---
title: "Docs as files, over SSH"
companies:
- name: "Supabase"
logo: "/images/logos/supabase.svg"
verdict: "good"
summary: "Supabase serves its documentation as a filesystem of Markdown over SSH. The agent reads docs the same way it reads code: ls, cat, grep."
date: 2026-09-21
tags: ["docs","markdown","cli"]
sources:
- "https://www.reddit.com/r/Supabase/comments/1s9ni4o/we_shipped_an_ssh_server_for_supabase_docs/"
- "https://www.reddit.com/r/mcp/comments/1m75ww6/just_used_supabase_mcp_didnt_even_open_the/"
---
> Every page is a markdown file. Your agent navigates them the same way it navigates your code.
>
> Supabase staff, [r/Supabase](https://www.reddit.com/r/Supabase/comments/1s9ni4o/we_shipped_an_ssh_server_for_supabase_docs/)
## Why this is good AX
Coding agents already have a perfect interface for text: the shell. `ls` lists the sections, `cat` reads a page, `grep` finds the one line about connection pooling. There is no HTML to strip, no JavaScript to render, no search box to operate, and no 28,000-token tool result.
That last point matters. In the same dataset, Supabase's own MCP `search_docs` tool got complaints for the size of its results. The SSH server is the opposite design: the agent pulls only the file it needs.
## The pattern
1. Write docs in Markdown. Most teams already do.
2. Serve the source, not the rendered page. A Git repository, an SSH server, or a plain `.md` URL for each page all work.
3. Give the agent a map: an index file at the root, with one line per page.
`llms.txt` was meant to be that map. Server logs show that crawlers almost never read it, but coding agents do.
## Related
Supabase's MCP server and CLI get the same praise for setup: "All without ever opening the Supabase dashboard" ([r/mcp](https://www.reddit.com/r/mcp/comments/1m75ww6/just_used_supabase_mcp_didnt_even_open_the/)). Docs, setup, and data all have a path that does not need a browser.
Every page is a markdown file. Your agent navigates them the same way it navigates your code.
Supabase staff, r/Supabase
Why this is good AX
Coding agents already have a perfect interface for text: the shell. ls lists the sections, cat reads a page, grep finds the one line about connection pooling. There is no HTML to strip, no JavaScript to render, no search box to operate, and no 28,000-token tool result.
That last point matters. In the same dataset, Supabase’s own MCP search_docs tool got complaints for the size of its results. The SSH server is the opposite design: the agent pulls only the file it needs.
The pattern
- Write docs in Markdown. Most teams already do.
- Serve the source, not the rendered page. A Git repository, an SSH server, or a plain
.md URL for each page all work.
- Give the agent a map: an index file at the root, with one line per page.
llms.txt was meant to be that map. Server logs show that crawlers almost never read it, but coding agents do.
Supabase’s MCP server and CLI get the same praise for setup: “All without ever opening the Supabase dashboard” (r/mcp). Docs, setup, and data all have a path that does not need a browser.
Pattern: Dashboard-only actions
Supabase