Codex + xCloud

Manage servers with Codex on xCloud

Managing servers with Codex means telling OpenAI's coding agent, from the terminal, to read your xCloud servers and make the changes you approve, using the MCP connection you registered for it.

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

Set up Codex All Codex guides

YouRead the banned IPs on the Frankfurt server and unban 203.0.113.10 if it is there.

servers_fail2ban_banned-ipsread-only

Agentprod-fra has 7 banned IPs. 203.0.113.10 is one of them. Unban it on prod-fra?

YouYes.

servers_fail2ban_unbanneeds approval

AgentUnbanned. I read the list again and 203.0.113.10 is gone. The other 6 are still banned.

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 Codex to Manage servers on xCloud?

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

1
Add the xCloud MCP server
Run this in your terminal. This form comes from xCloud's connect guide; OpenAI's Codex page documents codex mcp add for local commands, so if your version rejects --url, use the config.toml step below.
Terminal
```
codex mcp add xcloud --url https://app.xcloud.host/mcp
```
2
Or write it in config.toml
Codex reads ~/.codex/config.toml. Add a table for the server with its url. A Streamable HTTP server needs only the url, and the same file is where you set a bearer_token_env_var if you use an API key instead of OAuth.
TOML
```
[mcp_servers.xcloud]
url = "https://app.xcloud.host/mcp"
```
3
Sign in and check
Run the login command, approve the teams and choose Read-only or Full access in the browser, then type /mcp in Codex to see xcloud and its tools. Optional: Codex is also listed for the xCloud Agent Plugins package, which adds the xCloud skills.
Terminal
```
codex mcp login xcloud
```
✓
Check it worked
Then ask Codex for the job itself, for example:
Prompt
```
Show CPU, RAM and disk for every xCloud server and flag disk above 80%.
```

In practice

How Does Server management Work from Codex?

Codex works in a shell, inside a repository, with its own approval settings that decide which commands and file edits it may run without asking. Those settings govern your machine. They do not replace xCloud's confirmation, which is a separate rule on the xCloud side for changes that can interrupt a server. That split is useful here. You can let Codex move quickly through reads, such as show CPU, memory and disk for every server and flag disk above 80 percent, which it answers with servers_index and servers_monitoring. Then it slows down on its own when a step is a reboot, a runtime change or a purchase.

A small habit makes Codex better at this job. Codex reads an AGENTS.md file in the repository, so you can write down your server names there in plain words: prod is prod-fra in Frankfurt, staging is staging-fra. Never put a token or a password in it. When you then type reboot staging, the agent resolves the name against servers_index and still restates the exact server before it asks. That one line catches the mix-up where two servers have similar names, and it works the same in every session without retyping.

Because the shell is right there, a session can combine xCloud's tools with commands on your machine. Ask for the IP addresses Fail2Ban has banned on the Frankfurt server, and Codex reads servers_fail2ban_banned-ips. You can then check the list against your office address and have it call servers_fail2ban_unban for 203.0.113.10 once you approve. A reboot is a short loop: servers_reboots_store, then servers_reboots_show until xCloud reports a verified new boot. Type /mcp in Codex if you want to see which xcloud tools it has loaded before you begin.

Codex specific: Run codex mcp login xcloud after you add the server, or the xCloud tools stay unavailable and Codex will answer a server question from general knowledge. If your version of Codex rejects the --url form of codex mcp add, write the [mcp_servers.xcloud] table in ~/.codex/config.toml instead. For a machine with no browser, set a bearer_token_env_var in that table and keep the token itself in your shell or secret store, never in config.toml or AGENTS.md.

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 Codex 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 Codex 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 Codex 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

Show CPU, RAM and disk for every xCloud server and flag disk above 80%.

Prompt

Read the banned IPs on the Frankfurt server and unban 203.0.113.10 if it is in the list.

Prompt

Reboot staging, wait for xCloud to verify the new boot, and print the result.

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.

Codex and Server management: Frequently Asked Questions

What people ask before they let Codex manage servers through xCloud.

Does Codex's approval mode replace xCloud's confirmation for server changes?

No. Codex's approval settings control which commands and edits run on your machine. xCloud applies its own confirmation to reboots, runtime changes, deletes and purchases, so those still stop for your explicit yes even when Codex is set to run most things without asking.

How do I make Codex pick the right server when I say staging?

Write your server names in the repository's AGENTS.md, for example that staging is staging-fra in Frankfurt, and leave out any tokens. Codex then matches the name against your server list and restates the exact server before it asks you to confirm a change.

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