SSH MCP Server

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that enables LLMs to interact with remote servers via SSH functionality including command execution, file upload/download, and directory listing.

Features

• Connection Management: Establish and manage multiple SSH sessions
• Command Execution: Run shell commands on remote servers with full output capture
• File Operations: Upload and download files via SFTP with optional permissions
• Directory Listing: Browse remote directories with file metadata (size, type, timestamps)
• Security: Command injection prevention, proper credential handling, Pydantic validation
• Flexible Authentication: Support for both password and SSH key authentication

Installation

pip install ssh-mcp-new

Requirements

• Python 3.10 or higher
• Dependencies automatically installed via pip
  • mcp >= 1.0.0
  • pydantic >= 2.0.0
  • paramiko >= 3.0.0

Usage

Running the Server

ssh-mcp

Config in claude code

tips: you can also add python scripts to your path env, it's all up to you.

  "mcpServers": {
    "ssh-mcp": {
      "command": "C:\\Users\\DELL\\AppData\\Local\\Packages\\PythonSoftwareFoundation.Python.3.11_qbz5n2kfra8p0\\LocalCache\\local-packages\\Python311\\Scripts\\ssh-mcp.exe",
      "args": [],
      "env": {}
    }
  },

Testing with MCP Inspector

The MCP Inspector allows you to test the server interactively:

npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector python -m ssh_mcp

Available Tools

Tool	Description
ssh_connect	Establish SSH connection to remote server
ssh_status	Check status of SSH sessions
ssh_execute	Execute commands on remote server
ssh_upload_file	Upload files to remote server
ssh_download_file	Download files from remote server
ssh_list_files	List files in remote directory
ssh_disconnect	Close SSH connection

Example Workflow

1. Connect to a server

Using password authentication:

{
  "host": "192.168.1.100",
  "port": 22,
  "username": "admin",
  "password": "your_password"
}

Using SSH key authentication:

{
  "host": "192.168.1.100",
  "port": 22,
  "username": "admin",
  "private_key_path": "/home/user/.ssh/id_rsa",
  "private_key_password": "key_passphrase"  # optional for encrypted keys
}

2. Execute a command

{
  "session_id": "admin@192.168.1.100:22",
  "command": "ls -la /var/log",
  "working_directory": "/var/log",  # optional
  "response_format": "markdown"  // "json" for machine-readable output
}

3. Upload a file

{
  "session_id": "admin@192.168.1.100:22",
  "local_path": "./config.json",
  "remote_path": "/tmp/config.json",
  "file_mode": 511  // 0o644 in octal
}

4. Download a file

{
  "session_id": "admin@192.168.1.100:22",
  "remote_path": "/var/log/syslog",
  "local_path": "./syslog",
  "overwrite": false
}

5. List a directory

{
  "session_id": "admin@192.168.1.100:22",
  "remote_path": "/tmp",
  "show_hidden": false,
  "response_format": "markdown"
}

6. Disconnect

{
  "session_id": "admin@192.168.1.100:22"
}

Configuration

Session Management

Multiple concurrent SSH sessions are supported. Each session is identified by a session_id:

• Auto-generated as {username}@{host}:{port} if not specified
• Can be explicitly provided for custom naming
• Sessions persist as long as the server is running

Authentication Methods

The server supports two authentication methods:

1. Password authentication:

   • Provide password parameter in ssh_connect
   • Suitable for quick testing or environments where keys are not available

2. SSH Key authentication (recommended for production):

   • Provide private_key_path parameter pointing to your private key file
   • Optionally provide private_key_password for encrypted keys
   • More secure than password-based authentication

Response Formats

Tools that return structured data support two formats:

• markdown (default): Human-readable output with formatting
• json: Machine-readable structured data

Development

Setting up the development environment

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/ifindv/ssh-mcp.git
cd ssh-mcp

# Install in development mode
pip install -e ".[dev]"

# Run tests (when available)
pytest

# Format code
black ssh_mcp/

# Type checking
mypy ssh_mcp/

Code Style

This project uses:

• Black for code formatting (line length: 100)
• MyPy for static type checking
• PEP 8 for style guidelines

Security Considerations

• Command injection prevention: Invalid characters are filtered from command inputs
• Host key verification: Uses AutoAddPolicy by default. For production environments, configure proper host key verification
• Credential handling: Credentials are passed via parameters and are not stored persistently
• Input validation: All inputs are validated using Pydantic models
• Sensitive data: Passwords and private key passwords are marked as sensitive in the schema

Troubleshooting

Connection Refused

• Verify SSH service is running on the target server
• Check firewall settings and network connectivity
• Ensure the correct port is specified (default: 22)

Authentication Failed

• Verify username and password/SSH key are correct
• Check that the private key file exists and has correct permissions
• Ensure the SSH key is added to the server's ~/.ssh/authorized_keys file

Timeout Errors

• Check network connectivity and latency
• Increase the timeout parameter value
• Verify that the server is responsive and not overloaded

Permission Denied

• Ensure user has appropriate permissions on the remote server
• Check file and directory permissions for SFTP operations
• Verify SSH key permissions (typically 600 for private keys)

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please read our contributing guidelines and submit pull requests to our repository.

License

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

Support

• Issues: GitHub Issues
• Documentation: GitHub Wiki

Acknowledgments

• Built with MCP SDK
• SSH functionality powered by Paramiko
• Data validation with Pydantic