MCP Server - SSH Linux Control for OpenWebUI

Control your Linux VMs via SSH directly from OpenWebUI with automatic safety checks for destructive commands.

Quick Setup

1. Configure Your VMs

Copy the example config and edit it:

cp config.yaml.example config.yaml
nano config.yaml  # or use your preferred editor

Add your VMs:

hosts:
  vm1:
    hostname: "192.168.1.100"
    username: "root"
    password: "yourpassword"
    description: "My Server"

2. Start the Server

docker compose up -d --build

3. Connect to OpenWebUI Network

# Find your OpenWebUI network name
docker network ls | grep openwebui

# Connect the container (replace 'openwebui_default' with your network name)
docker network connect openwebui_default ssh-control-mcp

4. Add Tool to OpenWebUI

1. Open OpenWebUI → Workspace → Tools
2. Click + Create Tool
3. Copy and paste entire contents of ssh_linux_control.py
4. Save

Done! 🎉

Usage Examples

Ask OpenWebUI:

• "List my VMs"
• "Connect to vm1 and check disk space"
• "Show memory usage on vm1"
• "Run 'systemctl status nginx' on my server"

Features

✅ Password-based SSH authentication (no keys needed)
✅ Automatic destructive command detection
✅ Sudo support (uses password from config)
✅ 40+ destructive command patterns detected
✅ Real-time command output

Destructive Command Safety

Commands like rm -rf, shutdown, systemctl stop, etc. require explicit confirmation:

• First attempt: Shows warning
• Retry with confirmed=True to execute

Troubleshooting

Tool can't connect to server:

# Check container is running
docker ps | grep ssh-control-mcp

# Check logs
docker logs ssh-control-mcp

# Test API
curl http://localhost:3000/api/hosts

If OpenWebUI is containerized, ensure both containers are on the same network:

docker network connect <openwebui-network> ssh-control-mcp

File Structure

• config.yaml.example - Example configuration (safe to commit)
• config.yaml - Your VM credentials (gitignored, DO NOT COMMIT)
• ssh_linux_control.py - OpenWebUI tool file
• docker-compose.yml - Container configuration
• src/ssh_control_mcp/ - MCP server & HTTP wrapper

Security Notes

⚠️ NEVER commit config.yaml - it contains plain-text passwords
⚠️ Use config.yaml.example as a template
⚠️ Designed for local VM management on trusted networks only

License

MIT License - See LICENSE file for details