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Hands-on Lab·Python Automation for IT

Python Remote Commands with Paramiko

`paramiko` gives you SSH without shelling out to `ssh`, which means the host key check, the exit status and every timeout become your decisions rather than OpenSSH's. This guide makes each of them explicitly: `AutoAddPolicy` is what `StrictHostKeyChecking=no` looks like in Python, a failing command raises nothing at all, a remote command gets a non-login shell, and a command that outlives its timeout carries on running on the far end.

Remote Hosts and CI/CD Guide 31 of 39 Advanced

Written against the versions above. paramiko 5.0.0. `paramiko.RejectPolicy` is the default and always has been. Note paramiko depends on `invoke`, which imports the stdlib `pty` - which is why one step here fails.

One control node and two managed hosts. The targets keep the hostnames the RHCSA path gave them - they are ordinary Linux boxes reachable over SSH, and nothing here is Red Hat specific.
Server NameIP AddressOSRolesCPURAMHDD
RUNNER01192.168.0.27Ubuntu 26.04 LTSControl node - every script in this path runs here2 Core4 GB50 GB
RHCSA-A01192.168.0.31RHEL 10.0Managed host - reached over SSH from the control node2 Core4 GB50 GB
RHCSA-B01192.168.0.33RHEL 10.0Second managed host - so an inventory has more than one row2 Core4 GB50 GB

Before you start

  1. The two hosts, and what ssh already knows about them

  2. A first connection, and one command

  3. The host key policy, which is a security decision

  4. So use the keys ssh already trusts

  5. A command that fails

  6. The environment a remote command gets

  7. A filename that breaks the import

  8. So rename it, and get_pty works

  9. Timeouts, of which there are four

  10. One helper, used twice

Official sources

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