Works with SSH commands, Docker remote management, and infrastructure health checks.

Infrastructure SSH Service Management

Quick Start

Discover available infrastructure:

# List all hosts and their status
ping -c 1 -W 1 infra.local && echo "✅ infra.local (primary)" || echo "❌ infra.local"
ping -c 1 -W 1 192.168.68.135 && echo "✅ deus (development)" || echo "❌ deus"
ping -c 1 -W 1 homeassistant.local && echo "✅ homeassistant.local" || echo "❌ homeassistant.local"

Check primary infrastructure services:

# View all running Docker services on infra.local
ssh infra "docker ps --format 'table {{.Names}}\t{{.Status}}\t{{.Ports}}'"

# Quick MongoDB health check (MongoDB 4.4 uses 'mongo' not 'mongosh')
ssh infra "docker exec local-infra-mongodb-1 mongo off --quiet --eval 'db.runCommand({ping: 1})'" 2>/dev/null

Before using remote MongoDB (NomNom project):

# Verify MongoDB is accessible
nc -z infra.local 27017 && echo "✅ MongoDB port open" || echo "❌ MongoDB unreachable"

Connection Reference

To connect to infra.local, you have three equivalent options:

# Option 1: Use the connect function (recommended)
connect infra

# Option 2: Use the SSH alias from ~/.ssh/config
ssh infra

# Option 3: Use the full hostname
ssh dawiddutoit@infra.local

All three commands do the same thing:

• Connect to infra.local
• Authenticate as user dawiddutoit
• Use SSH key ~/.ssh/id_ed25519

First-time setup (if SSH key not yet copied):

connect infra --setup
# This copies your SSH public key to infra.local for passwordless authentication

For other hosts:

connect deus        # or: ssh deus        # or: ssh dawiddutoit@192.168.68.135
connect ha          # or: ssh ha          # or: ssh root@homeassistant.local
connect motor       # or: ssh motor       # or: ssh dawiddutoit@pi4-motor.local
connect armitage    # or: ssh unit@armitage.local

Running commands on infra.local (without interactive shell):

# Execute single command
ssh infra "docker ps"

# Execute multiple commands
ssh infra "cd ~/projects/local-infra && docker compose ps"

# Chain commands
ssh infra "docker ps -f name=mongodb && docker logs --tail 10 local-infra-mongodb-1"

Table of Contents

1. When to Use This Skill
2. What This Skill Does
3. Instructions
   • 3.1 Discovery Phase – Find Available Hosts and Services
   • 3.2 Health Check Phase – Verify Connectivity
   • 3.3 Execution Phase – Manage Services
4. Supporting Files
5. Common Workflows
6. Expected Outcomes
7. Integration Points
8. Expected Benefits
9. Requirements
10. Red Flags to Avoid

When to Use This Skill

Explicit Triggers (User Requests)

• “Check infrastructure status”
• “Connect to infra/deus/ha”
• “View Docker services on infra”
• “Test MongoDB connectivity”
• “What services are running on infra.local?”
• “Troubleshoot remote MongoDB connection”
• “Check Langfuse status”
• “View OTLP collector logs”

Implicit Triggers (Contextual Needs)

• Before using remote MongoDB in NomNom project
• When remote service connection fails (MongoDB, Neo4j, Langfuse)
• Before starting development session that uses remote resources
• When planning to use OpenTelemetry/Langfuse observability
• When investigating service availability for integration work

Debugging/Troubleshooting Triggers

• Connection refused errors to infra.local services
• MongoDB ServerSelectionTimeoutError
• SSH authentication failures
• Docker container not responding
• Service appears running but not accessible
• Neo4j or Infinity in restart loop

What This Skill Does

This skill provides systematic workflows for:

1. Service Discovery – Identify available hosts (5 total) and running services (16+ on infra.local)
2. Connectivity Testing – Verify network reachability, port availability, SSH access
3. Docker Management – View, restart, and monitor remote Docker containers
4. Health Verification – Check service health status and logs
5. Troubleshooting – Diagnose connection issues and service failures
6. Infrastructure Integration – Ensure remote resources (MongoDB, Langfuse, OTLP) are ready for use

Instructions

3.1 Discovery Phase

Step 1: Identify Target Host

Use the connect function to determine which host you need:

# View available hosts
connect
# Output: Hosts: infra, armitage, deus, ha, motor

Infrastructure Inventory:

Step 2: Test Host Reachability

# Quick network ping test
ping -c 1 -W 1 infra.local

# Test specific port availability
nc -z infra.local 27017  # MongoDB
nc -z infra.local 3000   # Langfuse
nc -z infra.local 4317   # OTLP Collector
nc -z infra.local 7687   # Neo4j (if not in restart loop)

Step 3: Discover Running Services

# View all Docker containers on infra.local
ssh infra "docker ps --format 'table {{.Names}}\t{{.Status}}\t{{.Ports}}'"

# Count running services
ssh infra "docker ps --format '{{.Names}}' | wc -l"

# Check specific service
ssh infra "docker ps -f name=mongodb"

3.2 Health Check Phase

Step 1: Verify SSH Connectivity

# Test basic SSH connection
ssh infra "echo 'Connection OK'"

# If SSH fails, check SSH agent
ssh-add -l

# Copy SSH key if needed (first-time setup)
connect infra --setup

Step 2: Check Service Health

# MongoDB health check
ssh infra "docker inspect --format='{{.State.Health.Status}}' local-infra-mongodb-1"
ssh infra "docker exec local-infra-mongodb-1 mongo off --quiet --eval 'db.runCommand({ping: 1})'"

# Langfuse health check (HTTP)
curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" http://infra.local:3000

# OTLP Collector health check
ssh infra "docker inspect --format='{{.State.Status}}' local-infra-otel-collector-1"

# View container logs for errors
ssh infra "docker logs --tail 50 local-infra-mongodb-1"

Step 3: Verify Application-Level Connectivity

For MongoDB (NomNom project):

# Test from application environment
cd ~/projects/play/nomnom
python -c "from motor.motor_asyncio import AsyncIOMotorClient; import asyncio; asyncio.run(AsyncIOMotorClient('mongodb://infra.local:27017').admin.command('ping'))" && echo "✅ MongoDB reachable"

For Langfuse:

# Check web UI accessibility
curl -I http://infra.local:3000 | grep "HTTP"

3.3 Execution Phase

Service Management Commands:

# Restart single service
ssh infra "cd ~/projects/local-infra && docker compose restart mongodb"

# Restart all services
ssh infra "cd ~/projects/local-infra && docker compose restart"

# Stop service
ssh infra "cd ~/projects/local-infra && docker compose stop mongodb"

# Start service
ssh infra "cd ~/projects/local-infra && docker compose up -d mongodb"

# View Docker Compose configuration
ssh infra "cd ~/projects/local-infra && docker compose config"

Monitoring Commands:

# Follow logs in real-time
ssh infra "docker logs -f local-infra-mongodb-1"

# View last 100 lines
ssh infra "docker logs --tail 100 local-infra-langfuse-web-1"

# View logs for all services
ssh infra "cd ~/projects/local-infra && docker compose logs -f"

# Check resource usage
ssh infra "docker stats --no-stream"

File Synchronization:

# Push file to infra.local
syncpi push ~/path/to/file

# Pull file from infra.local
syncpi pull ~/path/to/file

# Sync zsh configuration
syncpi zsh push
syncpi zsh pull

Supporting Files

references/infrastructure_guide.md

Complete infrastructure documentation – Read this for:

• Detailed service inventory with ports and URLs
• Environment variable mappings
• Docker Compose management on infra.local
• Troubleshooting guides for specific services
• Security notes and credential locations

When to read: Before performing any infrastructure operations, when troubleshooting connection issues, or when needing detailed service information.

Location: /Users/dawiddutoit/.claude/artifacts/2026-01-01/infrastructure/SSH_INFRASTRUCTURE_GUIDE.md

scripts/health_check.sh

Quick health check script – Automated connectivity and service status checks.

Usage:

See references/detailed-workflows.md for:

• 7 comprehensive workflows (NomNom setup, connection debugging, service discovery, restart loop diagnosis, SSH setup, OTLP verification, file syncing)
• Expected outcomes (successful/failed health checks, restart loop diagnosis)
• Integration examples (NomNom, observability, Home Assistant, quality gates)
• Troubleshooting guide (connection refused, permission denied, restart loops, slow SSH)
• Advanced techniques (complex commands, real-time monitoring, batch health checks)

Environment variables:

MONGODB_URL=mongodb://infra.local:27017
MONGODB_DATABASE=off

With Observability Skills

Before using observability skills:

# Verify OTLP Collector is running
ssh infra "docker ps -f name=otel-collector -q" | grep -q . || echo "⚠️ OTLP Collector offline"

# Then use skills:
# - observability-analyze-logs
# - observability-analyze-session-logs

With Home Assistant Skills

Before using HA skills:

# Verify Home Assistant is accessible
curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $HA_LONG_LIVED_TOKEN" http://192.168.68.123:8123/api/ | grep -q "message" && echo "✅ HA API accessible"

# Then use skills:
# - ha-dashboard-create
# - ha-custom-cards
# - ha-mushroom-cards

With Quality Gates

Infrastructure verification as quality gate:

# Add to pre-start checks
if ! nc -z infra.local 27017; then
  echo "❌ QUALITY GATE FAILED: MongoDB unreachable"
  echo "Run: ssh infra 'cd ~/projects/local-infra && docker compose restart mongodb'"
  exit 1
fi

Expected Benefits

Success Metrics

1. Discovery Success Rate – Can identify all online hosts and services in <30 seconds
2. Health Check Coverage – Verify critical services (MongoDB, Langfuse, OTLP) before use
3. Troubleshooting Efficiency – Resolve 80% of connection issues within 5 minutes
4. Proactive Usage – Check infrastructure before remote operations (NomNom, observability)
5. Zero Surprise Failures – No “connection refused” errors due to unchecked infrastructure

Requirements

Tools

• Bash (for SSH commands and connectivity tests)
• Read (for comprehensive infrastructure guide)

Environment

• SSH access to remote hosts (via ~/.ssh/config)
• SSH keys configured (use connect <host> --setup if needed)
• Network connectivity to infra.local (primary), deus, homeassistant.local
• connect function in ~/.zshrc (lines 290-306)
• Optional: syncpi function for file synchronization

Knowledge

• Basic SSH command syntax
• Understanding of Docker and Docker Compose
• Familiarity with port-based service discovery (nc, curl)
• Environment variables for service endpoints

Utility Scripts

scripts/health_check.sh

Purpose: Run comprehensive health checks across all infrastructure hosts

Usage:

# Check all hosts
bash /Users/dawiddutoit/.claude/skills/infra-manage-ssh-services/scripts/health_check.sh

# Check specific host
bash /Users/dawiddutoit/.claude/skills/infra-manage-ssh-services/scripts/health_check.sh infra

# Verbose output
bash /Users/dawiddutoit/.claude/skills/infra-manage-ssh-services/scripts/health_check.sh --verbose

Checks performed:

1. Network reachability (ping)
2. SSH connectivity
3. Docker daemon status
4. Container health for critical services
5. Port availability for key services
6. Service-specific health endpoints

Red Flags to Avoid

1. Assuming local MongoDB – MongoDB runs on infra.local, NOT localhost
2. Skipping connectivity checks – Always verify before using remote services
3. Ignoring offline hosts – armitage.local and pi4-motor.local are offline (environment variables may point to them)
4. Missing SSH key setup – Run connect <host> --setup on first use
5. Not checking container health – Container “Up” ≠ healthy (use docker inspect for health)
6. Hardcoding IPs – Use hostnames (infra.local, homeassistant.local) for mDNS resolution
7. Ignoring restart loops – Neo4j and Infinity are restarting on infra.local (check logs)
8. Skipping logs when debugging – Always view logs before restarting services
9. Not testing ports – Use nc -z to verify port availability before connection attempts
10. Missing Docker Compose context – Always cd ~/projects/local-infra before Docker Compose commands

Notes

Key Infrastructure Facts:

• Primary Host: infra.local (16+ services, always online)
• MongoDB: 632K OpenFoodFacts products already imported
• Telemetry: All Claude Code sessions automatically send OTLP to infra.local:4317
• Offline Services: Neo4j and Infinity Embeddings in restart loop on infra.local
• Alternative Endpoints: armitage.local has Neo4j/Infinity but is currently offline
• Home Assistant: Separate host with 16 related skills in ~/.claude/skills/

Environment Variable Locations:

• SSH config: ~/.ssh/config
• Secrets: ~/.zshrc (lines 366-540)
• Project .env: ~/projects/play/nomnom/.env (MongoDB URL)

Related Documentation:

• Complete infrastructure guide: /Users/dawiddutoit/.claude/artifacts/2026-01-01/infrastructure/SSH_INFRASTRUCTURE_GUIDE.md
• NomNom MongoDB setup: /Users/dawiddutoit/projects/play/nomnom/CLAUDE.md (lines 224-235)
• Observability skills: ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md (search “observability-*”)
• Home Assistant skills: ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md (search “ha-*”)