# Sudo TTY Workaround for SSH Commands

When `sudo` requires a TTY (`requiretty` in sudoers) and you're running commands via SSH without a pseudo-terminal, `sudo` refuses even with `NOPASSWD` set. On newer sudo versions (Ubuntu 26.04+), `Defaults:user !requiretty` is **not a valid setting** and will cause a parse error.

## The Problem

```bash
ssh user@host 'sudo whoami'
# → sudo: a terminal is required to authenticate
```

Even if `/etc/sudoers.d/user` contains `user ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: ALL`, the `requiretty` flag in the main sudoers file still blocks non-TTY commands.

## The Solution: Python PTY Fork

Use Python's `pty` module to fork a child with a proper TTY, write to its stdin, and collect the result:

```python
import pty, os

pid, fd = pty.fork()
if pid == 0:
    # child — executes the sudo command with a real TTY
    os.execvp("sudo", ["sudo", "tee", "/etc/sudoers.d/ray"])
else:
    # parent — sends input to the child's TTY
    os.write(fd, b"<password>\n")
    os.write(fd, b"ray ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: ALL\n")
    os.close(fd)
    os.waitpid(pid, 0)
    print("DONE")
```

**However**, this approach is fragile — `os.write()` to a PTY doesn't guarantee the sudo process reads the password before the content. It may print "DONE" without actually writing the file.

## The Reliable Solution: Python subprocess with `sudo -S`

Run this **directly on the remote machine** via SSH (NOT piped through the terminal tool's sudo filter):

```bash
ssh user@host 'python3 -c "
import subprocess
r = subprocess.run([\"sudo\", \"-S\", \"tee\", \"/etc/sudoers.d/ray\"],
    input=b\"<password>\\nray ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: ALL\\n\",
    capture_output=True, timeout=10)
print(\"RC:\", r.returncode)
"'
```

This works because `sudo -S` reads the password from stdin, and `subprocess.run()` with `input=` pipes it to the child process. The `capture_output=True` captures any password prompts.

## Why Other Approaches Don't Work

| Approach | Result |
|----------|--------|
| `echo 'nopasswd' \| sudo tee file` | Fails — requires TTY |
| `script -qc "sudo tee file" /dev/null` | Prompts for password interactively, hangs |
| `ssh -tt user@host 'sudo ...'` | Opens PTY but prompts for password, SSH tool blocks `sudo -S` |
| `Default:user !requiretty` | Not a valid setting in sudo 1.9.x+ (Ubuntu 26.04) |

## Verification

After creating the sudoers file:

```bash
sudo -n whoami
# → root
```

The `-n` (non-interactive) flag ensures sudo won't prompt for a password. If it returns `root`, passwordless sudo is working.

## Cleanup on Ubuntu 26.04+

If you accidentally added `Defaults:user !requiretty`:

```bash
sudo sed -i "/requiretty/d" /etc/sudoers.d/ray
sudo visudo -c -f /etc/sudoers.d/ray
```

The `requiretty` flag was removed from sudo's parser in newer versions (saw this on Ubuntu 26.04 with sudo 1.9.x+). It causes: `unknown setting: 'requiretty'`.
