diff --git a/.spacemacs b/.spacemacs
index df9aab8..6552fc8 100644
--- a/.spacemacs
+++ b/.spacemacs
@@ -665,20 +665,24 @@ before packages are loaded."
   (spacemacs/set-leader-keys "ot" 'toggle-proxy)
 
   ;; idea from chatgpt
-  (defun set-dotfiles-environment ()
+  (defun jp/set-dotfiles-environment ()
     "Set environment variables for the dotfiles repository."
     (interactive)
     (setenv "GIT_DIR" (expand-file-name "~/.cfg/"))
     (setenv "GIT_WORK_TREE" (expand-file-name "~"))
     (message "Dotfiles environment set."))
 
-  (defun unset-dotfiles-environment ()
+  (defun jp/unset-dotfiles-environment ()
     "Unset environment variables for the dotfiles repository."
     (interactive)
     (setenv "GIT_DIR" nil)
     (setenv "GIT_WORK_TREE" nil)
     (message "Dotfiles environment unset."))
 
+  (global-set-key (kbd "<f9> s") 'jp/set-dotfiles-environment)
+  (global-set-key (kbd "<f9> u") 'jp/unset-dotfiles-environment)
+
+
   (defun magit-status-dotfiles ()
     "Open Magit with the dotfiles Git configuration."
     (interactive)
diff --git a/bin/lib/common.sh b/bin/lib/common.sh
index b16f051..4969d5c 100644
--- a/bin/lib/common.sh
+++ b/bin/lib/common.sh
@@ -15,16 +15,26 @@ w3m_safe() {
 
 
 # Returns:
-#   0 = server reachable & command ran
+#   0 = server reachable & remote command ran
 #   1 = network/host-not-up-yet
-#   2 = SSH auth failure (likely passphrase/key issue) -> caller should abort
+#   2 = SSH auth failure (key needs passphrase / wrong key / agent locked) -> caller should abort
+#   3 = host not found
 is_server_up() {
+    local host err st err_lc
     host=$1
 
-    # Capture only stderr (order of redirs matters: 2>&1 >/dev/null)
-    err=$(/usr/bin/ssh \
+    # return 3 if the host does not exist
+    host "$host" 2>&1 > /dev/null || return 3
+
+    # Capture only stderr; do NOT use -q (it suppresses diagnostics we need to classify).
+    # Force English messages for stable matching.
+    err=$(LC_ALL=C /usr/bin/ssh \
         -o BatchMode=yes \
         -o PreferredAuthentications=publickey \
+        -o PubkeyAuthentication=yes \
+        -o PasswordAuthentication=no \
+        -o KbdInteractiveAuthentication=no \
+        -o NumberOfPasswordPrompts=0 \
         -o ConnectTimeout=10 \
         -o ServerAliveInterval=20 \
         -o ServerAliveCountMax=3 \
@@ -32,44 +42,60 @@ is_server_up() {
         -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no \
         -o UserKnownHostsFile=/dev/null \
         -o LogLevel=ERROR \
-        -n -q "$host" 'uname -n || hostname' 2>&1 >/dev/null)
+        -n "$host" 'uname -n || hostname' 2>&1 >/dev/null)
     st=$?
 
+    # Success
     [ $st -eq 0 ] && return 0
 
-    # Normalize to lowercase for robust matching
+    # ssh uses 255 for any error; distinguish by stderr text
     err_lc=$(printf '%s' "$err" | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')
 
     case $err_lc in
+        # Common auth/passphrase/agent problems
         *"permission denied"*|\
         *"no supported authentication methods available"*|\
+        *"publickey authentication failed"*|\
         *"too many authentication failures"*|\
+        *"sign_and_send_pubkey: signing failed"*|\
+        *"agent refused operation"*|\
         *"agent admitted failure"*|\
-        *"publickey authentication failed"*)
+        *"bad permissions"*|\
+        *"enter passphrase"*)
             printf 'FATAL: SSH authentication failed for "%s": %s\n' "$host" "$err" >&2
             return 2
             ;;
     esac
 
-    # Anything else (timeout, connection refused, kex read/reset, etc.)
+    # Everything else looks like "not up yet" (timeout, DNS, connection refused/reset, kex read, etc.)
     return 1
 }
 
 wait_for_server_to_boot_up() {
+    local server rc
     server=$1
     while :; do
-        if is_server_up "$server"; then
-            printf '"%s" is up and running.\n' "$server"
-            return 0
-        fi
+        is_server_up "$server"
         rc=$?
-        if [ $rc -eq 2 ]; then
-            printf 'Aborting: SSH authentication failed for "%s" (likely passphrase needed or wrong key).\n' "$server" >&2
-            exit 2
-        fi
-        printf 'Server "%s" is not up\n' "$server"
-        sleep 10
+        case $rc in
+            0)
+                printf '"%s" is up and running.\n' "$server"
+                return 0
+                ;;
+            2)
+                printf 'Aborting: SSH authentication failed for "%s" (key needs passphrase / wrong key / agent locked).\n' "$server" >&2
+                return 2
+                ;;
+            3)
+                printf 'Aborting: Host not found.\n' "$server" >&2
+                return 3
+                ;;
+            *)
+                printf 'Server "%s" is not up\n' "$server"
+                sleep 10
+                ;;
+        esac
     done
 }
 
-# vim: set ts=4 sw=4 tw=0 noet ft=bash:
+# vim: set ts=4 sw=4 tw=0 noet ft=sh: