mcp-ssh-manager

MCP SSH Manager is a dedicated MCP server that enables Claude Code and OpenAI Codex to manage multiple SSH connections from within an AI-assisted workflow. It provides tools to create and maintain SSH sessions, execute remote commands, transfer files, and perform basic DevOps tasks across a fleet of remote servers. The server supports authentication via passwords, SSH keys, and the ssh-agent, with support for passphrase-protected keys. You can activate only the tools you need to minimize context usage, and integrate with Claude Code auto-approval configurations for smoother AI-assisted operations. To start interacting with the server, install the MCP package, configure your SSH targets, and use the available MCP tools to connect to and manage remote hosts as part of your automation scripts.

Key capabilities include: establishing multiple SSH connections, executing commands remotely with working-directory support, uploading/downloading files, and performing common admin tasks across servers. The 3.1.x series adds SSH agent support, passphrase handling, and Windows compatibility improvements, making it robust for mixed OS environments and secure key management.

Prerequisites:

• Node.js (LTS version) and npm installed on the machine running the MCP server
• Access to install npm packages

Install via npm (recommended):

• Install globally (optional): npm install -g mcp-ssh-manager
• Or install and run with npx without global install: npx -y mcp-ssh-manager

Alternative (if you want to pin a specific version): npm install -g mcp-ssh-manager@3.1.5

Configuration (example):

• Create a TOML or .env configuration as needed by the server, ensuring the environment variables described in the mcp_config section are set.

Usage:

• After installation, start the MCP server via your preferred method (npx or npm start if you installed locally).
• Define your SSH targets and performance options in the environment or config file as described in the README and per-server documentation.

Notes and tips:

• If using ssh-agent, ensure SSH_AUTH_SOCK is available in the environment to enable passphrase-protected keys.
• For Windows hosts, ensure you use a compatible SSH client and that the server has Windows support enabled (see v3.1.4 notes in the changelog).
• The server supports per-server configuration fields like platform and timeout in TOML or environment variables to tailor behavior per host.
• If you encounter connectivity issues, verify network access to your SSH servers and confirm that the authentication method configured matches the server's keys or credentials.
• Environment variables can be extended; refer to the latest docs for additional options such as passphrase handling in TOML (passphrase = "...") and per-server security settings.