Using Claude as a BinaryLane Agent with MCP

This guide shows you how to connect Claude (by Anthropic) directly to your BinaryLane account, turning it into an AI agent that can manage your servers, DNS, load balancers, VPCs, and more — all through natural conversation.

This is made possible by two open-source Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers that give Claude the tools to interact with the BinaryLane API and SSH into your servers.

GitHub: binarylane-mcp | ssh-mcp

What is MCP?

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard that lets AI assistants like Claude use external tools. Without MCP, Claude can only talk about your infrastructure. With MCP, Claude can actually manage it — listing servers, creating DNS records, configuring firewalls, and more.

This guide uses two MCP servers that work together:

⚠️ Security Considerations

Important: These MCP servers give Claude real access to your BinaryLane account and servers. Claude can create, modify, and delete resources. Treat this integration with the same care you would give any API token or SSH key.

Risks on Production Servers

Before connecting Claude to production infrastructure, understand these risks:

• Destructive actions are real — if Claude deletes a server, it's gone. If it modifies a firewall incorrectly, you could lose access.
• SSH commands execute as root (by default) — Claude has the same privileges as your SSH user. A misunderstood instruction could modify or delete critical files.
• API token = full account access — your BinaryLane API token grants access to every server and resource on your account.
• Billing impact — Claude can create servers and resources that incur charges on your account.
  
  

Recommendation: Start by using these tools on development or test servers. Get familiar with how Claude interacts with your infrastructure before connecting it to anything critical.

Built-In Safety Features

Both MCP servers include safety mechanisms designed to reduce risk:

Note: These MCP servers are community-developed open-source tools, not official BinaryLane products. BinaryLane support cannot assist with MCP-specific issues. For help, visit the GitHub repositories.

Prerequisites

Step 1: Get Your BinaryLane API Token

1. Log in to the BinaryLane Dashboard
2. Navigate to Account → API Info (or go directly to home.binarylane.com.au/api-info)
3. Copy your API token and save it somewhere secure
   
   

Keep your API token secret. Anyone with this token has full access to your BinaryLane account. Do not commit it to version control or share it publicly.

Step 2: Install the BinaryLane MCP Server

Open a terminal and run:

git clone https://github.com/termau/binarylane-mcp.git
cd binarylane-mcp
npm install
npm run build

Note the full path to the built server — you'll need it for configuration. For example:

• macOS/Linux:/home/youruser/binarylane-mcp/dist/index.js
• Windows:C:\Users\youruser\binarylane-mcp\dist\index.js

To verify the build succeeded:

ls dist/index.js

Step 3: Install the SSH MCP Server

In a separate directory:

git clone https://github.com/termau/ssh-mcp.git
cd ssh-mcp
npm install
npm run build

The SSH MCP server works hand-in-hand with the BinaryLane MCP. When given the same API token, it automatically discovers all your BinaryLane servers and makes them available to Claude by name. No manual IP configuration needed.

Step 4: Configure Claude Desktop

Open the Claude Desktop configuration file:

Add both MCP servers to the configuration. Replace the paths and token with your own:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "binarylane": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/binarylane-mcp/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "BINARYLANE_API_TOKEN": "your-api-token-here"
      }
    },
    "ssh": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/ssh-mcp/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "BINARYLANE_API_TOKEN": "your-api-token-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Both servers use the same API token. The BinaryLane MCP uses it to manage resources via the API. The SSH MCP uses it to auto-discover your server names and IPs, so Claude can connect to them by name (e.g., "SSH into web-1") instead of by IP address.

After saving the configuration file, restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect.

Step 5: Verify the Connection

Open Claude Desktop and try these commands to confirm everything is working:

Test the BinaryLane MCP:

"List my BinaryLane servers"

Claude should return a list of your servers with names, IPs, regions, and status.

Test the SSH MCP:

"Show me all available SSH connections"

Claude should list your BinaryLane servers as available connections, auto-discovered from your account.

If either fails, check the Troubleshooting section below.

What Can You Do With It?

Once both MCP servers are connected, Claude becomes a capable infrastructure assistant. Here are some examples of what you can ask:

Server Management

SSH & Remote Administration

DNS & Networking

Load Balancers & Firewalls

Account & Billing

SSH MCP Configuration (Optional)

The SSH MCP auto-discovers your BinaryLane servers, but you can also add custom connections for non-BinaryLane servers or override settings.

The configuration file is automatically created at:

~/.config/ssh-mcp/connections.json

Example configuration:

{
  "defaultPrivateKeyPath": "~/.ssh/id_ed25519",
  "binarylane": {
    "enabled": true,
    "apiToken": "your-token-here",
    "defaultUsername": "root",
    "defaultPrivateKeyPath": "~/.ssh/id_ed25519"
  },
  "connections": [
    {
      "name": "my-other-server",
      "host": "203.0.113.50",
      "port": 22,
      "username": "deploy",
      "privateKeyPath": "~/.ssh/deploy_key"
    }
  ]
}

When duplicate server names exist, the priority order is:

1. Config file connections (highest priority)
2. Environment variables
3. BinaryLane auto-discovery (lowest priority)

This means you can override auto-discovered settings by adding a connection with the same name to your config file.

Troubleshooting

Useful Links

• BinaryLane MCP — GitHub
• SSH MCP — GitHub
• BinaryLane API Reference
• Get Your API Token
• Download Claude Desktop
• Model Context Protocol Documentation
  
  

Disclaimer: The BinaryLane MCP and SSH MCP are community-developed open-source projects, not official BinaryLane products. BinaryLane support cannot assist with MCP-specific issues. For bugs or feature requests, please open an issue on the respective GitHub repository.