MCP SSH Manager - SSH Remote Server Management via Model Context Protocol 🚀

Looking for MCP SSH tools? This is the MCP SSH Manager - a complete Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for SSH remote server management compatible with Claude Code and OpenAI Codex.

A powerful Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that enables Claude Code and OpenAI Codex to manage multiple SSH connections seamlessly. Control remote servers, execute commands, transfer files, manage databases, and automate DevOps tasks directly from your AI assistant.

Keywords: MCP SSH, MCP SSH Manager, SSH MCP, Model Context Protocol SSH, Claude Code SSH, SSH MCP Server, Remote SSH Management, MCP Server SSH

🎉 What's New in v3.2.0

SSH ProxyJump / Bastion Host Support & npx Fix (Released: March 18, 2026)

• 🔀 ProxyJump support: Connect to servers behind bastion/jump hosts with a simple PROXYJUMP config field (#15)
  • Chain multiple jumps (A → B → C) via recursive connections
  • Circular dependency detection prevents infinite loops
  • All tools work transparently through jump hosts (execute, upload, download, sync...)
  • Jump connections are pooled and reused like direct connections
• 📦 npx support fixed: Added bin field to package.json — npx mcp-ssh-manager now works correctly (#14)

Previous Releases

v3.1.5 - SSH Agent & Passphrase Support (March 5, 2026)

• 🔑 SSH Agent support: Automatically uses ssh-agent when SSH_AUTH_SOCK is available — passphrase-protected keys work transparently
• 🔐 Passphrase configuration: New passphrase field for both .env and TOML formats

Thanks to @snjax for the original contribution (#12).

v3.1.4 - Windows SSH Host Support (February 22, 2026)

• 🪟 Windows SSH host fix: Commands no longer fail on Windows hosts running OpenSSH (#10)
• New per-server platform config field (SSH_SERVER_FOO_PLATFORM=windows or platform = "windows" in TOML)
• When platform=windows, the Linux timeout/sh -c command wrapper is skipped and the SSH library's native timeout is used instead
• All tools (ssh_execute, ssh_tail, ssh_monitor, ssh_deploy, ssh_execute_sudo, ssh_group_execute) are platform-aware

v3.1.2 - Windows Compatibility Fix (February 9, 2026)

• 🪟 Windows support: Fixed crash on Windows where process.env.HOME is undefined (#8)
• Now uses os.homedir() for cross-platform compatibility (Linux, macOS, Windows)

v3.1.0 - Tool Activation System (November 15, 2025)

🎯 Context Usage Optimization

• 92% context reduction: Enable only the tools you need (minimal mode: 5 tools vs all 37)
• Tool management CLI: ssh-manager tools list/configure/enable/disable
• 6 tool groups: Core, Sessions, Monitoring, Backup, Database, Advanced
• Auto-approval export: Generate Claude Code auto-approval configs

v3.0.0 - Enterprise DevOps Platform (October 1, 2025)

This release adds 12 new MCP tools transforming SSH Manager into a comprehensive DevOps automation platform:

💾 Backup & Restore System (4 tools)

• Automated backups for MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, and file systems
• Smart scheduling with cron integration and retention policies
• One-click restore with cross-database support
• Metadata tracking for audit and compliance

🏥 Health & Monitoring (4 tools)

• Real-time health checks with CPU, RAM, Disk, and Network metrics
• Service monitoring for nginx, mysql, docker, and custom services
• Process management with CPU/RAM sorting and kill capabilities
• Alert thresholds with configurable notifications

🗄️ Database Management (4 tools)

• Safe database dumps with compression and selective exports
• Database imports with automatic decompression
• Schema exploration listing databases, tables, and collections
• Secure queries with SQL injection prevention (SELECT-only)

📊 Total: 37 MCP Tools | 🔧 ~4,100 Lines of Code Added | ✅ Production Ready

Read Full Changelog →

📑 Table of Contents

• Features
• Quick Start - Claude Code
• Quick Start - OpenAI Codex
• Prerequisites
• Available MCP Tools
• Configuration
• Usage Examples
• Troubleshooting
• Contributing
• License

🌟 Features

Core Features

• 🔗 Multiple SSH Connections - Manage unlimited SSH servers from a single interface
• 🔐 Secure Authentication - Support for password, SSH key, and ssh-agent authentication (including passphrase-protected keys)
• 🔀 ProxyJump / Bastion Host - Connect to servers behind jump hosts with chained multi-hop support
• 📁 File Operations - Upload and download files between local and remote systems
• ⚡ Command Execution - Run commands on remote servers with working directory support
• 📂 Default Directories - Set default working directories per server for convenience
• 🎯 Easy Configuration - Simple .env file setup with guided configuration tool

Enterprise DevOps Features (v3.0) 🎉

• 💾 Backup & Restore - Automated backups for MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, and files
• 🏥 Health Monitoring - Real-time server health checks (CPU, RAM, Disk, Services)
• 🗄️ Database Management - Safe database operations with SQL injection prevention
• 📊 Process Management - Monitor and control server processes
• ⚠️ Smart Alerts - Configurable health thresholds and notifications

v2.0 Features

• 🚀 Bash CLI - Lightning-fast pure Bash CLI for server management
• 📊 Advanced Logging - Comprehensive logging system with levels and history
• 🔄 Rsync Integration - Bidirectional file sync with rsync support
• 💻 Persistent Sessions - Maintain shell context across multiple commands
• 👥 Server Groups - Execute commands on multiple servers simultaneously
• 🔧 SSH Tunnels - Local/remote port forwarding and SOCKS proxy support
• 📈 System Monitoring - Real-time monitoring of CPU, memory, disk, and network
• 🏷️ Server Aliases - Use short aliases instead of full server names
• 🚀 Smart Deployment - Automated file deployment with permission handling
• 🔑 Sudo Support - Execute commands with sudo privileges securely
• 📝 OpenAI Codex Support - Compatible with OpenAI Codex via TOML configuration

⚙️ Tool Management & Context Optimization

NEW in v3.1: Reduce Claude Code context usage by 92% with tool activation management!

MCP SSH Manager includes 37 tools organized into 6 groups. By default, all tools are enabled, but you can optimize for your specific workflow:

Quick Setup

# Interactive configuration wizard
ssh-manager tools configure

# View current configuration
ssh-manager tools list

# Enable/disable specific groups
ssh-manager tools enable monitoring
ssh-manager tools disable backup

Configuration Modes

| Mode | Tools | Context Usage | Best For | |------|-------|---------------|----------| | All (default) | 37 tools | ~43.5k tokens | Full feature set, most users | | Minimal | 5 tools | ~3.5k tokens | Basic SSH operations only | | Custom | 5-37 tools | Varies | Tailored to your workflow |

Tool Groups

• Core (5 tools) - Always enabled: list, execute, upload, download, sync
• Sessions (4 tools) - Persistent SSH sessions
• Monitoring (6 tools) - Health checks, service status, process management
• Backup (4 tools) - Database and file backups
• Database (4 tools) - MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB operations
• Advanced (14 tools) - Deployment, sudo, tunnels, groups, aliases, etc.

Benefits

• 92% context reduction in minimal mode (~40k tokens saved)
• Fewer approval prompts in Claude Code
• Faster loading and cleaner interface
• Auto-approval configuration export for Claude Code

📖 Complete Tool Management Guide →