How do I install the Essh skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add lirrensi/essh in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Essh?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

lirrensi (@lirrensi) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Essh by lirrensi — Agent Skill

Name: Essh
Author: lirrensi

File contents

ESSH Skill

Abstracts SSH so you type less crap around your commands.

The human sets up profiles (essh add ...). You just use them.

Installation Check

essh --help

If not installed:

uv tool install "git+https://github.com/lirrensi/agent-sommelier"

Usage

List available profiles

essh list --json

Run a command on a saved host

essh <name> <command>

That's it. No -i key.pem, no user@host:22. Just the name.

Examples

essh list --json
# → [{"name": "coral-fox", "user": "deploy", "host": "192.168.1.50", "port": 22, "key_path": ""}]

essh coral-fox "uname -a"
essh coral-fox "systemctl status nginx"
essh prod-web "tail -n 100 /var/log/app.log"

## Command Filters
The human may set up command filter rules to control what you can run on
each host. Filters use wildcard matching with three actions:

- **allow** — The command runs without any prompting.
- **ask** — The command is blocked until the human authorizes it (same
  authorization flow as the connection itself).
- **deny** — The command is rejected immediately with an error message.
  There is no way to bypass this.

### Checking if filters are defined
```bash
# Global filters (apply to all hosts)
essh filter list global
# Per-host filters (apply to a specific host)
essh filter list <name>

How filters affect you

When you run essh <name> "<command>", essh checks all filter rules (global first, then per-host) from top to bottom. The last matching rule wins.

If a deny rule matches: the command is rejected. You will see something like:

❌ BLOCKED: This command is blocked by a filter rule.
  Command: rm -rf /etc

If an ask rule matches: in non-TTY mode, essh creates an authorization request showing the exact command. The human sees:
```
Pending request for 'prod-web':
  Command: rm -rf /var/log
```
They must run essh authorize <name> for the command to proceed.
If an allow rule matches, or no rule matches: the command runs normally through the existing authorization gate.

Pattern syntax

The same wildcard rules as opencode (anomalyco) permission system:

Pattern	Matches	Doesn't match
`rm *`	`rm`, `rm -rf /`	`rmdir`
`shutdown *`	`shutdown`, `shutdown -h now`	`shutdown` with no args? yes, actually
`git *`	`git`, `git status`	(anything starting with git)
`rm -rf *`	`rm -rf /`, `rm -rf .`	`rm -r`

Key rule: * in patterns like rm * makes the trailing space and arguments optional — so rm * matches both bare rm and rm -rf /.

If you get blocked and think it's a mistake, tell the human:

The command "..." was blocked by a filter rule.
You may need to add an ``--action allow`` rule or adjust the pattern.

---name: esshdescription: Portable SSH profile manager for agents. Run remote commands on saved hosts by friendly name instead of typing user@host -i key every time. Type less crap around your SSH commands.---# ESSH SkillAbstracts SSH so you type less crap around your commands.The human sets up profiles (`essh add ...`). You just **use** them.## Installation Check```bashessh --help```If not installed:```bashuv tool install "git+https://github.com/lirrensi/agent-sommelier"```## Usage### List available profiles```bashessh list --json```### Run a command on a saved host```bashessh <name> <command>```That's it. No `-i key.pem`, no `user@host:22`. Just the name.## Examples```bashessh list --json# → [{"name": "coral-fox", "user": "deploy", "host": "192.168.1.50", "port": 22, "key_path": ""}]essh coral-fox "uname -a"essh coral-fox "systemctl status nginx"essh prod-web "tail -n 100 /var/log/app.log"## Command FiltersThe human may set up command filter rules to control what you can run oneach host. Filters use wildcard matching with three actions:- **allow** — The command runs without any prompting.- **ask** — The command is blocked until the human authorizes it (same authorization flow as the connection itself).- **deny** — The command is rejected immediately with an error message. There is no way to bypass this.### Checking if filters are defined```bash# Global filters (apply to all hosts)essh filter list global# Per-host filters (apply to a specific host)essh filter list <name>```### How filters affect you1. When you run `essh <name> "<command>"`, essh checks all filter rules (global first, then per-host) from top to bottom. The **last matching** rule wins.2. If a **deny** rule matches: the command is rejected. You will see something like: ``` ❌ BLOCKED: This command is blocked by a filter rule. Command: rm -rf /etc ```3. If an **ask** rule matches: in non-TTY mode, essh creates an authorization request showing the exact command. The human sees: ``` Pending request for 'prod-web': Command: rm -rf /var/log ``` They must run `essh authorize <name>` for the command to proceed.4. If an **allow** rule matches, or no rule matches: the command runs normally through the existing authorization gate.### Pattern syntaxThe same wildcard rules as opencode (anomalyco) permission system:| Pattern | Matches | Doesn't match ||---|---|---|| `rm *` | `rm`, `rm -rf /` | `rmdir` || `shutdown *` | `shutdown`, `shutdown -h now` | `shutdown` with no args? yes, actually || `git *` | `git`, `git status` | (anything starting with git) || `rm -rf *` | `rm -rf /`, `rm -rf .` | `rm -r` |Key rule: `*` in patterns like `rm *` makes the trailing space and arguments **optional** — so `rm *` matches both bare `rm` and `rm -rf /`.If you get blocked and think it's a mistake, tell the human:```The command "..." was blocked by a filter rule.You may need to add an ``--action allow`` rule or adjust the pattern.``````

Frequently asked questions

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