mcp-ssh-tool

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) SSH client server that provides autonomous SSH operations for GitHub Copilot and VS Code. Enable natural language SSH automation without manual prompts or GUI interactions.

Quick Start

Install

• Global install (recommended): npm install -g mcp-ssh-tool
• One-off run: npx mcp-ssh-tool

MCP Client Configuration (VS Code / Claude Desktop / others)

Add to your MCP configuration (mcp.json, .vscode/mcp.json, or the Claude Desktop MCP config):

{
  "servers": {
    "ssh-mcp": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "mcp-ssh-tool",
      "args": []
    }
  }
}

Usage Examples

Once configured, you can use natural language with your MCP client:

• SSH Connection: "Connect to server 192.168.1.100 as admin using SSH key"
• File Operations: "Read the content of /etc/nginx/nginx.conf on the server"
• Command Execution: "Run 'systemctl status nginx' on the remote server"
• Package Management: "Install htop package on Ubuntu server"
• Service Control: "Restart the nginx service"
• Claude Desktop: "connect to my server and check disk usage"
• Install a package/service stack: "install nginx on my remote server"
• Read a config file: "read the file /etc/nginx/nginx.conf"
• Restart a service: "restart the nginx service"
• Browse logs: "list files in /var/log"

Available Tools

• ssh_open_session - Establish SSH connection with various auth methods
• ssh_close_session - Close SSH session
• ssh_list_sessions - List all active SSH sessions
• ssh_ping - Check if a session is alive and responsive
• ssh_list_configured_hosts - List hosts from ~/.ssh/config
• ssh_resolve_host - Resolve host alias from SSH config
• proc_exec - Execute commands remotely (with optional timeout)
• proc_sudo - Execute commands with sudo privileges
• fs_read, fs_write, fs_list, fs_stat, fs_mkdirp, fs_rmrf, fs_rename - File system operations
• ensure_package - Package management with present and absent states
• ensure_service - Service control including restarted
• ensure_lines_in_file - File line management with present and absent states
• patch_apply - Apply patches to files
• os_detect - System information detection
• get_metrics - Server metrics in JSON or Prometheus format

Overview

The SSH MCP Server acts as a bridge between GitHub Copilot and remote systems via SSH. It supports:

• Non-interactive SSH operations - No prompts or GUI interactions
• Multiple authentication methods - Password, SSH keys, or SSH agent
• Session management - Automatic connection pooling with TTL and LRU eviction
• File system operations - Read, write, list, and manage remote files via SFTP, with SSH-shell fallbacks for hosts that do not expose an SFTP subsystem
• Process execution - Run commands and sudo operations remotely
• High-level automation - Package management, service control, and configuration management
• Security - Automatic redaction of sensitive data in logs

Architecture

┌─────────────────┐    ┌──────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐
│  GitHub Copilot │────│  SSH MCP Server  │────│  Remote Systems │
│     / VS Code   │    │                  │    │   (via SSH)     │
└─────────────────┘    └──────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘
         │                       │                       │
         │ MCP stdio protocol    │ Session management    │ SSH + optional SFTP
         │                       │ LRU cache + TTL       │
         │                       │ Auth strategies       │

Embedded / BusyBox Targets

Some embedded targets expose SSH command execution but do not ship an SFTP subsystem, which is common with Dropbear- or BusyBox-based systems. In that case ssh_open_session still succeeds and reports sftpAvailable: false. Core file tools such as fs_read, fs_write, fs_stat, fs_list, fs_mkdirp, fs_rmrf, and fs_rename automatically fall back to shell-based implementations.

Installation

Prerequisites

• Node.js ≥ 20 (LTS)
• SSH access to target systems
• SSH keys or credentials for authentication

Install from npm

npm install -g mcp-ssh-tool

Build from source

git clone https://github.com/oaslananka/mcp-ssh-tool.git
cd mcp-ssh-tool
npm install
npm run build
npm link

CLI Flags

• --help / -h: Show usage and examples.
• --version / -v: Print version.
• --stdio: Force stdio mode (default).

Note: This is an MCP stdio server. The terminal is not an interactive shell; use an MCP client (Claude Desktop, VS Code MCP, etc.) or send JSON-RPC over stdio.

Platform Notes

• Linux / macOS: Uses POSIX shell wrappers with safe quoting. Default temp directory: /tmp.
• Windows targets: Requires OpenSSH server/agent; key discovery checks C:\\Users\\<you>\\.ssh\\. Commands are wrapped for PowerShell-safe execution. Package/service helpers are intentionally disabled on Windows targets.
• Host keys: Host key checking is relaxed by default. Set STRICT_HOST_KEY_CHECKING=true and optionally KNOWN_HOSTS_PATH to enforce verification.

ChatGPT Desktop Integration

Quick Setup

npm run setup:chatgpt

This command automatically configures ChatGPT Desktop to use mcp-ssh-tool.

Manual Setup

Add to your ChatGPT Desktop MCP config:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/ChatGPT/mcp.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\ChatGPT\mcp.json
• Linux: ~/.config/chatgpt/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ssh-mcp-server": {
      "name": "ssh-mcp-server",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-ssh-tool"]
    }
  }
}

For detailed usage, see docs/chatgpt-usage.md.

VS Code Copilot Integration

User-level Configuration (Recommended)

Open VS Code and press Ctrl+Shift+P, then run "MCP: Open User Configuration".

Add to your mcp.json:

{
  "servers": {
    "ssh-mcp": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "mcp-ssh-tool",
      "args": []
    }
  }
}

Workspace-level Configuration

Create .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace:

{
  "servers": {
    "ssh-mcp": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "mcp-ssh-tool",
      "args": []
    }
  }
}

Verification

1. Restart VS Code
2. Open Copilot Chat
3. The SSH MCP tools should appear in the available tools list
4. Test with: "Connect to 192.168.1.100 as admin and run 'uname -a'"

Usage Examples

Basic Connection and Command Execution

"Connect to 10.11.12.13 as deployer with password 'mypass' and run 'df -h'"

File Operations

"Connect to server.example.com as admin, read /etc/nginx/nginx.conf and show me the server blocks"

System Administration

"Connect to 192.168.1.50 as root, install htop package, start nginx service, and list /var/www contents"

Configuration Management

"Connect to web-server as admin, add these lines to /etc/hosts:
192.168.1.10 db-server
192.168.1.20 cache-server
Then restart networking service"

Ready-to-use Prompt Ideas

"connect to my server and check disk usage"

"install nginx on my remote server"

"read the file /etc/nginx/nginx.conf"

"restart the nginx service"

"list files in /var/log"

Pro Tips

• Multiple sessions: Open one session per host or environment and keep them alive with ssh_list_sessions and ssh_ping when you are switching between production, staging, and development machines.
• SFTP fallback for BusyBox/Dropbear: On embedded systems that do not expose an SFTP subsystem, ssh_open_session can still succeed with sftpAvailable: false, and the core fs_* tools automatically fall back to shell-based implementations.
• Host key verification: Set STRICT_HOST_KEY_CHECKING=true in the MCP server environment and optionally KNOWN_HOSTS_PATH for stricter production-grade SSH verification.

API Reference

Session tools

ssh_open_session

{
  "host": "example.com",
  "username": "admin",
  "port": 22,
  "auth": "auto",
  "password": "optional",
  "privateKey": "optional-inline-key",
  "privateKeyPath": "optional-path",
  "passphrase": "optional",
  "useAgent": false,
  "readyTimeoutMs": 20000,
  "ttlMs": 900000
}

Returns:

{
  "sessionId": "ssh-1645123456789-1",
  "host": "example.com",
  "username": "admin",
  "expiresInMs": 900000
}

ssh_close_session

{
  "sessionId": "ssh-1645123456789-1"
}

ssh_list_sessions, ssh_ping, ssh_list_configured_hosts, ssh_resolve_host

• ssh_list_sessions returns active sessions with remaining TTL.
• ssh_ping checks liveness and latency for a session.
• ssh_list_configured_hosts reads ~/.ssh/config.
• ssh_resolve_host expands an SSH host alias into connection parameters.

Command tools

proc_exec

{
  "sessionId": "ssh-1645123456789-1",
  "command": "ls -la /home",
  "cwd": "/tmp",
  "env": {
    "DEBUG": "1"
  },
  "timeoutMs": 30000
}

proc_sudo

{
  "sessionId": "ssh-1645123456789-1",
  "command": "systemctl restart nginx",
  "password": "sudo-password",
  "cwd": "/etc",
  "timeoutMs": 30000
}

Both return:

{
  "code": 0,
  "stdout": "command output",
  "stderr": "",
  "durationMs": 245
}

File tools

• fs_read

{
  "sessionId": "ssh-1645123456789-1",
  "path": "/etc/hosts",
  "encoding": "utf8"
}

• fs_write

{
  "sessionId": "ssh-1645123456789-1",
  "path": "/tmp/config.txt",
  "data": "server_name example.com;\nlisten 80;",
  "mode": 420
}

• fs_stat returns size, mtime, mode, and type.
• fs_list returns { "entries": [...], "nextToken": "optional" }.
• fs_mkdirp creates directories recursively.
• fs_rmrf removes files or directories recursively.
• fs_rename renames or moves a path.

Configuration and automation tools

ensure_package

{
  "sessionId": "ssh-1645123456789-1",
  "name": "nginx",
  "state": "present",
  "sudoPassword": "optional"
}

state supports present and absent.

ensure_service

{
  "sessionId": "ssh-1645123456789-1",
  "name": "nginx",
  "state": "restarted",
  "sudoPassword": "optional"
}

state supports started, stopped, restarted, enabled, and disabled.

ensure_lines_in_file

{
  "sessionId": "ssh-1645123456789-1",
  "path": "/etc/hosts",
  "lines": [
    "192.168.1.10 db-server",
    "192.168.1.20 cache-server"
  ],
  "state": "present",
  "createIfMissing": true,
  "sudoPassword": "optional"
}

state supports present and absent.

patch_apply

{
  "sessionId": "ssh-1645123456789-1",
  "path": "/etc/hosts",
  "diff": "@@ -1 +1 @@\n-old\n+new"
}

os_detect

Returns remote platform, distro, version, package manager, init system, shell, and temp directory.

get_metrics

Returns server metrics. Default output is JSON; optional { "format": "prometheus" } emits Prometheus text format.

Authentication

The server supports multiple authentication methods with automatic fallback:

Authentication Strategy Priority

1. Password (if provided)
2. SSH Key (inline → path → auto-discovery)
3. SSH Agent (if available)

SSH Key Auto-Discovery

The server automatically searches for SSH keys in:

• ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
• ~/.ssh/id_rsa
• ~/.ssh/id_ecdsa

Note: DSA keys (id_dsa) are no longer supported due to security concerns.

Custom key directory: Set SSH_DEFAULT_KEY_DIR environment variable.

Examples

Password Authentication:

{
  "host": "server.com",
  "username": "admin",
  "auth": "password",
  "password": "secret"
}

SSH Key (inline):

{
  "host": "server.com",
  "username": "admin",
  "auth": "key",
  "privateKey": "-----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY-----\n...",
  "passphrase": "optional"
}

SSH Key (file path):

{
  "host": "server.com",
  "username": "admin",
  "auth": "key",
  "privateKeyPath": "/home/user/.ssh/id_rsa"
}

SSH Agent:

{
  "host": "server.com",
  "username": "admin",
  "auth": "agent"
}

Configuration

Environment Variables

Variable	Description	Default
LOG_LEVEL	Logging level (error, warn, info, debug)	info
STRICT_HOST_KEY_CHECKING	Enable strict SSH host key verification	false
KNOWN_HOSTS_PATH	Custom known_hosts file path	~/.ssh/known_hosts
SSH_DEFAULT_KEY_DIR	SSH key search directory	~/.ssh
SSH_MCP_MAX_SESSIONS	Maximum concurrent sessions	20
SSH_MCP_SESSION_TTL	Session TTL in milliseconds	900000
SSH_MCP_COMMAND_TIMEOUT	Default command timeout in milliseconds	30000
SSH_MCP_DEBUG	Enable debug logging	false
SSH_MCP_RATE_LIMIT	Enable rate limiting (true / false)	true

Default Settings

• Connection timeout: 20 seconds
• Session TTL: 15 minutes
• Max concurrent sessions: 20
• Host key checking: Relaxed (disabled by default)

Error Codes

The server returns structured error codes for machine-readable error handling:

• EAUTH - Authentication failed
• ECONN - Connection error
• ETIMEOUT - Operation timeout
• ENOSUDO - Sudo operation failed
• EPMGR - Package manager not found
• EFS - File system operation failed
• EPATCH - Patch application failed
• EBADREQ - Invalid request parameters

Each error includes:

• name: Error class name
• code: Machine-readable error code
• message: Human-readable error message
• hint: Optional suggestion for resolution

Security Features

Data Redaction

Sensitive data is automatically redacted from logs:

• Passwords
• Private keys
• Passphrases
• Sudo passwords
• SSH agent socket paths

Connection Security

• Configurable host key verification
• Support for known_hosts files
• Connection timeout enforcement
• Automatic session cleanup

Session Management

• TTL-based session expiration
• LRU cache eviction
• Graceful connection cleanup
• No persistent credential storage

Development

Setup

git clone https://github.com/oaslananka/mcp-ssh-tool.git
cd mcp-ssh-tool
npm install

Scripts

npm run build      # Compile TypeScript
npm run dev        # Watch mode compilation
npm run test       # Run unit tests
npm run test:e2e   # Run E2E tests (requires RUN_SSH_E2E=1)
npm run lint       # Type-check (no emit)
npm run format     # Run Prettier
npm run test:coverage
npm run docs

Testing

Unit Tests:

npm test

E2E Tests (optional):

RUN_SSH_E2E=1 npm run test:e2e

License

MIT License

Copyright (c) 2025 Osman Aslan (oaslananka)

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.

E2E tests require a local Docker container or SSH server for testing.

Contributing

1. Follow TypeScript and ESLint rules
2. Add tests for new features
3. Update documentation
4. Ensure all tests pass
5. Use conventional commit messages

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

References

• Model Context Protocol
• Anthropic MCP on GitHub
• Glama MCP Server Listing
• LobeHub MCP Listing
• VS Code MCP Guide - VS Code Copilot extensibility
• GitHub Copilot - GitHub Copilot documentation