MCP SSH Manager

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name: mcp-ssh-manager description: This skill should be used when the user asks to "run ssh command", "execute on server", "ssh session", "upload file", "download file", "ssh tunnel", "check server status", "monitor server", "deploy files", "backup server", or needs remote server management. This skill emphasizes session reuse, workdir organization, and content persistence for sustainable operations. version: 0.1.0 metadata: clawdbot: emoji: "🖥️" requires: mcp_servers: ["ssh-manager"]

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MCP SSH Manager Skill

> Original MCP Server: mcp-ssh-manager by @bvisible > > This skill provides documentation, workflows, and best practices for using the MCP ssh-manager server.

Manage remote SSH servers using MCP ssh-manager tools. Emphasizes session reuse, workdir organization, and content persistence for sustainable operations.

Quick Reference

Connection Management

| Task | Tool | Example | |------|------|---------| | List servers | ssh_list_servers | ssh_list_servers | | Execute command | ssh_execute | ssh_execute server="rock5t" command="df -h" | | Execute with sudo | ssh_execute_sudo | ssh_execute_sudo server="rock5t" command="apt update" | | Check status | ssh_connection_status | ssh_connection_status action="status" |

Session Management

| Task | Tool | Example | |------|------|---------| | Start session | ssh_session_start | ssh_session_start server="rock5t" name="deploy" | | Send command | ssh_session_send | ssh_session_send session="xxx" command="cd /var" | | List sessions | ssh_session_list | ssh_session_list | | Close session | ssh_session_close | ssh_session_close session="xxx" |

File Operations

| Task | Tool | Example | |------|------|---------| | Upload file | ssh_upload | ssh_upload server="rock5t" localPath="." remotePath="/tmp" | | Download file | ssh_download | ssh_download server="rock5t" remotePath="/var/log/syslog" localPath="." | | Sync files | ssh_sync | ssh_sync server="rock5t" source="local:./dist" destination="remote:/var/www" |

Monitoring

| Task | Tool | Example | |------|------|---------| | Tail log | ssh_tail | ssh_tail server="rock5t" file="/var/log/syslog" lines=20 | | Health check | ssh_health_check | ssh_health_check server="rock5t" | | Monitor resources | ssh_monitor | ssh_monitor server="rock5t" type="overview" | | Service status | ssh_service_status | ssh_service_status server="rock5t" services="nginx,docker" |

Tunneling

| Task | Tool | Example | |------|------|---------| | Create tunnel | ssh_tunnel_create | ssh_tunnel_create server="rock5t" type="local" localPort=8080 remoteHost="localhost" remotePort=80 | | List tunnels | ssh_tunnel_list | ssh_tunnel_list | | Close tunnel | ssh_tunnel_close | ssh_tunnel_close tunnelId="xxx" |

Backup

| Task | Tool | Example | |------|------|---------| | Create backup | ssh_backup_create | ssh_backup_create server="rock5t" type="files" name="data" | | List backups | ssh_backup_list | ssh_backup_list server="rock5t" | | Restore backup | ssh_backup_restore | ssh_backup_restore server="rock5t" backupId="xxx" | | Schedule backup | ssh_backup_schedule | ssh_backup_schedule server="rock5t" schedule="0 2 * * *" type="files" name="daily" |

Usage Examples

Example 1: Single Command

# Simple command - no session needed
ssh_execute server="rock5t" command="df -h"

Example 2: Multi-step Deployment with Session

# Check existing sessions first
ssh_session_list
Start a persistent session
ssh_session_start server="rock5t" name="deploy"
Get session ID from previous response
ssh_session_send session="xxx" command="cd /home/imax/project"
ssh_session_send session="xxx" command="git pull origin main"
ssh_session_send session="xxx" command="npm install"
ssh_session_send session="xxx" command="npm run build"
ssh_session_send session="xxx" command="pm2 restart all"
Close when done
ssh_session_close session="xxx"

Example 3: System Health Check

# Check overall health
ssh_health_check server="rock5t"
Monitor specific resources
ssh_monitor server="rock5t" type="cpu" interval=5 duration=30
Check specific services
ssh_service_status server="rock5t" services="nginx,docker,postgres"

Example 4: File Deployment

# Upload deployment package
ssh_upload server="rock5t" localPath="./dist/app.tar.gz" remotePath="/tmp/app.tar.gz"
Extract and restart
ssh_execute server="rock5t" command="cd /tmp && tar -xzf app.tar.gz && cp -r app/* /var/www/ && pm2 restart app"

Example 5: Log Monitoring

# Tail real-time logs
ssh_tail server="rock5t" file="/var/log/nginx/access.log" lines=50 follow=true
Filter with grep
ssh_tail server="rock5t" file="/var/log/syslog" grep="error" lines=100

Example 6: Create SSH Tunnel

# Local port forward (access remote service locally)
ssh_tunnel_create server="rock5t" type="local" localPort=5432 remoteHost="localhost" remotePort=5432
Now connect to local:5432 to access remote database

Workdir Management

Store SSH operation results in ~/.ssh-workdir/{hostname}/{YYYY-MM-DD}-{topic}/ for reuse and comparison.

Structure

~/.ssh-workdir/
└── {hostname}/
    └── {YYYY-MM-DD}-{topic}/
        ├── commands.md    # All executed commands
        ├── output/        # Command outputs
        │   ├── df-h.txt
        │   ├── cpu.txt
        │   └── memory.txt
        ├── status.json    # Host status snapshot
        └── summary.md     # Findings and notes

Create Workdir

# Create new workdir
mkdir -p ~/.ssh-workdir/{hostname}/{YYYY-MM-DD}-{topic}/output
Create commands log
touch ~/.ssh-workdir/{hostname}/{YYYY-MM-DD}-{topic}/commands.md

Log Commands

# Add command to log
echo "## $(date)" >> ~/.ssh-workdir/{hostname}/{YYYY-MM-DD}-{topic}/commands.md
echo 'df -h' >> ~/.ssh-workdir/{hostname}/{YYYY-MM-DD}-{topic}/commands.md

Save Output

# Execute and save
ssh_execute server="{hostname}" command="df -h" > ~/.ssh-workdir/{hostname}/{YYYY-MM-DD}-{topic}/output/df-h.txt

Write Summary

# Write findings
echo '## System Check Findings' >> ~/.ssh-workdir/{hostname}/{YYYY-MM-DD}-{topic}/summary.md
echo '- Disk usage: 75% on /dev/sda1' >> ~/.ssh-workdir/{hostname}/{YYYY-MM-DD}-{topic}/summary.md
echo '- Memory: 4GB/16GB used' >> ~/.ssh-workdir/{hostname}/{YYYY-MM-DD}-{topic}/summary.md

Reuse Previous Context

# Check if recent work exists
ls ~/.ssh-workdir/{hostname}/
Read previous summary
cat ~/.ssh-workdir/{hostname}/{previous-date}-{topic}/summary.md
Compare outputs
diff ~/.ssh-workdir/{hostname}/{yesterday}-{topic}/output/df-h.txt \
     ~/.ssh-workdir/{hostname}/{today}-{topic}/output/df-h.txt

Session Management Guidelines

When to Use Sessions

Use session for:

Multi-step deployments

Tasks requiring state (cd, environment)

Long-running workflows (more than 3 commands)

Tasks where command order matters

Don't use session for:

Single quick commands (df -h, pwd)

Unrelated commands that don't need state

Read-only monitoring tasks

Session Lifecycle

# 1. Check existing sessions first
ssh_session_list
2. Reuse existing session if available and still active
ssh_session_send session="existing-id" command="..."
3. Start new session only if necessary
ssh_session_start server="{hostname}" name="{task-name}"
4. ALWAYS close when done
ssh_session_close session="{session-id}"

Timeout Considerations

SSH server may close idle sessions (typically 3-5 minutes by default)

Configure ClientAliveInterval on server for longer keepalive

For long-running tasks, consider periodic lightweight commands to keepalive

If session becomes unresponsive, create a new one

Best Practices

Before SSH Operations

1. Check existing sessions

   ssh_session_list
   

2. Check recent workdir

   ls ~/.ssh-workdir/{hostname}/
   

3. Create new workdir if starting new task

   mkdir -p ~/.ssh-workdir/{hostname}/{YYYY-MM-DD}-{topic}/output
   

During SSH Operations

1. Use appropriate tool for the task - Single command: ssh_execute - Multi-step: ssh_session_start → ssh_session_send → ssh_session_close - File transfer: ssh_upload/download/sync - Monitoring: ssh_monitor, ssh_tail, ssh_health_check

2. Log commands to workdir

   echo "command" >> ~/.ssh-workdir/{hostname}/{YYYY-MM-DD}-{topic}/commands.md
   

3. Save important outputs

   ssh_execute server="{hostname}" command="df -h" > ~/.ssh-workdir/{hostname}/{YYYY-MM-DD}-{topic}/output/df-h.txt
   

After SSH Operations

1. Close sessions

   ssh_session_close session="{session-id}"
   

2. Write summary

   echo '## Findings' >> ~/.ssh-workdir/{hostname}/{YYYY-MM-DD}-{topic}/summary.md
   

3. Clean up - Close tunnels: ssh_tunnel_close - Verify all sessions closed: ssh_session_list

Tips

Use ssh_session_list before starting new tasks to reuse existing sessions

Create workdir for each task to maintain organized history

Write summaries to quickly recall previous work

Use ssh_connection_status action="status" to check connection health

For server comparison, store outputs with consistent naming across hosts

Close sessions when done to free resources

Configure server-side ClientAliveInterval for longer session timeouts if needed

Additional Resources

Reference Files

references/sessions.md - Session management deep dive

references/workspace.md - Workdir structure and usage

references/comparison.md - How to compare historical data

Example Files

examples/system-check.md - Complete system health check workflow

examples/deployment.md - Multi-step deployment example

examples/troubleshooting.md - Problem diagnosis workflow

Scripts

scripts/create-workdir.sh - Create new workdir structure

scripts/log-command.sh - Log command to workdir

scripts/save-status.sh - Capture and save host status

Use ssh_session_list before starting new tasks to reuse existing sessions

Create workdir for each task to maintain organized history

Write summaries to quickly recall previous work

Use ssh_connection_status action="status" to check connection health

For server comparison, store outputs with consistent naming across hosts

Close sessions when done to free resources

Configure server-side ClientAliveInterval for longer session timeouts if needed