Node Setup & Configuration

Prerequisites

Each machine needs:

SSH access to the CMS droplet (cms-droplet alias or equivalent)
Claude CLI installed with MCP support
~/.claude-net/ directory with the MCP server and config

Config File

Each node has ~/.claude-net/config.json:

{
  "name": "machine-name",
  "sshHost": "cms-droplet"
}

The name field is how this node appears in the network. The sshHost must resolve to the DO CMS droplet.

Adding a New Node

Set up SSH access to cms-droplet (178.128.183.166) from the new machine
Copy the ~/.claude-net/ MCP server files to the new machine
Create ~/.claude-net/config.json with a unique machine name
Register the MCP server in the machine’s Claude CLI config
Test with claude_net_machines() — the node should appear in the list

Current Network (February 2026)

Four nodes across three developers:

Node	Developer	SSH to Hub
laptop	Chas	`ssh cms-droplet`
ser-8	Chas	`ssh cms-droplet`
sean	Sean	`ssh cms-droplet`
jaz	Jaz	`ssh cms-droplet`

SSH Key Access for Developers

Developers also have direct SSH access to production servers for deployment:

Developer	Servers	Key Pattern
Chas	All servers	Various keys per server
Sean	OVH2, OVH3	`ovh2_sean`, `ovh3_sean`
Jaz	OVH2, OVH3	`ovh2_jaz`, `ovh3_jaz`

Ser-8 Hostinger Access

Ser-8 has dedicated SSH access to Hostinger for rebuilding the lifeonroatan.com website:

Item	Details
Key	`~/.ssh/hostinger_lifeonroatan` (ed25519)
SSH alias	`ssh hostinger` from ser-8
Target	`u578339199@88.223.84.186:65002`
Web root	`~/domains/lifeonroatan.com/public_html/`

Fail2ban Considerations

All OVH servers have fail2ban (3 retries → 24h ban). Developers connecting via SSH should use -o IdentitiesOnly=yes to avoid offering too many keys and getting banned.

To unban: sudo fail2ban-client set sshd unbanip <IP>