diff --git a/cmd/hostkeeper/connect.go b/cmd/hostkeeper/connect.go
index a15a8eb..03e92da 100644
--- a/cmd/hostkeeper/connect.go
+++ b/cmd/hostkeeper/connect.go
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"os"
 	"os/exec"
+	"strings"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
@@ -118,7 +119,11 @@ func findHost(ctx context.Context, store storage.Storage, identifier string) (*m
 	}
 
 	// Host not found, provide helpful error
-	return nil, fmt.Errorf("host '%s' not found. Use 'hostkeeper list' to see available hosts", identifier)
+	msg := fmt.Sprintf("host '%s' not found. Use 'hostkeeper list' to see available hosts", identifier)
+	if strings.Contains(identifier, " ") {
+		msg += fmt.Sprintf("\nHint: if the host name contains spaces, quote it: connect \"%s\"", identifier)
+	}
+	return nil, fmt.Errorf("%s", msg)
 }
 
 // connectWithNativeSSH uses the system SSH client
diff --git a/cmd/hostkeeper/list.go b/cmd/hostkeeper/list.go
index 5e881f5..cd377b7 100644
--- a/cmd/hostkeeper/list.go
+++ b/cmd/hostkeeper/list.go
@@ -150,15 +150,23 @@ func sortHosts(hosts []*models.Host, sortBy string) {
 	}
 }
 
+func shortID(id string) string {
+	if len(id) >= 8 {
+		return id[:8]
+	}
+	return id
+}
+
 func outputTable(hosts []*models.Host) error {
 	w := tabwriter.NewWriter(os.Stdout, 0, 0, 2, ' ', 0)
 
-	fmt.Fprintln(w, "NAME\tHOSTNAME\tPORT\tUSER\tGROUP\tAUTH\tTAGS")
-	fmt.Fprintln(w, "────\t────────\t────\t────\t─────\t────\t────")
+	fmt.Fprintln(w, "ID\tNAME\tHOSTNAME\tPORT\tUSER\tGROUP\tAUTH\tTAGS")
+	fmt.Fprintln(w, "--\t────\t────────\t────\t────\t─────\t────\t────")
 
 	for _, h := range hosts {
 		tags := strings.Join(h.Tags, ", ")
-		fmt.Fprintf(w, "%s\t%s\t%d\t%s\t%s\t%s\t%s\n",
+		fmt.Fprintf(w, "%s\t%s\t%s\t%d\t%s\t%s\t%s\t%s\n",
+			shortID(h.ID),
 			h.Name,
 			h.Hostname,
 			h.Port,
@@ -178,8 +186,8 @@ func outputJSON(hosts []*models.Host) error {
 		if i > 0 {
 			fmt.Print(",")
 		}
-		fmt.Printf(`{"id":"%s","name":"%s","hostname":"%s","port":%d,"username":"%s","group":"%s","auth_type":"%s"}`,
-			h.ID, h.Name, h.Hostname, h.Port, h.Username, h.Group, h.Auth.Type)
+		fmt.Printf(`{"id":"%s","short_id":"%s","name":"%s","hostname":"%s","port":%d,"username":"%s","group":"%s","auth_type":"%s"}`,
+			h.ID, shortID(h.ID), h.Name, h.Hostname, h.Port, h.Username, h.Group, h.Auth.Type)
 	}
 	fmt.Println("]")
 	return nil