diff --git a/pkgs/oizys/src/oizys.nim b/pkgs/oizys/src/oizys.nim
index 7e92c17..688fb8a 100644
--- a/pkgs/oizys/src/oizys.nim
+++ b/pkgs/oizys/src/oizys.nim
@@ -24,7 +24,6 @@ hwylCli:
       - d
     resetCache:
       ? "set cache timeout to 0"
-      - r
     [misc]
     yes:
       - y
@@ -111,15 +110,12 @@ hwylCli:
     [os]
     ? "[b]oizys os[/] [i]subcmd[/] [[[faint]flags[/]]"
     ... "nixos-rebuild [italic]subcmd[/]"
+    flags:
+      remote:
+        ? "host is remote"
+        - r
     run:
-      if args.len == 0: fatalQuit "please provide subcmd"
-      let subcmd = args[0]
-      if subcmd notin nixosSubcmds:
-        fatalQuit(
-          &"unknown nixos-rebuild subcmd: {subcmd}\nexpected one of: \n" &
-          nixosSubcmds.mapIt("  " & it).join("\n")
-        )
-      nixosRebuild(subcmd, args[1..^1])
+      nixosRebuild(args, remote)
 
     [output]
     ... "nixos config attr"
@@ -148,5 +144,5 @@ hwylCli:
       if preview: quit 0
       if yes or confirm("Proceed with system update?"):
         updateRepo()
-        nixosRebuild("switch")
+        nixosRebuild(["switch"])
 
diff --git a/pkgs/oizys/src/oizys/context.nim b/pkgs/oizys/src/oizys/context.nim
index b15d71d..fca6158 100644
--- a/pkgs/oizys/src/oizys/context.nim
+++ b/pkgs/oizys/src/oizys/context.nim
@@ -11,8 +11,10 @@ type
     ci: bool
     resetCache: bool
 
+let currentHost* = getHostName()
+
 proc initContext*(): OizysContext =
-  result.hosts = @[getHostname()]
+  result.hosts = @[currentHost]
   result.flake = "github:daylinmorgan/oizys"
   let localDir = getHomeDir() / "oizys"
   if localDir.dirExists:
diff --git a/pkgs/oizys/src/oizys/exec.nim b/pkgs/oizys/src/oizys/exec.nim
index 8a865a5..6acb694 100644
--- a/pkgs/oizys/src/oizys/exec.nim
+++ b/pkgs/oizys/src/oizys/exec.nim
@@ -7,9 +7,10 @@ import hwylterm
 import hwylterm/spin/spinners # todo: remove after hwylterm update
 
 
-func addArgs*(cmd: var string, args: openArray[string]) =
+func addArgs*(cmd: var string, args: varargs[string]) =
   cmd &= " " & args.join(" ")
 
+# deprecate in favor of above?
 func addArg*(cmd: var string, arg: string ) =
   cmd &= " " & arg
 
diff --git a/pkgs/oizys/src/oizys/nix.nim b/pkgs/oizys/src/oizys/nix.nim
index 3bdaae3..e8e3477 100644
--- a/pkgs/oizys/src/oizys/nix.nim
+++ b/pkgs/oizys/src/oizys/nix.nim
@@ -31,11 +31,34 @@ const nixosSubcmds* =
   """switch boot test build dry-build dry-activate edit
   repl build-vm build-vm-with-bootloader list-generations""".splitWhitespace()
 
-proc nixosRebuild*(subcmd: string, rest: seq[string] = @[]) =
-  if getHosts().len > 1:
-    fatalQuit "nixos-rebuild only supports one host"
-  var cmd = fmt"sudo nixos-rebuild {subcmd} --flake {getFlake()} --log-format multiline"
-  cmd.addArgs rest
+proc handleRebuildArgs(args: openArray[string], remote: bool): string =
+  assert args.len > 0
+  # TODO: future versions will let hwylterm handle arg parseing
+  let subcmd = args[0]
+  if subcmd notin nixosSubcmds:
+    fatalQuit(
+      "unknown nixos-rebuild subcmd: " & 
+      subcmd &
+      "\nexpected one of: \n" &
+      nixosSubcmds.mapIt("  " & it).join("\n")
+    )
+  if not remote: result.add "sudo"
+  result.addArgs "nixos-rebuild"
+  result.addArgs subcmd
+  result.addArgs "--flake", getFlake()
+  result.addArgs "--log-format multiline"
+  if remote:
+    let host = getHosts()[0]
+    if host == currentHost:
+      fatalQuit "did you mean to specify a remote host?"
+    result.addArgs "--target-host", host, "--use-remote-sudo"
+    result.addArgs args[1..^1]
+
+
+proc nixosRebuild*(args: openArray[string], remote: bool = false) =
+  if getHosts().len > 1: fatalQuit "nixos-rebuild only supports one host"
+  if args.len == 0: fatalQuit "please provide subcmd"
+  let cmd = handleRebuildArgs(args, remote)
   quitWithCmd cmd
 
 type
diff --git a/todo.md b/todo.md
index b269e21..974c22d 100644
--- a/todo.md
+++ b/todo.md
@@ -2,8 +2,7 @@
 
 ## oizys
 
-- [ ] add deployment capability that expands `oizys os <subcmd>` with a `--remote` flag and utilizes `nixos-rebuild <cmd> --target-host`
-  basically `oizys os switch --host algiz --remote` is translated to `nixos-rebuild switch --flake . --target-host algiz --use-remote-sudo`
+- [ ] reimplement "--debug" flag as verbosity count i.e. "-vv"/ "--verbose --verbose"
 
 ## software