SSH MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol server for SSH connectivity

This is a TypeScript-based MCP server that provides SSH connectivity functionality. It allows you to manage SSH server connections and execute commands remotely through the MCP protocol.

Features

Resources

• List and access SSH server configurations via ssh:// URIs
• Each SSH server has connection details and metadata
• JSON mime type for structured configuration access
• Sensitive information (passwords/keys) is masked when reading resources

Tools

• add_ssh_server - Add new SSH server configurations

  • Takes host, username, port, and authentication details
  • Supports both password and private key authentication
  • Stores server configuration for later use

• run_ssh_command - Execute commands on configured SSH servers

  • Takes server ID and command to execute
  • Returns command output and execution details
  • Configurable timeout (default: 30 seconds)

• list_ssh_servers - List all configured SSH servers

  • Shows server details without sensitive information
  • Useful for managing multiple SSH connections

• remove_ssh_server - Remove SSH server configurations

  • Takes server ID to remove
  • Cleans up stored configuration

Development

Install dependencies:

npm install

Build the server:

npm run build

For development with auto-rebuild:

npm run watch

Installation

To use with Claude Desktop, add the server config:

On MacOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json On Windows: %APPDATA%/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ssh-server": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/ssh-server/build/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Usage Examples

1. Add an SSH server with password authentication:

   {
     "name": "My Web Server",
     "host": "192.168.1.100",
     "port": 22,
     "username": "admin",
     "password": "your-password",
     "description": "Production web server"
   }

2. Add an SSH server with private key authentication:

   {
     "name": "My Database Server",
     "host": "db.example.com",
     "port": 22,
     "username": "dbadmin",
     "privateKey": "-----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY-----\n...\n-----END PRIVATE KEY-----",
     "description": "Database server"
   }

3. Execute a command:

   {
     "serverId": "ssh_1234567890_abcdef123",
     "command": "ls -la /var/log",
     "timeout": 10000
   }

Security Notes

• SSH credentials are stored in memory only and are not persisted
• Private keys and passwords are not exposed when reading server resources
• All SSH connections use the ssh2 library with standard security practices
• Command execution is limited by the configured timeout

Dependencies

• @modelcontextprotocol/sdk - MCP SDK for server implementation
• ssh2 - SSH client library for Node.js
• zod - Schema validation library
• @types/ssh2 - TypeScript definitions for ssh2

Debugging

Since MCP servers communicate over stdio, debugging can be challenging. We recommend using the MCP Inspector, which is available as a package script:

npm run inspector

The Inspector will provide a URL to access debugging tools in your browser.