diff --git a/pkg/manager/remote.go b/pkg/manager/remote.go
index f149fa9..2dda681 100644
--- a/pkg/manager/remote.go
+++ b/pkg/manager/remote.go
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ import (
 	"llamactl/pkg/config"
 	"llamactl/pkg/instance"
 	"net/http"
+	"net/url"
+	"strings"
 	"sync"
 	"time"
 )
@@ -80,6 +82,38 @@ func (rm *remoteManager) removeInstance(instanceName string) {
 
 // --- HTTP request helpers ---
 
+// validateInstanceNameForURL ensures the instance name is safe for use in URLs.
+func validateInstanceNameForURL(name string) (string, error) {
+	if name == "" {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("instance name cannot be empty")
+	}
+
+	// Check for path separators and parent directory references
+	// This prevents path traversal and SSRF attacks
+	if strings.Contains(name, "/") || strings.Contains(name, "\\") || strings.Contains(name, "..") {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("invalid instance name: %s (cannot contain path separators or '..')", name)
+	}
+
+	// Check for URL-unsafe characters that could be used for injection
+	// Reject names with special URL characters that could allow URL manipulation
+	unsafeChars := []string{"?", "&", "#", "%", "=", "@", ":", " "}
+	for _, char := range unsafeChars {
+		if strings.Contains(name, char) {
+			return "", fmt.Errorf("invalid instance name: %s (cannot contain URL-unsafe characters)", name)
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Additional validation: use url.PathEscape to ensure the name doesn't change
+	// when URL-encoded (indicating it contains characters that need encoding)
+	// This catches any other characters that could cause issues in URLs
+	escaped := url.PathEscape(name)
+	if escaped != name {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("invalid instance name: %s (contains characters requiring URL encoding)", name)
+	}
+
+	return name, nil
+}
+
 // makeRemoteRequest creates and executes an HTTP request to a remote node with context support.
 func (rm *remoteManager) makeRemoteRequest(ctx context.Context, nodeConfig *config.NodeConfig, method, path string, body any) (*http.Response, error) {
 	var reqBody io.Reader
@@ -139,7 +173,12 @@ func parseRemoteResponse(resp *http.Response, result any) error {
 
 // CreateInstance creates a new instance on a remote node.
 func (rm *remoteManager) createInstance(ctx context.Context, node *config.NodeConfig, name string, opts *instance.Options) (*instance.Instance, error) {
-	path := fmt.Sprintf("%s%s/", apiBasePath, name)
+	validatedName, err := validateInstanceNameForURL(name)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	path := fmt.Sprintf("%s%s/", apiBasePath, validatedName)
 
 	resp, err := rm.makeRemoteRequest(ctx, node, "POST", path, opts)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -156,7 +195,12 @@ func (rm *remoteManager) createInstance(ctx context.Context, node *config.NodeCo
 
 // GetInstance retrieves an instance by name from a remote node.
 func (rm *remoteManager) getInstance(ctx context.Context, node *config.NodeConfig, name string) (*instance.Instance, error) {
-	path := fmt.Sprintf("%s%s/", apiBasePath, name)
+	validatedName, err := validateInstanceNameForURL(name)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	path := fmt.Sprintf("%s%s/", apiBasePath, validatedName)
 	resp, err := rm.makeRemoteRequest(ctx, node, "GET", path, nil)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
@@ -172,7 +216,12 @@ func (rm *remoteManager) getInstance(ctx context.Context, node *config.NodeConfi
 
 // UpdateInstance updates an existing instance on a remote node.
 func (rm *remoteManager) updateInstance(ctx context.Context, node *config.NodeConfig, name string, opts *instance.Options) (*instance.Instance, error) {
-	path := fmt.Sprintf("%s%s/", apiBasePath, name)
+	validatedName, err := validateInstanceNameForURL(name)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	path := fmt.Sprintf("%s%s/", apiBasePath, validatedName)
 
 	resp, err := rm.makeRemoteRequest(ctx, node, "PUT", path, opts)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -189,7 +238,12 @@ func (rm *remoteManager) updateInstance(ctx context.Context, node *config.NodeCo
 
 // DeleteInstance deletes an instance from a remote node.
 func (rm *remoteManager) deleteInstance(ctx context.Context, node *config.NodeConfig, name string) error {
-	path := fmt.Sprintf("%s%s/", apiBasePath, name)
+	validatedName, err := validateInstanceNameForURL(name)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	path := fmt.Sprintf("%s%s/", apiBasePath, validatedName)
 	resp, err := rm.makeRemoteRequest(ctx, node, "DELETE", path, nil)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
@@ -200,7 +254,12 @@ func (rm *remoteManager) deleteInstance(ctx context.Context, node *config.NodeCo
 
 // StartInstance starts an instance on a remote node.
 func (rm *remoteManager) startInstance(ctx context.Context, node *config.NodeConfig, name string) (*instance.Instance, error) {
-	path := fmt.Sprintf("%s%s/start", apiBasePath, name)
+	validatedName, err := validateInstanceNameForURL(name)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	path := fmt.Sprintf("%s%s/start", apiBasePath, validatedName)
 	resp, err := rm.makeRemoteRequest(ctx, node, "POST", path, nil)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
@@ -216,7 +275,12 @@ func (rm *remoteManager) startInstance(ctx context.Context, node *config.NodeCon
 
 // StopInstance stops an instance on a remote node.
 func (rm *remoteManager) stopInstance(ctx context.Context, node *config.NodeConfig, name string) (*instance.Instance, error) {
-	path := fmt.Sprintf("%s%s/stop", apiBasePath, name)
+	validatedName, err := validateInstanceNameForURL(name)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	path := fmt.Sprintf("%s%s/stop", apiBasePath, validatedName)
 	resp, err := rm.makeRemoteRequest(ctx, node, "POST", path, nil)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
@@ -232,7 +296,12 @@ func (rm *remoteManager) stopInstance(ctx context.Context, node *config.NodeConf
 
 // RestartInstance restarts an instance on a remote node.
 func (rm *remoteManager) restartInstance(ctx context.Context, node *config.NodeConfig, name string) (*instance.Instance, error) {
-	path := fmt.Sprintf("%s%s/restart", apiBasePath, name)
+	validatedName, err := validateInstanceNameForURL(name)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	path := fmt.Sprintf("%s%s/restart", apiBasePath, validatedName)
 	resp, err := rm.makeRemoteRequest(ctx, node, "POST", path, nil)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
@@ -248,7 +317,12 @@ func (rm *remoteManager) restartInstance(ctx context.Context, node *config.NodeC
 
 // GetInstanceLogs retrieves logs for an instance from a remote node.
 func (rm *remoteManager) getInstanceLogs(ctx context.Context, node *config.NodeConfig, name string, numLines int) (string, error) {
-	path := fmt.Sprintf("%s%s/logs?lines=%d", apiBasePath, name, numLines)
+	validatedName, err := validateInstanceNameForURL(name)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+
+	path := fmt.Sprintf("%s%s/logs?lines=%d", apiBasePath, validatedName, numLines)
 	resp, err := rm.makeRemoteRequest(ctx, node, "GET", path, nil)
 	if err != nil {
 		return "", err
diff --git a/pkg/manager/remote_test.go b/pkg/manager/remote_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f628921
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/manager/remote_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+package manager
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// TestValidateInstanceNameForURL tests the URL validation function
+func TestValidateInstanceNameForURL(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		name        string
+		input       string
+		shouldError bool
+	}{
+		// Valid names
+		{"valid simple name", "test-instance", false},
+		{"valid with underscores", "my_instance", false},
+		{"valid with numbers", "instance123", false},
+		{"valid with dashes", "test-name-with-dashes", false},
+
+		// Invalid names - path traversal
+		{"path traversal with ..", "../../etc/passwd", true},
+		{"path traversal multiple", "../../../etc/shadow", true},
+		{"path traversal in middle", "foo/../bar", true},
+		{"double dots variation", ".../", true},
+
+		// Invalid names - path separators
+		{"forward slash", "foo/bar", true},
+		{"backslash", "foo\\bar", true},
+		{"absolute path", "/etc/passwd", true},
+
+		// Invalid names - URL-unsafe characters
+		{"question mark", "test?param=value", true},
+		{"ampersand", "test&param", true},
+		{"hash", "test#anchor", true},
+		{"percent", "test%20space", true},
+		{"equals", "test=value", true},
+		{"at sign", "test@example", true},
+		{"colon", "test:8080", true},
+		{"space", "test instance", true},
+
+		// Invalid names - empty
+		{"empty string", "", true},
+
+		// Invalid names - characters requiring encoding
+		{"unicode", "test\u00e9", true},
+		{"newline", "test\n", true},
+		{"tab", "test\t", true},
+	}
+
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			validatedName, err := validateInstanceNameForURL(tt.input)
+
+			if tt.shouldError {
+				if err == nil {
+					t.Errorf("Expected error for input %q, but got none", tt.input)
+				}
+			} else {
+				if err != nil {
+					t.Errorf("Expected no error for input %q, but got: %v", tt.input, err)
+				}
+				if validatedName != tt.input {
+					t.Errorf("Expected validated name to be %q, but got %q", tt.input, validatedName)
+				}
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}