Skills SSH MCP Ops

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name: "ssh-mcp-ops" description: "SSH MCP operations guide. Invoke when user needs to perform SSH server operations like connecting, executing commands, file transfer, or Docker management."

SSH MCP Operations Guide

Tool Calling Priority

When executing server operations, tools must be called in the following priority order:

1️⃣ MCP Tools (ssh_connect, ssh_execute, etc.)  ← Always use first
         ↓ If MCP tools are unavailable/not loaded in current session
2️⃣ CLI Tool (ssh-licco exec)                    ← Second choice
         │ Note: Use SSH_SECURITY_LEVEL=relaxed mode
         │       Set SSH_EXTRA_ALLOWED_COMMANDS for non-whitelist commands
         ↓ If CLI tool is also not available
3️⃣ Python Paramiko Script                        ← Last resort

How to determine which layer to use

Indicator	Use
MCP tools appear in your tool list	1️⃣ MCP tools - direct invocation
MCP tools not in tool list, but ssh-licco command works	2️⃣ CLI - ssh-licco exec with relaxed mode
Neither MCP nor CLI available	3️⃣ Python paramiko - write inline Python script

CLI usage pattern

# Set relaxed mode to allow pipes, redirects, etc.
$env:SSH_SECURITY_LEVEL="relaxed"

# Set extra allowed commands for non-default tools
$env:SSH_EXTRA_ALLOWED_COMMANDS="pg_isready,psql"

# Execute command
ssh-licco exec --host <ip> -u <user> --password <pwd> "<command>"

7 Core Tools

#	Tool	Description
1	ssh_connect	Connect to SSH server (auto-reads env vars / saved config)
2	ssh_execute	Execute commands (auto-connect, background, long tasks)
3	ssh_disconnect	Disconnect or list active sessions
4	ssh_file_transfer	Upload/download/list files via SFTP
5	ssh_host	Manage server configs (list/add/remove)
6	ssh_docker	Docker management (ps/images/build/logs)
7	ssh_generate_key	Generate SSH key pairs

Quick Reference

Connect (auto-login with env vars)

ssh_connect

Or with params:

ssh_connect, host=43.143.207.242, username=root, password=xxx

Or using saved config:

ssh_connect, name=production

Connect and run a command:

ssh_connect, command=ls -la /

Execute Command

ssh_execute, session_id=xxx, command=ls -la /

No session_id (auto-connect via env vars):

ssh_execute, command=redis-cli KEYS '*'

Background Task

ssh_execute, session_id=xxx, command=docker build -t myapp ., background=true

With wait for completion:

ssh_execute, session_id=xxx, command=python train.py, background=true, wait=true, wait_timeout=300

File Transfer

ssh_file_transfer, session_id=xxx, local_path=/local/file.txt, remote_path=/remote/file.txt, direction=upload

Docker Operations

ssh_docker, session_id=xxx, action=ps
ssh_docker, session_id=xxx, action=images, image_name=myapp
ssh_docker, session_id=xxx, action=build, image_name=myapp:latest
ssh_docker, session_id=xxx, action=logs, container_name=myapp, tail=100

Server Management

ssh_host, action=list
ssh_host, action=add, name=prod, host=43.143.207.242, username=root, password=xxx
ssh_host, action=remove, name=prod

Session Management

ssh_disconnect                          # List all sessions
ssh_disconnect, session_id=xxx          # Close specific session

Generate Key

ssh_generate_key, key_type=ed25519, comment=mykey
ssh_generate_key, key_type=rsa, key_size=4096, save_path=~/.ssh/id_rsa

MCP Tool Parameters

ssh_connect

Parameter	Required	Default	Description
host	No	-	Server IP/hostname. Omit to auto-read env vars
port	No	22	SSH port
username	No	root	SSH username
password	No	-	SSH password
private_key_path	No	-	Path to private key
passphrase	No	-	Passphrase for encrypted key
auth_method	No	private_key	password/private_key/agent
name	No	-	Server name from config/hosts.json
save_config	No	false	Save to local config
command	No	-	Optional command to execute after connecting
accept_new_host_key	No	true	Auto-accept new host keys

ssh_execute

Parameter	Required	Default	Description
session_id	No	-	Session ID. Omit to auto-connect via env vars
command	Yes	-	Command to execute
timeout	No	30	Command timeout in seconds
background	No	auto	Run in background (auto-detected)
workdir	No	/tmp	Working directory for background tasks
log_file	No	/tmp/background_task.log	Log file for background output
wait	No	false	Wait for background task completion
wait_timeout	No	60	Max wait time when wait=true

ssh_disconnect

Parameter	Required	Default	Description
session_id	No	-	Session to close. Omit to list all sessions

ssh_file_transfer

Parameter	Required	Default	Description
session_id	Yes	-	Session ID
local_path	Yes	-	Local file path
remote_path	Yes	-	Remote file path
direction	Yes	-	upload/download/list

ssh_host

Parameter	Required	Default	Description
action	Yes	-	list/add/remove
name	For add/remove	-	Server name
host	For add	-	Server IP/hostname
port	No	22	SSH port
username	No	root	SSH username
password	No	-	SSH password
timeout	No	60	Connection timeout

ssh_docker

Parameter	Required	Default	Description
session_id	Yes	-	Session ID
action	Yes	-	ps/images/build/logs
image_name	For build	-	Image name (build: required, images: optional filter)
container_name	For logs	-	Container name or ID
dockerfile_path	No	./Dockerfile	Dockerfile path
context	No	.	Build context directory
tail	No	100	Log lines to retrieve

ssh_generate_key

Parameter	Required	Default	Description
key_type	No	ed25519	rsa/ed25519
key_size	No	4096	Key size for RSA
comment	No	-	Key comment
save_path	No	-	Path to save key files

Common Commands

System Info

uname -a
df -h
free -h
top -bn1 | head -20

Network

ip addr
netstat -tuln
ss -tuln | grep 22

Process

ps aux
ps aux | grep nginx
kill -9 <PID>

Service Management

systemctl status sshd
sudo systemctl restart sshd
sudo journalctl -u sshd -n 50

Auto Background Detection

ssh_execute automatically detects long-running commands and runs them in background:

• Web servers: python app.py, npm start, uvicorn, etc.
• Database servers: mongod, mysql, redis-server
• Docker compose: docker-compose up
• Service starts: systemctl start xxx
• Java apps: java -jar, mvn spring-boot:run
• And many more patterns

Instant commands like docker ps, ls, cat, git status are NOT run in background.

Security Notes

• Commands are validated against security policy (SSH_SECURITY_LEVEL)
• Blocked commands show helpful resolution instructions
• Rate limiting prevents DoS (configurable via env vars)
• Audit logging available via SSH_AUDIT_LOG_PATH

Examples

Web Server Deployment

1. ssh_connect
2. ssh_execute, command=sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y nginx
3. ssh_execute, command=sudo systemctl enable nginx && sudo systemctl start nginx
4. ssh_execute, command=curl localhost

File Backup

1. ssh_connect, host=xxx, username=xxx, password=xxx
2. ssh_file_transfer, local_path=./backup.tar.gz, remote_path=/backup/backup.tar.gz, direction=upload
3. ssh_execute, command=cd /backup && tar -xzf backup.tar.gz

Docker Deployment

1. ssh_connect, host=xxx, username=xxx, password=xxx
2. ssh_docker, action=build, image_name=myapp:latest
3. ssh_docker, action=ps
4. ssh_execute, command=docker run -d -p 8080:80 myapp:latest
5. ssh_docker, action=logs, container_name=myapp

Background Task

1. ssh_connect
2. ssh_execute, command=python train.py, background=true, wait=true, wait_timeout=300