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Pascal (Lazarus/Delphi)

Set an Environment Variable on an SSH Channel

See more SSH Examples

Demonstrates the Chilkat Ssh.SendReqSetEnv method, which asks the server to set an environment variable for a session channel. The arguments are the channel number, the variable name, and its value. Send these requests before the exec, shell, or subsystem request.

Background: This is the clean way to pass configuration to a remote command without embedding it in the command line. Be aware that many SSH servers restrict which variables clients may set (OpenSSH's AcceptEnv), so a request can be silently ignored or rejected — do not rely on it without verifying the server's policy.

Chilkat Pascal (Lazarus/Delphi) Downloads

Pascal (Lazarus/Delphi)
program ChilkatDemo;

// Demonstrates using the Chilkat Pascal wrapper via the C bridge DLL.
// Builds as a console application under Lazarus (FPC) or Delphi.

{$IFDEF FPC}
  {$MODE DELPHI}
{$ENDIF}
{$APPTYPE CONSOLE}

uses
  {$IFDEF UNIX}
  cthreads,
  {$ENDIF}
  SysUtils,
  CkDllLoader,
  Chilkat.Ssh;

// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

procedure RunDemo;
var
  success: Boolean;
  ssh: TSsh;
  sshPort: Integer;
  password: string;
  channelNum: Integer;
  output: string;

begin
  success := False;

  //  Demonstrates the Ssh.SendReqSetEnv method, which asks the server to set an environment
  //  variable for a session channel.  The 1st argument is the channel number, the 2nd is the
  //  variable name, and the 3rd is its value.  Send it before the exec, shell, or subsystem
  //  request.

  ssh := TSsh.Create;

  sshPort := 22;
  success := ssh.Connect('ssh.example.com',sshPort);
  if (success = False) then
    begin
      WriteLn(ssh.LastErrorText);
      Exit;
    end;

  //  Normally you would not hard-code the password in source.  You should instead obtain it
  //  from an interactive prompt, environment variable, or a secrets vault.
  password := 'mySshPassword';

  success := ssh.AuthenticatePw('mySshLogin',password);
  if (success = False) then
    begin
      WriteLn(ssh.LastErrorText);
      Exit;
    end;

  //  Open a session channel.  A negative return value indicates failure.
  channelNum := ssh.OpenSessionChannel();
  if (channelNum < 0) then
    begin
      WriteLn(ssh.LastErrorText);
      Exit;
    end;

  //  Set environment variables for the channel.  Multiple variables may be requested.
  success := ssh.SendReqSetEnv(channelNum,'LANG','en_US.UTF-8');
  if (success = False) then
    begin
      WriteLn(ssh.LastErrorText);
      Exit;
    end;

  success := ssh.SendReqSetEnv(channelNum,'MY_APP_MODE','production');
  if (success = False) then
    begin
      WriteLn(ssh.LastErrorText);
      Exit;
    end;

  //  Now run the command, which sees the requested environment.
  success := ssh.SendReqExec(channelNum,'echo $MY_APP_MODE');
  if (success = False) then
    begin
      WriteLn(ssh.LastErrorText);
      Exit;
    end;

  //  IMPORTANT: Set a read timeout.  ReadTimeoutMs defaults to 0, which means no limit -- without
  //  it, this call waits forever if the server never sends channel close.
  ssh.ReadTimeoutMs := 15000;

  success := ssh.ChannelReceiveToClose(channelNum);
  if (success = False) then
    begin
      WriteLn(ssh.LastErrorText);
      Exit;
    end;

  output := ssh.GetReceivedText(channelNum,'utf-8');
  if (ssh.LastMethodSuccess = False) then
    begin
      WriteLn(ssh.LastErrorText);
      Exit;
    end;
  WriteLn(output);

  ssh.Disconnect();


  ssh.Free;

end;

// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

begin

  try
    RunDemo;
  except
    on E: Exception do
      WriteLn('Unhandled exception: ', E.ClassName, ': ', E.Message);
  end;

  WriteLn;
  {$IFDEF MSWINDOWS}
  WriteLn('Press Enter to exit...');
  ReadLn;
  {$ENDIF}
end.