SSH Block

The ssh block tells vmctl how to connect to the guest for provisioning and vmctl ssh.

Syntax

ssh {
    user "ubuntu"
    private-key "~/.ssh/id_ed25519"
}

Fields

user

user "ubuntu"

The SSH username to connect as. This should match the user created by cloud-init.

Default: "vm" (used when the ssh block exists but user is omitted)

private-key

private-key "~/.ssh/id_ed25519"

Path to the SSH private key for authentication. Path is resolved relative to the VMFile directory.

Default: When omitted, vmctl uses the auto-generated key if available, or falls back to standard keys in ~/.ssh/.

When to Include

The ssh block is required if you want to:

• Use vmctl ssh with VMFile-based name inference.
• Run provisioners (they connect via SSH).

If you only use imperative commands and don't need provisioning, the ssh block is optional.