Rocky Surf

Rocky Surf is an open-source productivity tool for software engineers. It provides a lightweight layer for creating and managing Linux VMs running on your own cloud accounts, pre-installed with your favorite AI coding agent harnesses and GitHub repos. The only costs are the ones from your cloud and coding agents.

Installation

Requires Node 24 or newer, and the command-line tool of any cloud you plan to use, signed in: the AWS CLI, the Azure CLI, or gcloud. Hetzner needs only an API token.

npx -y rockysurf

Features

• Works with AWS, GCP, Azure and Hetzner
• Web app and MCP server, both running on your own machine
• Create, stop, start and terminate Servers on every cloud you configured, from one list
• Pre-install your favorite agent harnesses and Tools with a Surge Pack. Twelve ship in the box, covering Claude Code, Codex CLI, Amp, OpenCode, Gas Town, Pi and others, every one with herdr
• Pre-load public and private GitHub repos
• Reuse your existing SSH keys, or let Rocky Surf make one for you
• Restrict which network may reach SSH on your Servers
• Server count, create-rate and spend caps, enforced server-side so they cover the web app, the CLI and MCP alike
• Agent Skills for writing your own Surge Packs and Providers, in this repository
• Share custom Surge Packs and Providers through the Rocky Surf Shop

Web app basics

The web server runs on http://127.0.0.1:3000 by default. This is the primary surface for Rocky Surf. All features are available from it.

Running on a different port

Pass --port when you start it:

npx -y rockysurf --port 3080

MCP basics

The MCP server is a convenience surface so you can manage your Servers from inside of any coding agent or MCP client. Rocky Surf must already be running; the MCP server talks to it over HTTP.

Mint a token

It is printed once.

npx -y rockysurf token

Install MCP in Claude Code

claude mcp add --scope user --env ROCKYSURF_TOKEN=the-token-you-just-minted \
  --env ROCKYSURF_URL=http://127.0.0.1:3000 -- npx -y rockysurf mcp

Install MCP in Codex CLI

codex mcp add rockysurf --env ROCKYSURF_TOKEN=the-token-you-just-minted \
  --env ROCKYSURF_URL=http://127.0.0.1:3000 -- npx -y rockysurf mcp

MCP Permissions

mcp.scopes in the config file governs permissions. Defaults are [read, stop]:

mcp:
  scopes: [read, stop]                        # read, stop and start
  # scopes: [read, stop, create]              # ...and create Servers
  # scopes: [read, stop, create, terminate]   # ...and destroy them

create and terminate are configurable on Rocky Surf's Settings page.

A scope you have not granted means the tool is not offered at all. Tick create under Settings → MCP, then reconnect the MCP client.

Basic MCP usage

Create a new Rocky Surf EC2 on AWS, medium size, with the OpenCode Surge Pack. Clone https://github.com/pyjanitor-devs/pyjanitor. Use my standard ssh key.

Show me all running Servers.

Stop the OpenCode EC2.

Licensed MIT. The Rocky Surf name and logo are not covered by the MIT license.