agent-cli

A Python-based MCP server that lets AI assistants control InHand Router devices over SSH.

Overview

agent_cli CLI over an SSH session. Once configured, Claude (or any MCP-capable client) can query device status, read and write configuration, retrieve logs, run network diagnostics, and perform firmware upgrades — all through natural language.

Features

• 7 MCP tools: status, config, log, schema, tool, upgrade, reboot
• Read-only MCP resources for fast status and discovery lookups
• Zero-touch SSH bootstrap: on first run, generates ed25519 keys, fetches host keys, and registers the public key on the device automatically
• Persistent SSH session per device — one live stdio connection, no per-call reconnect overhead
• Multi-device support via repeated --device arguments
• Bundled skill installer for shipping AI diagnostic skills such as device-diagnostics
• Works with Claude Code through standard stdio MCP configuration

Prerequisites

Requirement	Notes
Python 3.6+
ssh, ssh-keygen, ssh-keyscan	Standard OpenSSH client tools
Valid bootstrap credentials	Username + password for the target device
uv / uvx	Only needed for the uvx installation method

Windows: install the built-in OpenSSH Client feature and ensure ssh.exe, ssh-keygen.exe, and ssh-keyscan.exe are on PATH. If uvx is not available, install it with:

irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | iex

Installation

Option A — uvx (recommended)

No local clone needed. Claude Code fetches and runs the server directly from GitHub.

Use the Claude CLI to create .mcp.json for you:

claude mcp add agent-cli  --transport stdio  -- uvx --from git+https://github.com/inhandnet/agent-cli agent-cli-mcp --device name=odu2012,host=192.168.1.1,pass=<PASSWORD>,port=22

Or add to .claude.json :

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "agent-cli": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "--from",
        "git+https://github.com/inhandnet/agent-cli",
        "agent-cli-mcp",
        "--device",
        "name=odu2012,host=192.168.1.1,pass=<PASSWORD>,port=22"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Option B — Local Checkout

git clone https://github.com/inhandnet/agent-cli.git
cd agent-cli

# Windows helper — creates the default config and runs claude mcp add
python mcp-server/install_claude_code_windows.py 

Then edit mcp-server/config/config.json with your device credentials:

{
  "devices": {
    "odu2012": {
      "host": "192.168.1.1",
      "bootstrap_user": "adm",
      "bootstrap_password": "replace-me",
      "port": "22"
    }
  }
}

Field	Required	Default	Description
name	yes	—	Logical device ID; used as device_id in MCP tool calls
host	yes	—	Device IP address or hostname
pass	yes	—	Bootstrap password (used only on first connection)
buser	no	adm	Bootstrap SSH username
port	no	22	SSH port

Install the bundled skills:

uvx --from git+https://github.com/inhandnet/agent-cli agent-cli-skills install

Bundled Skill: device-diagnostics

After running agent-cli-skills install, the device-diagnostics skill is available in Claude conversations. It automatically routes to the appropriate diagnostic flow based on the symptoms described.

Scenario	Symptoms
connectivity	No internet, DNS failure, packet loss, intermittent connection
cellular	SIM / carrier registration, APN, signal, cellular disconnect
wan	Wired uplink failure, DHCP / static IP, gateway loss
lan	DHCP leases, local subnet, client connectivity
performance	Low throughput, high latency, jitter
log	Unknown failing subsystem — start from logs
config-audit	Device reachable but behavior doesn't match config
firmware-release	Firmware version query, changelog, upgrade recommendation

Diagnostic output format: Summary → Findings → Evidence → Gaps → Next actions

Operation Safety Levels

Level	Operations	Notes
Read-only	status, config get, log, schema	Safe at any time
Diagnostic	tool (ping, traceroute, …)	Minor runtime impact
Change	config set	Validate with schema first
Destructive	upgrade, reboot	Requires explicit user approval

Direct SSH Usage

After the MCP server has registered a key, you can also invoke agent_cli directly over SSH:

On first connection to a device, the server will creat SSH Key:

1. If use Option B per-device key directory under agent-cli/mcp-server/keys/<device_id>/agent_key_<TIMESTAMP>/
2. If use Option A,a per-device key directory under ~/.agent-cli-mcp/keys/<device_id>/agent_key_<TIMESTAMP>/

SSH="ssh -i ~/.agent-cli-mcp/keys/odu2012/agent_key_20260410_190423/agent_key -p 22 agent@192.168.1.1"

$SSH "status basic"
$SSH "status cellular"
$SSH "config get cellular"
$SSH 'config set cellular {"apn":"internet.example.com"}'
$SSH "schema wan --validation"
$SSH "log agent --line 100"
$SSH 'tool ping {"action":"start","host":"8.8.8.8"}'
$SSH "upgrade --url https://example.com/fw.bin"
$SSH "reboot"

All commands return a single-line JSON response:

{ "ok": true, "data": { ... } }
{ "ok": false, "error": { "code": "...", "message": "..." } }

Code	Constant	Meaning
0	EXIT_OK	success
1	EXIT_ERROR	general / unexpected error
2	EXIT_NOTFOUND	resource not found
3	EXIT_TIMEOUT	transport / service timeout
4	EXIT_BADARGS	invalid command-line arguments

Project Structure

agent-cli/
├── mcp-server/
│   ├── server.py              # MCP server entrypoint
│   ├── ssh_bridge.py          # SSH session management
│   ├── config/
│   │   └── config.json.example
│   ├── tests/
│   └── README.md              # Detailed MCP documentation
├── pyproject.toml
└── README.md

License

See LICENSE for details.