qm set --sshkey

M

modem7

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Nov 2, 2021
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Hey guys,

I think I already know the answer, but you never know.

In Proxmox GUI, in cloud-init settings, I'm able to set the ssh key (ed25519) as a string.

1670285860238.png

This can also be confirmed in the conf file in /etc/pve/qemu-server/
1670285938627.png

When I attempt to do the same in the CLI, I get:
Bash: 
No such file or directory
1670285984805.png

Is this a limitation of the qm command or an oversight/bug?
 
bbgeek17 said:
single quotes, or "ticks" mean "execute this command" in shell. Use double quotes.

Blockbridge : Ultra low latency all-NVME shared storage for Proxmox - https://www.blockbridge.com/proxmox
Click to expand...
Aye, the command I put in (should have put this in, my bad!) was:

Bash: 
# qm set 1107 --sshkey "ssh-ed25519 AAAAC3NzaC1lZDI1NTE5AAAAIAREKNSYKMD1gDHTG0T7EsC4YEBem6hzM4J7yzgE2uWK test"
can't open 'ssh-ed25519 AAAAC3NzaC1lZDI1NTE5AAAAIAREKNSYKMD1gDHTG0T7EsC4YEBem6hzM4J7yzgE2uWK test' - No such file or directory

I also tried (just in case it didn't like the spaces):
Bash: 
# qm set 1107 --sshkey "ssh-ed25519%20AAAAC3NzaC1lZDI1NTE5AAAAIAREKNSYKMD1gDHTG0T7EsC4YEBem6hzM4J7yzgE2uWK%20test"
can't open 'ssh-ed25519%20AAAAC3NzaC1lZDI1NTE5AAAAIAREKNSYKMD1gDHTG0T7EsC4YEBem6hzM4J7yzgE2uWK%20test' - No such file or directory
 
Last edited:
bbgeek17 said:
man qm:
Code: 
 --sshkeys <filepath>
           cloud-init: Setup public SSH keys (one key per line, OpenSSH format).

Blockbridge : Ultra low latency all-NVME shared storage for Proxmox - https://www.blockbridge.com/proxmox
Click to expand...

Aye, that's the confusion I'm getting.

The GUI allows for single lines to be manually added (especially in ED25519's case where it's rather short), but qm set does not allow adding unless it's directly from a file (with the same content).

There seems to be a disconnect in ability.

The only workaround I've found is doing something like this: https://github.com/modem7/public_scripts/blob/master/Bash/Proxmox Scripts/create-jammy-cloud-template.sh#L131-L136 but it seems...awkward when one should be able to just provide the exact values.
 
Last edited:
modem7 said:
There seems to be a disconnect in ability.
Click to expand...
different interfaces have different workflow. A gui user may find an ssh key in some other gui interface and copy it with a mouse.

A CLI user is very likely storing public keys in a single file already, ie known_hosts.
Also, what if you have 10 keys, repeat the --ssh-key 10 times?
What if you want to add 11th later? Does the new "qm set" overwrite existing config? Somehow add to it?

An ssh-rsa key is about 400 characters, 10 of them - 4000, is that something you want to be copy/pasting into shell?

Blockbridge : Ultra low latency all-NVME shared storage for Proxmox - https://www.blockbridge.com/proxmox
 
modem7 said:
1670285860238.png
Click to expand...
So can I provide additional keys as new lines in GUI here? And if --sshkey accepts a file, does it also accepts several lines with several keys here?
 
zaphyre said:
So can I provide additional keys as new lines in GUI here? And if --sshkey accepts a file, does it also accepts several lines with several keys here?
Click to expand...
You can in the GUI.

Unfortunately, as the post above seems to state, the CLI doesn't provide as much power user functionality as the GUI.
 
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modem7 said:
I also tried (just in case it didn't like the spaces):
Bash: 
# qm set 1107 --sshkey "ssh-ed25519%20AAAAC3NzaC1lZDI1NTE5AAAAIAREKNSYKMD1gDHTG0T7EsC4YEBem6hzM4J7yzgE2uWK%20test"
can't open 'ssh-ed25519%20AAAAC3NzaC1lZDI1NTE5AAAAIAREKNSYKMD1gDHTG0T7EsC4YEBem6hzM4J7yzgE2uWK%20test' - No such file or directory
Click to expand...
The command expects a file(descriptor). Do this instead:

qm set 1107 --sshkey <(echo "ssh-ed25519 AAAAC3NzaC1lZDI1NTE5AAAAIAREKNSYKMD1gDHTG0T7EsC4YEBem6hzM4J7yzgE2uWK test")
 
Last edited:
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tgenov said:
The command expects a file(descriptor). Do this instead:

qm set 1107 --sshkey <(echo "ssh-ed25519 AAAAC3NzaC1lZDI1NTE5AAAAIAREKNSYKMD1gDHTG0T7EsC4YEBem6hzM4J7yzgE2uWK test")
Click to expand...
I totally forgot about this thread!

Thank you, that's a great solution. I'm currently using the following in my script which is very similar to what you stated above:

Bash: 
# Apply SSH Key if the value is set
apply_ssh() {
echo "### Applying SSH Key ###"
if [ -n "${SSH_KEY+set}" ]; then
    qm set $VMID --sshkey <(cat <<<"${SSH_KEY}")
fi

However, your version is much neater and simpler, especially when it comes to defining the variable!

Thank you very much, I'll implement that!


Edit: Implemented, thank you once again @tgenov!
 
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