪟 Windows support: Fixed crash on Windows where process.env.HOME is undefined (#8)
• Now uses os.homedir() for cross-platform compatibility (Linux, macOS, Windows)

v3.1.0 - Tool Activation System (November 15, 2025)

🎯 Context Usage Optimization

• 92% context reduction: Enable only the tools you need (minimal mode: 5 tools vs all 37)
• Tool management CLI: ssh-manager tools list/configure/enable/disable
• 6 tool groups: Core, Sessions, Monitoring, Backup, Database, Advanced
• Auto-approval export: Generate Claude Code auto-approval configs

v3.0.0 - Enterprise DevOps Platform (October 1, 2025)

This release adds 12 new MCP tools transforming SSH Manager into a comprehensive DevOps automation platform:

💾 Backup & Restore System (4 tools)

• Automated backups for MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, and file systems
• Smart scheduling with cron integration and retention policies
• One-click restore with cross-database support
• Metadata tracking for audit and compliance

🏥 Health & Monitoring (4 tools)

• Real-time health checks with CPU, RAM, Disk, and Network metrics
• Service monitoring for nginx, mysql, docker, and custom services
• Process management with CPU/RAM sorting and kill capabilities
• Alert thresholds with configurable notifications

🗄️ Database Management (4 tools)

• Safe database dumps with compression and selective exports
• Database imports with automatic decompression
• Schema exploration listing databases, tables, and collections
• Secure queries with SQL injection prevention (SELECT-only)

📊 Total: 37 MCP Tools | 🔧 ~4,100 Lines of Code Added | ✅ Production Ready

Read Full Changelog →

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📑 Table of Contents

• Features
• Tool Management
• Prerequisites
• Quick Start - Claude Code
• Quick Start - OpenAI Codex
• Available MCP Tools
• Configuration
• Usage Examples
• Security
• Troubleshooting
• Known Limitations
• Contributing
• License

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🌟 Features

Core Features

• 🔗 Multiple SSH Connections - Manage unlimited SSH servers from a single interface
• 🔐 Secure Authentication - Support for password, SSH key, and ssh-agent authentication (including passphrase-protected keys)
• 🔀 ProxyJump / Bastion Host - Connect to servers behind jump hosts with chained multi-hop support
• 🔌 ProxyCommand / Custom Proxy - Connect through SOCKS5 proxies or custom proxy commands (ncat, ssh -W, etc.)
• 📁 File Operations - Upload and download files between local and remote systems
• ⚡ Command Execution - Run commands on remote servers with working directory support
• 📂 Default Directories - Set default working directories per server for convenience
• 🎯 Easy Configuration - Simple .env file setup with guided configuration tool

Enterprise DevOps Features (v3.0) 🎉

• 💾 Backup & Restore - Automated backups for MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, and files
• 🏥 Health Monitoring - Real-time server health checks (CPU, RAM, Disk, Services)
• 🗄️ Database Management - Safe database operations with SQL injection prevention
• 📊 Process Management - Monitor and control server processes
• ⚠️ Smart Alerts - Configurable health thresholds and notifications

v2.0 Features

• 🚀 Bash CLI - Lightning-fast pure Bash CLI for server management
• 📊 Advanced Logging - Comprehensive logging system with levels and history
• 🔄 Rsync Integration - Bidirectional file sync with rsync support
• 💻 Persistent Sessions - Maintain shell context across multiple commands
• 👥 Server Groups - Execute commands on multiple servers simultaneously
• 🔧 SSH Tunnels - Local/remote port forwarding and SOCKS proxy support
• 📈 System Monitoring - Real-time monitoring of CPU, memory, disk, and network
• 🏷️ Server Aliases - Use short aliases instead of full server names
• 🚀 Smart Deployment - Automated file deployment with permission handling
• 🔑 Sudo Support - Execute commands with sudo privileges securely
• 📝 OpenAI Codex Support - Compatible with OpenAI Codex via TOML configuration

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⚙️ Tool Management & Context Optimization

NEW in v3.1: Reduce Claude Code context usage by 92% with tool activation management!

MCP SSH Manager includes 37 tools organized into 6 groups. By default, all tools are enabled, but you can optimize for your specific workflow:

Quick Setup

# Interactive configuration wizard
ssh-manager tools configure

# View current configuration
ssh-manager tools list

# Enable/disable specific groups
ssh-manager tools enable monitoring
ssh-manager tools disable backup

Configuration Modes

Mode	Tools	Context Usage	Best For
All (default)	37 tools	~43.5k tokens	Full feature set, most users
Minimal	5 tools	~3.5k tokens	Basic SSH operations only
Custom	5-37 tools	Varies	Tailored to your workflow

Tool Groups

• Core (5 tools) - Always enabled: list, execute, upload, download, sync
• Sessions (4 tools) - Persistent SSH sessions
• Monitoring (6 tools) - Health checks, service status, process management
• Backup (4 tools) - Database and file backups
• Database (4 tools) - MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB operations
• Advanced (14 tools) - Deployment, sudo, tunnels, groups, aliases, etc.

Benefits

• 92% context reduction in minimal mode (~40k tokens saved)
• Fewer approval prompts in Claude Code
• Faster loading and cleaner interface
• Auto-approval configuration export for Claude Code

📖 Complete Tool Management Guide →

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📋 Prerequisites

• Node.js (v18 or higher)
• npm (comes with Node.js)
• Platforms: Linux, macOS, Windows
• For Claude Code: Claude Code CLI installed
• For OpenAI Codex: Codex CLI configured
• Bash 4.0+ (for CLI management tools)
• rsync (for file synchronization)
• sshpass (optional, for rsync with password authentication)
  • macOS: brew install hudochenkov/sshpass/sshpass
  • Linux: apt-get install sshpass

🚀 Quick Start - Claude Code

1. Install MCP SSH Manager

Option A: Install from npm (recommended)

# Install globally from npm
npm install -g mcp-ssh-manager

# Or install locally
npx mcp-ssh-manager

Option B: Install from source

# Clone and install
git clone https://github.com/bvisible/mcp-ssh-manager.git
cd mcp-ssh-manager
npm install

# Install the Bash CLI
cd cli && ./install.sh

# Configure your first server
ssh-manager server add

2. Install to Claude Code

# For personal use (current user only)
claude mcp add ssh-manager node /path/to/mcp-ssh-manager/src/index.js

# For team sharing (creates .mcp.json in project)
claude mcp add ssh-manager --scope project node /path/to/mcp-ssh-manager/src/index.js

# For all your projects
claude mcp add ssh-manager --scope user node /path/to/mcp-ssh-manager/src/index.js

3. Configure Auto-Approval (Optional but Recommended)

To avoid being prompted for approval on every SSH command, add auto-approve configuration:

Edit ~/.config/claude-code/claude_code_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ssh-manager": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/mcp-ssh-manager/src/index.js"],
      "autoApprove": [
        "mcp__ssh-manager__ssh_execute",
        "mcp__ssh-manager__ssh_list_servers",
        "mcp__ssh-manager__ssh_upload",
        "mcp__ssh-manager__ssh_download",
        "mcp__ssh-manager__ssh_sync",
        "mcp__ssh-manager__ssh_alias"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Important: Restart Claude Code after making this change.

For full auto-approval of all SSH tools, see the complete list in examples/claude-code-config.example.json.

3.5. Security Modes (Optional, v3.5.0+)

autoApprove is all-or-nothing per tool: once ssh_execute is approved, anything goes. If you want a second layer that filters what the MCP server actually accepts to run — useful when sharing the MCP with a third-party agent, a CI bot, or a client's server — declare a per-server security mode.

# In your .env — three optional fields. Omit them all to keep v3.4.x behavior exactly.
SSH_SERVER_CLIENT_PROD_HOST=client-prod.example.com
SSH_SERVER_CLIENT_PROD_USER=consultant
SSH_SERVER_CLIENT_PROD_KEYPATH=~/.ssh/consultant_ed25519

SSH_SERVER_CLIENT_PROD_MODE=readonly                          # unrestricted | readonly | restricted
SSH_SERVER_CLIENT_PROD_AUDIT_LOG=~/.ssh-manager/audit.jsonl   # opt-in JSONL audit trail
# For mode=restricted, provide an allowlist of regex (DENY wins over ALLOW):
# SSH_SERVER_CI_ALLOW_PATTERNS="^docker (ps|logs);^kubectl get "

• unrestricted (default, no field needed) — identical to pre-v3.5.0 behavior. Zero overhead.
• readonly — blocks ssh_upload, ssh_deploy, ssh_sync, ssh_execute_sudo, backup/db write tools, and built-in destructive commands (rm, mv, sudo, systemctl restart, redirects outside /tmp, curl | sh, …).
• restricted — every ssh_execute command must match at least one ALLOW_PATTERNS regex AND no DENY_PATTERNS regex.

Existing configs are unaffected — no field is mandatory, no behavior changes unless you opt in. See docs/SECURITY_MODES.md for the full reference, recipes, and limitations.

4. Start Using!

In Claude Code, you can now:

"List all my SSH servers"
"Execute 'ls -la' on production server"  # Uses default directory if set
"Run 'docker ps' on staging"
"Upload config.json to production:/etc/app/config.json"
"Download logs from staging:/var/log/app.log"

With Default Directories: If you set /var/www/html as default for production, these commands are equivalent:

• "Run 'ls' on production" → executes in /var/www/html
• "Run 'ls' on production in /tmp" → executes in /tmp (overrides default)

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🚀 Quick Start - OpenAI Codex

1. Install MCP SSH Manager

Same installation as Claude Code (see above), then configure for Codex:

# Set up Codex integration
ssh-manager codex setup

# Migrate existing servers to TOML format (if you have .env servers)
ssh-manager codex migrate

# Test the integration
ssh-manager codex test

2. Manual Configuration (Optional)

If you prefer manual setup, add to ~/.codex/config.toml:

[mcp_servers.ssh-manager]
command = "node"
args = ["/absolute/path/to/mcp-ssh-manager/src/index.js"]
env = { SSH_CONFIG_PATH = "/Users/you/.codex/ssh-config.toml" }
startup_timeout_ms = 20000

3. Configure Servers in TOML Format

Create or edit ~/.codex/ssh-config.toml:

[ssh_servers.production]
host = "prod.example.com"
user = "admin"
password = "secure_password"  # or use key_path
key_path = "~/.ssh/id_rsa"   # for SSH key auth (recommended)
passphrase = "key_passphrase" # optional, for passphrase-protected keys
port = 22
default_dir = "/var/www"
group = "production"          # optional, free-form label for grouping/import-export
description = "Production server"

[ssh_servers.staging]
host = "staging.example.com"
user = "deploy"
key_path = "~/.ssh/staging_key"
port = 2222
default_dir = "/home/deploy/app"

[ssh_servers.winhost]
host = "192.168.1.90"
user = "svc-ssh"
key_path = "~/.ssh/winhost_key"
port = 2222
platform = "windows"
description = "Windows host via OpenSSH"

[ssh_servers.bastion]
host = "bastion.example.com"
user = "jumpuser"
key_path = "~/.ssh/bastion_key"

[ssh_servers.internal]
host = "10.0.0.5"
user = "admin"
key_path = "~/.ssh/internal_key"
proxy_jump = "bastion"
description = "Private server behind bastion"

💡 See examples/codex-ssh-config.example.toml for more complete examples!

4. Start Using in Codex!

In OpenAI Codex, you can now:

"List my SSH servers"
"Execute 'docker ps' on production"
"Upload file.txt to staging:/tmp/"
"Monitor CPU usage on all servers"
"Download production:/var/log/app.log to ./logs/"

Converting Between Formats

Switch easily between Claude Code (.env) and Codex (TOML):

# Convert .env to TOML (for Codex)
ssh-manager codex convert to-toml

# Convert TOML back to .env (for Claude Code)
ssh-manager codex convert to-env

Both formats can coexist! The system supports both simultaneously.

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🛠️ Available MCP Tools

Core Tools

ssh_list_servers

Lists all configured SSH servers with their details.

ssh_execute

Execute commands on remote servers.

• Parameters: server (name), command, cwd (optional working directory)
• Note: If no cwd is provided, uses the server's default directory if configured

ssh_upload

Upload files to remote servers.

• Parameters: server, local_path, remote_path

ssh_download

Download files from remote servers.

• Parameters: server, remote_path, local_path

Backup & Restore Tools (v2.1+) 🔄

ssh_backup_create

Create backup of database or files on remote server.

• Types: MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Files
• Parameters: server, type, name, database, paths, retention
• Automatic compression and metadata tracking
• See Backup Guide for detailed usage

ssh_backup_list

List all available backups on remote server.

• Parameters: server, type (optional filter)
• Returns backup details with size, date, and retention info

ssh_backup_restore

Restore from a previous backup.

• Parameters: server, backupId, database, targetPath
• Supports cross-database restoration

ssh_backup_schedule

Schedule automatic backups using cron.

• Parameters: server, schedule (cron format), type, name
• Automatic cleanup based on retention policy

Health & Monitoring Tools (v2.2+) 🏥

ssh_health_check

Perform comprehensive health check on remote server.

• Checks: CPU, Memory, Disk, Network, Uptime, Load average
• Returns overall health status (healthy/warning/critical)
• Optional detailed mode for extended metrics

ssh_service_status

Check status of services (nginx, mysql, docker, etc.).

• Parameters: server, services (array)
• Returns running/stopped status for each service
• Works with both systemd and sysv init systems

ssh_process_manager

List, monitor, or kill processes on remote server.

• Actions: list (top processes), kill (terminate), info (details)
• Sort by CPU or memory usage
• Filter processes by name

ssh_alert_setup

Configure health monitoring alerts and thresholds.

• Actions: set (configure), get (view), check (test thresholds)
• Configurable CPU, memory, and disk thresholds
• Automatic alert triggering when thresholds exceeded

Database Management Tools (v2.3+) 🗄️

ssh_db_dump

Create database dump/backup on remote server.

• Supports: MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB
• Parameters: server, type, database, outputFile, dbUser, dbPassword, dbHost, dbPort
• Optional: compress (gzip), tables (specific tables only)
• Returns dump size and location

ssh_db_import

Import SQL dump or restore database on remote server.

• Supports: MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB
• Parameters: server, type, database, inputFile, dbUser, dbPassword, dbHost, dbPort
• Handles compressed (.gz) files automatically
• Optional: drop (drop database before restore for MongoDB)

ssh_db_list

List databases or tables on remote server.

• Parameters: server, type, database (optional), dbUser, dbPassword, dbHost, dbPort
• Without database: lists all databases (filters system DBs)
• With database: lists all tables/collections
• Returns structured list with count

ssh_db_query

Execute read-only SQL queries on remote database.

• Parameters: server, type, database, query, dbUser, dbPassword, dbHost, dbPort
• Security: Only SELECT queries allowed for safety
• MongoDB: Use collection parameter for find queries
• Returns query results with row count

Deployment Tools (v1.2+)

ssh_deploy 🚀

Deploy files with automatic permission and backup handling.

• Parameters: server, files (array), options (owner, permissions, backup, restart)
• Automatically handles permission issues and creates backups

ssh_execute_sudo 🔐

Execute commands with sudo privileges.

• Parameters: server, command, password (optional), cwd (optional)
• Securely handles sudo password without exposing in logs

Server Management

ssh_alias 🏷️

Manage server aliases for easier access.

• Parameters: action (add/remove/list), alias, server
• Example: Create alias "prod" for "production" server

ssh_command_alias 📝

Manage command aliases for frequently used commands.

• Parameters: action (add/remove/list/suggest), alias, command
• Aliases loaded from active profile
• Example: Custom aliases for your project

ssh_hooks 🎣

Manage automation hooks for SSH operations.

• Parameters: action (list/enable/disable/status), hook
• Hooks loaded from active profile
• Example: Project-specific validation and automation

ssh_profile 📚

Manage configuration profiles for different project types.

• Parameters: action (list/switch/current), profile
• Available profiles: default, frappe, docker, nodejs
• Example: Switch between different project configurations

🔧 Configuration

Profiles

SSH Manager uses profiles to configure aliases and hooks for different project types:

1. Set active profile:

   • Environment variable: export SSH_MANAGER_PROFILE=frappe
   • Configuration file: Create .ssh-manager-profile with profile name
   • Default: Uses default profile if not specified

2. Available profiles:

   • default - Basic SSH operations
   • frappe - Frappe/ERPNext specific
   • docker - Docker container management
   • nodejs - Node.js applications
   • Create custom profiles in profiles/ directory

Environment Variables

Servers are configured in the .env file with this pattern:

# Server configuration pattern
SSH_SERVER_[NAME]_HOST=hostname_or_ip
SSH_SERVER_[NAME]_USER=username
SSH_SERVER_[NAME]_PASSWORD=password  # For password auth
SSH_SERVER_[NAME]_KEYPATH=~/.ssh/key  # For SSH key auth
SSH_SERVER_[NAME]_PASSPHRASE=key_passphrase  # Optional, for passphrase-protected keys
SSH_SERVER_[NAME]_PORT=22  # Optional, defaults to 22
SSH_SERVER_[NAME]_DEFAULT_DIR=/path/to/dir  # Optional, default working directory
SSH_SERVER_[NAME]_DESCRIPTION=Description  # Optional
SSH_SERVER_[NAME]_GROUP=production  # Optional, free-form label for grouping/import-export
SSH_SERVER_[NAME]_PLATFORM=windows  # Optional: "linux" (default) or "windows"
SSH_SERVER_[NAME]_PROXYJUMP=bastion  # Optional: name of another server to use as jump host
SSH_SERVER_[NAME]_PROXYCOMMAND=command  # Optional: custom proxy command (ncat, ssh -W, etc.)
SSH_SERVER_[NAME]_FORWARD_AGENT=true  # Optional: forward local ssh-agent to remote (needs SSH_AUTH_SOCK; security risk — see SSH Agent section)

# Example: Linux server
SSH_SERVER_PRODUCTION_HOST=prod.example.com
SSH_SERVER_PRODUCTION_USER=admin
SSH_SERVER_PRODUCTION_PASSWORD=secure_password
SSH_SERVER_PRODUCTION_PORT=22
SSH_SERVER_PRODUCTION_DEFAULT_DIR=/var/www/html
SSH_SERVER_PRODUCTION_DESCRIPTION=Production Server
SSH_SERVER_PRODUCTION_SUDO_PASSWORD=secure_sudo_pass  # Optional, for automated deployments

# Example: Windows server (OpenSSH for Windows)
SSH_SERVER_WINHOST_HOST=192.168.1.90
SSH_SERVER_WINHOST_USER=svc-ssh
SSH_SERVER_WINHOST_KEYPATH=~/.ssh/winhost_key
SSH_SERVER_WINHOST_PORT=2222
SSH_SERVER_WINHOST_PLATFORM=windows
SSH_SERVER_WINHOST_DESCRIPTION=Windows host via OpenSSH

# Example: Server behind a bastion/jump host
SSH_SERVER_BASTION_HOST=bastion.example.com
SSH_SERVER_BASTION_USER=jumpuser
SSH_SERVER_BASTION_KEYPATH=~/.ssh/bastion_key

SSH_SERVER_INTERNAL_HOST=10.0.0.5
SSH_SERVER_INTERNAL_USER=admin
SSH_SERVER_INTERNAL_KEYPATH=~/.ssh/internal_key
SSH_SERVER_INTERNAL_PROXYJUMP=bastion
SSH_SERVER_INTERNAL_DESCRIPTION=Private server behind bastion

Server Management Tool

The Python management tool (tools/server_manager.py) provides:

1. List servers - View all configured servers
2. Add server - Interactive server configuration
3. Test connection - Verify server connectivity
4. Remove server - Delete server configuration
5. Update Claude Code - Configure MCP in Claude Code
6. Install dependencies - Setup required packages

📁 Project Structure

mcp-ssh-manager/
├── src/
│   ├── index.js              # Main MCP server (37 tools)
│   ├── ssh-manager.js        # SSH connection handling
│   ├── config-loader.js      # .env & TOML config loading
│   ├── session-manager.js    # Persistent SSH sessions
│   ├── backup-manager.js     # Backup & restore
│   ├── health-monitor.js     # Health checks & alerts
│   ├── database-manager.js   # Database operations
│   ├── tunnel-manager.js     # SSH tunnel management
│   ├── server-groups.js      # Group operations
│   └── ...
├── cli/
│   ├── ssh-manager           # Bash CLI entrypoint
│   ├── commands/              # CLI command modules
│   └── lib/                   # CLI libraries
├── profiles/                  # Configuration profiles (frappe, docker, nodejs...)
├── examples/                  # Example configs
├── docs/                      # Documentation
└── package.json

🧪 Testing

Test Server Connection

python tools/test-connection.py production

Verify MCP Installation

claude mcp list

Check Server Status in Claude Code

/mcp

🔒 Security Best Practices

1. Never commit .env files - Always use .env.example as template
2. Use SSH keys when possible - More secure than passwords
3. Limit server access - Use minimal required permissions
4. Rotate credentials - Update passwords and keys regularly

🔑 Passphrase-Protected SSH Keys

MCP SSH Manager supports passphrase-protected SSH keys in two ways:

Option 1: SSH Agent (recommended)

If your SSH key is loaded into ssh-agent, MCP SSH Manager will use it automatically — no configuration changes needed:

# Add your key to the agent (enter passphrase once)
ssh-add ~/.ssh/your_key

# Verify the key is loaded
ssh-add -l

The server detects the SSH_AUTH_SOCK environment variable and connects to the running agent. This is the same mechanism that regular ssh uses for GUI passphrase prompts.

Option 2: Passphrase in configuration

You can store the passphrase directly in the server config:

.env format:

SSH_SERVER_MYSERVER_KEYPATH=~/.ssh/id_rsa
SSH_SERVER_MYSERVER_PASSPHRASE="your_passphrase"

TOML format:

[ssh_servers.myserver]
key_path = "~/.ssh/id_rsa"
passphrase = "your_passphrase"

Note: SSH Agent is preferred over storing passphrases in config files for better security.

🔗 SSH Agent Forwarding

Enable per-server agent forwarding (the equivalent of OpenSSH's ForwardAgent yes) so processes on the remote host can authenticate to other SSH hosts using the keys in your local ssh-agent — e.g. git clone over SSH on a remote server using your local GitHub key, without copying any private key to the server.

It is opt-in per server and defaults to false. It requires a running local agent (SSH_AUTH_SOCK present); when the agent is unavailable the flag is simply ignored.

.env format:

SSH_SERVER_MYSERVER_FORWARD_AGENT=true

TOML format:

[ssh_servers.myserver]
forward_agent = true

⚠️ Security warning: agent forwarding lets any process that can read the forwarded agent socket on the remote host — including anyone with root there — use your loaded keys to impersonate you against other hosts for the life of the connection. Only enable it for servers you trust, mirroring the same caution ssh_config(5) advises for ForwardAgent.

📚 Advanced Usage

ProxyJump / Bastion Host

Connect to servers behind a bastion or jump host. The connection is tunneled through the jump server transparently — all tools (execute, upload, download, sync) work as usual.

# Define the bastion server
SSH_SERVER_BASTION_HOST=bastion.example.com
SSH_SERVER_BASTION_USER=jumpuser
SSH_SERVER_BASTION_KEYPATH=~/.ssh/bastion_key

# Point the target server to the bastion
SSH_SERVER_PRIVATE_HOST=10.0.0.5
SSH_SERVER_PRIVATE_USER=admin
SSH_SERVER_PRIVATE_PROXYJUMP=bastion

Or in TOML:

[ssh_servers.bastion]
host = "bastion.example.com"
user = "jumpuser"
key_path = "~/.ssh/bastion_key"

[ssh_servers.private]
host = "10.0.0.5"
user = "admin"
proxy_jump = "bastion"

Chained jumps are supported: if bastion itself has a proxy_jump, the chain is followed recursively. Circular references are detected and rejected.

ProxyCommand / Custom Proxy

Connect through SOCKS5 proxies or custom proxy commands. The proxy command executes locally and forwards traffic to the remote host.

# SOCKS5 proxy via ncat
SSH_SERVER_SOCKS_HOST=target.example.com
SSH_SERVER_SOCKS_USER=admin
SSH_SERVER_SOCKS_PROXYCOMMAND="ncat --proxy 127.0.0.1:1080 --proxy-type socks5 %h %p"

# Windows SSH proxy command
SSH_SERVER_WINPROXY_HOST=internal.example.com
SSH_SERVER_WINPROXY_USER=admin
SSH_SERVER_WINPROXY_PROXYCOMMAND="C:\Windows\System32\OpenSSH\ssh.exe -W %h:%p user@jump-host"

Or in TOML:

[ssh_servers.socks]
host = "target.example.com"
user = "admin"
proxy_command = "ncat --proxy 127.0.0.1:1080 --proxy-type socks5 %h %p"

[ssh_servers.winproxy]
host = "internal.example.com"
user = "admin"
proxy_command = "C:\\Windows\\System32\\OpenSSH\\ssh.exe -W %h:%p user@jump-host"

The proxy command must be a valid command that reads from stdin and writes to stdout, accepting %h and %p placeholders for host and port.

Server Groups

Tag a server with group and it becomes part of that group — no extra file to maintain. The label is free-form and travels with the server definition, so it survives an export to (or import from) another tool.

SSH_SERVER_WEB1_HOST=10.0.0.1
SSH_SERVER_WEB1_USER=deploy
SSH_SERVER_WEB1_GROUP=production

SSH_SERVER_WEB2_HOST=10.0.0.2
SSH_SERVER_WEB2_USER=deploy
SSH_SERVER_WEB2_GROUP=production

Or in TOML:

[ssh_servers.web1]
host = "10.0.0.1"
user = "deploy"
group = "production"

Both servers are then reachable as a group:

Run "uptime" on the production group     → ssh_execute_group
List my server groups                    → ssh_group_manage (action: list)

ssh_list_servers also reports the group of each server, so you can see membership without opening the config.

How it combines with ssh_group_manage: groups you create with ssh_group_manage live in .server-groups.json and carry execution settings (strategy, delay, stop-on-error). Groups implied by the group field carry membership only. When a name exists on both sides, membership is the union — the stored list plus every server tagged with that name — and the stored execution settings apply. Group names are case-insensitive.

A group that exists only through the group field is read-only for ssh_group_manage: to change who belongs to it, edit the servers' group in your .env/TOML. Creating a group of the same name with ssh_group_manage is still allowed and simply adds stored members and settings on top.

Documentation

• DEPLOYMENT_GUIDE.md - Deployment strategies and permission handling
• ALIASES_AND_HOOKS.md - Command aliases and automation hooks
• Real-world examples and best practices

🐛 Troubleshooting

Claude Code Crashes / Interruptions

Symptoms:

• Claude shows "Interrupted: What should Claude do instead?"
• MCP tools execute but Claude stops working
• Commands succeed but Claude freezes

Solution: v3.1.1 includes automatic fixes:

• ✅ Output auto-truncated to prevent context overflow
• ✅ Timeout increased to 2 minutes (default), max 5 minutes
• ✅ Standardized error responses

Performance Tuning (add to .env):

# Reduce output size (default: 10000 characters)
MCP_SSH_MAX_OUTPUT_LENGTH=5000

# Increase timeout for slow commands (default: 120000ms)
MCP_SSH_DEFAULT_TIMEOUT=180000

# Use compact JSON to save tokens (default: false)
MCP_SSH_COMPACT_JSON=true

For large outputs:

# Instead of: cat huge-log.txt
# Use: tail -n 100 huge-log.txt
# Or: grep ERROR huge-log.txt | tail -n 50

See docs/TROUBLESHOOTING.md for complete guide.

MCP Tools Not Available

1. Ensure MCP is installed: claude mcp list
2. Restart Claude Code after installation
3. Check server logs for errors

Connection Failed

1. Test connection: ssh-manager server test [server_name]
2. Verify network connectivity
3. Check firewall rules
4. Ensure SSH service is running on remote server

Permission Denied

1. Verify username and password/key
2. Check SSH key permissions: chmod 600 ~/.ssh/your_key
3. Ensure user has necessary permissions on remote server

📚 Usage Examples

Backup & Restore

"Backup production MySQL database before deployment"
"List all backups on production server"
"Restore backup from yesterday"
"Schedule daily database backup at 2 AM"
"Backup website files excluding cache and logs"

For detailed backup examples, see examples/backup-workflow.md and docs/BACKUP_GUIDE.md.

Using the Bash CLI

# Basic server management
ssh-manager server list
ssh-manager server add
ssh-manager ssh prod1

# File synchronization
ssh-manager sync push prod1 ./app /var/www/
ssh-manager sync pull prod1 /var/log/app.log ./

# SSH tunnels
ssh-manager tunnel create prod1 local 3307:localhost:3306
ssh-manager tunnel list

# Execute commands
ssh-manager exec prod1 "docker ps"

Using in Claude Code or OpenAI Codex

Once installed, simply ask your AI assistant:

Claude Code examples:

• "List my SSH servers"
• "Execute 'df -h' on production server"
• "Upload this file to staging:/var/www/"
• "Create an SSH tunnel to access remote MySQL"
• "Monitor CPU usage on all servers"
• "Start a persistent session on prod1"

OpenAI Codex examples:

• "Show my SSH servers"
• "Run df -h on production"
• "Upload file.txt to staging:/tmp/"
• "Check CPU usage on all servers"

Both AI assistants support the same MCP tools! 🚀

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🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please see CONTRIBUTING.md for details.

Development Setup

1. Fork the repository
2. Clone and install dependencies
3. Setup pre-commit hooks for code quality:

   ./scripts/setup-hooks.sh
   

4. Create your feature branch
5. Make your changes (hooks will validate on commit)
6. Push to your branch
7. Open a Pull Request

Code Quality

This project uses automated quality checks:

• ESLint for JavaScript linting
• Black for Python formatting
• Flake8 for Python linting
• Prettier for code formatting
• Pre-commit hooks for automated validation
• Secret detection to prevent credential leaks

Run validation manually: ./scripts/validate.sh

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Built for Claude Code
• Uses the Model Context Protocol
• SSH handling via node-ssh
• Server management with Paramiko

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Known Limitations

Command Timeout

• The timeout parameter for SSH commands is advisory only
• Due to SSH2 library limitations, commands may continue running on the server even after timeout
• On Linux/macOS hosts, a system timeout wrapper is used for reliable command termination
• Windows hosts: Set PLATFORM=windows in your server config to skip the Linux timeout/sh -c wrapper (which is incompatible with Windows OpenSSH)

SSH Sync (rsync)

• Password authentication requires sshpass to be installed
• SSH key authentication is recommended for better security and reliability
• Windows MCP hosts: pass native local paths such as local:C:\project or local:.\project; ssh_sync converts drive-letter and UNC paths to MSYS2 format before launching rsync. Prefer native paths, since Node checks them on disk using Windows path semantics — a path already written as /c/... or //server/share is passed through to rsync untouched rather than converted twice.
• Large file transfers may take time and appear to hang - be patient

Connection Management

• Connections are pooled and reused for performance
• If a connection becomes stale, it will be automatically reconnected on next use
• Force reconnection by using the ssh_connection_status tool with reconnect action

📧 Support

For issues, questions, or suggestions:

• Open an issue on GitHub Issues
• Check existing issues before creating new ones

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