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Remote host settings ​

Some settings belong to the machine, not to ShellCanvas. Host details → Remote settings shows the ones the connected system exposes, and applies a change only after you review it.

Prerequisites ​

  • A connected workspace whose provider offers remote settings. Today that means a Linux host managed by systemd.
  • To change a value, a connection as root. There is no sudo or password-prompt path: a non-root account can read, not write.

Reading needs nothing beyond the connection. If the provider offers no settings, the section says so and the rest of Host details still works.

Steps ​

  1. Open Host details from the dock or launcher, then the Remote settings tab. ShellCanvas reads the current values — Reading supported settings… — and shows each field with its description.
  2. Edit the field you want to change:
    • Static hostname — a text field. The persistent name of the system. DNS records, /etc/hosts and your saved connection addresses are separate; changing this does not change how you reach the machine.
    • Timezone — a list of the zones the host itself reports, which affects the host's local timestamps and scheduled jobs. Your desktop clock keeps using your own computer's timezone.
  3. Choose Review change. ShellCanvas shows the field, the host, and the difference: Current — with Not configured when there is no value — and Proposed.
  4. Choose Apply to host, or Keep editing to go back.
  5. ShellCanvas runs the change, then reads the value back from the host and confirms: updated and verified on the host.

A field you cannot change is marked Read only with the reason, such as:

Read only for this account. This provider currently supports changes through a root connection, without sudo or password prompts.

Other reasons you may see: the host did not provide supported timezones, or the timezone can be read but its choices are unavailable.

Expected result ​

The value shown after applying is the one the host reports, not the one you typed. If ShellCanvas cannot verify the result, it says so and asks you to refresh before trying again — the change may already have taken effect.

Proposed values survive a disconnection, so a dropped connection mid-review does not lose what you were about to apply.

Limitations ​

  • Two settings, one provider. Static hostname and timezone, on Linux with systemd. Other systems report no settings rather than guessing at commands.
  • Root only for changes, with no sudo path.
  • Values are validated before anything runs. A hostname must be lowercase letters, digits, dots and hyphens, at most 64 characters, with no label starting or ending in a hyphen; a timezone must be one the host listed.
  • Applying a change has not yet been part of a live validation run. Reading and the read-only paths have been verified against a real host; the mutation path is exercised by controlled tests, with a disposable-host run still outstanding. Treat it accordingly on machines you care about.
  • One operation at a time per window, and the window stays busy until it settles, so quitting or disconnecting cannot interrupt it.
  • A revision mismatch is refused. If the setting changed on the host since you read it, refresh and review again.

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