How to configure ssh client to automatically execute commands on connect?

Question

I frequently connect to servers through a user I share with other colleagues, every time I connect to each server I execute a couple of commands like bash, set -o vi, etc.

I would want to know if there is a way to tell the ssh client utility to execute those on the remote server before handing me the control.

Basically something like this:

echo "bash; set -o vi; <DONT_EXIT>;" | ssh user@host

Anything built in the ssh client utility? Any workarounds that are executed from MY side? I am aware of workarounds on the server side, which are not what I am looking for. I can't find this anywhere, so, I am basically confirming that it actually can't be done.

I am using Linux with the default OpenSSH ssh utility.

Answer 1

The parameter I was looking for is: -t which would force the ssh client to allocate a terminal , so it looks like this:

ssh -t user@host "bash -o vi"

This will get me to auto enable the vi mode upon connect, but executing more commands is trickier since if I added more commands afterwards they will be executed after exit from bash and immediately exit everything, so all commands must be executed before it.

Answer 2

You can add the commands to the file:

~/.bashrc

when you login, first execute these commands, last it give you the shell.

Answer 3

Perhaps finish off your string of commands with your shell you want to interact with?

ssh user@host "bash -c 'set -o vi; bash'"

I tested this and it seems to run the initial commands and then be interactive, however stdout isn't coming back properly. Hopefully someone else can point out the solution to that.