Built-in Tools

Import built-in tools from rmote.tools. Pass a tool method and its arguments to Connection or Protocol to execute it on the connected host. Module tools such as facts expose functions called in the same way. Tools use that connection’s user permissions and the programs installed there.

FileSync.upload/download and Rsync.upload/download coordinate local and remote files: call them directly with an open async Protocol. See FileSync and Rsync.

Agent.forward is an async context manager called directly. It connects an agent and a listener on independently selected endpoints. See Agent.

facts.fetch(remote, ...) collects host state through an open async connection; await remote(facts.gather, ...) collects it in one remote call. See Facts.

Each page documents the tool’s operations first, followed by its related types. See Quickstart for a complete deployment example and Writing Tools for defining your own tools.

What a tool needs from its target

A tool that reads a kernel interface of Linux, or runs the program of one distribution, refuses on another target with NotImplementedError. The message names the operation, what it needs and what the host is, because the failure travels through RPC and the caller sees nothing else:

Sysctl.get needs the /proc/sys interface of Linux, and this host runs Darwin
Service needs the systemctl program of systemd, and this host has none
AptRepository.absent needs /etc/apt of Debian and Ubuntu, and this host has none

Tool	Needs
FileSystem, Files, Exec, Template, FileSync, Rsync, Logger, Quit	any POSIX target
Agent	POSIX Unix sockets; an existing SSH agent on the selected agent endpoint
Hostname	get and hosts_entry any target; set the /proc/sys interface of Linux
Sysctl	the /proc/sys interface of Linux; absent only edits the persistent file
Service	the systemctl program of systemd
User	the shadow utilities for users and groups; sudoer and authorized_key any target
Apt, AptRepository	apt-get and /etc/apt of Debian and Ubuntu
Pacman, PacmanRepository	pacman and /etc/pacman.conf of Arch Linux
Vty	a pseudo terminal of POSIX for a terminal session; the pipe mode needs none

The checks live in Platform requirements. A tool of your own can use them for the same message.

Files and templates

• FileSystem
• Files
• FileSync
• Rsync
• RenderTemplate

Commands and services

• Exec
• Service
• Terminal Sessions
• Agent

System configuration

• User
• Hostname
• Sysctl
• Facts

Packages and repositories

• Apt
• AptRepository
• Pacman
• PacmanRepository

Logging and shutdown

• Logger
• Quit