Vps Ssh

VPS SSH

Use When

• The user explicitly asks to inspect, maintain, troubleshoot, or deploy to a VPS they have already configured for SSH.
• The user invokes $vps-ssh and specifies a VPS task, or needs help identifying why their local SSH alias does not resolve.

Don't Use When

• The task is unrelated local work or the user has not authorized access to the target host.
• The only available path is password authentication, a guessed IP address, a copied private key, or disabled host-key verification.
• The requested action is destructive, persistent, or disruptive and the user has not explicitly approved it.

Workflow

1. Ask for the concrete remote task if one was not provided. Use the user-configured SSH host alias rather than an IP address or a copied key path.

2. Start with a noninteractive, read-only connection check:

   ssh -o BatchMode=yes <ssh-host-alias> "hostname; id; uptime; df -h /"
   

3. If alias resolution fails, inspect only whether the local SSH configuration is readable and contains the requested alias. Do not print the full configuration, private-key paths, key material, hostnames, usernames, or passwords.

4. Perform the user’s requested read-only inspection or narrowly scoped change. Verify the relevant service, command result, or endpoint after a change.

Rules

• Use BatchMode=yes so automation never hangs at a password prompt.
• Never request, store, print, upload, replace, or expose passwords, private keys, personal host aliases, or complete SSH configuration.
• Never guess an IP address, choose another identity file, disable host-key verification, switch to password authentication, or rewrite SSH configuration without explicit approval.
• Connection access does not itself authorize a change. Before an unrequested deletion, package install, firewall/authentication change, production configuration edit, or service restart, state the target and impact and obtain confirmation.
• Prefer narrow, reversible changes and verify results rather than reporting only that a command ran.

Examples

ssh -o BatchMode=yes production-vps "systemctl status nginx --no-pager"
ssh -o BatchMode=yes production-vps "journalctl -u nginx -n 100 --no-pager"

Edge Cases

• A sandboxed runner may be unable to read the user’s SSH configuration even when it is valid. Report the result as inconclusive and request permission for a bounded local configuration check.
• If public-key authentication fails, show the non-sensitive SSH error and stop; do not downgrade to passwords or bypass host verification.
• If the requested operation is disruptive, wait for explicit confirmation after describing the exact host, service, and impact.

References

• OpenSSH client documentation
• OpenSSH configuration documentation