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Overview

Manual deployment gives you full control over the build and runtime environment. This guide covers building from source, managing SSH keys, and running in production.

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Prerequisites

  • Go 1.24 or higher
  • Git
  • Linux, macOS, or WSL on Windows
  • SSH client (for testing)

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Build from Source

1

Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/ab-70/ssh-portfolio.git
cd ssh-portfolio
2

Download dependencies

go mod download
This downloads all required Go modules listed in go.mod.
3

Build the binary

go build -o ssh-portfolio .
This creates an executable named ssh-portfolio in the current directory.
4

Verify the build

./ssh-portfolio --help
Or check the binary exists:
ls -lh ssh-portfolio

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Optimized Production Build

For production deployments, build with optimizations: 
CGO_ENABLED=0 go build -ldflags="-s -w" -o ssh-portfolio .
Build flags explained:
  • CGO_ENABLED=0 - Disable CGO for static binary
  • -ldflags="-s -w" - Strip debug information (smaller binary)
  • -o ssh-portfolio - Output filename

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Cross-Platform Builds

GOOS=linux GOARCH=amd64 go build -o ssh-portfolio-linux-amd64 .

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Generate SSH Host Keys

SSH Portfolio requires host keys for the SSH server. The application expects keys at .ssh/id_ed25519.
1

Create .ssh directory

mkdir -p .ssh
2

Generate ED25519 key pair

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -f .ssh/id_ed25519 -N ""
  • -t ed25519 - Use ED25519 algorithm (modern, secure)
  • -f .ssh/id_ed25519 - Output file path
  • -N "" - Empty passphrase (required for automated servers)
3

Verify keys were created

ls -la .ssh/
You should see:
  • id_ed25519 - Private key
  • id_ed25519.pub - Public key
4

Set proper permissions

chmod 600 .ssh/id_ed25519
chmod 644 .ssh/id_ed25519.pub
SSH will refuse to use keys with incorrect permissions for security reasons.
The host key path is configured in main.go:38: 
wish.WithHostKeyPath(".ssh/id_ed25519"),

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Configure Your Portfolio

Create or edit config.yaml with your information: 
name: "Your Name"
tagline: "Your professional tagline"
bio: "A brief bio about yourself"

links:
  - name: "GitHub"
    url: "https://github.com/yourusername"
  - name: "Website"
    url: "https://yourwebsite.com"
See the Configuration Guide for all available options.

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Run the Application

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Basic Run

./ssh-portfolio
By default, the server starts on 0.0.0.0:2222 (see main.go:25-26).

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Custom Port

SSH_PORT=3000 ./ssh-portfolio
The application reads the SSH_PORT environment variable (main.go:27-29): 
port := "2222"
if p := os.Getenv("SSH_PORT"); p != "" {
    port = p
}

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Background Process

Run in the background with nohup: 
nohup ./ssh-portfolio > ssh-portfolio.log 2>&1 &

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Test the Connection

ssh localhost -p 2222

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Process Management with systemd

For production servers, use systemd to manage the SSH Portfolio service.
1

Create a systemd service file

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/ssh-portfolio.service
2

Add service configuration

[Unit]
Description=SSH Portfolio Server
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=portfolio
Group=portfolio
WorkingDirectory=/opt/ssh-portfolio
Environment="SSH_PORT=2222"
ExecStart=/opt/ssh-portfolio/ssh-portfolio
Restart=always
RestartSec=5
StandardOutput=journal
StandardError=journal
SyslogIdentifier=ssh-portfolio

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
3

Create dedicated user

sudo useradd -r -s /bin/false -d /opt/ssh-portfolio portfolio
4

Set up application directory

sudo mkdir -p /opt/ssh-portfolio/.ssh
sudo cp ssh-portfolio /opt/ssh-portfolio/
sudo cp config.yaml /opt/ssh-portfolio/
sudo cp -r .ssh/id_ed25519* /opt/ssh-portfolio/.ssh/
sudo chown -R portfolio:portfolio /opt/ssh-portfolio
sudo chmod 600 /opt/ssh-portfolio/.ssh/id_ed25519
5

Enable and start the service

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable ssh-portfolio
sudo systemctl start ssh-portfolio
6

Check service status

sudo systemctl status ssh-portfolio

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Systemd Service Management

sudo systemctl start ssh-portfolio

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Production Considerations

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Port Configuration

Running on port 22 requires root privileges. It’s recommended to use a higher port (>1024) or configure port forwarding.
Option 1: Run on high port (recommended) 
SSH_PORT=2222 ./ssh-portfolio
Option 2: Use iptables for port forwarding 
sudo iptables -t nat -A PREROUTING -p tcp --dport 22 -j REDIRECT --to-port 2222
Option 3: Use setcap to bind privileged ports 
sudo setcap 'cap_net_bind_service=+ep' /opt/ssh-portfolio/ssh-portfolio

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Firewall Configuration

Ensure your firewall allows connections: 
# UFW
sudo ufw allow 2222/tcp

# iptables
sudo iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 2222 -j ACCEPT

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Monitoring

Monitor your application logs: 
# journalctl (systemd)
sudo journalctl -u ssh-portfolio -f

# Log file (nohup)
tail -f ssh-portfolio.log

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Updates and Maintenance

To update your deployment:
1

Pull latest changes

git pull origin main
2

Rebuild the binary

go build -o ssh-portfolio .
3

Restart the service

sudo systemctl restart ssh-portfolio

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Security Best Practices

  • Run as a non-root user (shown in systemd example)
  • Use restrictive file permissions (600 for private keys)
  • Keep SSH host keys secure and backed up
  • Monitor logs for unusual activity
  • Keep Go and dependencies updated
  • Consider rate limiting at the firewall level

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Backup Important Files

Regularly backup: 
# Backup configuration and keys
tar czf ssh-portfolio-backup.tar.gz \
  config.yaml \
  .ssh/id_ed25519 \
  .ssh/id_ed25519.pub

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Next Steps

Environment Variables

Configure runtime settings

Docker Deployment

Deploy with Docker

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