Github Actions SSH PEM Key

author: @kawam tags:#github-actions#linux

---

Using Key §

name: Pull latest code
 
on:
  push:
    branches: [ master ]
 
jobs:
  deploy:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
 
    steps:
    - uses: actions/checkout@v2
 
    - name: Pull latest code
      uses: appleboy/ssh-action@master
      with:
        host: ${{ secrets.HOST }}
        username: ${{ secrets.USERNAME }}
        key: ${{ secrets.PRIVATE_KEY }}
        script: |
          cd /path/to/your/repo
          git pull

How to: §

1. Generate an SSH key pair on your local machine: ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096
2. Copy the public key to your server: ssh-copy-id user@hostname
3. Configure SSH on your server: Edit the /etc/ssh/sshd_config file on your server and make sure the following settings are configured:

RSAAuthentication yes
PubkeyAuthentication yes
AuthorizedKeysFile .ssh/authorized_keys

4. Restart the SSH service: sudo systemctl restart ssh

Using PEM §

To set up SSH key authentication using a .pem file, you can follow these general steps:

1. Generate an SSH key pair on your local machine: If you haven’t already done so, generate an SSH key pair on your local machine using the ssh-keygen command. This will create a public key file (id_rsa.pub) and a private key file (id_rsa) in your ~/.ssh/ directory.
2. Copy the public key to your server: Use the ssh-copy-id command to copy the public key to your server. For example:

> ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub -o "IdentityFile ~/.ssh/my_pem_file.pem" username@hostname

This command will copy the contents of your id_rsa.pub file to the authorized_keys file on the server.

3. Configure the server to allow SSH key authentication: Open the sshd_config file on your server and ensure that the following settings are enabled:

PubkeyAuthentication yes 
PasswordAuthentication no 
ChallengeResponseAuthentication no

Save the file and restart the SSH service using sudo service ssh restart.

4. Configure the SSH connection in the workflow file: In the workflow file, use the SSH action to connect to your server and execute the necessary commands. Specify the private-key input parameter to point to your .pem file. For example:

- name: SSH into server   
  uses: appleboy/ssh-action@master   
  with:     
	  host: ${{ secrets.HOST }}     
	  username: ${{ secrets.USERNAME }}     
	  private-key: ${{ secrets.PRIVATE_KEY }}     
	  script: |       
		  cd /path/to/your/repo       
		  git pull

5. Configure the secrets: In your repository settings, define the secrets PRIVATE_KEY, USERNAME, and HOST with the appropriate values. Set the PRIVATE_KEY secret to the contents of your .pem file.

6. Test the workflow: Once you have set up the workflow, commit and push the changes to your repository. GitHub Actions will automatically run the workflow when the trigger condition is met. Check the logs to ensure that the workflow runs successfully and that the latest code is pulled onto your server.

Note that using a .pem file for SSH key authentication can be less secure than using SSH keys. It’s generally recommended to use SSH keys whenever possible.