ssh-remote

name	ssh-remote
description	SSH into remote servers, execute commands, transfer files via SCP/rsync, manage SSH keys and configs, tunnel ports.
category	system
maturity	stable
tags	["ssh","scp","rsync","tunnels","key-management"]

ssh-remote

SSH into remote servers, execute commands, transfer files via SCP/rsync, manage SSH keys and configs, tunnel ports.

When to Use

• Deploying to remote servers
• Managing VPS instances
• Transferring files (SCP/rsync)
• Setting up SSH tunnels or port forwarding
• Configuring SSH keys and agent forwarding
• Running remote commands or scripts

Quick Reference

Connect to a Server

ssh user@host
ssh -i ~/.ssh/mykey user@host -p 2222

Execute Remote Command

ssh user@host 'command here'
ssh user@host 'bash -s' < local-script.sh

File Transfer

# SCP
scp local-file user@host:/remote/path
scp user@host:/remote/file ./local-path
scp -r local-dir/ user@host:/remote/path/

# Rsync (preferred for large transfers)
rsync -avz --progress local-dir/ user@host:/remote/path/
rsync -avz --delete local-dir/ user@host:/remote/path/  # mirror
rsync -avz -e 'ssh -p 2222' local/ user@host:/remote/

SSH Tunnels

# Local forward: access remote:3306 via localhost:3306
ssh -L 3306:localhost:3306 user@host

# Remote forward: expose local:8080 on remote:9090
ssh -R 9090:localhost:8080 user@host

# SOCKS proxy
ssh -D 1080 user@host

# Background tunnel
ssh -fNL 3306:localhost:3306 user@host

Key Management

# Generate key
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "comment" -f ~/.ssh/keyname

# Copy key to server
ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/keyname.pub user@host

# Add to agent
eval $(ssh-agent)
ssh-add ~/.ssh/keyname

# Test connection
ssh -T user@host

Scripts

Script	Purpose
scripts/ssh-config-gen.sh	Generate/update SSH config entries
scripts/key-rotation.sh	Rotate SSH keys on remote hosts
scripts/tunnel-manager.sh	Manage persistent SSH tunnels
scripts/rsync-deploy.sh	Deploy files via rsync with backup

Workflows

1. Set Up New Server Access

# Generate a dedicated key
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "myserver" -f ~/.ssh/myserver

# Copy to server
ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/myserver.pub root@1.2.3.4

# Add config entry
bash scripts/ssh-config-gen.sh myserver 1.2.3.4 root --key ~/.ssh/myserver --port 22

# Test
ssh myserver

2. Deploy Application via Rsync

bash scripts/rsync-deploy.sh ./dist/ user@server:/var/www/myapp/ --backup --exclude node_modules

3. Set Up Database Tunnel

# Start tunnel to access remote PostgreSQL
bash scripts/tunnel-manager.sh start db-tunnel user@server 5432:localhost:5432

# Check running tunnels
bash scripts/tunnel-manager.sh list

# Stop
bash scripts/tunnel-manager.sh stop db-tunnel

4. Rotate SSH Keys

bash scripts/key-rotation.sh myserver --new-key ~/.ssh/myserver-new

SSH Config Patterns

Basic Host

Host myserver
    HostName 1.2.3.4
    User root
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/myserver
    Port 22

Jump/Bastion Host

Host bastion
    HostName bastion.example.com
    User admin
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/bastion

Host internal
    HostName 10.0.0.5
    User deploy
    ProxyJump bastion

Wildcard Patterns

Host *.prod
    User deploy
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/prod-key
    StrictHostKeyChecking yes

Host *.dev
    User dev
    StrictHostKeyChecking no

Keep-Alive

Host *
    ServerAliveInterval 60
    ServerAliveCountMax 3
    AddKeysToAgent yes

Troubleshooting

Problem	Fix
Permission denied (publickey)	Check key permissions: chmod 600 ~/.ssh/key, chmod 700 ~/.ssh
Connection refused	Check sshd running, port correct, firewall allows
Host key changed	ssh-keygen -R hostname (verify it's legit first!)
Agent forwarding not working	Add ForwardAgent yes to config, ensure agent has key
Tunnel port in use	Kill old tunnel or use different local port

References

• references/ssh-config-patterns.md — Advanced SSH config examples
• references/key-management.md — Key types, best practices, rotation
• references/tunnel-setups.md — Common tunnel configurations