SSH MCP Server

SSH MCP Server — Remote server tools for AI agents

An SSH MCP server — a multitool that saves you and your AI agent time and tokens on debugging, development and server maintenance. Run commands, move files, read logs and audit machines over SSH — a cloud VPS, a bare-metal box, or the BusyBox router sitting in your closet.

It uses the OpenSSH client already on your machine: your keys, your ~/.ssh/config, your jump hosts, your agent forwarding. Nothing bundled, nothing to compile, no native bindings.

Works with Claude Code, Codex CLI, Cline, opencode, Gemini CLI, Qwen Code, Hermes and other MCP clients.

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Install in 30 seconds

No global installation required. npx downloads the package on first use:

npx -y @hypnosis/ssh-mcp-server

Add it to your MCP client — Claude Code, for example — for every project:

claude mcp add ssh -s user \
  -e SSH_PROFILES_FILE="$HOME/.claude/ssh-profiles.json" \
  -- npx -y @hypnosis/ssh-mcp-server

Or write it by hand — the same server in the config shape most clients share:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ssh": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@hypnosis/ssh-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "SSH_PROFILES_FILE": "~/.claude/ssh-profiles.json"
      }
    }
  }
}

Then create ~/.claude/ssh-profiles.json with at least one machine:

{
  "profiles": {
    "production": {
      "host": "server.example.com",
      "username": "admin",
      "privateKeyPath": "~/.ssh/your_private_key"
    }
  }
}

That is enough to connect.

Codex, opencode, Qwen Code and other clients are covered in Set up the SSH MCP server.

Install as a plugin

Some clients — Claude Code, for example — can take the whole thing as a plugin instead:

/plugin marketplace add hypnosis/ssh-mcp-server
/plugin install ssh-mcp-server@ssh-mcp-server

The plugin reads ~/.claude/ssh-profiles.json unless SSHPROFILESFILE says otherwise, so create that file first and the server comes up with your machines already loaded.

Requirements

Shortened. The full README is on GitHub.