diff --git a/common.sh b/common.sh
index a4f9607..e39a00a 100644
--- a/common.sh
+++ b/common.sh
@@ -452,7 +452,7 @@ detect_hosts() {
 
     # ── Set host name strings ─────────────────────────────────────────────────
     LOCAL_SERVER_NAME="${!MY_ID}"
-    REMOTE_SERVER_NAME="${!REMOTE_ID:-unknown}"
+    [[ -n "$REMOTE_ID" ]] && REMOTE_SERVER_NAME="${!REMOTE_ID}" || REMOTE_SERVER_NAME="unknown"
 
     # ── Set SSH key ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
     local ssh_key_var="${MY_ID}_SSH_KEY"