Back to browse
Execute local prompts in SSH remote shells

Execute local prompts in SSH remote shells

by tgalal·Mar 10, 2026·4 points·0 comments

AI Analysis

●●SolidBig BrainSolve My Problem

Local prompt execution over SSH channels means zero server-side installation.

Strengths
  • Prompts execute locally—API keys never touch the remote server.
  • Multiple channel types (fifo, nc, socat) for different server constraints.
Weaknesses
  • Requires SSH forwarding capabilities that some hardened servers disable.
  • Niche workflow—most devs don't regularly SSH into multiple boxes.
Target Audience

DevOps engineers and sysadmins working with remote servers

Similar To

sshfs · rsync · Teleport

Post Description

Instead of giving LLM tools SSH access or installing them on a server, the following command:

$ promptctl ssh user@server

makes a set of locally defined prompts "magically" appear within the remote shell as executable command line programs.

For example, I have locally defined prompts for `llm-analyze-config` and `askai`. Then on (any) remote host I can:

$ promptctl ssh user@host # Now on remote host $ llm-analyze-config /etc/nginx.conf $ cat docker-compose.yml | askai "add a load balancer"

the prompts behind `llm-analyze-config` and `askai` execute on my local computer (even though they're invoked remotely) via the llm of my choosing.

This way LLM tools are never granted SSH access to the server, and nothing needs to be installed to the server. In fact, the server does not even need outbound internet connections to be enabled.

Github: https://github.com/tgalal/promptcmd/

Similar Projects