# Parallel Ssh > Parallel SSH operations across multiple hosts using google_compute_engine key. Use this skill when the user provides a list of host IPs and wants to execute commands in parallel across them, such as starting prefill/decode nodes for distributed inference. - Skill: `yangwhale/parallel-ssh` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add yangwhale/parallel-ssh` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/yangwhale/parallel-ssh/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: AI & ML - License: MIT - Author: yangwhale (https://skillmd.com/u/yangwhale) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/yangwhale/parallel-ssh --- # Parallel SSH This skill enables parallel SSH operations across multiple hosts for distributed workloads like SGLang/vLLM prefill-decode disaggregation. ## When to Use This Skill - User provides a list of host IPs (internal or external) - User wants to run commands in parallel across multiple machines - User needs to start distributed services (prefill nodes, decode nodes) - User wants to collect logs from multiple machines simultaneously - User needs to monitor GPU status across a cluster ## SSH Configuration ### Default Key File ``` ~/.ssh/google_compute_engine ``` ### Step 0: Ensure SSH Key Exists (IMPORTANT) Before running any SSH commands, ALWAYS check if the key file exists. If not, generate it using gcloud: ```bash # Check if key exists if [ ! -f ~/.ssh/google_compute_engine ]; then echo "SSH key not found, generating via gcloud..." gcloud compute config-ssh --quiet fi ``` This command: 1. Generates `~/.ssh/google_compute_engine` (private key) and `~/.ssh/google_compute_engine.pub` (public key) 2. Uploads the public key to the GCP project metadata 3. Configures SSH aliases for all instances in the project ### SSH Command Format ```bash ssh -i ~/.ssh/google_compute_engine -o StrictHostKeyChecking=accept-new "" ``` The `-o StrictHostKeyChecking=accept-new` option automatically accepts new host keys (safe for first connection). ## Parallel Execution Pattern ### Step 1: Parse Host List When user provides hosts like: - "10.8.0.81 10.8.0.82 10.8.0.83" - "10.8.0.81, 10.8.0.82, 10.8.0.83" - Listed in a file Parse into individual IPs. ### Step 2: Launch Background Tasks For each host, launch SSH command with `run_in_background: true`: ```bash ssh -i ~/.ssh/google_compute_engine -o StrictHostKeyChecking=accept-new 10.8.0.81 "command" ``` IMPORTANT: Launch ALL tasks in a SINGLE message with multiple Bash tool calls to achieve true parallelism. ### Step 3: Collect Output Use `TaskOutput` to wait for completion, or `Read` to check progress: - Output files: `/tmp/claude-*/tasks/.output` ## Common Commands ### GPU Status Check ```bash nvidia-smi --query-gpu=index,name,memory.used,memory.total,utilization.gpu --format=csv ``` ### System Status ```bash vmstat 2 15 ``` ### Service Status ```bash systemctl status || pgrep -a ``` ### Start SGLang Prefill Node ```bash source /opt/deepep/unified-env.sh && \ python3 -m sglang.launch_server \ --model-path deepseek-ai/DeepSeek-V3 \ --disaggregation-mode prefill \ --tp-size 8 \ --port 30000 \ --host 0.0.0.0 \ ... ``` ### Start SGLang Decode Node ```bash source /opt/deepep/unified-env.sh && \ python3 -m sglang.launch_server \ --model-path deepseek-ai/DeepSeek-V3 \ --disaggregation-mode decode \ --tp-size 8 \ --port 30001 \ --host 0.0.0.0 \ ... ``` ## Example Workflows ### Example 1: Check GPU Status Across Cluster User: "Check GPU status on 10.8.0.81 10.8.0.82 10.8.0.83" Action: Launch 3 parallel SSH tasks with `nvidia-smi` command, collect and summarize results. ### Example 2: Start Distributed Inference User: "Start prefill on 10.8.0.81, decode on 10.8.0.82 and 10.8.0.83" Action: 1. SSH to 10.8.0.81: Start prefill node 2. SSH to 10.8.0.82: Start decode node 1 3. SSH to 10.8.0.83: Start decode node 2 (All launched in parallel) ### Example 3: Kill Services Across Cluster User: "Kill all python processes on all machines" Action: Launch parallel `pkill -f python` commands on all hosts. ### Example 4: Collect Logs User: "Get last 100 lines of sglang logs from all machines" Action: Launch parallel `tail -100 /path/to/logs` commands. ## Host Key Management If SSH fails with "Host key verification failed": ```bash # Add host key to known_hosts ssh-keyscan -H >> ~/.ssh/known_hosts # Or use StrictHostKeyChecking=accept-new (recommended) ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=accept-new ... ``` ## Best Practices 1. **Always use background mode** for long-running commands 2. **Launch all tasks in single message** for true parallelism 3. **Collect output progressively** for long tasks 4. **Summarize results in table format** for easy comparison 5. **Handle failures gracefully** - report which hosts failed ## Output Format When reporting results, use table format: | Host | Status | Key Metrics | |------|--------|-------------| | 10.8.0.81 | OK | GPU 0-7: 95% util | | 10.8.0.82 | OK | GPU 0-7: 80% util | | 10.8.0.83 | FAILED | SSH timeout | ## Environment Variables for Distributed Training Common environment variables to set on each node: ```bash export CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES=0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7 export NCCL_SOCKET_IFNAME=enp0s19 export GLOO_SOCKET_IFNAME=enp0s19 export MASTER_ADDR= export MASTER_PORT=29500 ``` ## Troubleshooting ### SSH Key Not Found If you see "Identity file not accessible" or "No such file or directory": ```bash # Generate SSH key using gcloud (recommended for GCE) gcloud compute config-ssh --quiet # This creates ~/.ssh/google_compute_engine and uploads public key to project metadata ``` ### SSH Connection Refused - Check if SSH service is running on target - Verify network connectivity: `ping ` ### Permission Denied (publickey) 1. First, check if key exists: ```bash ls -la ~/.ssh/google_compute_engine ``` 2. If not exists, generate it: ```bash gcloud compute config-ssh --quiet ``` 3. If exists but still fails, verify key is uploaded to project: ```bash gcloud compute project-info describe --format="value(commonInstanceMetadata.items.filter(key:ssh-keys))" ``` ### Command Timeout - Use `nohup` for long-running processes - Use `screen` or `tmux` for persistent sessions - Increase Bash timeout parameter