linux-patcher

What This Skill Does

The linux-patcher skill is a robust automation tool designed to handle the maintenance of Linux server environments and Docker-based containerized applications. It simplifies the tedious task of keeping software packages current across heterogeneous infrastructure. By leveraging SSH key authentication and passwordless sudo, it performs non-interactive updates safely. The skill features deep integration with PatchMon, allowing for intelligent, automated discovery of hosts that require attention, and it intelligently distinguishes between system package upgrades and container refreshes.

Installation

To integrate this skill, use the ClawHub command-line interface. Execute the following command in your terminal: clawhub install openclaw/skills/skills/jgm2025/linux-patcher. Once installed, ensure that your environment meets the security requirements, specifically by configuring passwordless sudo for the target user account and verifying that your SSH keys are correctly propagated to the target servers. If you intend to use the automated PatchMon integration, initialize your credentials by copying the example configuration file: cp scripts/patchmon-credentials.example.conf ~/.patchmon-credentials.conf and updating it with your endpoint and authorization details.

Use Cases

This skill is perfect for system administrators and DevOps engineers managing multi-host environments. Use it for routine security patch deployment to minimize vulnerability windows, orchestrating large-scale Docker image updates across clusters, or preparing servers for maintenance windows without manual SSH entry. It is particularly effective when you have a mixed-distribution fleet including Ubuntu, Debian, RHEL, and AlmaLinux, as the script handles the logic for different package managers (apt, dnf, yum, zypper) automatically.

Example Prompts

1. "Check for pending security updates on all production hosts and apply them if they are marked as critical."
2. "Update all Docker containers on the web-server-cluster while leaving the underlying Linux packages untouched."
3. "Run a dry-run update on the staging server group to see which packages will be upgraded without actually modifying the systems."

Tips & Limitations

Always prioritize the use of the --dry-run flag when patching mission-critical production servers to identify potential dependency conflicts. While the skill supports a wide range of distributions, note that only Ubuntu is currently tested for end-to-end reliability; other distributions should be verified in a non-production environment before wide deployment. Ensure that your SSH agent is running to allow for seamless multi-host authentication. Remember that this tool executes commands with root privileges; ensure your sudoers file is configured with the least-privilege principle to maintain security integrity.