RunPod Shell CLI

A Python command-line interface to manage RunPod instances (create, list, stop, and terminate pods) with optional persistent network volumes, customized container environments, and automatic SSH setup.

Features

• Docker-like Subcommands: Simple interface to create, list, info, stop, terminate, templates, gpus, run, exec, and cp.
• Rich Pod Inspection (info): Inspect comprehensive pod specifications mimicking the RunPod dashboard "Details" tab, including GPU model, VRAM size, allocated vCPUs, system RAM, disk volumes, live utilization metrics (CPU %, RAM %, GPU %, VRAM %), uptime, datacenter location, and direct SSH connection details.
• Automatic Pod & Job Memory: Automatically remembers the last created pod ID in ~/.config/runpod_shell/.last_pod_id and the last executed job ID in ~/.config/runpod_shell/.last_job_id (overrideable with RUNPOD_SHELL_CONFIG_DIR, RUNPOD_SHELL_LAST_POD_ID_FILE, or RUNPOD_SHELL_LAST_JOB_ID_FILE). All pod commands (run, exec, ps, logs, kill, cp, stop, terminate) work seamlessly without having to re-type the pod ID, and commands managing jobs (logs, kill) implicitly target the last executed job unless overridden with -j / --job.
• Seamless File Transfers (cp): Transfer files and directories to and from RunPod instances via scp with intuitive [pod_id:]path and :/path syntax, automatic SSH port & key resolution, recursive copying (-r), and attribute preservation (-P).
• In-Memory Secret & Environment Injection: Pass sensitive secrets (e.g. S3/GCS keys, R2 tokens) into remote scripts in-memory via SSH with --env / -e or --env-file without persisting credentials to the remote pod disk.
• Graceful Job Termination: Kills remote jobs by sending SIGTERM first, monitoring exit status, and escalating to SIGKILL after a configurable timeout (default: 30s).
• Template Management & Image Resolution: Browse and filter pod templates using templates, and launch pods via --template-id with automatic base image resolution.
• GPU Querying & Resolution: List all available GPU types using the gpus subcommand with regex filtering, and use case-insensitive, unique substring, or fuzzy matching auto-resolution for --gpu-type values (e.g. 4090 auto-resolves to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090).
• Smart SSH Key Auto-Detection: Searches for standard SSH public keys (id_rsa.pub, id_ed25519.pub, id_ecdsa.pub, id_dsa.pub) in your local ~/.ssh/ directory automatically.
• SSH Isolation & Sandbox Support: Support for custom SSH config files via --ssh-config or RUNPOD_SSH_CONFIG (e.g. /dev/null), preventing "Bad owner or permissions" errors when running inside Bubblewrap, containers, or restricted user namespaces.
• Python Package Management: Resolves packages from requirements.txt (or custom path) and --pip-packages (CLI) and installs them directly to system Python with global pip configuration, utilizing pre-installed PyTorch and CUDA runtimes without redundant downloads.
• Container Customization: Merges CLI and file-based apt packages (via --apt-packages and --apt-packages-file) and loads credentials from a .env file (via --env-file).
• Real SSH Address Output: Resolves the exact host IP and external port from RunPod to print a ready-to-use SSH connection string.

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Installation

1. Install the package:

   From PyPI:

   pip install runpod-shell
   

   Or from source:

   pip install .
   

   Or for editable development mode:

   pip install -e .
   

2. Environment Variables: Obtain an API key from your RunPod settings and expose it:

   export RUNPOD_API_KEY="your_runpod_api_key"
   

   (Optional) When running within sandboxed or containerized environments (e.g. Bubblewrap), bypass system SSH config ownership checks:

   export RUNPOD_SSH_CONFIG="/dev/null"
   

   (Optional) Configure or isolate the pod and job ID persistence directory (defaults to ~/.config/runpod_shell):

   export RUNPOD_SHELL_CONFIG_DIR="/path/to/config"
   # or specify the exact file paths:
   export RUNPOD_SHELL_LAST_POD_ID_FILE="/path/to/.last_pod_id"
   export RUNPOD_SHELL_LAST_JOB_ID_FILE="/path/to/.last_job_id"
   

Note: Once installed, the runpod-shell executable is available in your PATH. Alternatively, you can run commands via the Python module syntax: python3 -m runpod_shell <subcommand>.

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Command Reference

Global Option

Every subcommand supports passing the API key directly:

• --api-key: RunPod API key (or uses the local RUNPOD_API_KEY env var).

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1. create

Launches and configures a new RunPod instance.

runpod-shell create [OPTIONS]

Flag	Default	Description
--name	persistent-worker	Name of the RunPod instance
--template-id	None	Pod Template ID to deploy (auto-resolves container image name)
--image-name	runpod/pytorch:1.0.2-cu1281-torch280-ubuntu2404	Base image for the container (optional if --template-id is provided)
--gpu-type	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090	GPU type ID to provision (supports case-insensitive, unique substring, and fuzzy matching, e.g. 4090)
--gpu-count	1	Number of GPUs to allocate
--volume-id	None	Persistent Network Volume ID to mount
--volume-size	50	Container disk size in GB
--ssh-key-path	None	Path to public key (checks default paths if omitted)
--requirements-path	None	Path to requirements.txt file
--pip-packages	None	Extra Python packages to install
--apt-packages	None	Extra apt packages to install (default: screen curl htop ffmpeg git)
--apt-packages-file	None	Path to a file containing extra apt packages to install
--env	None	Environment variables (e.g. KEY=VALUE, or RunPod dashboard secret references KEY='{{ RUNPOD_SECRET_<NAME> }}')
--env-file	None	Path to a .env file containing environment variables (supports RunPod dashboard secret references)
--ports	22/tcp	Container ports to expose
--docker-args	None	Optional custom docker arguments to override container entrypoint
--cloud-type	SECURE	Type of cloud network (SECURE, COMMUNITY, or ALL)
--container-disk-size	30	Container local disk size in GB
--volume-mount-path	/workspace	Path inside container where the network volume is mounted
--vcpu-count	4	Minimum number of vCPUs to allocate
--memory	8	Minimum CPU RAM in GB to allocate
--run-script	None	Path to a local script to execute on the pod via SSH once initialized
--script-args	""	String arguments to pass to the script
-d, --detach	False	Run script in background without waiting / streaming
--ssh-private-key-path	None	Path to private SSH key (auto-detected if omitted)
--ssh-config	None (or $RUNPOD_SSH_CONFIG)	Path to custom SSH config file (e.g. /dev/null, or system)
--no-wait-for-setup	False	Do not wait for container disk setup to complete before executing script
--ssh-timeout	180	Max seconds to wait for SSH and setup readiness

[!TIP] Creating a pod automatically saves its ID to ~/.config/runpod_shell/.last_pod_id so subsequent commands (exec, ps, logs, etc.) can be run without passing the pod ID.

[!NOTE] RunPod Dashboard Secrets: RunPod dashboard secrets are supported naturally when creating pods. Pass environment variable values formatted with the template syntax {{ RUNPOD_SECRET_<SECRET_NAME> }} (e.g. --env 'HF_TOKEN={{ RUNPOD_SECRET_HF_TOKEN }}' or via --env-file). RunPod's control plane resolves and substitutes these secrets server-side during container initialization. Quote the CLI argument to prevent shell expansion.

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2. list

Lists all active and stopped pods associated with your account, showing Pod ID, Name, Status, GPU type, and connection endpoint.

runpod-shell list

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3. info

Shows detailed information about a specific pod or the last created/used pod (mimicking the RunPod dashboard "Details" tab). Displays hardware specifications (GPU model & VRAM, allocated vCPUs, RAM size, container & volume disk sizes), live utilization metrics (CPU, RAM, GPU compute & VRAM), uptime, cost, datacenter location, and direct SSH connection strings. Supports --json for automation.

# Show info for the last created pod
runpod-shell info

# Specify a pod explicitly
runpod-shell info <pod-id>
runpod-shell info -p <pod-id>
runpod-shell info --pod <pod-id>

# Output raw JSON
runpod-shell info <pod-id> --json

Argument / Flag	Default	Description
pod-id	None	Target pod ID (optional positional, defaults to last created pod)
-p, --pod	None	Target pod ID (defaults to last created pod)
--json	False	Output raw pod details in JSON format

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4. templates

Lists available pod templates associated with your account and public library, showing Template ID, Name, and Image name. Supports optional regex filtering.

# List all templates
runpod-shell templates

# Filter templates by pattern (case-insensitive regex)
runpod-shell templates pytorch
runpod-shell templates "vllm|tgi"
runpod-shell templates -r "pytorch|cuda"

Argument / Flag	Default	Description
filter	None	Optional regex pattern to filter templates by ID, Name, or Image (case-insensitive)
-r, --regex, --filter	None	Optional regex pattern to filter templates by ID, Name, or Image (case-insensitive)

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5. stop

Stops a running pod (releases GPU resources, but retains data on the persistent network volume). If <pod-id> is omitted, automatically targets the last created pod.

# Stop the last created pod
runpod-shell stop

# Or specify a pod explicitly
runpod-shell stop <pod-id>
runpod-shell stop -p <pod-id>
runpod-shell stop --pod <pod-id>

Argument / Flag	Default	Description
pod-id	None	The ID of the pod to stop (optional positional, defaults to last created pod)
-p, --pod	None	The ID of the pod to stop (defaults to last created pod)

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6. terminate

Deletes a pod and releases all associated resources. If <pod-id> is omitted, automatically targets the last created pod. Also clears the cached .last_pod_id if it matches.

# Terminate the last created pod
runpod-shell terminate

# Or specify a pod explicitly
runpod-shell terminate <pod-id>
runpod-shell terminate -p <pod-id>
runpod-shell terminate --pod <pod-id>

Argument / Flag	Default	Description
pod-id	None	The ID of the pod to terminate (optional positional, defaults to last created pod)
-p, --pod	None	The ID of the pod to terminate (defaults to last created pod)

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7. gpus

Retrieves and lists all available GPU models, including display names, VRAM sizes, maximum GPU configurations, and hourly pricing (Secure vs. Community cloud). Supports optional regex filtering on GPU ID or Display Name (case-insensitive).

# List all GPUs
runpod-shell gpus

# Filter by regex (positional or --regex/-r/--filter flag)
runpod-shell gpus 4090
runpod-shell gpus "A100|H100"
runpod-shell gpus -r "RTX 40\d0"

Argument / Flag	Default	Description
filter	None	Optional regex pattern to filter GPUs by ID or Display Name (case-insensitive)
-r, --regex, --filter	None	Optional regex pattern to filter GPUs by ID or Display Name (case-insensitive)

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8. exec

Uploads and executes an arbitrary local script on an active pod via SSH. Supports foreground streaming or detached background execution, in-memory environment variable injection, and default pod resolution. Automatically remembers the executed Job ID in ~/.config/runpod_shell/.last_job_id.

# Execute on the last created pod
runpod-shell exec <script-path> [OPTIONS]

# Specify pod ID explicitly
runpod-shell exec <pod-id> <script-path> [OPTIONS]
runpod-shell exec -p <pod-id> <script-path> [OPTIONS]

Argument / Flag	Default	Description
script-path	Required	Path to the local script to run (or 2nd positional if pod ID is given first)
pod-id	None	Optional target pod ID if passed as the first positional argument
-p, --pod	None	Target pod ID (defaults to last created pod)
-e, --env	None	Environment variable to inject into the remote process in-memory (KEY=VALUE or KEY to inherit value from local environment). Can accept multiple variables or be repeated.
--env-file, --env_file	None	Path to local .env file to inject into the remote process in-memory without persisting credentials to remote disk. Can be specified multiple times.
--script-args	""	String arguments to pass to the script
-d, --detach	False	Run script in background without waiting / streaming
--ssh-private-key-path	None	Path to private SSH key (auto-detected if omitted)
--ssh-config	None (or $RUNPOD_SSH_CONFIG)	Path to custom SSH config file (e.g. /dev/null, or system)
--no-wait-for-setup	False	Do not wait for container disk setup to complete
--ssh-timeout	180	Max seconds to wait for SSH and setup readiness
-v, --verbose	False	Show detailed job information and connection progress

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9. run

Executes an arbitrary command line directly (binary + args) on an active pod via SSH. Supports foreground streaming or detached background execution, in-memory environment variable injection, and default pod resolution. Automatically remembers the executed Job ID in ~/.config/runpod_shell/.last_job_id.

# Run command on the last created pod
runpod-shell run python3 -c "print('hello')"
runpod-shell run nvidia-smi

# Pass arguments and options to the remote command
runpod-shell run python train.py --epochs 10 --batch-size 32

# Run via remote shell (enables wildcards, pipes, redirections, and command chaining)
runpod-shell run -s mv '/workspace/temp/co*' /workspace/
runpod-shell run --shell "cat /workspace/data.jsonl | grep ERROR > /workspace/errors.log"

# Run detached in background on a specific pod
runpod-shell run -p <pod-id> -d python train.py

Argument / Flag	Default	Description
cmd	Required	Command line to execute directly on the remote pod (binary + args)
-p, --pod	None	Target pod ID (defaults to last created pod)
-s, --shell	False	Execute command within a remote shell (enables wildcards, pipes, redirections)
-d, --detach	False	Run command in background without waiting / streaming
-e, --env	None	Environment variable to inject into the remote process in-memory (KEY=VALUE or KEY to inherit value from local environment). Can accept multiple variables or be repeated.
--env-file, --env_file	None	Path to local .env file to inject into the remote process in-memory without persisting credentials to remote disk. Can be specified multiple times.
--ssh-private-key-path	None	Path to private SSH key (auto-detected if omitted)
--ssh-config	None (or $RUNPOD_SSH_CONFIG)	Path to custom SSH config file (e.g. /dev/null, or system)
--no-wait-for-setup	False	Do not wait for container disk setup to complete
--ssh-timeout	180	Max seconds to wait for SSH and setup readiness
-v, --verbose	False	Show detailed job information and connection progress

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10. ps

Lists remote processes and background jobs managed by runpod-shell on the pod, including Job ID, PID, running/completed/failed status, start time, duration, and log file path. If <pod-id> is omitted, automatically targets the last created pod.

# List jobs on the last created pod
runpod-shell ps

# Or specify a pod explicitly
runpod-shell ps <pod-id>
runpod-shell ps -p <pod-id>
runpod-shell ps --pod <pod-id>

Argument / Flag	Default	Description
pod-id	None	Target pod ID (optional positional, defaults to last created pod)
-p, --pod	None	Target pod ID (defaults to last created pod)
--ssh-private-key-path	None	Path to private SSH key (auto-detected if omitted)
--ssh-config	None (or $RUNPOD_SSH_CONFIG)	Path to custom SSH config file (e.g. /dev/null, or system)

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11. logs

Inspects remote execution logs with full display (cat), tailing the last N lines, or live streaming (-f). If -p/--pod or <pod-id> is omitted, automatically targets the last created pod. If -j/--job or <job-id> is omitted, automatically targets the last executed job.

# Follow logs on the last executed job on the default pod
runpod-shell logs -f

# View full logs of a specific job on the default pod
runpod-shell logs -j <job-id>
runpod-shell logs <job-id>

# Show last 100 lines for a specific pod and job
runpod-shell logs -p <pod-id> -j <job-id> -n 100
runpod-shell logs -p <pod-id> -j <job-id> -f

Argument / Flag	Default	Description
-j, --job	None	Target Job ID or PID (defaults to last executed job ID)
job-id	None	Target Job ID or PID (optional positional; defaults to last executed job ID)
pod-id	None	Target pod ID (optional positional, defaults to last created pod)
-p, --pod	None	Target pod ID (defaults to last created pod)
-n, --tail	None	Number of lines to display from end of log
-f, --follow	False	Follow log output in real-time
-v, --verbose	False	Show detailed job information
--ssh-private-key-path	None	Path to private SSH key (auto-detected if omitted)
--ssh-config	None (or $RUNPOD_SSH_CONFIG)	Path to custom SSH config file (e.g. /dev/null, or system)

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12. kill

Terminates a remote job and its entire process group. By default, sends SIGTERM first, monitors process termination, and escalates to SIGKILL if the job has not exited within --timeout seconds. If -p/--pod or <pod-id> is omitted, automatically targets the last created pod. If -j/--job or <job-id> is omitted, automatically targets the last executed job.

# Kill the last executed job on the last created pod
runpod-shell kill

# Kill a specific job on the default pod
runpod-shell kill -j <job-id-or-pid> [OPTIONS]
runpod-shell kill <job-id-or-pid> [OPTIONS]

# Specify pod ID and job ID explicitly
runpod-shell kill -p <pod-id> -j <job-id-or-pid> [OPTIONS]

Argument / Flag	Default	Description
-j, --job	None	Target Job ID or PID to kill (defaults to last executed job ID)
job-id-or-pid	None	Target Job ID or PID to kill (optional positional, defaults to last executed job ID)
pod-id	None	Target pod ID (optional positional if specified before target job/PID)
-p, --pod	None	Target pod ID (defaults to last created pod)
-s, --signal	SIGTERM	Initial signal to send (e.g. SIGTERM, SIGKILL)
-t, --timeout	30.0	Timeout in seconds to wait before escalating from SIGTERM to SIGKILL
--ssh-private-key-path	None	Path to private SSH key (auto-detected if omitted)
--ssh-config	None (or $RUNPOD_SSH_CONFIG)	Path to custom SSH config file (e.g. /dev/null, or system)

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13. cp

Copies files or directories between the local host and an active RunPod instance using scp. Supports automatic SSH port and key detection, directory recursion (-r), attribute preservation (-P), and remote path resolution using : or <pod-id>:.

Remote paths are distinguished by a colon (:):

• :/remote/path — Targets the path on the default pod (or the pod specified by -p/--pod).
• <pod_id>:/remote/path — Targets the path on a specific pod ID.
• Local paths contain no colon.

# Copy local file to the default pod's /workspace
runpod-shell cp myfile.tar.gz :/workspace/

# Copy a file from a specific pod to the current local directory
runpod-shell cp <pod-id>:/workspace/results.csv ./

# Recursively copy a remote directory to local
runpod-shell cp -r :/workspace/checkpoints/ ./checkpoints/

# Copy matching files using remote wildcards (quote to prevent local expansion)
runpod-shell cp ':/workspace/temp/co*' ./

Argument / Flag	Default	Description
paths	Required	Source and destination paths (e.g. local.txt :/workspace/ or :/workspace/data.csv ./)
-p, --pod	None	Target pod ID (defaults to last created pod if not specified in path prefix)
-r, -R, --recursive	False	Recursively copy entire directories
-P, --preserve	False	Preserves modification times, access times, and modes from original file
-q, --quiet	False	Quiet mode: disables progress meter and non-fatal messages
--ssh-private-key-path	None	Path to private SSH key (auto-detected if omitted)
--ssh-config	None (or $RUNPOD_SSH_CONFIG)	Path to custom SSH config file (e.g. /dev/null, or system)

---

Examples

Launch with default settings

runpod-shell create
# The newly created Pod ID is automatically remembered!

Launch using a Template ID

# Search for templates
runpod-shell templates pytorch

# Create pod from template
runpod-shell create --template-id "runpod-pytorch" --gpu-type 4090

Launch attaching a Network Volume and Python requirements

runpod-shell create --volume-id "vol-abc123xyz" --requirements-path requirements.txt

Run commands or scripts with in-memory secrets and monitor jobs

# Execute a command directly in the background with in-memory credentials
runpod-shell run -d -e R2_TOKEN R2_ACCESS_KEY_ID python train.py --epochs 50
# Both the target Pod ID and newly launched Job ID are remembered automatically!

# Or upload and run a local script
runpod-shell exec -d ./train.py

# Check process status on default pod
runpod-shell ps

# Follow logs in real-time (automatically targets the last job ID on default pod)
runpod-shell logs -f

# Or view logs for a specific job explicitly
runpod-shell logs -j job-1788613220-1817e4 -f

# Terminate gracefully (automatically targets the last job ID, or specify with -j)
runpod-shell kill

Fully customized creation

runpod-shell create \
  --image-name "runpod/pytorch:2.4.0-py3.11-cuda12.4.1-ubuntu22.04" \
  --gpu-type "NVIDIA RTX A6000" \
  --gpu-count 2 \
  --env-file secrets.env \
  --pip-packages torchinfo matplotlib

Launch using RunPod Dashboard Secrets

# Pass dashboard secrets directly via --env (quote to avoid shell expansion)
runpod-shell create \
  --env 'HF_TOKEN={{ RUNPOD_SECRET_HF_TOKEN }}' \
  --env 'WANDB_API_KEY={{ RUNPOD_SECRET_WANDB_API_KEY }}'

Running inside a Bubblewrap Sandbox or Container

When running inside unprivileged user namespaces or Bubblewrap sandboxes, host system files under /etc/ssh/ssh_config.d/ can trigger OpenSSH Bad owner or permissions errors. You can bypass them either globally:

export RUNPOD_SSH_CONFIG="/dev/null"
runpod-shell exec ./train.py

Or per-command using --ssh-config:

runpod-shell exec ./train.py --ssh-config /dev/null