Name: MCP SSH Server
Author: mixelpixx

LABSCO SUMMARY

SSH plus a serial console, so a switch with no management address is still reachable.

The SSH half is what you would expect — connect, run commands, move files over SFTP. The half that is hard to find anywhere else is the console side: it drives a USB-to-serial adapter, which is the only way in before a switch has an address, and one tool walks the entire console-to-SSH handover on Cisco and Aruba gear rather than leaving you to type the configuration in by hand.

What it is

An MCP server with two ways onto a device: an SSH client for hosts that are already reachable, and a serial console client that talks through a USB-to-serial adapter to gear that is not. On top of both sit switch-specific tools for Cisco IOS, IOS-XE and Aruba, and a set of Ubuntu server chores.

What you get

SSH sessions and file transfer: ssh_connect, ssh_exec, ssh_upload_file, ssh_download_file, ssh_list_files, ssh_disconnect
Serial console access over a USB adapter: serial_list_ports, serial_connect, serial_send_command, serial_discover_device, serial_list_connections, serial_disconnect
Reading a switch: switch_discover_device, switch_show_interfaces, switch_show_vlans, switch_show_mac_table, switch_backup_config, switch_network_diagnostics
Turning a console-only switch into an SSH-managed one: switch_generate_ssh_config, switch_apply_ssh_config, switch_verify_ssh_status, switch_test_ssh_connection, switch_complete_ssh_setup, console_to_ssh_transition, quick_ssh_check
Firmware work with a rollback path: switch_check_firmware, switch_check_storage, switch_upload_firmware, switch_verify_firmware, switch_install_firmware, switch_prepare_rollback
Ubuntu server chores: ubuntu_nginx_control, ubuntu_update_packages, ubuntu_ssl_certificate, ubuntu_website_deployment, ubuntu_ufw_firewall

Requirements

Node on the machine and a build from the repository checkout, which the client then launches by file path. SSH work needs the usual credentials for the target — a password, or a private key and its passphrase — and the switch tools also want the enable password wherever the device asks for privileged mode. The console tools need hardware you have to physically have: a USB-to-serial adapter, a console cable that fits the switch, and on Windows the adapter's driver.

Setup effort

Build from source — git clone https://github.com/mixelpixx/SSH-MCP

See installation options

USE CASES

01

Bringing up a switch that has no management address yet

Find the serial port the adapter showed up on, open the console session, and run the handover that configures hostname, address, gateway and an SSH login in one pass.

serial_list_portsserial_connectconsole_to_ssh_transition

02

Working out what is on the far end of the cable

Identify the device and its capabilities before sending it anything, so a Cisco command does not get typed at an Aruba box.

serial_discover_deviceswitch_discover_device

03

Chasing an intermittent port before the complaints start

Read interface status, look at which addresses are learned where, and run ping or traceroute from the switch itself rather than from your laptop.

switch_show_interfacesswitch_show_mac_tableswitch_network_diagnostics

04

Taking a switch configuration backup you can actually restore from

Capture the running or startup configuration and bring the file back to your machine in the same session.

switch_backup_configssh_download_file

05

Upgrading switch firmware with a way back

Check there is room before uploading, verify the uploaded image by checksum, install it, and gather the current boot configuration and available images first so a rollback is possible.

switch_check_storageswitch_upload_firmwareswitch_verify_firmwareswitch_install_firmwareswitch_prepare_rollback

06

Ordinary maintenance on a Ubuntu box

Open a session, check a service and reload it, apply package updates, and adjust the firewall without leaving the conversation.

ssh_connectssh_execubuntu_nginx_controlubuntu_ufw_firewall

36 tools

Listed in project docs. Your client may show a different list.

ssh_connect

ssh_exec

ssh_upload_file

ssh_download_file

ssh_list_files

ssh_disconnect

switch_discover_device

switch_show_interfaces

switch_show_vlans

switch_backup_config

switch_network_diagnostics

switch_show_mac_table

serial_list_ports

serial_connect

serial_send_command

BEFORE YOU INSTALL

What to know first

Tools you get

36 tools named in the project's documentation.

Requires

Node.js 18 or later

Where it runs

Both documented clients run the server on your machine.

INSTALLATION

Connect your client

Server setup

TERMINAL

git clone https://github.com/mixelpixx/SSH-MCP
cd SSH-MCP
npm install
npm run build

MCP Clients

Claude Desktop

CLAUDE DESKTOP · JSON

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ssh-server": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": [
        "<YOUR_PATH_TO_SSH_MCP>/build/index.js"
      ],
      "env": {
        "NODE_NO_WARNINGS": "1"
      }
    }
  }
}

<YOUR_PATH_TO_SSH_MCP> is the absolute path of your clone. build/index.js is what npm run build produces.

VS Code

VS CODE · JSON

{
  "servers": {
    "ssh-server": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": [
        "<YOUR_PATH_TO_SSH_MCP>/build/index.js"
      ]
    }
  }
}