Safe SSH MCP

A secured scoped SSH MCP server for executing safe read-only diagnostic DevOps / SysOps commands. This MCP entry surfaces a curated ranking/list from the project README rather than a classic multi-tool integration surface. It still exposes 12 documented tools (including get_disk_free, get_disk_usage, get_dmesg) for browsing or selecting items from that list.

People connecting DevOps & monitoring tools to Claude, Cursor, VS Code, or another MCP client. The project is written in Python.

VERIFIED ACTIVE

LAST COMMIT 2026-08-19 · ★ 6 · #32 OF 101 MAINTAINED DEVOPS & MONITORING · VERIFIED 2026-08-25

AGPL-3.0 · Python servers · how we verify → /methodology

01 · Install Safe SSH MCP

before you install - you'll need

SSH_KEY_PASSPHRASE is optional or environment-specific per the README.

Claude Code

claude mcp add areso-safe-ssh-mcp -- uvx safe-ssh-mcp

Claude Desktop / Cursor / VS Code - add to config

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "areso-safe-ssh-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "safe-ssh-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Same JSON for Cursor. For VS Code, rename the top-level key from `mcpServers` to `servers`.

Using another client? Same JSON, different key

Claude Desktop · mcpServers

Cursor · mcpServers

VS Code · servers

Windsurf · mcpServers

Zed · context_servers

Cline · mcpServers

Roo Code · mcpServers

Continue · mcpServers

LibreChat · mcpServers

Gemini CLI · mcpServers

Codex CLI · mcp_servers

Full setup guides: every client.

02 · Evidence

Security posture

What to check before giving this server access to your agent - from the registry, GitHub, and our own probes. We don't score safety; we show what's verifiable.

runs as local process (stdio) - runs on your machine with your user's permissions

license AGPL-3.0 - declared in the repository

pypi package safe-ssh-mcp - check the name against the project README before installing (PyPI has no namespace ownership)

registry namespace io.github.Areso is GitHub-verified and matches the repo owner

03 · What Safe SSH MCP can do

Prose above is summarized from the project's README and registry record - no invented capabilities.

What you can build

An agent gets 12 documented tools spanning systemd, disk, including get_disk_free, get_disk_usage, get_dmesg, get_uptime.

Capability map

Tools grouped from the project's README - what Safe SSH MCP lets an agent do.

read & search

6 tools - e.g. dmesg; uptime; date

get_dmesg · get_uptime · get_current_datetime · get_distroname_version · get_crontab_tasks · get_top

Systemd

4 tools - e.g. systemctl list-units --all --no-pager; systemctl list-units --state=failed --no-pager; systemctl list-timers --no-pager

get_systemd_list_all · get_systemd_list_failed · get_systemd_list_timers · get_systemd_status

Disk

2 tools - e.g. df -h; find -mindepth 1 -maxdepth 1 -exec du -sh -- {} + 2>/dev/null | sort -rh | head -n 20

get_disk_free · get_disk_usage

Limitations (from the README)

Because MCP clients communicate with this server via standard Inter-Process Communication (IPC) or network protocols (like HTTP/SSE), the AGPL license does not "infect" or restrict the client applications connecting to it. You can safely connect proprietary, closed-source, or permissively licensed (e.g., MIT, Apache 2.0) AI agents to this server without violating the license terms.

Latest releases

v0.1.15 · 2026-08-19

introduced support for pass-protected SSH keys (use ENV_VAR or KEYCHAIN to unlock it)

v0.1.14 · 2026-06-04

moved out json-dev-logger to optional developer dependency · introduced structured logging · fixed prints-to-stdio bugs · added tools.md, CHANGELOG.md

v0.1.13 · 2026-06-03

added is_installed tool (very helpful for the agent/MCP server itself, so it could check whether a diagnostic tool actually present) · bumped Paramiko from 4.x to 5.x (RSA-1 dropped), bumped FastMCP to 3.2.x+ (a lot of…

04 · Who maintains Safe SSH MCP

safe-ssh-mcp is maintained by areso. It's the only MCP server we track from this author; the repo dates to Mar 2026.

05 · Facts

repository: github.com/areso/safe-ssh-mcp
category: DevOps & monitoring - ranked #32 of 101 actively-maintained DevOps & monitoring servers as of 2026-08-25.
release cadence: 5 releases in the last 90 days (latest 2026-08-19)
registry: io.github.Areso/safe-ssh-mcp (active, first published 2026-03-18 · 10 versions)
packages: pypi:safe-ssh-mcp

06 · Safe SSH MCP FAQ

Is Safe SSH MCP still maintained?

Yes - as of 2026-08-25, its last commit was 2026-08-19 and it shipped 5 releases in the last 90 days. We re-verify nightly.

What can Safe SSH MCP do?

An agent gets 12 documented tools spanning systemd, disk, including get_disk_free, get_disk_usage, get_dmesg, get_uptime.

How do I install Safe SSH MCP?

Run `uvx safe-ssh-mcp`. The README documents one environment variable (SSH_KEY_PASSPHRASE) to set first. SSH_KEY_PASSPHRASE is optional or environment-specific per the README. You can also paste the ready-made client config above.

Does Safe SSH MCP run locally?

Yes - it's a stdio server: it runs on your machine (via uvx) with your user's permissions. Your data stays local unless the server itself calls external APIs.

07 · Alternatives to Safe SSH MCP

Alternatives to Safe SSH MCP

Maintained DevOps & monitoring servers if Safe SSH MCP isn't the fit.

Pairs well with

Servers that cover what Safe SSH MCP doesn't - only shown when the pairing reason fits the companion.

More DevOps & monitoring MCP servers · Telemetry Server · Hefesto AI · Waitbus · Yapitalism · Gha Intel

More Python MCP servers · Codex Control Plane MCP · Fattureincloud MCP · Eu AI Act · Arm MCP Server · Fastbcp MCP · see all