Server Ops MCP

July 16, 2026 · View on GitHub

A general-purpose server-ops MCP Server. Let AI tools like Claude Code / Cursor / Codex manage multiple projects or servers through .mcp.json — log troubleshooting, system resource inspection, code read/write, and Nginx / certificate management.

Supports local and remote (SSH) modes, with built-in two-step confirmation, command whitelisting, path-traversal protection, and automatic secret redaction.

Features

🔍 Log troubleshooting: list / read / search project logs, multi-channel logs & system logs
📊 Resource monitoring: CPU / memory / disk / load / processes / service status at a glance
📁 Code operations: read, write, patch, delete, and search files — all sandboxed to the project root
🌐 Nginx & certificates: config test & read, safe reload, certificate install & renewal
🔒 Secure by design: two-step confirmation for writes, command whitelist, path-traversal protection, auto redaction

Installation

Requires Node.js 18+. No clone or build needed — npx fetches and runs the published npm package on first use (see the config below).

To build from source instead (e.g. for development):

git clone https://github.com/GT-dinuo/server-ops-mcp.git
cd server-ops-mcp
npm install
npm run build

Build output goes to dist/; the entry point is dist/index.js.

Configuration

In each project where you want to use this tool, create (or append to) .mcp.json and declare an MCP Server per environment. Local mode only needs OPS_PROJECT_ROOT; remote mode adds the SSH variables.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "myproject-server": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "server-ops-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "OPS_PROJECT_ROOT": "/www/wwwroot/your-project",
        "OPS_SSH_HOST": "<server-ip-or-domain>",
        "OPS_SSH_PORT": "22",
        "OPS_SSH_USER": "ubuntu",
        "OPS_SSH_KEY": "~/.ssh/id_rsa"
      }
    }
  }
}

If you built from source, point the command at the local build instead: "command": "node", "args": ["/absolute/path/to/server-ops-mcp/dist/index.js"].

Environment Variables

Variable	Required	Description
`OPS_PROJECT_ROOT`	Yes	Project root path; all file operations are sandboxed here
`OPS_SSH_HOST`	No	Remote server IP / domain; leave empty to run locally
`OPS_SSH_PORT`	No	SSH port, default `22`
`OPS_SSH_USER`	No	SSH username
`OPS_SSH_KEY`	No	Path to SSH private key (choose either key or password)
`OPS_SSH_PASSWORD`	No	SSH password (choose either key or password)
`OPS_SSH_PASSPHRASE`	No	Private key passphrase
`OPS_CONFIG_PATH`	No	Path to an extra config file — see "Custom Configuration"

Usage

Once configured, just give ops instructions in natural language in your AI tool. The AI picks and calls the right tool automatically.

Read-only operations (run directly)

Check the server's CPU, memory, and disk usage
Search for error-level logs from the last hour
List the project's log files
Read the Nginx config and check for problems
Find every place in the code that calls sendSms

Write operations (require confirmation)

For writes, deletes, command execution, Nginx reload, certificate install, and similar, the tool first returns a confirmationId. The AI shows you exactly what will run, and it only executes after you confirm:

You: Reload nginx
AI: (calls nginx_reload, returns the pending action + confirmationId)
    About to run: nginx -s reload. Confirm?
You: Confirm
AI: (calls confirm_execute to run it)

file_write, file_patch, file_delete, command_exec, and similar all follow the same confirmation flow.

Typical scenarios

Production troubleshooting: "Why is the server memory full?" → memory_analysis + log_search working together
Routine inspection: "Is the disk almost full? Which directory uses the most?" → disk_analysis
Security audit: "Audit the project config for leaked secrets" → config_audit (output is auto-redacted)

Tool List

System Ops

Tool	Description
`system_info`	CPU / memory / disk / load / processes
`memory_analysis`	Memory usage analysis
`disk_analysis`	Disk usage analysis
`service_status`	Service status
`log_search_system`	Search system logs
`nginx_config_test`	Test Nginx config
`nginx_config_read`	Read Nginx config
`nginx_reload`	Reload Nginx (requires confirmation)
`certbot_install`	Install certificate (requires confirmation)
`certbot_renew`	Renew certificate (requires confirmation)

Project Code

Tool	Description
`log_list`	List project logs
`log_read`	Read a log
`log_search`	Search logs
`file_read`	Read a file
`file_list`	List a directory
`file_search`	Search code
`file_write`	Write a file (requires confirmation)
`file_patch`	Patch a file (requires confirmation)
`file_delete`	Delete a file (requires confirmation)
`command_exec`	Run whitelisted commands
`project_overview`	Project overview
`config_audit`	Audit config (auto-redacted)
`confirm_execute`	Confirm and run a pending action

Security

Read-only tools run directly.
Writes, command execution, Nginx reload, certificate install require two-step confirmation (confirm_execute).
Command execution uses a whitelist — dangerous operations like rm -rf, sudo, and piping into a shell are rejected.
File operations are sandboxed to OPS_PROJECT_ROOT; path traversal is blocked.
Passwords, tokens, and other secrets in .env files and logs are automatically redacted.

Custom Configuration

Download config.example.json as config.json, then point OPS_CONFIG_PATH at it to customize log channels, the command whitelist, read limits, and more.

curl -o config.json https://raw.githubusercontent.com/GT-dinuo/server-ops-mcp/main/config.example.json
# (if you cloned the repo: cp config.example.json config.json)
# After editing config.json, set in the .mcp.json env:
# "OPS_CONFIG_PATH": "/absolute/path/to/config.json"

Main fields of config.example.json:

logChannels: channel name → log directory path (relative to project root)
maxReadLines / maxReadBytes: per-read line / byte limits
commandWhitelist.direct: commands that run directly
commandWhitelist.confirm: commands that require confirmation

Development

npm run dev    # watch mode, recompiles on change
npm run build  # build to dist/
npm run clean  # remove dist/
npm start      # run the built Server

Notes

Remote operations rely on SSH — use a read-only account or a tightly-scoped command whitelist for the AI.
Private key files should have permission 600 (chmod 600 ~/.ssh/id_rsa).
Never commit .mcp.json or config.json containing passwords to a repository.