knot knot

SSH Access

SSH access allows you to securely connect to your spaces for advanced management and development. This guide explains how to set up SSH keys, connect via SSH, and simplify connections using .ssh/config.

Adding a Public SSH Key

  1. Click your username in the top-right corner of the web interface and select My Profile.

  2. Paste your public SSH key into the SSH Public Key field and click Update.

    • This key will be used for all your containers, enabling passwordless authentication.
      SSH Public Key
      SSH Public Key

  3. Alternatively, automatically fetch your public keys from GitHub by entering your GitHub username in the GitHub Username field.

Connecting via SSH

Step 1: Connect to the knot Server

  1. Ensure the knot client is installed on your local machine.

  2. Open a terminal and run the following command, replacing the URL with your knot server’s address:

    knot connect https://knot.internal:3000

  3. Enter your username and password when prompted.

  4. The generated access key will be stored in ~/.config/knot/knot.yml for future use.

Step 2: Open an SSH Connection

  1. Use the following command to connect to a space (e.g., phptest), replacing user with your username:

    ssh -o ProxyCommand='knot forward ssh %h' -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no user@phptest

  2. This will open an SSH session to the space, functioning like any other SSH connection.

Simplifying Connections with .ssh/config

To streamline SSH connections, add the following configuration to your local machine’s .ssh/config file:

.ssh/config 
Host knot.phptest
  HostName knot.phptest
  StrictHostKeyChecking=no
  LogLevel ERROR
  UserKnownHostsFile=/dev/null
  ProxyCommand knot forward ssh phptest

Once added, you can connect to the space with a shorter command:

ssh user@phptest

Automating .ssh/config Updates

The knot client includes a helper function to manage .ssh/config entries for all your spaces:

  • Add entries for all spaces:

    knot ssh-config update

  • Remove all entries:

    knot ssh-config remove

Enabling Agent Forwarding

Agent forwarding allows you to use SSH keys from your local machine within the space. To enable it, add the -A option to your SSH command:

ssh -A user@phptest

Managing SSH Keys

  • View exported keys:

    ssh-add -L

  • Add a key:

    ssh-add YOUR-KEY

Persistent Keys on macOS

On macOS, the ssh-agent forgets keys after a restart. To persist keys in the keychain, use the --apple-use-keychain option:

ssh-add --apple-use-keychain ~/.ssh/id_rsa