ssh-async

name

ssh-async

description

Maintain persistent asynchronous SSH sessions with bidirectional input/output across multiple commands. Use when Codex must keep an SSH shell open, send commands incrementally, inspect prompts or streamed output, reuse one authenticated connection for a task, or safely start/stop a long-lived remote session for debugging, administration, deployment, log inspection, or interactive line-based workflows on remote hosts.

OpenCROW I/O - SSH Async

Prefer the opencrow-ssh-mcp server for session lifecycle, reads, and writes. Fall back to scripts/sshx only when you need to inspect or debug the backend directly.

MCP First

• Use toolbox_info, toolbox_verify, and toolbox_capabilities first.
• Use the generic session tools:
  • session_start
  • session_send
  • session_read
  • session_status
  • session_stop
• Keep one named session per host/task flow so the MCP server can return stable artifacts under /tmp/codex-ssh-async/<name>/.

Use scripts/sshx to manage long-lived SSH sessions instead of one-shot ssh invocations when you are operating outside MCP.

Workflow

1. Start a named session to a remote host.
2. Send shell input while the daemon keeps receiving remote output asynchronously.
3. Read logs with --tail for recent context or --follow for streaming output.
4. Stop the session explicitly when done.

Commands

# Start an interactive login shell
scripts/sshx start --name demo --host 10.0.0.5 --user ubuntu

# Start with a specific identity file and port
scripts/sshx start --name prod --host prod.example.com --user deploy --port 2222 \
  --identity ~/.ssh/deploy_ed25519

# Send a command to the open shell
scripts/sshx send --name prod --data 'uname -a' --newline

# Read recent output
scripts/sshx read --name prod --tail 60

# Follow output live
scripts/sshx read --name prod --follow

# Inspect metadata and process state
scripts/sshx status --name prod

# Stop the session
scripts/sshx stop --name prod

Operational Rules

• Use one session per host/task flow so prompts, working directory, and shell state stay coherent.
• Prefer key-based authentication. The helper runs ssh in batch mode and will fail fast instead of hanging on password prompts.
• Append --newline for normal shell commands.
• Read with --tail before --follow so prompt/output context is visible first.
• Stop sessions explicitly to avoid leaving remote shells running.
• If status reports running: false, inspect daemon.log and io.log before restarting.

Files and State

Session state lives at /tmp/codex-ssh-async/<name>/:

• io.log: timestamped TX/RX events with escaped control characters
• rx.raw: raw PTY output bytes from the SSH session
• daemon.log: daemon stdout/stderr and launcher failures
• meta.json: target metadata and SSH arguments
• pid: daemon PID

Limitations

• This tool is designed for line-oriented shell workflows, not full-screen TUIs such as vim, top, or less.
• Password, OTP, and passphrase prompts are not supported because the session daemon is intentionally non-interactive during startup.
• If the remote command disables prompts or uses unusual terminal control sequences, inspect rx.raw in addition to io.log.

References

• For usage patterns and recovery steps, read references/patterns.md.