oikos/archive/knowledge/infrastructure/ssh-access.md

SSH access

How to reach every host in the fleet from any workstation, with LAN as the primary path and Netbird as the automatic backup.

Architecture

SSH access relies on three layers:

1. Homelab inventory (inventory.yaml) — the single source of truth for every host's LAN IP, Netbird addresses, SSH user, and port.
2. Key distribution (ssh/deploy-keys.sh) — deploys workstation SSH public keys to hubris and every running LXC, so any key-authorized workstation can log in anywhere.
3. Config generation (homelab ssh-config --install) — generates ~/.ssh/config.d/homelab with short hostname aliases for every host, using LAN IPs (routed via Netbird's 192.168.8.0/24 subnet route when off-LAN) with Netbird FQDN fallbacks (<name>-mesh) for roaming workstations.

How it works

• From on-LAN: ssh gitea resolves to 192.168.8.121 directly.
• From off-LAN (Netbird): The same 192.168.8.121 works because hubris routes the 192.168.8.0/24 subnet through Netbird.
• Roaming workstations: ssh mac-mini-mesh or ssh republic-laptop-mesh uses the Netbird FQDN as a fallback when the workstation is off its home subnet.

The homelab ssh <host> CLI command also has built-in LAN probing: it tries a 1.5s TCP connect to the LAN IP, and if that fails, falls back to the Netbird FQDN.

Key distribution

Each workstation's SSH public key lives in the repo at: ssh/authorized_keys/<hostname>.pub

To deploy or re-deploy all workstation keys to hubris + every running LXC:

# From hubris (or via homelab pct):
sudo bash /opt/homelab-context/ssh/deploy-keys.sh

# Or from any workstation:
ssh root@192.168.8.77 "bash /opt/homelab-context/ssh/deploy-keys.sh"

This script:

• Reads all .pub files from ssh/authorized_keys/
• Adds any missing keys to /etc/pve/priv/authorized_keys on hubris
• For each running LXC, appends keys to /root/.ssh/authorized_keys
• Is idempotent — skips keys already present

Config generation

To generate the SSH config on any workstation:

homelab ssh-config --install

This writes to ~/.ssh/config.d/homelab and ensures Include ~/.ssh/config.d/homelab is present in ~/.ssh/config.

The config is regenerated automatically on every homelab sync (which kicks the 5-minute context sync timer).

Adding a new workstation

When onboarding a new machine:

1. Hostname must match an entry in inventory.yaml.
2. If the workstation will be on the LAN, add its lan_ip to inventory.yaml and push. This gives it a primary LAN entry in the generated SSH config.
3. Enable SSH Remote Login:
   • macOS: sudo launchctl load -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/ssh.plist
   • Linux: sudo systemctl enable --now sshd
4. Generate an SSH keypair if one doesn't exist:

   ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -a 100
   

5. Publish the public key to the repo:

   cp ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub /opt/homelab-context/ssh/authorized_keys/<hostname>.pub
   cd /opt/homelab-context && git add ssh/authorized_keys/ && git commit -m 'ssh: add <hostname> pubkey' && git push
   

6. Deploy the key to all hosts:

   ssh root@192.168.8.77 "cd /opt/homelab-context && git pull --ff-only && bash ssh/deploy-keys.sh"
   

7. Generate the local SSH config:

   homelab ssh-config --install
   

Hosts

Hubris + strong (PVE cluster: Homelab)

Both nodes share /etc/pve/priv/authorized_keys — it's Proxmox cluster-synced, so a key added on either node is authorized on both.

Detail	hubris	strong
LAN IP	192.168.8.77	192.168.178.181
Cluster node name	hubris	strong (OS hostname kept as-is from install)
Netbird	100.122.38.109 (proxmox-server.netbird.selfhosted)	not enrolled yet
Netbird SSH port	22022 (mesh-only, OIDC auth)	n/a
SSH user	root	root

Authorized root keys currently deployed (cluster-wide):

• root@hubris (self, RSA)
• d.toro.v@pm.me (ed25519) — mac-mini
• root@strong (RSA) — strong's own key, added 2026-07-01 for the cluster join

LXCs

Every LXC at 192.168.8.x accepts root SSH via authorized_keys. Keys are managed by ssh/deploy-keys.sh. SSH user is root.

LXC	Name	LAN IP	Role
101	jellyfin	192.168.8.206	media-server
102	nfs-export	192.168.8.200	storage-export
103	paperless	192.168.8.130	document-archive
104	gitea	192.168.8.121	git-server
105	apps	192.168.8.205	docker-apps
106	auth-outpost	192.168.8.184	authentik-outpost
107	dns	192.168.8.185	dns-helper
114	nextcloud	192.168.8.224	file-sync
118	elementsynapse	192.168.8.239	matrix-server
119	sophia	192.168.8.157	workshop
120	mule-images	192.168.8.136	photo-management
121	caddy	192.168.8.175	reverse-proxy
122	arriman	192.168.8.132	arr-stack

Workstations

Name	OS	LAN IP	Netbird FQDN	SSH user
mac-mini	macOS	192.168.8.174	mac-mini-234-17.netbird.selfhosted	dtoro
republic-laptop	Linux	TBD	republic-laptop.netbird.selfhosted	dtoro

strong moved out of this table 2026-07-01 — it's a Proxmox host now, see the cluster table above.

VPS (external)

Detail	Value
Public IP	82.165.190.79
Netbird	100.122.165.149 (FQDN: netbird-ionos.netbird.selfhosted)
SSH user	root
Access	Mesh-only — public port 22 is blocked by nftables. Key-only auth.

VPS

Access is mesh-only. From a mesh-connected peer:

ssh root@100.122.165.149
ssh root@netbird-ionos.netbird.selfhosted
# or via homelab:
homelab ssh netbird-vps

Verification

# From any workstation after running homelab ssh-config --install:
for name in hubris gitea apps sophia paperless caddy jellyfin nextcloud; do
  ssh -o BatchMode=yes "$name" "hostname" && echo "$name OK"
done

Related

• Mesh migration
• VPS hardening
• Agent enrollment
• Homelab CLI

Changelog

2026-07-01 — strong reformatted to Proxmox, joined cluster; table corrected

strong moved from the Workstations table to the PVE-cluster table (was showing a stale 192.168.8.133, never actually reachable — the real LAN IP has always been 192.168.178.181, matching hosts/strong.yaml). Root key access bootstrapped via one-time console password, then key-only going forward. See hosts/hubris.md#cluster and hosts/strong.md.

2026-06-02 — universal SSH reachability

Replaced ad-hoc per-workstation SSH configs with inventory-generated configs (ssh/gen-config.py, homelab ssh-config). Added centralized key distribution (ssh/deploy-keys.sh, ssh/authorized_keys/). All LXCs now accept root SSH from any workstation whose pubkey is in the repo. mac-mini Remote Login enabled. Netbird subnet route (192.168.8.0/24 via hubris) provides off-LAN reachability for all LAN IPs.

2026-04-28 — wiki entry created

Initial documentation.

2026-04-23 — VPS SSH hardened to mesh-only

Public :22 blocked at nftables. Key-only sshd.

2026-04-22 — iMac key authorized on hubris

d.toro.v@pm.me added to /etc/pve/priv/authorized_keys.