SSH

Every machine gets an SSH name made from its name: Web Server becomes web-server. Use it to connect from your Mac without looking up addresses.

Connecting#

swiftvm ssh web-server            # a shell in the guest
swiftvm ssh web-server uname -a   # or one command

From the app, choose Open in Terminal or Copy SSH Command in the machine's menu.

Plain ssh#

Turn on Settings → SSH → Add machines to ~/.ssh/config to connect with just ssh web-server. It also makes scp, rsync, and editors that work over SSH find your machines.

SwiftVM adds one Include line to your SSH configuration and changes nothing else in the file. The machines themselves are listed in a file SwiftVM keeps up to date.

Keys#

• SwiftVM uses the key you already have (id_ed25519, id_ecdsa, or id_rsa in ~/.ssh). If you have none, it makes ~/.ssh/swiftvm_ed25519.
• With Sign in over SSH with my key on, the key is installed in guests that SwiftVM sets up: Quick Create Linux machines and macOS 27 or newer.
• The guests' host keys are kept apart from your own known_hosts. A guest's key is accepted the first time you connect and checked from then on.

Guests you installed yourself#

A guest installed from a disc may have no SSH server. Install one in the guest, add your public key to the account, and set SSH User under Network and SSH in the machine's settings.

Without a network#

--vsock connects through the machine's own socket device, not its network. It still works when the guest's network is down or its cable is pulled.

swiftvm ssh web-server --vsock

• It is for Linux guests. Ubuntu 26.04 and Debian 13 support it as they come; older systems such as Ubuntu 24.04 need the guest tools.
• To use it from your own SSH configuration, for scp, rsync, or an editor:

Host web-server-vsock
    ProxyCommand swiftvm vsock web-server 22