How to execute a remote command over ssh with arguments?

Question

In my .bashrc I define a function which I can use on the command line later:

function mycommand() {
    ssh user@123.456.789.0 cd testdir;./test         


        

Answer 1

Do it this way instead:

function mycommand {
    ssh user@123.456.789.0 "cd testdir;./test.sh \"$1\""
}

You still have to pass the whole command as a single string, yet in that single string you need to have $1 expanded before it is sent to ssh so you need to use "" for it.

Update

Another proper way to do this actually is to use printf %q to properly quote the argument. This would make the argument safe to parse even if it has spaces, single quotes, double quotes, or any other character that may have a special meaning to the shell:

function mycommand {
    printf -v __ %q "$1"
    ssh user@123.456.789.0 "cd testdir;./test.sh $__"
}

• When declaring a function with function, () is not necessary.
• Don't comment back about it just because you're a POSIXist.