SSH Agent MCP

中文文档 README_CN.md

Manage SSH and SFTP via MCP tools for AI assistants.

SSH Agent MCP is a Python-based MCP (Model Context Protocol) stdio server that lets AI assistants manage SSH connections, execute commands, and transfer files via SFTP. It supports zero-argument startup, pure CLI configuration, and JSON config files, making it simple to operate multiple remote servers securely.

• Requires: Python >= 3.12

• Project status: Beta

Why uvx?

• No local install: run uvx ssh-agent-mcp@latest directly

• Always up-to-date: pin to @latest for consistent versioning

• Ideal for desktop assistants: simplest setup for Claude Desktop

Why SSH Agent MCP?

• Multiple concurrent sessions: manage and track many SSH connections at once

• Async long-running tasks: stream outputs and control jobs like top, tail, logs

• Built-in SFTP: upload/download, list, mkdir, remove, and rename directories/files

• Auto keepalive & reconnect: maintain session health and minimize drops

• Interactive commands: handle sudo, shells, editors with input events

Install

• Recommended (no local install): uvx ssh-agent-mcp@latest

• Pip (use PyPI to avoid cached mirrors): pip install -i https://pypi.org/simple ssh-agent-mcp

• Externally managed environments: use virtualenv or pipx

  • python -m venv .venv && source .venv/bin/activate

  • pipx install ssh-agent-mcp

Quick Start

Run via uvx (Claude Desktop)

Minimal config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ssh-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["ssh-agent-mcp@latest"]
    }
  }
}

The assistant can then connect using ssh_connect or ssh_connect_by_name.

CLI examples

• Zero-argument startup: ssh-agent-mcp

• Direct params: ssh-agent-mcp --host example.com --user admin --password secret

• With config file: ssh-agent-mcp --config /path/to/ssh_config.json --connection production

Minimal config file

ssh_config.json:

{
  "connections": [
    {
      "name": "production",
      "host": "prod.example.com",
      "username": "admin",
      "private_key": "/home/user/.ssh/id_rsa"
    }
  ],
  "auto_connect": ["production"]
}

Tools (MCP)

• Connection: ssh_connect, ssh_connect_by_name, ssh_disconnect, ssh_list_connections

• Commands: ssh_execute, ssh_execute_interactive, ssh_execute_async

• Lifecycle: ssh_check_status, ssh_terminate, ssh_list_async

• SFTP: sftp_upload, sftp_download, sftp_list, sftp_mkdir, sftp_remove, sftp_rename

• Files: remote_read_file, remote_write_file

• Status: ssh_status

Example: Connect and Execute

{
  "tool": "ssh_connect",
  "params": {
    "name": "prod",
    "host": "prod.example.com",
    "username": "admin",
    "private_key": "/home/user/.ssh/id_rsa"
  }
}

{
  "tool": "ssh_execute",
  "params": {
    "connection": "prod",
    "command": "uname -a"
  }
}

Notes

• Prefer uvx ssh-agent-mcp@latest for frictionless use.

• If domestic mirrors cache old versions, specify PyPI index explicitly.

• For full CLI options and advanced usage, see the Chinese guide: README_CN.md.

Badges & Links

• Repository: https://github.com/zhijun/ssh-mcp

• Issues: https://github.com/zhijun/ssh-mcp/issues

• PyPI: https://pypi.org/project/ssh-agent-mcp/

License

MIT License. See LICENSE.