Skip to main content

Connect to CMX VMs (SSH and File Transfer)

This topic describes how to connect to VMs created with Replicated Compatibility Matrix (CMX). It includes information about how to set up SSH access, SSH into VMs, and transfer files to VMs.

Prerequisite: Set Up SSH​

To access VMs that you create with Compatibility Matrix, you need to set up SSH access. You can do this using your GitHub account, a personal public/private key, or a service account or bot with shared access.

Use Your GitHub Account​

note

Your GitHub usernames and SSH keys are synced to a VM when it is first created. If you update your GitHub username or keys after creating a VM, you can manually sync by updating your Account Settings in the Vendor Portal and clicking Save.

To set up and verify SSH access for CMX VMs using your personal GitHub account:

  1. Log in to your GitHub account and add an SSH key if you do not have one already. For information about how to generate and add a new SSH key, see Generate a new SSH key and Adding a new SSH key to your GitHub account in the GitHub documentation.

  2. Run the following command to verify that your public/private SSH key is properly set up with GitHub.

    ssh -T git@github.com

    If successful, you will see:

    Hi <username>! You've successfully authenticated, but GitHub does not provide shell access.

  3. Log in to the Vendor Portal and go to Account Settings.

  4. On the Account Settings > Account Information page, for GitHub username, add your GitHub username.

  5. Verify that SSH access was set up successfully:

    1. On the command line, authenticate with the Replicated CLI using your Vendor Portal account:

      replicated login
      note

      To log out of an existing session, first run replicated logout.

    2. Run the following command to verify that your SSH setup is working:

      ssh -T replicated@replicatedvm.com

      If successful, you will see a message similar to the following:

      Hi <username>! You have successfully authenticated, use [VM_ID]@replicatedvm.com to access your VM.
      note

      If you see the prompt Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no/[fingerprint])?, type yes and press Enter to continue. You might see this prompt if it is the first time you are authenticating with the public/private SSH key in your GitHub account.

Use a Personal Public/Private Key​

To set up and verify SSH access for Compatibility Matrix VMs using a personal public/private key pair:

  1. If you do not already have a public and private key, generate a new public/private key pair.

  2. Log in to the Vendor Portal and go to Compatibility Matrix Settings.

  3. On the Compatibility Matrix Settings > SSH Public Keys page, upload your public key.

  4. Verify that SSH access was set up successfully:

    1. On the command line, authenticate with the Replicated CLI using your Vendor Portal account:

      replicated login
      note

      To log out of an existing session, first run replicated logout.

    2. Run the following command to verify that your SSH setup is working:

      ssh -T replicated@replicatedvm.com

      If successful, you will see a message similar to the following:

      Hi <username>! You have successfully authenticated, use [VM_ID]@replicatedvm.com to access your VM.
      note

      If you see the prompt Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no/[fingerprint])?, type yes and press Enter to continue. You might see this prompt if it is the first time you are authenticating with the public/private SSH key in your GitHub account.

Use a Service Account​

If you are setting up SSH access for VMs created in CI/CD workflows used by your team, you can use the SSH key of a service account or bot with shared access.

To automate the creation of VMs in your CI/CD workflows, use the flag --ssh-public-key to provide the SSH public key. For example:

replicated vm create --distribution ubuntu --version 24.04 --ssh-public-key ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub

Or, to use multiple SSH public keys:

replicated vm create --distribution ubuntu --version 24.04 --ssh-public-key ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub --ssh-public-key ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

SSH Into a VM​

You can SSH into a VM using one of the following methods:

  • CMX Forwarder: To use the CMX Forwarder, you only need to know the VM ID to connect to the machine with SSH. This is more approachable for users less familiar with SSH clients.

  • Direct SSH: When you connect to a VM using direct SSH, you can use your SSH tool of choice and pass any client supported flags, without any added connection lag of being routed through the CMX Forwarder. Example use cases for direct SSH include transferring large assets such as air gap bundles to the VM using SCP, or passing specific SHH flags during testing workflows.

CMX Forwarder​

To connect to a VM using the Forwarder:

  • SSH into the VM:

    ssh VMID@replicatedvm.com

    Where VMID is the ID of the VM.

Direct SSH​

Connecting to a VM with direct SSH requires Replicated CLI v0.104.0 or later.

To connect to a VM using direct SSH:

  1. Get the SSH endpoint for the VM:

    replicated vm ssh-endpoint VMID_OR_VMNAME [--username GITHUB_USERNAME]

    Where:

    • VMID_OR_VMNAME is the ID or name of the VM. Run replicated vm ls.
    • (Optional) GITHUB_USERNAME is a GitHub username used to connect to the SSH endpoint. This is an optional flag that overrides the GitHub username listed in your Vendor Portal account. The --username flag is required if you want to:
      • Use a different GitHub username than what is in Vendor Portal (or if there is no username set in the Vendor Portal)
      • When creating a VM, you used the --ssh-public-key flag to associate the VM with a GitHub service account, and this doesn't match the GitHub username set in Vendor Portal

    Example:

    replicated vm ssh-endpoint aba1acc2

    The output of the command displays the SSH endpoint that you can use to connect to the VM:

    ssh://[github-user-name]@[ssh-endpoint]:[port]

    For example, ssh://yourusername@37.27.52.116:46795.

    note

    You can also get the SSH endpoint and port in JSON format by running replicated vm ls --output json.

  2. Copy the SSH endpoint.

  3. SSH into the VM using the SSH endpoint that you copied:

    ssh ssh://YOUR_GITHUB_USERNAME@SSH_ENDPOINT:PORT

    Where GITHUB_USERNAME, SSH_ENDPOINT, and PORT are all copied from the SSH endpoint that you retrieved.

    Example:

    ssh ssh://yourusername@37.27.52.116:46795

    Alternatively, run the following command to SSH into the VM without needing to copy the endpoint:

    ssh $(replicated vm ssh-endpoint VMID_OR_VMNAME)

    Example

    ssh $(replicated vm ssh-endpoint aba1acc2)

Copy Files to a VM​

This topic describes how to transfer files to a VM created with Replicated Compatibility Matrix (CMX).

You can copy files to a VM either using direct SSH and an SCP endpoint, or by using SCP after connecting to the VM with the CMX Forwarder. Transferring files using direct SSH allows you to use your SSH tool of choice, and pass any client-supported flags.

Using the SCP Endpoint​

To copy files to a VM using the scp endpoint:

  1. Run the following command to get the SCP endpoint:

    replicated vm scp-endpoint VMID_OR_VMNAME [--username GITHUB_USERNAME]

    Where

    • VMID_OR_VMNAME is the ID or name of the VM.
    • (Optional) GITHUB_USERNAME is a GitHub username used to connect to the SCP endpoint. This is an optional flag that overrides the GitHub username listed in your Vendor Portal account. The --username flag is required if you want to:
      • Use a different GitHub username than what is in Vendor Portal (or if there is no username set in the Vendor Portal)
      • When creating a VM, you used the --ssh-public-key flag to associate the VM with a GitHub service account, and this doesn't match the GitHub username set in Vendor Portal

    Example

    replicated vm scp-endpoint aba1acc2

    The output of the command lists the SCP endpoint for the VM:

    scp://GITHUB_USERNAME@SSH_ENDPOINT:PORT

    For example, scp://yourusername@37.27.52.116:46795.

  2. Copy the SCP endpoint.

  3. SCP files into the VM:

    scp somefile scp://GITHUB_USERNAME@SSH_ENDPOINT:PORT//PATH

    Where:

    • GITHUB_USERNAME, SSH_ENDPOINT, and PORT are all copied from the SCP endpoint that you retrieved.
    • PATH is the destination path on the VM.

    Alternatively, run the following command to SCP files into the VM without needing to copy the endpoint:

    scp somefile $(replicated vm scp-endpoint VMID_OR_VMNAME)//PATH

After Connecting to the VM with the Forwarder​

note

Transferring files using CMX Forwarder is slower than using direct SSH due to added latency. If you want to transfer large files such as air gap bundles onto the VM, use direct SSH in combination with SCP. See Using the SCP Endpoint above.

Limitations​

Transferring files using the CMX Forwarder has the following limitations:

  • scp with flag -O (legacy scp protocol) is not supported.
  • Relative paths is not supported. For example:
    • Unsupported: scp somefile VMID@replicatedvm.com:~
    • Supported: scp somefile VMID@replicatedvm:/home/folder/somefile
  • File permissions are not inherited.

To copy files to the VM using SCP after connecting with the CMX Forwarder:

  1. SSH into the VM using the Forwarder:

    ssh VMID@replicatedvm.com

    Where VMID is the ID of the VM.

  2. Copy files onto the machine:

    scp FILENAME VMID@replicatedvm:PATH

    Where:

    • FILENAME is the name of the file.
    • VMID is the ID of the VM.
    • PATH is the path on the VM where you want to copy the file. For example, /home/folder/somefile. Relative paths are not supported.

    Example:

    scp somefile 123abc@replicatedvm:/home/folder/somefile