By default, SSH is disabled on Home Cloud devices as a security measure since most users will not need SSH access to their device. As a developer, you may want SSH to debug things, sideload files or apps, and manually change system configuration.

Follow the steps below to enable SSH on your device.

Gain device access

First you’ll need to access your device by plugging in a monitor and keyboard. You should see a terminal screen that says “Welcome to NixOS” and asks for a “home-cloud login”.

Type in the username admin then press enter/return.

Next it will ask you for a password, type in the password you set during device setup then press enter/return (you can change this password in device settings).

Updating the configuration

Now you should see a new terminal prompt: [admin@home-cloud:~]$

We need to update the NixOS configuration file. To do this, run the below command to edit the file:

  sudo nano /etc/nixos/configuration.nix

Scroll down the file until you get to the line:

    # services.openssh.enable = true;

Uncomment this line by removing the # symbol so that it now looks like:

    services.openssh.enable = true;

Save the file by pressing ctrl + x, then y, then enter/return.

Applying the configuration

Finally we need to apply the new system configuration. This can be done with a single command:

  sudo nixos-rebuild switch

You can check if it worked by running the below command. You should see the text Active: active (running) in the output.

  systemctl status sshd

Press q to exit the status command.

Connecting over SSH

You’re all set! You can connect to your Home Cloud device by running the below command from a terminal or any other SSH client:

  ssh admin@home-cloud.local

Then enter the password you have defined for the device (you can change this password in device settings).