mac-remote

name	mac-remote
description	Steer work on $USER's MacBook via SSH. Use when asked to run commands, install software, check services, or manage files on the MacBook from jeff-ubuntu or another machine. Auto-detects whether running locally on MacBook (no SSH) or remotely (SSH into MacBook first).

Mac Remote — MacBook SSH Steering

Mirror of /linux (jeff-ubuntu), but targeting the MacBook. Runs from any machine that can reach the MacBook's SSH port.

Connection

Field	Value
Host alias (recommended)	macbook (after ~/.ssh/config setup below)
Hostname (LAN)	jeffreys-macbook-pro.local or 192.168.254.199
Hostname (Tailscale)	100.67.70.24 (works off-LAN via Tailscale)
User	$USER
Key (from MacBook)	~/.ssh/id_jeff_ubuntu (same key used by jeff-ubuntu's reverse direction)
SSH port	22 (default)
OS	macOS 14+ (Sonoma/Sequoia), aarch64

Detect local-vs-remote automatically

Before SSHing, check if you're already on the MacBook:

if [[ "$(uname -s)" == "Darwin" && "$(hostname -s)" == "jeffreys-macbook-pro" ]]; then
  echo "local MacBook — no SSH needed"
else
  ssh macbook '...'  # remote
fi

Or simpler — try uname -s to detect. On MacBook locally, Darwin; on jeff-ubuntu, Linux; on GitHub Actions ubuntu-latest, Linux.

Setup on a remote machine (one-time, e.g. on jeff-ubuntu)

# 1. Generate an SSH key on the remote machine (if none exists)
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -f ~/.ssh/id_macbook -N ""

# 2. Copy the public key to MacBook's authorized_keys
ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/id_macbook.pub $USER@192.168.254.199
# (prompts for $USER's MacBook password once)

# 3. Add the macbook alias to ~/.ssh/config
cat >> ~/.ssh/config <<'EOF'

Host macbook
    HostName 192.168.254.199
    User $USER
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_macbook
    StrictHostKeyChecking no
EOF

How to run commands

Once the alias is set up, use ssh macbook '<command>' for one-liners:

ssh macbook 'launchctl list | grep ezgha'                            # check launchd
ssh macbook 'brew list | grep ez-gh-actions'                         # check Homebrew installs
ssh macbook 'cat ~/Library/Logs/ezgha-launchd-stderr.log | tail -20' # tail launchd logs
ssh macbook 'ls -la ~/.local/share/worldarchitect-runners/'          # runtime mirror

For multi-line scripts, use heredoc:

ssh macbook 'bash -s' << 'EOF'
brew update
brew install ez-gh-actions
ls -la /opt/homebrew/bin/ezgha
EOF

sudo with known password

expect -c "
spawn ssh macbook sudo <command>
expect {
  \"password\" { send \"<password>\r\"; exp_continue }
  eof
}
"

# OR pipe via stdin:
echo '<password>' | ssh macbook 'sudo -S <command>'

File transfer

scp /local/file macbook:/remote/path                                # local → remote
scp macbook:/remote/file /local/path                                # remote → local
rsync -avz /local/ macbook:/remote/                                 # sync directory

Chaining: MacBook → jeff-ubuntu

After SSHing into the MacBook, you can chain to jeff-ubuntu from there. This is useful when you need the MacBook's tooling (e.g. colima, docker, cmux) to act on jeff-ubuntu artifacts:

ssh macbook 'ssh jeff-ubuntu "systemctl --user restart ezgha"'

Note: jeff-ubuntu must be reachable from the MacBook. From the home LAN, it's 192.168.254.128. From off-LAN, use Tailscale or skip chaining.

Common tasks

Task	Command
Check ezgha status	ssh macbook '~/.cargo/bin/ezgha status | grep -E "managed|registered"'
Check fleet-watchdog log	ssh macbook 'tail -n 20 /tmp/ezgha-watchdog.log'
Restart ezgha	ssh macbook 'launchctl kickstart -k gui/$(id -u)/org.jleechanorg.ezgha'
Check colima VM	ssh macbook 'limactl list'
Check disk	ssh macbook 'df -h /'
Tail launchd stderr	ssh macbook 'tail -n 30 ~/Library/Logs/ezgha-launchd-stderr.log'
Install / upgrade ~/.claude/skills from jeff-ubuntu	scp /path/to/skill macbook:~/.claude/skills/skill-name/

Reverse direction: jeff-ubuntu → MacBook (this skill's primary use case)

To install a skill (e.g. /ezgha-watchdog) on the MacBook from jeff-ubuntu:

# Option A: copy from jeff-ubuntu's local clone
ssh macbook 'mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/ezgha-watchdog'
scp ~/.claude/skills/ezgha-watchdog/SKILL.md macbook:~/.claude/skills/ezgha-watchdog/
scp ~/.claude/skills/ezgha-watchdog/scripts/ezgha-fleet-watchdog.sh macbook:~/.claude/skills/ezgha-watchdog/scripts/

# Option B: pull from GitHub
ssh macbook 'git clone https://github.com/$GITHUB_REPOSITORY.git /tmp/your-project.com && \
  mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/ezgha-watchdog && \
  cp -r /tmp/your-project.com/.claude/skills/ezgha-watchdog/* ~/.claude/skills/ezgha-watchdog/'

Caveats

• LAN-only by default: 192.168.254.199 only reachable when both machines on the same home LAN. Use Tailscale (100.67.70.24) for off-LAN access.
• macOS SSH keychain: First SSH attempt may prompt for keychain access; use ssh-add --apple-use-keychain ~/.ssh/id_macbook to cache.
• No headless Docker: MacBook uses colima for Docker; running Docker on the MacBook requires colima VM to be Running (the ezgha-fleet-watchdog script auto-starts it).
• macOS sandboxing: Some ~/Library/... paths may need Full Disk Access for the terminal app to read them.
• sudo prompts on macOS: Touch ID prompt instead of password on physical Mac; over SSH use expect with password.
• Always prefer SSH over VNC/Screen Sharing: SSH is scriptable + auditable + doesn't steal focus.