
ssh-configuration
Configure SSH servers and clients securely. Manage keys, tunnels, and config files. Use when setting up secure remote access.
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Install
Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.
npx skills add https://github.com/bagelhole/devops-security-agent-skills --skill ssh-configuration- 01
Install
Run the command in your project. The CLI asks which agents to install for.
- 02
Describe the task
Ask your agent for something this skill covers. It loads ssh-configuration automatically when relevant.
- 03
Review the result
The agent follows the SKILL.md steps, scripts and references bundled with the skill.
SKILL.md
The instructions your agent reads when the skill is triggered.
SSH Configuration
Secure SSH server and client configuration for production environments, including key management, hardened sshd settings, bastion host architecture, tunneling, and multiplexing.
When to Use
- Setting up secure remote access to Linux or Unix servers
- Hardening SSH daemon configuration to meet compliance requirements
- Configuring bastion / jump hosts for private network access
- Creating SSH tunnels for secure port forwarding
- Managing SSH keys for teams or automated deployments
- Troubleshooting connection, authentication, or performance issues
Prerequisites
- OpenSSH client installed locally (
ssh -Vto verify) - OpenSSH server installed on target (
sshd) - Root or sudo access on the server for sshd_config changes
- Firewall rules allowing TCP port 22 (or custom SSH port)
Key Generation and Management
# Generate an Ed25519 key (recommended -- fast, secure, short)
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "jane@example.com" -f ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
# Generate an RSA 4096-bit key (for legacy compatibility)
ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 -C "jane@example.com" -f ~/.ssh/id_rsa_legacy
# Generate a key with a custom comment and no passphrase (CI/CD use only)
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "ci-deploy-key" -f ~/.ssh/ci_deploy -N ""
# Copy public key to a remote server
ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub user@server
# Manually append a public key (when ssh-copy-id is unavailable)
cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub | ssh user@server "mkdir -p ~/.ssh && chmod 700 ~/.ssh && cat >> ~/.ssh/authorized_keys && chmod 600 ~/.ssh/authorized_keys"
# List fingerprints of keys on the agent
ssh-add -l
# Start the SSH agent and add a key
eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"
ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
# Add a key with a lifetime (auto-removed after 8 hours)
ssh-add -t 28800 ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
# Remove all keys from the agent
ssh-add -D
# Convert an OpenSSH key to PEM format (for tools that need it)
ssh-keygen -p -m PEM -f ~/.ssh/id_rsa_legacy
# Show the public key fingerprint (SHA256)
ssh-keygen -lf ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub
# Rotate a key: generate new, deploy, then revoke old
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -f ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_new -C "jane@example.com rotated $(date +%Y-%m)"
ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_new.pub user@server
# After verifying the new key works, remove the old public key from authorized_keys on the server
SSH Client Configuration (~/.ssh/config)
# Global defaults applied to all hosts
Host *
AddKeysToAgent yes
IdentitiesOnly yes
ServerAliveInterval 60
ServerAliveCountMax 3
TCPKeepAlive yes
Compression yes
# Production servers via bastion
Host bastion
HostName bastion.example.com
User ops
IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
Port 22
Host prod-web-*
User deploy
IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
ProxyJump bastion
Port 22
Host prod-web-1
HostName 10.0.1.10
Host prod-web-2
HostName 10.0.1.11
# Staging accessed directly
Host staging
HostName staging.example.com
User deploy
IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_staging
# Database tunnel through bastion
Host db-tunnel
HostName 10.0.2.50
User dba
ProxyJump bastion
LocalForward 5432 localhost:5432
# GitHub deploy key
Host github-deploy
HostName github.com
User git
IdentityFile ~/.ssh/github_deploy_key
IdentitiesOnly yes
# Connection multiplexing for faster repeated connections
Host fast-*
ControlMaster auto
ControlPath ~/.ssh/sockets/%r@%h-%p
ControlPersist 600
# Create the sockets directory for multiplexing
mkdir -p ~/.ssh/sockets
chmod 700 ~/.ssh/sockets
Hardened Server Configuration (/etc/ssh/sshd_config)
# /etc/ssh/sshd_config -- hardened configuration
# -----------------------------------------------
# Listen on a non-default port (obscurity, not security -- combine with firewall)
Port 22
# Protocol and key exchange
Protocol 2
KexAlgorithms curve25519-sha256,curve25519-sha256@libssh.org,diffie-hellman-group16-sha512
Ciphers chacha20-poly1305@openssh.com,aes256-gcm@openssh.com,aes128-gcm@openssh.com
MACs hmac-sha2-512-etm@openssh.com,hmac-sha2-256-etm@openssh.com
# Authentication
PermitRootLogin no
PasswordAuthentication no
PubkeyAuthentication yes
AuthenticationMethods publickey
MaxAuthTries 3
MaxSessions 5
LoginGraceTime 30
# Restrict users and groups
AllowGroups ssh-users ops-team
# AllowUsers deploy admin
# Disable unused authentication methods
ChallengeResponseAuthentication no
KerberosAuthentication no
GSSAPIAuthentication no
# Forwarding controls
AllowTcpForwarding yes
AllowAgentForwarding no
X11Forwarding no
PermitTunnel no
# Security hardening
ClientAliveInterval 300
ClientAliveCountMax 2
UsePAM yes
UseDNS no
PermitEmptyPasswords no
PermitUserEnvironment no
# Logging
SyslogFacility AUTH
LogLevel VERBOSE
# SFTP subsystem
Subsystem sftp /usr/lib/openssh/sftp-server -f AUTH -l INFO
# Match block: restrict deploy user to SFTP only
Match User sftponly
ForceCommand internal-sftp
ChrootDirectory /home/%u
AllowTcpForwarding no
AllowAgentForwarding no
X11Forwarding no
# Validate configuration before restarting
sshd -t
# Restart sshd to apply changes
systemctl restart sshd
# Always keep an existing session open while testing
# Open a NEW terminal to verify you can still connect before closing the old one
Bastion Host Setup
# On the bastion server, restrict forwarding to internal subnets only
# /etc/ssh/sshd_config addition on bastion:
AllowTcpForwarding yes
PermitOpen 10.0.0.0/8:22 10.0.0.0/8:5432
# Disable shell access for jump-only users
Match User jump-user
PermitTTY no
ForceCommand /usr/sbin/nologin
AllowTcpForwarding yes
# Connect through the bastion from a client in one command
ssh -J ops@bastion.example.com deploy@10.0.1.10
# Equivalent using ProxyCommand (older SSH versions)
ssh -o ProxyCommand="ssh -W %h:%p ops@bastion.example.com" deploy@10.0.1.10
# Multi-hop: client -> bastion -> app-server -> db-server
ssh -J ops@bastion,deploy@10.0.1.10 dba@10.0.2.50
SSH Tunneling
# Local port forward: access remote service on localhost
# Access remote PostgreSQL (10.0.2.50:5432) via bastion at localhost:5432
ssh -L 5432:10.0.2.50:5432 ops@bastion.example.com -N
# Remote port forward: expose local service to the remote network
# Make local dev server (localhost:3000) available on server port 8080
ssh -R 8080:localhost:3000 user@server -N
# Dynamic SOCKS proxy: route all traffic through the server
ssh -D 1080 user@server -N
# Then configure browser or apps to use SOCKS5 proxy at localhost:1080
# Tunnel with a background process
ssh -fN -L 5432:10.0.2.50:5432 ops@bastion.example.com
# Find and kill the tunnel later
ps aux | grep "ssh -fN" | grep -v grep
kill <pid>
# Autossh for persistent tunnels (auto-reconnects)
autossh -M 0 -f -N -L 5432:10.0.2.50:5432 ops@bastion.example.com \
-o "ServerAliveInterval=30" -o "ServerAliveCountMax=3"
Agent Forwarding (Use with Caution)
# Enable agent forwarding for a single connection
ssh -A user@bastion
# From the bastion, your local keys are available to authenticate further
ssh deploy@10.0.1.10 # Uses your local key via the agent
# SECURITY WARNING: Agent forwarding exposes your keys to anyone with root
# on the intermediate host. Prefer ProxyJump instead.
# Safer alternative: ProxyJump does not expose the agent
ssh -J ops@bastion deploy@10.0.1.10
SSH Key Restrictions in authorized_keys
# Restrict a key to a specific command only (backup key)
command="/usr/local/bin/run-backup.sh",no-port-forwarding,no-X11-forwarding,no-agent-forwarding ssh-ed25519 AAAA... backup@example.com
# Restrict a key to specific source IPs
from="10.0.0.0/24,192.168.1.0/24" ssh-ed25519 AAAA... admin@example.com
# Read-only SFTP key with chroot
command="internal-sftp",no-port-forwarding,no-pty ssh-ed25519 AAAA... sftp-upload@example.com
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Diagnostic Command | Common Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Connection refused | ss -tlnp | grep 22 on server | Ensure sshd is running; check firewall rules |
| Permission denied (publickey) | ssh -vvv user@server | Verify key is in authorized_keys, permissions 600/700 |
| Host key verification failed | ssh-keygen -R server | Remove stale host key; verify server identity |
| Connection timeout | ssh -o ConnectTimeout=5 user@server | Check network path, security groups, NACLs |
| Slow SSH login | Check UseDNS in sshd_config | Set UseDNS no; check reverse DNS |
| Broken pipe / dropped sessions | Add ServerAliveInterval 60 to config | Configure keepalive on both client and server |
| Agent forwarding not working | ssh-add -l on bastion | Ensure -A flag used and agent has keys loaded |
| Tunnel port already in use | ss -tlnp | grep <port> | Kill existing tunnel or use a different local port |
Related Skills
linux-administration-- General Linux system administrationuser-management-- Managing the users who connect via SSHsystemd-services-- Managing sshd as a systemd serviceperformance-tuning-- Network tuning for SSH performance
FAQ
What does the ssh-configuration skill do?
Configure SSH servers and clients securely. Manage keys, tunnels, and config files. Use when setting up secure remote access.
How do I install ssh-configuration?
Run npx skills add https://github.com/bagelhole/devops-security-agent-skills --skill ssh-configuration in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/ssh-configuration/ (personal) or .claude/skills/ssh-configuration/ (project).
Which AI agents can use ssh-configuration?
Any agent that supports the open Agent Skills format (a folder with a SKILL.md file), including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Cline, OpenCode and more.
Is ssh-configuration safe to install?
No partner security audit is available yet. Skills can run commands and scripts, so read the SKILL.md and any bundled files before installing.
Who maintains ssh-configuration?
It is published by bagelhole in bagelhole/devops-security-agent-skills. It has 457 recorded installs.
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