SSH MCP

Part of the smorchestra-mcps collection of server / ops / infrastructure MCP servers.

Let Claude SSH into your servers, run commands, transfer files, tail logs, and inspect Docker. اسمح لـ Claude بالاتصال بخوادمك عبر SSH وتنفيذ الأوامر ومتابعة السجلات.

A Model Context Protocol server that gives Claude 16 tools across SSH command execution, file transfer, log reading, Docker introspection, and ServerFast bundle credential retrieval. Claude operates against any VPS you can already SSH into — no central registry, no agent install, just your existing SSH keys.

Install in one minute

You need: Node.js 20 or newer (download from nodejs.org), Claude Desktop, and an SSH key already configured for the server(s) you want to manage (Claude uses your existing ~/.ssh/ keys — no new keys generated).

1. Find your Claude Desktop config file:

| OS | Path | |---|---| | Windows | %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json | | macOS | ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json | | Linux | ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json |

If the file doesn't exist, create it.

2. Paste this block:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ssh": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@smorchestraai-code/ssh-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

No environment variables needed. Keys are read from your standard SSH locations:

• ~/.ssh/id_ed25519 (preferred)
• ~/.ssh/id_rsa
• ~/.ssh/id_ecdsa

Or pass a custom path via the key_path argument on any tool call.

3. Restart Claude Desktop.

Detailed install: Windows · macOS · Troubleshooting

Already have other MCPs in your config? Just add the "ssh": { ... } block inside the existing "mcpServers": {} object — don't replace the whole file.

What you can ask Claude

| Category | Tools | Examples | |---|---|---| | Commands | ssh_exec_command, ssh_exec_script, ssh_service_status, ssh_service_action, ssh_system_info | "SSH into 1.2.3.4 as root and run uptime" · "Restart nginx on prod" | | Files | ssh_upload_file, ssh_download_file, ssh_list_directory | "Upload my-config.toml to /etc/myapp/" · "What's in /var/www on prod?" | | Logs | ssh_tail_log, ssh_search_log, ssh_list_logs | "Tail the last 50 lines of /var/log/syslog" · "Search /var/log/auth.log for 'failed password' in the last hour" | | Docker | ssh_docker_ps, ssh_docker_logs, ssh_docker_compose_action, ssh_docker_stats | "Show running containers on the staging server" · "docker compose up -d in /opt/n8n" | | ServerFast | ssh_read_bundle_credentials | "What are my n8n credentials on the bundle-advanced server I just provisioned?" (reads /opt/eo-bundle/credentials.json) |

Combined with @smorchestraai-code/contabo-mcp, Claude can provision → SSH → operate in one prompt:

Provision a Cloud VPS L in Germany, wait for it to come up, SSH in as root,
install Docker, and run a quick `docker run hello-world` smoke test.

Security model

• Your keys never leave your machine. The MCP runs locally on your laptop, reads keys from ~/.ssh/, and SSHes from there. No phone-home.
• No credentials in the MCP config. Keys come from where they always lived.
• No persistent connections. Each tool call opens a new SSH connection, runs the command, closes the connection.
• Same surface as your terminal. If you can ssh user@host from the same shell, Claude can use that host through this MCP. If you can't, neither can Claude.

If you want Claude to use a non-default key, pass key_path to any tool call:

Use the key at ~/.ssh/staging_ed25519 and SSH into staging.example.com as ubuntu

Updating

Because the config uses npx -y, you always get the latest published version on every Claude Desktop restart. No manual updates needed.

Local development

git clone https://github.com/SMOrchestra-ai/smorchestra-mcps.git
cd smorchestra-mcps
npm install
npm run build --workspace=packages/ssh-mcp
npm test --workspace=packages/ssh-mcp

The 119-test suite mocks ssh2 completely — no live SSH connections, no credentials needed to run tests.

License

MIT — © 2026 SMOrchestra.ai / Mamoun Alamouri