VSSH

VSSH turns native OpenSSH into a predictable automation contract.

OpenSSH already solves secure remote access. VSSH keeps its transport, authentication, host verification, configuration, and command language intact, then adds the operational guarantees that scripts and agents otherwise have to rebuild around every ssh and scp call.

SSH and VSSH

| Capability | SSH / SCP | VSSH | |---|---|---| | Secure transport | Native OpenSSH authentication, encryption, host verification, known_hosts, and SSH-agent behavior | Uses that same native OpenSSH path; VSSH does not replace or emulate SSH | | Remote commands | Runs familiar shell, Linux, Docker, and systemd commands | Runs the same commands with no VSSH-specific remote language | | Target selection | Repeat connection flags or maintain an OpenSSH host alias | Save one default target, then override host, user, identity, or port per call | | Terminal behavior | Streams stdin, stdout, and stderr; supports TTYs and returns the remote exit code | Preserves streaming, stdin, TTY, signals, and the remote exit code in raw mode | | Automation output | Build and maintain wrappers to separate streams, time execution, detect timeout, and serialize a result | --json emits one bounded object with stdout, stderr, exit code, duration, timeout state, and signal when applicable | | Catastrophic-command guardrails | Sends the command as written | Blocks recognizable root deletion, direct disk writes, destructive volume cleanup, firewall flushes, and shutdown patterns before connecting | | File transfer with permissions | Coordinate scp with a separate ssh chmod call and reconcile failures | upload --mode <octal> performs both as one reported operation and fails if either phase fails | | Connection diagnosis | Check binaries, configuration, identity, and reachability separately | vssh doctor verifies the complete path, including a real connection | | Audit trail | Add shell history or custom logging, often capturing sensitive command content | Writes owner-only outcome metadata and a command hash; never command text, output, credentials, or file contents | | Repeated-call latency | Configure OpenSSH multiplexing yourself | Reuses a short-lived OpenSSH control connection when possible | | Agent discovery | Parse help text and infer aliases or argument shapes | commands --json exposes a versioned, machine-readable command contract |

That is the product boundary: familiar SSH security and commands underneath; a consistent remote-operations contract above them.

If you know SSH, you already know the command model:

# OpenSSH
ssh deploy@prod 'systemctl is-active api'

# VSSH after one-time setup
vssh 'systemctl is-active api'

The quoted text is not a VSSH-specific language. It is the same remote shell command you would give to ssh: Linux, Docker, systemd, and shell commands all remain unchanged.

Use plain ssh for an interactive session or an isolated one-off. Use VSSH when a script or agent needs to repeat remote work with predictable results, diagnostics, transfers, guardrails, and privacy-safe evidence. The guardrails are not a sandbox or authorization boundary.

Quick start

npm install -g @light-merlin-dark/vssh
vssh --setup       # save the host, user, identity, and port
vssh doctor        # verify the complete connection path

vssh uptime       # run uptime on the configured remote host
vssh --json 'systemctl is-active api'
vssh upload --mode 600 ./app.env /etc/app/app.env

Configuration is stored at ~/.vssh/config.json with owner-only permissions.

The four operations to remember

vssh '<remote command>'                  # run through native ssh
vssh --json '<remote command>'           # capture one structured result
vssh upload <local> <remote>             # send through native scp
vssh download <remote> <local>           # retrieve through native scp
vssh doctor                              # diagnose setup and connectivity

docker, systemctl, journalctl, find, and similar names in the examples below are programs on the remote machine—not VSSH subcommands.

Requirements

• macOS or Linux
• Node.js 18 or newer
• OpenSSH ssh and scp
• Key-based access, an ssh-agent, or a working OpenSSH host alias

Windows is not currently supported.

If setup or a command fails

Start with vssh doctor for a readable diagnosis or vssh doctor --json for automation. It checks that ssh and scp exist, the configuration and identity path are usable, and the target accepts a real connection.

VSSH preserves native failure behavior instead of hiding it:

• Host-key, authentication, DNS, and connection errors remain normal OpenSSH errors.
• A failed remote command exits with the remote status. In JSON mode, the same failure still produces one parseable object with success: false, exitCode, stdout, and stderr.
• A timeout exits with status 124 and sets timedOut: true in JSON mode.
• Captured output over 16 MiB fails rather than returning silently truncated JSON; use raw mode for large streams.

Run commands

Pass one quoted shell command when it contains pipes, redirects, variables, or other shell syntax:

vssh uptime
vssh 'df -h / && free -h'
vssh 'docker ps --format "{{.Names}}\t{{.Status}}"'
vssh -c 'journalctl -u api --since "10 minutes ago" | tail -100'

Multiple ordinary arguments are shell-quoted before execution:

vssh printf %s 'hello world'

Use -- if a command name conflicts with a VSSH command:

vssh -- commands

Streaming and stdin

Raw mode is the default. It connects the remote process directly to the terminal or pipeline:

printf 'uptime\n' | vssh 'bash -s'
vssh 'docker logs -f api --tail 50'
vssh --tty 'sudo systemctl status api'

VSSH returns the remote process exit code. A timed-out command returns 124.

JSON mode

--json captures output and writes exactly one JSON object:

vssh --json --timeout 30 'systemctl is-active api'

{
  "success": true,
  "command": "systemctl is-active api",
  "transport": "ssh",
  "exitCode": 0,
  "durationMs": 84,
  "timedOut": false,
  "stdout": "active\n",
  "stderr": ""
}

JSON mode is bounded to 16 MiB of captured output. If the combined captured output exceeds that limit, the command fails instead of returning a truncated result. Use raw mode for large or unbounded streams.

Transfer files

Uploads and downloads use native scp. Directories work recursively without an archive staging step.

vssh upload ./config.yml /etc/app/config.yml
vssh upload --mode 600 ./app.env /etc/app/app.env
vssh upload ./build /var/www/
vssh download /var/log/app.log ./logs/app.log
vssh download /var/www/site ./site-copy

The same SSH control connection is reused when possible, which substantially reduces repeated command and transfer startup cost.

upload --mode <octal> sets permissions after a successful copy and fails the operation if chmod fails. This replaces fragile upload-then-chmod scripting while still using the reused OpenSSH connection.

Connection options

Override the default target without editing configuration:

vssh --host staging.example.com --user deploy uptime
vssh --host prod --identity ~/.ssh/prod_ed25519 --port 2222 uptime

Environment variables are also supported:

• VSSH_HOST (or legacy SSH_HOST)
• VSSH_USER
• VSSH_KEY_PATH
• VSSH_PORT
• VSSH_HOME and VSSH_CONFIG_PATH for isolated environments

For example, override the saved target for one command without changing the configuration file:

VSSH_HOST=staging.example.com VSSH_USER=deploy vssh uptime

Example configuration:

{
  "host": "prod",
  "user": "deploy",
  "keyPath": "/Users/you/.ssh/id_ed25519",
  "port": 22,
  "connectTimeoutSeconds": 30,
  "controlPersistSeconds": 60,
  "localMode": false
}

The host may be an OpenSSH alias. If user or keyPath is omitted, OpenSSH resolves it from the SSH agent and normal configuration files.

Safety and audit behavior

VSSH blocks recognizable forms of a small set of catastrophic operations, including broad root deletion, direct disk formatting/writes, destructive Docker volume pruning, firewall flushing, and shutdown commands. Suspicious download-and-execute pipelines produce warnings.

The exact current patterns live in command-guard.ts. They are deliberately narrow and are not user-customizable.

These checks are guardrails, not a shell parser, policy engine, authorization boundary, or sandbox. Review commands with the same care you would use with ssh.

Audit records are JSON Lines at ~/.vssh/data/logs/commands.jsonl. Each record contains timestamp, transport, duration, exit status, command byte length, and a SHA-256 command hash. Command text and command output are never logged. Use --no-audit when even metadata should not be recorded.

Discovery and diagnostics

vssh --version
vssh commands
vssh commands --json
vssh config show
vssh config show --json
vssh doctor
vssh doctor --json

config show is intentionally non-secret. doctor verifies the local OpenSSH tools, identity path, and an actual connection.

commands --json is a versioned discovery contract. It returns a schema version, the CLI version, the implicit default command, global options, and one record per invocable command with an exact name, aliases, usage, kind, and description. Agents do not need to scrape help text or split comma-delimited shortcuts.

VSSH 1 compatibility commands

VSSH 2 keeps a small compatibility boundary for command names that still exist in deployed scripts:

• Docker: dls, gdc, sdl, ldp, ldn, sdi
• Coolify dynamic config: lcd/ldc, vdc, udc, gcp
• Targeted file editing: ef / edit-file
• Local-mode migration: lm / local-mode

They are not plugins and are not the primary product surface. New scripts should prefer raw, familiar remote commands:

vssh "docker ps -a"
vssh "docker logs api --tail 100"
vssh "find /data/coolify/proxy/dynamic -maxdepth 1 -type f"

The VSSH 1 MCP server, MCP installer, general plugin runtime, Grafana discovery commands, credential encryption subsystem, and usage-promoted help were removed in VSSH 2. They added substantial maintenance and security surface without enough independent value over the CLI.

Development

git clone https://github.com/light-merlin-dark/vssh.git
cd vssh
bun install
bun run dev --help
npm run verify
npm pack --dry-run

Publishing uses npm so end users need only Node.js, not Bun.

License

MIT — see LICENSE.

Built by Robert E. Beckner III (Merlin) — more tools and writing at rbeckner.com/projects/vssh.