ssh-netmiko_skill

Overview

This skill exposes a REST-backed SSH management interface for the MCP_Server_Trigger (v0.1.0). It lets you create and close SSH sessions, execute commands remotely, and inspect active and historical session/command records. The skill is designed for automated orchestration, remote troubleshooting, and audit-friendly command execution across network and Linux devices.

How this skill works

The skill communicates with the MCP_Server_Trigger API to manage in-memory SSH sessions and a persistent session history. You can explicitly create sessions or run a command that automatically creates a session when credentials are provided. The service also returns health status and lists of active sessions and historical records for auditing or cleanup.

When to use it

• Automating configuration or diagnostic commands on network devices (Cisco, Juniper) or Linux servers.
• Running ad-hoc remote commands without manually opening an SSH client.
• Maintaining an auditable record of sessions and commands for compliance or incident response.
• Orchestrating multi-step remote workflows where sessions persist across commands.
• Checking service health before sending batches of remote operations.

Best practices

• Provide explicit session_id for multi-step workflows to reuse the same SSH session and collect consistent history.
• Use least-privilege credentials and rotate passwords regularly; treat stored history as sensitive.
• Set sensible command timeouts for long-running operations to avoid stuck sessions.
• Close sessions explicitly after use to free resources and reduce attack surface.
• Prefer device_type matching (cisco_ios, juniper_junos, linux) for better command handling.

Example use cases

• Create a session to a Cisco IOS device, run multiple configuration and verification commands, then close the session.
• Execute a single remote command on a Linux host by passing host, username, and password without pre-creating a session.
• List active sessions to detect stale connections before scheduling maintenance windows.
• Query session history to audit which commands were run during a troubleshooting incident.
• Run a health_check prior to bulk orchestration to ensure the SSH API is available.