Pairing and host keys

Host keys are confirmed once and never learned again.

How you got here: Desktop app What a box needs 1. Create the controller key 2. Pair a box 3. Turn off root SSH login

Show previous steps 5

Install 1

Desktop app
Download the desktop app for your OS and open it.
The macOS zip holds Jumpgate.app and Jumpgate Terminal.app; Windows has jumpgate-tray.exe and jumpgate.exe; Linux has install.sh. Every download carries both Linux agents.
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Illustration from the jumpgate.app demo, with made-up boxes; not a screenshot of the app.

Getting started 4

What a box needs
A Debian or Ubuntu box with systemd, reachable as root over SSH.
Setup needs root (or passwordless sudo with --sudo) and checks Linux, systemd and disk first. The node itself runs as an unprivileged account.
1. Create the controller key
Create the key that signs every command to your boxes.
jumpgate keys init stores it in the Keychain, Credential Manager, Secret Service, 1Password or an owner-only file. It never leaves your computer.
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The TUI, from its test snapshot; empty rows removed.
2. Pair a box
Install the agent on a box and confirm its host key.
You confirmed the box's fingerprint, and jumpgate installed jumpgate-agent.service and a restricted tunnel user. The box now takes only signed commands.
Show image
The TUI, from its test snapshot; empty rows removed.
3. Turn off root SSH login
Close root SSH once the box is paired.
Set PermitRootLogin no. You only need root again to repair the agent.

You confirm each box's host key by its fingerprint. Confirmed keys are kept in ~/.jumpgate/confirmed_hosts.
A box that is paired, confirmed or listed in your ~/.ssh/known_hosts is checked strictly: a changed key is refused, never learned again.
After pairing, turn off root SSH login on the box (PermitRootLogin no).