overthinkos/ssh-client

ssh-client -- OpenSSH client tools

Layer Properties

| Property | Value | |----------|-------| | Install files | layer.yml (packages only) |

Packages

RPM: openssh-clients · PAC: openssh · DEB: openssh-client (singular — Debian splits client/server, unlike Arch's unified openssh).

Note: On Arch Linux, openssh is a single package that includes both client and server. The sshd layer also installs this package but adds a systemd service and opens port 22. On Debian/Ubuntu, openssh-client ships only the client tools; openssh-server is a separate package installed by the sshd layer.

Usage

# image.yml
my-image:
  layers:
    - ssh-client

Typically used as part of the agent-forwarding composition layer rather than directly. Use the sshd layer instead if you need an SSH server.

Runtime Behavior

Provides ssh, ssh-add, ssh-keygen, ssh-agent, scp, sftp binaries. When combined with SSH agent forwarding (ov shell, ov start direct mode), the container's SSH commands use the host's SSH agent via a forwarded socket at /run/host-ssh-auth.sock.

No SSH agent runs inside the container — the SSH_AUTH_SOCK environment variable points to the forwarded host socket.

Used In Images

Part of agent-forwarding composition layer, used in 27 application images.

Related Layers

• /ov-layers:agent-forwarding -- metalayer that includes gnupg + direnv + ssh-client
• /ov-layers:sshd -- SSH server + client (includes systemd service, port 22)
• /ov-layers:gh -- GitHub CLI + git (uses SSH for git operations)

When to Use This Skill

Use when the user asks about:

• SSH client tools inside containers
• SSH agent forwarding
• The ssh-client layer
• The difference between ssh-client and sshd layers

Related

• /ov:layer — layer authoring reference (layer.yml schema, task verbs, service declarations)
• /ov:test — declarative testing (tests: block, ov image test, ov test)