SSH & VS Code

A Hopbox workspace is a first-class SSH host: ssh, VS Code Remote-SSH, scp, rsync, JetBrains Gateway — anything that speaks SSH works, with no public port and no manual key distribution.

How it works

The workspace agent dials out to the control plane and serves an SSH server over that existing reverse tunnel — nothing routes into the box. The hopbox CLI bridges your local ssh to it:

ssh mybox → hopbox proxy (ProxyCommand) → hopboxd → agent's sshd

Authentication is a short-lived SSH certificate (see Auth & multi-user). The agent's host key persists on the workspace's home volume, so there are no known_hosts prompts across restarts.

One-time setup

hopbox login            # fetch a certificate for your identity
hopbox ssh-config mybox # write an ~/.ssh entry

hopbox ssh-config writes ~/.ssh/hopbox/mybox.config and adds an Include hopbox/*.config line to your ~/.ssh/config. The entry sets the right User, your Hopbox identity file, and ProxyCommand hopbox proxy.

Connect

ssh mybox

Or without writing any config:

hopbox ssh mybox            # interactive
hopbox ssh mybox -- uname -a

VS Code

Install the Remote - SSH extension, then:

1. Run hopbox ssh-config mybox once (so VS Code can see the host).
2. Command Palette → Remote-SSH: Connect to Host… → mybox.

VS Code installs its server over the SSH connection (the agent implements the SFTP subsystem) and opens the workspace.

scp / rsync / git

Because it's a normal SSH host, file transfer just works:

scp ./file mybox:/home/dev/
rsync -a ./src/ mybox:/home/dev/src/

Reference

• hopbox CLI — login, ssh, ssh-config, proxy.
• Auth & multi-user — certificates, the CA, and multi-user.