feat: Add SSH remote execution for multi-host Claude sessions

- Backend: SSH execution via spawn() with -T flag for JSON streaming
- Backend: PATH setup for non-login shells on remote hosts
- Backend: History loading via SSH (tail -n 2000 for large files)
- Frontend: Host selector UI with colored buttons in Sidebar
- Frontend: Auto-select first project when host changes
- Frontend: Pass host parameter to history and session APIs
- Docker: Install openssh-client, mount SSH keys

Enables running Claude sessions on remote hosts via SSH while
viewing them through the web UI.

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

backend/Dockerfile

@@ -1,13 +1,17 @@
 FROM node:20-slim
 
+# Install SSH client for remote execution
+RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y openssh-client && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
+
 # Create app directory
 WORKDIR /app
 
-# Create node user home structure for claude
+# Create node user home structure for claude and ssh
 RUN mkdir -p /home/node/.local/bin && \
     mkdir -p /home/node/.local/share/claude && \
     mkdir -p /home/node/.claude && \
     mkdir -p /home/node/.config/claude && \
+    mkdir -p /home/node/.ssh && \
     chown -R node:node /home/node
 
 # Create symlink for claude binary

backend/server.js

@@ -91,12 +91,19 @@ app.get('/api/projects', (req, res) => {
     return res.status(404).json({ error: `Host '${hostId}' not found` });
   }
 
-  // Only local hosts for now
+  // For SSH hosts, return the basePaths from config (can't scan remote directories)
   if (host.connection.type !== 'local') {
+    const projects = host.basePaths.map(basePath => ({
+      path: basePath,
+      name: basename(basePath),
+      type: 'base',
+      isBase: true
+    }));
     return res.json({
-      projects: [],
+      projects,
       host: hostId,
-      message: 'SSH hosts not yet supported for project listing'
+      hostInfo: { name: host.name, color: host.color },
+      message: 'SSH host - showing base paths only'
     });
   }
 
@@ -133,38 +140,11 @@ app.get('/api/health', (req, res) => {
   });
 });
 
-// Get session history for a project
+// Parse history content into messages
-app.get('/api/history/:project', (req, res) => {
+function parseHistoryContent(content) {
-  try {
-    const projectPath = decodeURIComponent(req.params.project);
-    // Convert project path to Claude's folder naming convention
-    const projectFolder = projectPath.replace(/\//g, '-');
-    const historyDir = `/home/node/.claude/projects/${projectFolder}`;
-
-    if (!existsSync(historyDir)) {
-      return res.json({ messages: [], sessionId: null });
-    }
-
-    // Find the most recent non-agent session file
-    const files = readdirSync(historyDir)
-      .filter(f => f.endsWith('.jsonl') && !f.startsWith('agent-'))
-      .map(f => ({
-        name: f,
-        path: join(historyDir, f),
-        mtime: statSync(join(historyDir, f)).mtime
-      }))
-      .sort((a, b) => b.mtime - a.mtime);
-
-    if (files.length === 0) {
-      return res.json({ messages: [], sessionId: null });
-    }
-
-    const latestFile = files[0];
-    const sessionId = latestFile.name.replace('.jsonl', '');
-    const content = readFileSync(latestFile.path, 'utf-8');
   const lines = content.split('\n').filter(l => l.trim());
-
   const messages = [];
+
   for (const line of lines) {
     try {
       const event = JSON.parse(line);
@@ -220,6 +200,83 @@ app.get('/api/history/:project', (req, res) => {
     }
   }
 
+  return messages;
+}
+
+// Get session history for a project (supports SSH hosts)
+app.get('/api/history/:project', async (req, res) => {
+  try {
+    const projectPath = decodeURIComponent(req.params.project);
+    const hostId = req.query.host;
+    const host = hostId ? hostsConfig.hosts[hostId] : null;
+    const isSSH = host?.connection?.type === 'ssh';
+
+    // Convert project path to Claude's folder naming convention
+    const projectFolder = projectPath.replace(/\//g, '-');
+
+    if (isSSH) {
+      // Load history via SSH
+      const { host: sshHost, user, port = 22 } = host.connection;
+      const sshTarget = `${user}@${sshHost}`;
+      const historyDir = `~/.claude/projects/${projectFolder}`;
+
+      // Find latest session file via SSH
+      const findCmd = `ls -t ${historyDir}/*.jsonl 2>/dev/null | grep -v agent- | head -1`;
+
+      const { execSync } = await import('child_process');
+      try {
+        const latestFile = execSync(`ssh -T -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -p ${port} ${sshTarget} "${findCmd}"`, {
+          encoding: 'utf-8',
+          timeout: 10000
+        }).trim();
+
+        if (!latestFile) {
+          return res.json({ messages: [], sessionId: null });
+        }
+
+        // Read the last 2000 lines (to handle large history files)
+        const content = execSync(`ssh -T -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -p ${port} ${sshTarget} "tail -n 2000 '${latestFile}'"`, {
+          encoding: 'utf-8',
+          timeout: 30000,
+          maxBuffer: 50 * 1024 * 1024  // 50MB buffer
+        });
+
+        const sessionId = basename(latestFile).replace('.jsonl', '');
+        const messages = parseHistoryContent(content);
+
+        return res.json({ messages, sessionId, source: 'ssh' });
+      } catch (sshErr) {
+        console.error('SSH history fetch error:', sshErr.message);
+        return res.json({ messages: [], sessionId: null, error: sshErr.message });
+      }
+    }
+
+    // Local history
+    const historyDir = `/home/node/.claude/projects/${projectFolder}`;
+
+    if (!existsSync(historyDir)) {
+      return res.json({ messages: [], sessionId: null });
+    }
+
+    // Find the most recent non-agent session file
+    const files = readdirSync(historyDir)
+      .filter(f => f.endsWith('.jsonl') && !f.startsWith('agent-'))
+      .map(f => ({
+        name: f,
+        path: join(historyDir, f),
+        mtime: statSync(join(historyDir, f)).mtime
+      }))
+      .sort((a, b) => b.mtime - a.mtime);
+
+    if (files.length === 0) {
+      return res.json({ messages: [], sessionId: null });
+    }
+
+    const latestFile = files[0];
+    const sessionId = latestFile.name.replace('.jsonl', '');
+    const content = readFileSync(latestFile.path, 'utf-8');
+    const messages = parseHistoryContent(content);
+
     res.json({ messages, sessionId });
   } catch (err) {
     console.error('Error reading history:', err);
@@ -240,16 +297,21 @@ wss.on('connection', (ws, req) => {
     }
   };
 
-  const startClaudeSession = (projectPath, resume = true) => {
+  const startClaudeSession = (projectPath, resume = true, hostId = null) => {
     if (claudeProcess) {
       console.log(`[${sessionId}] Killing existing Claude process`);
       claudeProcess.kill();
     }
 
     currentProject = projectPath;
-    console.log(`[${sessionId}] Starting Claude in: ${projectPath} (resume: ${resume})`);
 
-    const args = [
+    // Get host config
+    const host = hostId ? hostsConfig.hosts[hostId] : null;
+    const isSSH = host?.connection?.type === 'ssh';
+
+    console.log(`[${sessionId}] Starting Claude in: ${projectPath} (resume: ${resume}, host: ${hostId || 'local'}, ssh: ${isSSH})`);
+
+    const claudeArgs = [
       '-p',
       '--output-format', 'stream-json',
       '--input-format', 'stream-json',
@@ -260,14 +322,38 @@ wss.on('connection', (ws, req) => {
 
     // Add continue flag to resume most recent conversation
     if (resume) {
-      args.push('--continue');
+      claudeArgs.push('--continue');
     }
 
-    claudeProcess = spawn('claude', args, {
+    if (isSSH) {
+      // SSH execution
+      const { host: sshHost, user, port = 22 } = host.connection;
+      const sshTarget = `${user}@${sshHost}`;
+
+      // Build the remote command with PATH setup for non-login shells
+      const remoteCmd = `export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH" && cd ${projectPath} && claude ${claudeArgs.join(' ')}`;
+
+      console.log(`[${sessionId}] SSH to ${sshTarget}:${port} - ${remoteCmd}`);
+
+      claudeProcess = spawn('ssh', [
+        '-T',                     // Disable TTY (needed for JSON streaming)
+        '-o', 'StrictHostKeyChecking=no',
+        '-o', 'BatchMode=no',
+        '-p', String(port),
+        sshTarget,
+        remoteCmd
+      ], {
+        stdio: ['pipe', 'pipe', 'pipe'],
+        env: { ...process.env }
+      });
+    } else {
+      // Local execution
+      claudeProcess = spawn('claude', claudeArgs, {
         stdio: ['pipe', 'pipe', 'pipe'],
         cwd: projectPath || '/projects',
         env: { ...process.env }
       });
+    }
 
     sessions.set(sessionId, { process: claudeProcess, project: projectPath });
 
@@ -329,7 +415,7 @@ wss.on('connection', (ws, req) => {
 
       switch (data.type) {
         case 'start_session':
-          startClaudeSession(data.project || '/projects', data.resume !== false);
+          startClaudeSession(data.project || '/projects', data.resume !== false, data.host || null);
           break;
 
         case 'user_message':

docker-compose.yml

@@ -14,6 +14,9 @@ services:
       - ./config/.config/claude:/home/node/.config/claude:rw
       # Hosts configuration
       - ./config/hosts.json:/app/config/hosts.json:ro
+      # SSH keys for remote execution
+      - /home/sumdex/.ssh/id_rsa:/home/node/.ssh/id_rsa:ro
+      - /home/sumdex/.ssh/known_hosts:/home/node/.ssh/known_hosts:ro
       # Project directories for Claude to work in
       - /home/sumdex/projects:/projects:rw
       - /home/sumdex/docker:/docker:rw

frontend/src/App.jsx

@@ -101,6 +101,7 @@ function App() {
   } = useClaudeSession();
 
   const [selectedProject, setSelectedProject] = useState('/projects/claude-web-ui');
+  const [selectedHost, setSelectedHost] = useState('local');
   const [sidebarOpen, setSidebarOpen] = useState(true);
   const [resumeSession, setResumeSession] = useState(true);
 
@@ -114,7 +115,7 @@ function App() {
   }, [setMessages]);
 
   const handleStartSession = () => {
-    startSession(selectedProject, resumeSession);
+    startSession(selectedProject, resumeSession, selectedHost);
   };
 
   // Handle slash commands
@@ -167,6 +168,8 @@ function App() {
         onToggle={() => setSidebarOpen(!sidebarOpen)}
         selectedProject={selectedProject}
         onSelectProject={setSelectedProject}
+        selectedHost={selectedHost}
+        onSelectHost={setSelectedHost}
         sessionActive={sessionActive}
         onStartSession={handleStartSession}
         onStopSession={stopSession}

frontend/src/components/Sidebar.jsx

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { useState, useEffect } from 'react';
-import { Play, Square, Trash2, FolderOpen, ChevronRight, Settings } from 'lucide-react';
+import { Play, Square, Trash2, FolderOpen, ChevronRight, Settings, Server } from 'lucide-react';
 
 const API_URL = import.meta.env.VITE_API_URL || 'http://100.105.142.13:3001';
 
@@ -8,6 +8,8 @@ export function Sidebar({
   onToggle,
   selectedProject,
   onSelectProject,
+  selectedHost,
+  onSelectHost,
   sessionActive,
   onStartSession,
   onStopSession,
@@ -15,16 +17,39 @@ export function Sidebar({
   resumeSession,
   onToggleResume
 }) {
+  const [hosts, setHosts] = useState([]);
   const [projects, setProjects] = useState([]);
   const [customPath, setCustomPath] = useState('');
 
+  // Fetch hosts on mount
   useEffect(() => {
-    fetch(`${API_URL}/api/projects`)
+    fetch(`${API_URL}/api/hosts`)
       .then(res => res.json())
-      .then(data => setProjects(data.projects || data))
+      .then(data => {
+        setHosts(data.hosts || []);
+        if (!selectedHost && data.defaultHost) {
+          onSelectHost(data.defaultHost);
+        }
+      })
       .catch(console.error);
   }, []);
 
+  // Fetch projects when host changes
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (!selectedHost) return;
+    fetch(`${API_URL}/api/projects?host=${selectedHost}`)
+      .then(res => res.json())
+      .then(data => {
+        const projectList = data.projects || data;
+        setProjects(projectList);
+        // Auto-select first project when host changes
+        if (projectList.length > 0) {
+          onSelectProject(projectList[0].path);
+        }
+      })
+      .catch(console.error);
+  }, [selectedHost, onSelectProject]);
+
   const handleCustomPath = () => {
     if (customPath.trim()) {
       onSelectProject(customPath.trim());
@@ -49,6 +74,36 @@ export function Sidebar({
       </div>
 
       <div className="flex-1 overflow-y-auto p-4 space-y-6">
+        {/* Host Selection */}
+        <div className="space-y-3">
+          <h3 className="text-sm font-medium text-dark-400 uppercase tracking-wide">
+            Host
+          </h3>
+          <div className="flex gap-2 flex-wrap">
+            {hosts.map((host) => (
+              <button
+                key={host.id}
+                onClick={() => onSelectHost(host.id)}
+                className={`
+                  flex items-center gap-2 px-3 py-1.5 rounded-lg text-sm
+                  transition-colors border
+                  ${selectedHost === host.id
+                    ? 'border-orange-500/50 text-white'
+                    : 'border-dark-700 text-dark-400 hover:border-dark-600 hover:text-dark-300'
+                  }
+                `}
+                style={{
+                  backgroundColor: selectedHost === host.id ? `${host.color}30` : 'transparent'
+                }}
+              >
+                <Server className="w-3.5 h-3.5" style={{ color: host.color }} />
+                <span>{host.name}</span>
+                {!host.isLocal && <span className="text-xs text-dark-500">(SSH)</span>}
+              </button>
+            ))}
+          </div>
+        </div>
+
         {/* Project Selection */}
         <div className="space-y-3">
           <h3 className="text-sm font-medium text-dark-400 uppercase tracking-wide">

frontend/src/hooks/useClaudeSession.js

@@ -203,14 +203,15 @@ export function useClaudeSession() {
     }
   }, []);
 
-  const loadHistory = useCallback(async (project) => {
+  const loadHistory = useCallback(async (project, host = null) => {
     try {
       const encodedProject = encodeURIComponent(project);
-      const response = await fetch(`${API_URL}/api/history/${encodedProject}`);
+      const hostParam = host ? `?host=${host}` : '';
+      const response = await fetch(`${API_URL}/api/history/${encodedProject}${hostParam}`);
       if (response.ok) {
         const data = await response.json();
         if (data.messages && data.messages.length > 0) {
-          console.log(`Loaded ${data.messages.length} messages from history`);
+          console.log(`Loaded ${data.messages.length} messages from history (source: ${data.source || 'local'})`);
           setMessages(data.messages);
           return data.sessionId;
         }
@@ -221,7 +222,7 @@ export function useClaudeSession() {
     return null;
   }, []);
 
-  const startSession = useCallback(async (project = '/projects', resume = true) => {
+  const startSession = useCallback(async (project = '/projects', resume = true, host = null) => {
     if (!wsRef.current || wsRef.current.readyState !== WebSocket.OPEN) {
       setError('Not connected');
       return;
@@ -229,13 +230,14 @@ export function useClaudeSession() {
 
     // Load history before starting session if resuming
     if (resume) {
-      await loadHistory(project);
+      await loadHistory(project, host);
     }
 
     wsRef.current.send(JSON.stringify({
       type: 'start_session',
       project,
-      resume
+      resume,
+      host
     }));
   }, [loadHistory]);