Claude Cowork + xCloud

Manage servers with Claude Cowork on xCloud

Managing servers with Claude Cowork means handing Anthropic's desktop agent an outcome, such as a health report across every xCloud server or a review of firewall rules, and letting it work through the tools until it has something to show you.

Skill: xcloud:servers
Toolsets: servers, alerts, user
Free with every xCloud account

Set up Claude Cowork All Claude Cowork guides

YouCheck every server on my main team and write me a short health report.

servers_indexread-only

servers_monitoringread-only

AgentFour servers checked. Three are healthy. staging-fra is at 86% disk and shows Reboot Required. Monitoring history was not available: that needs a paid plan, so this report uses current readings only.

YouReboot staging-fra now.

servers_reboots_storeneeds approval

Last updated: October 2026. Keep a human in the loop: xCloud stops and asks before anything that creates, deploys, updates, reboots, deletes or buys.

Setup

How Do You Set Up Claude Cowork to Manage servers on xCloud?

Connect Claude Cowork once; every job on this account uses the same connection. Then ask in plain words.

1
Add xCloud as a custom connector
In Cowork, open Customize, then Connectors, and choose Add custom connector. If you already added xCloud to your Claude account, look for it in that list first. Name it xcloud, use this URL and sign in when the xCloud approval page opens.
URL
```
https://app.xcloud.host/mcp
```
2
Check the connection
Start a task and ask this first. Claude Cowork calls xCloud and names your account and the teams you approved, so you know the connector works before you delegate real work.
Prompt
```
Who am I on xCloud?
```
3
Match the access level to the job
Optional. On the xCloud approval screen, Full access lets a delegated job deploy, update plugins and renew certificates; Read-only is enough for audits and reports. To change the level later, reconnect the connector and approve again. A Team or Enterprise owner adds the same URL under Organization settings, then Connectors.
URL
```
https://app.xcloud.host/mcp
```

Check it worked

Then ask Claude Cowork for the job itself, for example:

Prompt

Check every server on my main team, read CPU, memory and disk, and write me a short report of anything above 80% disk or showing a status other than healthy.

In practice

How Does Server management Work from Claude Cowork?

Cowork suits work you would otherwise do by hand across several screens, and a server check is exactly that: the same small read repeated for every server. You describe the outcome once. Go through every server on my team, read CPU, memory and disk, list anything with a status other than healthy and give me a one-page summary. Cowork calls servers_index, then servers_monitoring for each server, and comes back with the report instead of a stream of questions. Reads run without a prompt on the xCloud side, so this kind of task needs no attention from you, and that is why the Read-only level fits it well.

Ask for a tidy-up and the shape changes. Review the firewall rules and the cron jobs on the staging server and tell me which look unused. Cowork reads servers_firewallRules and servers_cron-jobs, groups what it finds and proposes changes in the report. It does not apply them on its own. When a step would change a server, it returns to you with a decision: the server, the rule or job, and what removing it affects. If you approve a reboot, it calls servers_reboots_store, reads servers_reboots_show and the report you get back says whether xCloud verified a new boot, not only that the reboot began.

Two details matter in a long delegated task. First, monitoring history is a paid-plan feature, so on a free plan xCloud answers 403 for it. Cowork should tell you that is a plan limit, carry on with the current readings and not retry. Second, the connection works on one team at a time. If you want the report to cover two teams, say so in the task and name them, since the connection can be authorized for several teams but each call runs against one. Name servers the way the dashboard shows them, so the report lines match what you see there.

Claude Cowork specific: The access level is chosen at sign-in and stays until you reconnect. A task you set up with Read-only will produce the report but be refused when it tries a reboot or a service change, so reconnect and approve Full access before you delegate a task that needs to act. Because Cowork connects from Anthropic's cloud, keep unattended tasks to reads and let it return to you for anything that changes a server.

What xCloud does for server management

xCloud lets the agent list your servers, read their monitoring, and manage services, Node.js and PHP versions, cron jobs, firewall rules, Fail2Ban and sudo users. Changes that can interrupt a server stop for your approval, and a reboot is only reported as done after xCloud verifies a new boot.

Pick the team and the server. The agent works on one team at a time and uses the server you name. If a name is missing or matches several servers, it lists them and asks. It always restates which server it is about to change before it changes it.
Read the state first. It reads the server's status, installed services, runtimes and monitoring figures. A status such as low disk space or reboot required is worth surfacing on its own. Monitoring history is a paid-plan feature, so a free plan answers 403.
Say what will change, then ask. For a service, runtime, cron, firewall or sudo change, the agent names the server, the item and the impact, for example that a Node.js default affects every Node site on the server. It waits for your approval when the change could interrupt a service.
Follow the task to the end. xCloud accepts server work and returns before it finishes. The agent reads the server's task list until the task settles and reports the real outcome, not the acceptance.
Reboot with proof. A reboot starts a tracked operation. The agent reads that operation until xCloud reports a verified new boot. If the result is unconfirmed it investigates and never repeats the reboot just to check.
Buy a server only after approval. A new server is billable. The agent checks what you already have, reads the plans and the card on file, shows the plan, region and price, and waits for a yes. It sends the purchase once with an idempotency key so a retry cannot buy a second server.

Reference

Server management Settings and Limits on xCloud

The facts Claude Cowork works within when it manages servers. Where a row names the dashboard, that step stays yours to take there.

Setting or limit	What applies
Inventory	Every server on the team with its status, stack and the sites it hosts, plus the tasks, supervisor processes and site snapshots on a server
Monitoring	Current CPU, memory and disk are readable. Monitoring history is a paid-plan feature: xCloud answers 403 on the free plan, which is a plan limit and not a permission
Services	Install, enable, restart and disable. A restart runs without a server-side prompt; the agent still confirms the exact server, service and impact before any service change, because disabling ssh, nginx or a database can lock you out or cause downtime
Node.js versions	Read the installed versions and set the default. The default is server-wide and affects every Node site on the server
PHP versions	Install, uninstall, set the default, patch and toggle OPcache. The server default changes only the command-line php and the version new sites get; it does not change existing sites, and a single site's PHP version is a dashboard setting under Site > Site Settings
Cron jobs	List, create, update, delete, run now and read the last output for server cron jobs. Site cron is a separate resource
Firewall rules	List, create, delete, enable and disable rules with a name, protocol, allow or deny, port and optional source IP
Fail2Ban and IP access	List, ban and unban IP addresses, read the SSH restriction status, and whitelist your current IP or xCloud's own IPs
Sudo users	List, create or update and delete sudo users. A password is a secret and private keys are never returned
Verified reboots	Start a tracked reboot and read its operation; only a verified new boot proves it worked. An unconfirmed reboot can be rechecked without rebooting again
Buying a server	Billable, so it needs an approved plan, region and price, a card on file and an idempotency key. It buys xCloud-managed servers only
Dashboard-only	Resizing or deleting a server, a provider backup of the whole server (Server > Backup), bringing your own server, databases and database users, and PHP settings such as memory limit or upload size

Rules Claude Cowork has to follow

A change that can interrupt a server stops for your approval, and the agent names the server, the service and the impact first.
Buying a server is billable: the agent shows the plan, region and price and waits for your yes, and it never retries a purchase without checking your server list first.
A reboot is only reported as done when xCloud verifies a new boot, and an unconfirmed reboot is investigated, not repeated.
Disabling ssh, nginx, a database or a runtime service needs your explicit confirmation immediately before the call, because it can lock you out or take sites offline.
Resizing or deleting a server, provider server backups, bringing your own server and per-site PHP versions are dashboard steps; the agent gives you the path and the dashboard link xCloud returned.

Example prompts

What Can You Ask Claude Cowork to Do for Server management?

Type these as written and swap in your own repository, site and server names. Reads and routine actions such as backups, cache purges, PageSpeed scans and vulnerability scans run straight away; creating, deploying, updating, rebooting, deleting, buying or starting a broken-link scan stops and asks first.

Prompt

Check every server on my main team, read CPU, memory and disk, and write me a short report of anything above 80% disk or showing a status other than healthy.

Prompt

Review the firewall rules and server cron jobs on the staging server and list the ones that look unused. Do not change anything yet.

Prompt

Reboot the staging server once I confirm, wait until xCloud verifies the new boot, then tell me which sites came back.

Prompt

List all my xCloud servers with CPU, RAM and disk usage, and flag any server above 80% disk.

Prompt

List the cron jobs on the Frankfurt server with their schedules.

Prompt

Create a server cron job for the WooCommerce Action Scheduler every five minutes. Show me the final command and schedule before creating it.

Prompt

Install Redis on the Frankfurt server and enable the service.

Prompt

Switch the Frankfurt server's default Node.js to the latest LTS major.

Prompt

Reboot the staging server and tell me when it is back.

Prompt

Show me the IP addresses Fail2Ban has banned on the Frankfurt server, and unban 203.0.113.10.

Prompt

Create a new xCloud server on the smallest plan in Singapore. Show me the plan and price first and wait for my approval.

Claude Cowork and Server management: Frequently Asked Questions

What people ask before they let Claude Cowork manage servers through xCloud.

Is Read-only enough for a Cowork server health report?

Yes. Reading the server list, the current CPU, memory and disk figures, services and tasks all work with Read-only. Choose Full access only for a task that must restart a service, change a firewall rule or reboot, and even then each of those stops for your confirmation.

What does Claude Cowork do when a server change needs my approval?

It stops and returns to you with a decision that names the server, the item and the impact, for example that a reboot takes the sites on that server offline for a moment. It carries on only after you answer, and it reports the verified result of the change, not just that xCloud accepted it.

Does the agent ask before it reboots a server?

Yes. A reboot stops for your explicit confirmation, then the agent starts a tracked reboot and reads the operation until xCloud reports a verified new boot. If the result stays unconfirmed it investigates rather than rebooting a second time.

Can an AI agent buy a new server for me?

Yes, but only after you approve it. A new server is billable, so the agent first checks your existing servers, reads the available plans and your card on file, then shows the plan, region and price and waits for your yes. It sends the purchase once, so a retry cannot buy a second server.

If the agent changes the server's PHP default, do my sites change version?

No. The server default changes the command-line php and the version new sites get, and it moves no existing site. Each site keeps its own PHP version, which you change in the dashboard under Site > Site Settings.

Can the agent resize or delete a server?

No. Resizing and deleting a server are dashboard-only, as are a provider backup of the whole server, databases and bringing your own server. The agent can tell you where the control is and give you the server's dashboard link.

Why did the agent say monitoring history is not available?

Monitoring history is a paid-plan feature, so xCloud answers 403 on the free plan. Current CPU, memory and disk readings are still available, and the agent will say that it is a plan limit, not a missing permission.

Other agents