What it is
OpenSSH is the standard implementation of SSH, the encrypted protocol for logging in to another computer’s shell, running commands on it and copying files (scp, sftp). It includes the client, ssh, and the server, sshd, that accepts connections, plus tools for creating and managing keys.
ssh you@machine.local
Why it’s here
- Remote shells. Work on your other machines and servers from this one.
- Secure file transfer. Copy files with
scp,sftporrsyncover SSH. - Tunnels. Forward ports to reach services on another machine.
On CoreDesktop
OpenSSH is installed from pacman and sshd.service is enabled, so you can SSH into this computer. The firewall allows SSH on port 22, and Avahi advertises it on your LAN, so other machines can reach this one as <hostname>.local. Commands run with ssh machine command can find tools in ~/.local/bin and mise.
For the client, CoreDesktop sets keepalives so a dropped connection is noticed within a minute (your ~/.ssh/config still wins per host) and points SSH_AUTH_SOCK at Bitwarden’s SSH agent. It also adds shell functions for port forwarding: fip <host> <port>... forwards local ports to the same ports on a host, dip <port>... stops them, and lip lists them. update keeps OpenSSH current with the pacman packages.