Linux: Coping With Settings on Remote Systems

If you're like me, you probably end up working a lot on remote systems. It can be a pain to manage your settings on them. I think we all have a way of dealing with this. Ideally, we'd all manage our dot files in some publicly accessible source control. If you're a mere mortal like me, though, you just want a way to copy your dot files to the remote system and install your ssh key.

If so, then the following snippit from my .zshrc may be helpful to you. It's been tested with zsh, but probably works just fine in .bashrc. If you add to your .zshrc, remember to re-source that file or re-login. Edit to suit your tastes:

# Install my ssh key on a remote system.
ssh-installkey() {
        [ -n "$1" ] || {
                echo "usage: ssh-installkey username@host" >&2
                return 1
        }
        ssh $1 "mkdir -p -m 700 .ssh"
        ssh $1 "cat >> ~/.ssh/authorized_keys2" < ~/.ssh/id_dsa.pub
}

# Install some basic settings on the remote system for things like zsh, vim,
# and screen.  Then, try to change shells.  
# 
# This does not call ssh-installkey because that command should not be executed
# multiple times.  Call it first.
ssh-installsettings() {
        [ -n "$1" ] || {
                echo "usage: ssh-installsettings username@host" >&2
                return 1
        }
        scp -r \
            .zlogin .zshenv .zshrc \
            .vim .vimrc \
            .screenrc \
            $1:
        echo "Attempting to set login shell." >&2
        ssh $1 "chsh -s /usr/bin/zsh"
}