remote-mac

name	remote-mac
description	Operate and diagnose configured remote Macs over Tailscale or SSH, with tmux and GUI fallback. Use when a fleet Mac needs inspection, repair, service checks, or remote automation.

Remote Mac

Use the machine inventory from ${ROUNDHOUSE_CONFIG:-${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-$HOME/.config}/roundhouse/config.json}. Do not assume host names, users, paths, or services. Prefer the requested machine, then its configured ssh_alias, SSH config, and Tailscale state. Treat inventory as routing hints until hostname, id -un, sw_vers, and pwd confirm the destination.

Use non-interactive SSH for one-shot checks, and always execute the command through the target user's configured login shell. This preserves user-level paths such as $HOME/.local/bin; never infer that tooling is absent from a raw non-login SSH PATH.

When the user names a specific CLI for the operation, that named tool is the contract. Locate it on the target (command -v <cli>, then <cli> --help) and drive the operation through it. If it genuinely lacks the operation, stop and say so — never silently fall back to hand-editing the files it manages behind its back, which desyncs whatever state that CLI owns.

ssh -o BatchMode=yes -o RequestTTY=no -o RemoteCommand=none \
  -o ConnectTimeout=10 -o ServerAliveInterval=15 -o ServerAliveCountMax=2 \
  ALIAS "exec \"\$SHELL\" -lc 'hostname; id -un; sw_vers'"

Override aliases that auto-attach tmux or run a remote command. Use the same configured-login-shell form for developer tools:

ssh -o BatchMode=yes -o RequestTTY=no -o RemoteCommand=none \
  -o ConnectTimeout=10 -o ServerAliveInterval=15 -o ServerAliveCountMax=2 ALIAS \
  "exec \"\$SHELL\" -lc 'command -v brew; command -v pnpm; command -v node'"

If Tailscale is involved, inspect tailscale status --json and use its current address rather than a cached inventory address. Try mDNS only from the same LAN, and do not use another fleet machine as a relay unless that route is configured and the user approved it. For long-running or interactive work, create a clearly named remote tmux session and report the attach command.

Codex automations are host-local scheduler state. Moving or handing off a task does not move its automation. Ensure the checkout and automation exist on the intended runner, and disable the old copy when the user wants only one runner.

For a named service, discover its real launchd label, process, or port from repo docs, AGENTS.md, or the configured project before checking:

launchctl list
tmux list-sessions
ps axww
lsof -nP -iTCP -sTCP:LISTEN

Filter locally without exposing environment values or secrets. Read-only checks come first. Do not install, start, stop, restart, unload, or edit a service unless the user asks. Before treating a loopback port as a local service, check whether it is an SSH tunnel. Never stop a tmux session or dev service that the current task did not start without explicit approval.

Prefer SSH and service APIs. Use GUI automation only for explicitly GUI-bound work or a visible security prompt. Capture current state before each action and verify afterward. Never type or expose a secret in chat; let the user approve keychain or browser prompts.

If the host is unreachable, report each attempted configured route. Never substitute WSL for a direct Windows Codex Desktop transport.

Adapted from steipete/agent-scripts skills/remote-mac at c46ea65b6323e8a2b6f441f8b6449ae731bc8f81 (MIT).