remote-setup skill: install zellij, mosh, and fzf

SKILL.md

remote-setup

Set up essential CLI tools on a remote machine. Detects the platform and installs zellij, mosh, and fzf using the appropriate method.

Usage

Run this skill on a freshly provisioned remote server to bootstrap the interactive environment.

Instructions

First, detect the platform:

OS="$(uname -s)"
if [ -f /etc/os-release ]; then
  . /etc/os-release
  DISTRO="$ID"
else
  DISTRO="unknown"
fi
echo "OS=$OS DISTRO=$DISTRO"

Then install each tool below according to the detected platform. Each section checks whether the tool is already installed and skips installation if so.

---

1. zellij

A terminal workspace (multiplexer).

Check

command -v zellij && zellij --version

If zellij is already installed, skip to the next tool.

macOS (Homebrew)

brew install zellij

Linux — Download prebuilt binary

This works on any Linux distribution without needing a package manager entry:

ZELLIJ_VERSION=$(curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/zellij-org/zellij/releases/latest | grep '"tag_name"' | sed 's/.*"v\(.*\)".*/\1/')
curl -fsSL "https://github.com/zellij-org/zellij/releases/latest/download/zellij-x86_64-unknown-linux-musl.tar.gz" -o /tmp/zellij.tar.gz
tar -xzf /tmp/zellij.tar.gz -C /tmp
sudo install /tmp/zellij /usr/local/bin/zellij
rm /tmp/zellij.tar.gz /tmp/zellij

For aarch64 machines, replace the download URL with:

https://github.com/zellij-org/zellij/releases/latest/download/zellij-aarch64-unknown-linux-musl.tar.gz

Alternative — Cargo

If Rust is available:

cargo install --locked zellij

Verify

zellij --version

---

2. mosh

Mobile shell — a replacement for interactive SSH terminals.

Check

command -v mosh && mosh --version

If mosh is already installed, skip to the next tool.

macOS

brew install mosh

Ubuntu / Debian

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y mosh

Fedora

sudo dnf install -y mosh

Arch Linux

sudo pacman -S --noconfirm mosh

Alpine Linux

sudo apk add mosh

openSUSE

sudo zypper install -y mosh

Build from source (any platform)

sudo apt-get install -y build-essential protobuf-compiler libprotobuf-dev libutempter-dev libncurses5-dev zlib1g-dev libssl-dev pkg-config autoconf automake  # Debian/Ubuntu deps
git clone https://github.com/mobile-shell/mosh /tmp/mosh-src
cd /tmp/mosh-src
./autogen.sh
./configure
make
sudo make install
cd - && rm -rf /tmp/mosh-src

Verify

mosh --version

---

3. fzf

A general-purpose command-line fuzzy finder. Install from GitHub directly.

Check

command -v fzf && fzf --version

If fzf is already installed, skip this section. If you want to update an existing install, see Update below.

All platforms

git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/junegunn/fzf.git ~/.fzf
~/.fzf/install --all

The --all flag enables key bindings and fuzzy completion without interactive prompts. The install script adds the necessary lines to your shell configuration (~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc) to set up $PATH and shell integration.

Update

cd ~/.fzf && git pull && ./install --all

Verify

fzf --version

---

Platform dispatch summary

Tool	macOS	Ubuntu/Debian	Fedora	Arch	Other Linux
zellij	brew install	binary from GitHub releases	binary from GitHub releases	binary from GitHub releases	binary from GitHub releases
mosh	brew install	apt-get install	dnf install	pacman -S	build from source
fzf	git clone	git clone	git clone	git clone	git clone