# Cloudways MCP — Claude Code & OpenClaw Skill
[](https://github.com/Digitizers/cloudways-mcp/actions/workflows/ci.yml)
A production-grade **Claude Code & OpenClaw skill** for managing [Cloudways](https://digitizer.li/cloudways) infrastructure through the official **Cloudways (Remote) MCP** — connect directly to the hosted server, run one or many accounts, with a safety rule on every write.
This is not just a tool reference. It is an operational playbook for running Cloudways infrastructure responsibly: server and app monitoring, routine maintenance, client onboarding/audit, and automation — with write-confirmation guardrails on anything that changes state. The connection source of truth is the [official Cloudways article](https://support.cloudways.com/en/articles/14654372-how-to-use-cloudways-mcp-server-for-ai-based-server-management).
## Part of the Aura Design Engine
These are the free skills behind [**Aura**](https://my-aura.app) — one AI web-agency lifecycle you can run standalone or orchestrate across a whole client fleet from a single dashboard.
| Stage | Skill | Role |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 🎨 Build | [siteagent-elementor-studio](https://github.com/Digitizers/siteagent-elementor-studio) · [elementor-mcp](https://github.com/Digitizers/elementor-mcp) | Design & build sites inside Elementor — the recipes, and the MCP engine under them |
| 🔎 Audit + Content | [wordpress-api-pro](https://github.com/Digitizers/wordpress-api-pro) | REST content ops, SEO & site audits |
| 🖥 Host | [**cloudways-mcp** ← you are here](https://github.com/Digitizers/cloudways-mcp) · [hostinger-mcp](https://github.com/Digitizers/hostinger-mcp) | Provision & operate the infrastructure |
| 🚀 Deliver | [bunny-mcp](https://github.com/Digitizers/bunny-mcp) | CDN, storage & edge delivery |
| 🛡 Govern | [aura-mcp](https://github.com/Digitizers/aura-mcp) | Drive the control plane — approvals, snapshots, rollbacks — over MCP |
**→ Orchestrate all of it across your client fleet with [Aura](https://my-aura.app)** — governed agent ops with approvals and a full audit trail on top of these skills.
## Solo, or with Aura
This skill works standalone — point it at your own Cloudways account and run it from Claude Code. That's the **solo path**: you drive one account, and the write-confirmation guardrail on every state change keeps you safe.
The **Aura path** is the same skill orchestrated across a whole client fleet — [Aura](https://my-aura.app) proxies these provider ops through its governed MCP gateway, adds queued human approvals and a full audit trail, and runs them across every server and app you manage from one dashboard, no per-account token juggling.
| | Solo (this skill) | With Aura |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Scope | one account you hold keys for | every client account in your org |
| Approvals | your own write-confirmation | queued admin approval + audit trail |
| Best for | your own infra, quick ops | agencies operating many clients |
Use it solo for your own boxes; reach for Aura when you operate a fleet on clients' behalf.
## Features
- ✅ **Official Cloudways (Remote) MCP** — connect directly to the hosted server at `mcp.cloudways.com`; no self-hosting, no proxy to maintain.
- ✅ **Complete tool catalog (MCP v1.2, 244 tools)** — servers, apps, services, DNS, CDN, Git, SSH keys, analytics, **SSL / Let's Encrypt, IP whitelisting, Security Suite (malware/WAF), staging sync, team members, AgencyOS client billing (clients, services, plan prices, invoices, tax rates)**, all tagged R / W / W!. Billing runs through the live `agency_os_*` tools — there is no separate Client Billing toolset.
- ✅ **Role-based Access Tokens** — the skill guides token scoping (READ / LIMITED / FULL ACCESS) per connection, on top of its own write-confirmation discipline.
- ✅ **Write-confirmation safety** — every state-changing operation requires explicit target + action confirmation; destructive operations double-confirm.
- ✅ **Multi-account** — one connection per Cloudways account, each with its own prefix; no cross-account ID or credential mixing.
- ✅ **Operational playbooks** — monitoring, maintenance, client onboarding/audit, and n8n / Make / headless automation.
- ✅ **Honest gaps** — what the MCP still doesn't expose (SSH-key listing, backup listing, `customer_info`) is flagged as Cloudways UI / direct-API, never faked.
## Structure
```
.claude/skills/cloudways-mcp/
├── SKILL.md # core: safety rules, multi-account, confirmation, patterns
└── references/
├── installation.md # Claude connection (official MCP) + multi-account config
├── tools-catalog.md # official tool catalog, tagged R / W / W!
├── workflows-monitoring.md # monitoring scenarios (read-only)
├── workflows-maintenance.md # maintenance scenarios (write — requires confirmation)
├── workflows-onboarding.md # audit/onboarding for a new client
└── workflows-automation.md # n8n / Make / Claude Code headless / multi-account
```
## Key points
- **Write safety.** Any tool that changes state requires **explicit confirmation** of the target and action (`SKILL.md`); destructive operations (delete, restore, scale) double-confirm. The tool catalog is verified against the official article — see `tools-catalog.md` for the R / W / W! tags.
- **Multi-account.** Each account is connected as a separate connection with its own prefix (`mcp__cloudways-clientA__*`). The skill requires identifying the correct account before any operation, and prohibits mixing IDs/credentials across accounts.
- **Source of truth.** If the catalog here conflicts with what the live MCP returns — **the live MCP wins**; update the catalog accordingly.
## Activation
The skill activates automatically when Cloudways is discussed, as long as the skill is available and the MCP server is connected (the tools appear as `mcp__cloudways*__*`). For setup and connection — see [`installation.md`](.claude/skills/cloudways-mcp/references/installation.md) and [`.mcp.json.example`](.mcp.json.example).
**Zero-config connection via env var.** The repo commits a [`.mcp.json`](.mcp.json) whose token is the `${CLOUDWAYS_ACCESS_TOKEN:-}` env placeholder — set the variable in your shell (devices) or in the claude.ai cloud environment's env vars (web/phone sessions), and the `cloudways-env` connection authenticates on its own. While the variable is unset the connection just shows as unavailable in `/mcp` (it can't authenticate) — set the var to bring it up. The name `cloudways-env` avoids shadowing the documented user-scope names — `cloudways` and `cloudways-<client>` — since project scope wins name collisions (don't reuse `cloudways-env` for a user-scope connection). Real tokens never go into the file — it is tracked in git. **Migrating from a local gitignored `.mcp.json`:** move your token to the env var (or `claude mcp add -s user`), delete the local file, then pull.
The official hosted MCP is at `https://mcp.cloudways.com/mcp/`. Authenticate with per-account request headers: `X-Access-Token` (a role-based **Access Token** — READ / LIMITED / FULL ACCESS) and `X-Mcp-Host` (the client name, e.g. `claude-code`). Generate the token at [platform.cloudways.com](https://platform.cloudways.com/) → API section. One connection per account, named `cloudways-<client>`. (The legacy `X-CW-Email`/`X-CW-Api-Key` API-key flow is deprecated — the API key stops working on **October 15, 2026**.)
## Sources
- [How to Use Cloudways MCP Server for AI-Based Server Management](https://support.cloudways.com/en/articles/14654372-how-to-use-cloudways-mcp-server-for-ai-based-server-management) (official — the source of truth for the connection)
- [Cloudways MCP Server Tools](https://support.cloudways.com/en/articles/15798823-cloudways-mcp-server-tools) (official — the source of truth for the tool catalog)
- [Cloudways MCP v1.2 announcement](https://www.cloudways.com/blog/cloudways-mcp-v1-2-112-new-tools-role-based-access-tokens-and-full-cloudways-api-coverage/) (112 new tools, role-based Access Tokens)
- [How to Create and Manage Cloudways API Access Tokens](https://support.cloudways.com/en/articles/5136065) (token generation + roles)
- [Cloudways API reference](https://developers.cloudways.com/)
> The tool catalog is **verified against the live MCP** (all 22 toolsets enumerated on a connected account, 2026-07-20); content is sourced from the official MCP v1.2 support articles (2026-07-19). The article documents categories the live server does not expose — Bot Protection, Client Billing, CloudwaysCDN legacy, a "Lists API" — and those have been removed from the catalog. R/W/W! tags are this skill's operational assessment, not Cloudways labels. If the catalog ever conflicts with what the live `mcp__cloudways*__*` tools return, the live MCP is authoritative.
## Links
- **Repository:** https://github.com/Digitizers/cloudways-mcp
- **OpenClaw:** https://openclaw.ai
- **Cloudways MCP article:** https://support.cloudways.com/en/articles/14654372-how-to-use-cloudways-mcp-server-for-ai-based-server-management
- **Digitizer:** https://www.digitizer.studio
- **Getting started with Cloudways:** https://www.digitizer.studio/cloudways-beginners-guide
## License
MIT
---
Built with ❤️ for OpenClaw by [Digitizer](https://www.digitizer.studio)
### Windows note
The plugin ships its skill through a git **symlink** (`skills/` → the in-repo
source). On Windows, enable Developer Mode and set
`git config --global core.symlinks true` **before** cloning or installing —
the plugin cache clone inherits it. Changing the config does not repair an
existing checkout (the repo may have recorded `core.symlinks=false` locally).
To repair one, run these two commands inside it (the second re-materializes
only the plugin's symlink entry, so nothing else in your working tree is
touched):
git config core.symlinks true
git checkout -- skills/cloudways-mcp
Or simply re-clone. WSL also works. macOS/Linux need nothing.