zeabur-server-ssh

Zeabur Server SSH + kubectl

Always use npx zeabur@latest to invoke Zeabur CLI. Never use zeabur directly or any other installation method.

SSH into a user's dedicated server and use kubectl to debug Kubernetes workloads. Zeabur dedicated servers run k3s with kubectl pre-installed.

Step 1: Get SSH Credentials

npx zeabur@latest server ssh-info --id <server-id> -i=false

Output is JSON:

{"ip":"1.2.3.4","port":22,"username":"root","password":"xxx"}

If you don't know the server ID, list servers first:

npx zeabur@latest server list -i=false

Step 2: Run Commands via SSH

Use the Node.js ssh2 method by default. Use sshpass only when its availability is already known.

Option A: sshpass (only if already known to be available)

# Single command
sshpass -p '<password>' ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -p <port> <username>@<ip> sudo kubectl get pods -A

# Multiple commands in one SSH call
sshpass -p '<password>' ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -p <port> <username>@<ip> '
  echo "=== PODS ===" && sudo kubectl get pods -A &&
  echo "=== SERVICES ===" && sudo kubectl get svc -A &&
  echo "=== EVENTS ===" && sudo kubectl get events -A --sort-by=.lastTimestamp | tail -20
'

Option B: Node.js ssh2 (default)

The Zeabur agent sandbox has ssh2 pre-installed. Use this approach by default:

NODE_PATH=/home/vercel-sandbox/.global/node_modules node -e "
const {Client} = require('ssh2');
const c = new Client();
c.on('ready', () => {
  c.exec('<command>', (err, stream) => {
    if (err) { console.error(err); process.exit(1); }
    let out = '', errOut = '';
    stream.on('data', d => out += d);
    stream.stderr.on('data', d => errOut += d);
    stream.on('close', code => {
      if (out) console.log(out);
      if (errOut) console.error(errOut);
      c.end();
      process.exit(code);
    });
  });
}).connect({host:'<ip>', port:<port>, username:'<username>', password:'<password>'});
"

For multiple commands, join them with && in the command string:

NODE_PATH=/home/vercel-sandbox/.global/node_modules node -e "
const {Client} = require('ssh2');
const c = new Client();
c.on('ready', () => {
  c.exec('echo \"=== PODS ===\" && sudo kubectl get pods -A && echo \"=== SERVICES ===\" && sudo kubectl get svc -A && echo \"=== EVENTS ===\" && sudo kubectl get events -A --sort-by=.lastTimestamp | tail -20', (err, stream) => {
    if (err) { console.error(err); process.exit(1); }
    let out = '';
    stream.on('data', d => out += d);
    stream.stderr.on('data', d => out += d);
    stream.on('close', () => { console.log(out); c.end(); });
  });
}).connect({host:'<ip>', port:<port>, username:'<username>', password:'<password>'});
"

Common kubectl Commands

Always use sudo kubectl — the SSH user may not have direct access to the k3s kubeconfig.

Task	Command
List all pods	sudo kubectl get pods -A -o wide
Problem pods only	sudo kubectl get pods -A --field-selector=status.phase!=Running,status.phase!=Succeeded
Pod logs	sudo kubectl logs <pod-name> -n <namespace> --tail=100
Exec into container	sudo kubectl exec <pod-name> -n <namespace> -- <command>
Node resources	sudo kubectl top nodes
Pod resources	sudo kubectl top pods -A --sort-by=memory | head -20
Describe pod	sudo kubectl describe pod <pod-name> -n <namespace>
Recent events	sudo kubectl get events -A --sort-by=.lastTimestamp | tail -30
Restart deployment	sudo kubectl rollout restart deployment/<name> -n <namespace>

Tips

• Use Node.js ssh2 by default (Option B): Only use sshpass (Option A) if you already know it's available. Do NOT run which sshpass to check — it wastes a step in environments where it's never installed.
• Combine commands: Batch related checks with && in a single SSH call to reduce round trips.
• Do NOT use bash -c '...' over SSH: Pass commands directly in SSH quotes. Using bash -c causes quoting conflicts.
• Use -o wide: Adds node name and IP to pod listings, useful for debugging scheduling issues.
• Namespace matters: Zeabur services typically run in non-default namespaces. Use -A (all namespaces) first to locate the right namespace, then scope subsequent commands with -n <namespace>.
• Read project docs first: If a fix attempt fails, exec into the container and check README or config files before blindly checking metrics: sudo kubectl exec <pod> -n <ns> -- cat /app/README.md
• To find server IDs, use the zeabur-server-list skill. For simpler container commands that don't need server-level access, use the zeabur-service-exec skill instead.