diff --git a/src/mqtt.cpp b/src/mqtt.cpp
index fbe669579..143412e04 100644
--- a/src/mqtt.cpp
+++ b/src/mqtt.cpp
@@ -93,6 +93,11 @@ void Mqtt::subscribe(const uint8_t device_id, const std::string & topic, mqtt_fu
     queue_subscribe_message(topic); // add subscription to queue
 }
 
+// subscribe to an MQTT topic, and store the associated callback function. For generic functions not tied to a specific device
+void Mqtt::subscribe(const std::string & topic, mqtt_function_p cb) {
+    subscribe(0, topic, cb); // no device_id needed, if generic to EMS-ESP
+}
+
 // resubscribe to all MQTT topics again
 void Mqtt::resubscribe() {
     if (mqtt_functions_.empty()) {
@@ -104,11 +109,6 @@ void Mqtt::resubscribe() {
     }
 }
 
-// subscribe to an MQTT topic, and store the associated callback function. For generic functions not tied to a specific device
-void Mqtt::subscribe(const std::string & topic, mqtt_function_p cb) {
-    subscribe(0, topic, cb); // no device_id needed, if generic to EMS-ESP
-}
-
 // Main MQTT loop
 // Checks for connection, establishes a connection if not
 // sends out top item on publish queue
@@ -138,6 +138,13 @@ void Mqtt::show_mqtt(uuid::console::Shell & shell) {
     shell.printfln(F("MQTT publish fails: %lu"), mqtt_publish_fails_);
     shell.println();
 
+    // show subscriptions
+    shell.printfln(F("MQTT subscriptions:"));
+    for (const auto & mqtt_function : mqtt_functions_) {
+        shell.printfln(F(" %s"), mqtt_function.topic_.c_str());
+    }
+    shell.println();
+
     // show queues
     if (mqtt_messages_.empty()) {
         shell.printfln(F("MQTT queue is empty"));
@@ -283,13 +290,16 @@ void Mqtt::start(AsyncMqttClient * mqttClient) {
         mqtt_qos_     = mqttSettings.mqtt_qos;
     });
 
-
     mqttClient_->onConnect([this](bool sessionPresent) { on_connect(); });
     mqttClient_->setWill(make_topic(will_topic_, "status"), 1, true, "offline"); // with qos 1, retain true
     mqttClient_->onMessage([this](char * topic, char * payload, AsyncMqttClientMessageProperties properties, size_t len, size_t index, size_t total) {
         on_message(topic, payload, len);
         mqttClient_->onPublish([this](uint16_t packetId) { on_publish(packetId); });
     });
+
+    // add the system MQTT subscriptions
+    Mqtt::subscribe("cmd", System::mqtt_commands);
+    // Mqtt::subscribe("cmd", std::bind(&System::mqtt_commands, this, std::placeholders::_1));
 }
 
 void Mqtt::set_publish_time(uint16_t publish_time) {
@@ -327,7 +337,11 @@ void Mqtt::queue_publish_message(const std::string & topic, const std::string &
         return;
     }
 
-    auto message = std::make_shared<MqttMessage>(Operation::PUBLISH, topic, payload, retain);
+    // prefix the hostname to the topic
+    char full_topic[MQTT_TOPIC_MAX_SIZE];
+    make_topic(full_topic, topic);
+
+    auto message = std::make_shared<MqttMessage>(Operation::PUBLISH, full_topic, payload, retain);
 
     // if the queue is full, make room but removing the last one
     if (mqtt_messages_.size() >= maximum_mqtt_messages_) {
@@ -396,17 +410,12 @@ void Mqtt::process_queue() {
     auto mqtt_message = mqtt_messages_.front();
     auto message      = mqtt_message.content_;
 
-    // append the hostname to the topic, unless we're doing native HA which has a different format
-    // if the topic starts with "homeassistant" we leave it untouched, otherwise append host
-    char full_topic[MQTT_TOPIC_MAX_SIZE];
-    make_topic(full_topic, message->topic);
-
     // if we're subscribing...
     if (message->operation == Operation::SUBSCRIBE) {
-        LOG_DEBUG(F("Subscribing to topic: %s"), full_topic);
-        uint16_t packet_id = mqttClient_->subscribe(full_topic, mqtt_qos_);
+        LOG_DEBUG(F("Subscribing to topic: %s"), message->topic.c_str());
+        uint16_t packet_id = mqttClient_->subscribe(message->topic.c_str(), mqtt_qos_);
         if (!packet_id) {
-            LOG_DEBUG(F("Error subscribing to %s, error %d"), full_topic, packet_id);
+            LOG_DEBUG(F("Error subscribing to %s, error %d"), message->topic.c_str(), packet_id);
         }
 
         mqtt_messages_.pop_front(); // remove the message from the queue
@@ -421,19 +430,20 @@ void Mqtt::process_queue() {
     }
 
     // else try and publish it
-    uint16_t packet_id = mqttClient_->publish(full_topic, mqtt_qos_, message->retain, message->payload.c_str(), message->payload.size(), false, mqtt_message.id_);
-    LOG_DEBUG(F("Publishing topic %s (#%02d, attempt #%d, pid %d)"), full_topic, mqtt_message.id_, mqtt_message.retry_count_ + 1, packet_id);
+    uint16_t packet_id =
+        mqttClient_->publish(message->topic.c_str(), mqtt_qos_, message->retain, message->payload.c_str(), message->payload.size(), false, mqtt_message.id_);
+    LOG_DEBUG(F("Publishing topic %s (#%02d, attempt #%d, pid %d)"), message->topic.c_str(), mqtt_message.id_, mqtt_message.retry_count_ + 1, packet_id);
 
     if (packet_id == 0) {
         // it failed. if we retried n times, give up. remove from queue
         if (mqtt_message.retry_count_ == (MQTT_PUBLISH_MAX_RETRY - 1)) {
-            LOG_ERROR(F("Failed to publish to %s after %d attempts"), full_topic, mqtt_message.retry_count_ + 1);
+            LOG_ERROR(F("Failed to publish to %s after %d attempts"), message->topic.c_str(), mqtt_message.retry_count_ + 1);
             mqtt_publish_fails_++;      // increment failure counter
             mqtt_messages_.pop_front(); // delete
             return;
         } else {
             mqtt_messages_.front().retry_count_++;
-            LOG_DEBUG(F("Failed to publish to %s. Trying again, #%d"), full_topic, mqtt_message.retry_count_ + 1);
+            LOG_DEBUG(F("Failed to publish to %s. Trying again, #%d"), message->topic.c_str(), mqtt_message.retry_count_ + 1);
             return; // leave on queue for next time so it gets republished
         }
     }