SSH MCP server

The MCP SSH Server is a powerful implementation for Model Context Protocol that enables secure remote command execution and file operations through SSH protocol. It supports both password and key-based authentication, allowing you to securely interact with remote systems from Claude's desktop environment.

Installation

Install the package using npm:

npm install mcp-ssh

Then add the SSH server to your Claude desktop configuration file (claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ssh": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["%APPDATA%/npm/node_modules/mcp-ssh/dist/server.js"],
      "env": {
        "SSH_PORT": "8889",
        "SSH_LOG_LEVEL": "info"
      }
    }
  }
}

Usage

Establishing Connections

Password Authentication

$body = @{
    id = "test"
    host = "example.com"
    port = 22
    username = "user"
    password = "pass123"
} | ConvertTo-Json

Invoke-RestMethod -Uri "http://localhost:8889/connect" -Method Post -Body $body -ContentType "application/json"

Key Authentication

$body = @{
    id = "test"
    host = "example.com"
    port = 22
    username = "user"
    privateKey = Get-Content ~/.ssh/id_rsa | Out-String
    passphrase = "optional-key-passphrase"  # if your key is protected
} | ConvertTo-Json

Invoke-RestMethod -Uri "http://localhost:8889/connect" -Method Post -Body $body -ContentType "application/json"

Remote Command Execution

Execute commands on the remote server:

$execBody = @{
    id = "test"
    command = "ls -la"
} | ConvertTo-Json

Invoke-RestMethod -Uri "http://localhost:8889/exec" -Method Post -Body $execBody -ContentType "application/json"

File Operations

Upload Files

$uploadForm = @{
    file = Get-Item -Path "localfile.txt"
    remotePath = "/remote/path/file.txt"
}
Invoke-RestMethod -Uri "http://localhost:8889/upload/test" -Method Post -Form $uploadForm

Download Files

Invoke-RestMethod -Uri "http://localhost:8889/download/test?remotePath=/remote/path/file.txt" -Method Get -OutFile "downloaded.txt"

Directory Operations

List directory contents:

Invoke-RestMethod -Uri "http://localhost:8889/ls/test?path=/remote/path" -Method Get

Connection Management

Check connection status:

Invoke-RestMethod -Uri "http://localhost:8889/status/test" -Method Get

Configuration Options

The server can be configured using the following environment variables:

• SSH_PORT: Server port (default: 8889)
• SSH_LOG_LEVEL: Logging level (default: info)

These can be set in the Claude desktop configuration file as shown in the installation section.

How to install this MCP server

For Claude Code

To add this MCP server to Claude Code, run this command in your terminal:

claude mcp add-json "ssh" '{"command":"node","args":["%APPDATA%/npm/node_modules/mcp-ssh/dist/server.js"],"env":{"SSH_PORT":"8889","SSH_LOG_LEVEL":"info"}}'

See the official Claude Code MCP documentation for more details.

For Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > Tools & Integrations and click "New MCP Server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "ssh": {
            "command": "node",
            "args": [
                "%APPDATA%/npm/node_modules/mcp-ssh/dist/server.js"
            ],
            "env": {
                "SSH_PORT": "8889",
                "SSH_LOG_LEVEL": "info"
            }
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explicitly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.

For Claude Desktop

To add this MCP server to Claude Desktop:

1. Find your configuration file:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add this to your configuration file:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "ssh": {
            "command": "node",
            "args": [
                "%APPDATA%/npm/node_modules/mcp-ssh/dist/server.js"
            ],
            "env": {
                "SSH_PORT": "8889",
                "SSH_LOG_LEVEL": "info"
            }
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect