diff --git a/pkg/util/exec/format.go b/pkg/util/exec/format.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..643e5e9d7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/util/exec/format.go
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+/*
+Copyright 2026 The Rook Authors. All rights reserved.
+
+Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+	http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+limitations under the License.
+*/
+
+package exec
+
+import "strings"
+
+// safeArgChars are the non-alphanumeric characters a POSIX shell passes through
+// literally, matching the set used by Python's shlex.quote.
+const safeArgChars = "@%+=:,./-_"
+
+// FormatCommand renders a command and its arguments as a single line that can be
+// pasted into a POSIX shell. Arguments are passed to the kernel as a vector, so
+// joining them with plain spaces loses the boundaries between them: an argument
+// containing whitespace or a shell metacharacter reads back as several arguments,
+// or as several commands.
+func FormatCommand(command string, arg ...string) string {
+	quoted := make([]string, 0, len(arg)+1)
+	quoted = append(quoted, quoteArg(command))
+	for _, a := range arg {
+		quoted = append(quoted, quoteArg(a))
+	}
+
+	return strings.Join(quoted, " ")
+}
+
+// quoteArg single-quotes arg if a shell would not read it back verbatim.
+func quoteArg(arg string) string {
+	if arg == "" {
+		return "''"
+	}
+	if !needsQuoting(arg) {
+		return arg
+	}
+
+	// A single quote cannot be escaped inside single quotes; the quoted run has to
+	// be closed, the quote emitted outside it, and a new run opened.
+	return "'" + strings.ReplaceAll(arg, "'", `'\''`) + "'"
+}
+
+func needsQuoting(arg string) bool {
+	for _, r := range arg {
+		switch {
+		case r >= 'a' && r <= 'z', r >= 'A' && r <= 'Z', r >= '0' && r <= '9':
+		case strings.ContainsRune(safeArgChars, r):
+		default:
+			return true
+		}
+	}
+
+	return false
+}
diff --git a/pkg/util/exec/format_test.go b/pkg/util/exec/format_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ca0819ea0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/util/exec/format_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,84 @@
+/*
+Copyright 2026 The Rook Authors. All rights reserved.
+
+Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+	http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+limitations under the License.
+*/
+
+package exec
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+)
+
+func Test_quoteArg(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		name string
+		arg  string
+		want string
+	}{
+		{"empty", "", "''"},
+		{"plain word", "radosgw-admin", "radosgw-admin"},
+		{"flag", "--rgw-realm=ceph-objectstore", "--rgw-realm=ceph-objectstore"},
+		{"path", "/var/lib/rook/rook-ceph/rook-ceph.config", "/var/lib/rook/rook-ceph/rook-ceph.config"},
+		{"space", "RGW Admin Ops User", "'RGW Admin Ops User'"},
+		{"semicolon and glob", "buckets=*;users=*", "'buckets=*;users=*'"},
+		{"command substitution", "$(id)", "'$(id)'"},
+		{"backtick", "`id`", "'`id`'"},
+		{"tilde", "~/keyring", "'~/keyring'"},
+		{"pipe", "a|b", "'a|b'"},
+		{"newline", "a\nb", "'a\nb'"},
+		{"single quote", "it's", `'it'\''s'`},
+		{"only a single quote", "'", `''\'''`},
+	}
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			assert.Equal(t, tt.want, quoteArg(tt.arg))
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+func TestFormatCommand(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Run("no arguments", func(t *testing.T) {
+		assert.Equal(t, "ceph", FormatCommand("ceph"))
+	})
+
+	t.Run("empty argument is not swallowed", func(t *testing.T) {
+		assert.Equal(t, "ceph '' status", FormatCommand("ceph", "", "status"))
+	})
+
+	t.Run("rgw admin ops user", func(t *testing.T) {
+		got := FormatCommand("radosgw-admin",
+			"user", "create",
+			"--uid", "rgw-admin-ops-user",
+			"--display-name", "RGW Admin Ops User",
+			"--caps", "accounts=*;buckets=*;users=*;usage=read;metadata=read;zone=read",
+			"--rgw-realm=ceph-objectstore",
+			"--cluster=rook-ceph",
+			"--conf=/var/lib/rook/rook-ceph/rook-ceph.config",
+			"--name=client.admin",
+			"--keyring=/var/lib/rook/rook-ceph/client.admin.keyring",
+		)
+
+		assert.Equal(t, "radosgw-admin user create "+
+			"--uid rgw-admin-ops-user "+
+			"--display-name 'RGW Admin Ops User' "+
+			"--caps 'accounts=*;buckets=*;users=*;usage=read;metadata=read;zone=read' "+
+			"--rgw-realm=ceph-objectstore "+
+			"--cluster=rook-ceph "+
+			"--conf=/var/lib/rook/rook-ceph/rook-ceph.config "+
+			"--name=client.admin "+
+			"--keyring=/var/lib/rook/rook-ceph/client.admin.keyring", got)
+	})
+}