Missing openssh-client or ssh-copy-id command not found

Getting Started with IPFire
1

Hi All,
I wanted to share keys between two ipfire boxes, but when I get to ssh-copy-id it says command not found.
I guess that’s inside openssh-client, but that’s not available for install…
Maybe there is a security reason, and I am on the wrong trail.
I was going to test an automated backup of the data on Extra HD between the two, and I need to be able to do ssh without pwds.
Any ideas?
Thanks in advance,
-Gian

2

Hi @gian

Both the server and client are set up in IPFire but the install process has not installed the ssh-copy-id script from the contrib directory in the source tarball.

scp is available in IPFire so you should be able to use that to copy files where you want to.

3

This might help:

4

The problem is that that page tells you to use ssh-copy-id and that script is not installed in IPFire.

EDIT:
I misread the page. It uses ssh-copy-id from the client computer to copy the keys to IPFire

I will check the history of openssh in IPFire and see when ssh-copy-id stopped being installed and why and look at having it added back in.
I suspect an error occurred somewhere in the past to remove ssh-copy-id

EDIT:
ssh-copy-id has never been installed in openssh in IPFire since it was included back in 2008 or so

1 Like
5

The image in the Wiki is from my Mac.

ssh-copy-id
ssh-copy-id920×246 128 KB

So I am fairly sure I used ssh-copy-id from the client side and all was OK. Which may mean that ssh-copy-id doesn’t need to be on the IPFire (Host) side.

My notes are from 2018 so I could be very wrong!
:flushed:

6

Thanks, Adolf,
but I wanted to use rsync, that’s why I was interested in ssh without password.
-G

7

Hi GianLuca,

My suggestion for using scp was for copying the ssh keys across.

Another alternative to get the ssh keys swapped between your IPFire systems is to use a USB key as an ExtraHD

Once you have the keys shared using the usb key, or scp, then you can use rsync as you want to.

8

Hi Jon,

That is totally correct if you want to copy your keys into IPFire.

My understanding of @gian requirement is that he has two IPFire systems and he wants to copy the keys from each one to the other one which would then need the ssh-copy-id on the IPFire machines.

1 Like
9
  1. On a client machine running a reasonably current linux distro, run “which ssh-copy-id”
  2. login to target IPFire machine as root.
  3. “mkdir ~/bin” (/root/bin), if not already present
  4. “cd ~/bin”
  5. “sftp [user@target-linux-client]”
  6. “get [result of step 1]”
  7. exit sftp session
  8. edit the first line of ~/bin/ssh-copy-id so that the “shebang” reflects IPFire’s location of “sh” (/bin/sh)
  9. save and exit editor

Note: I’ve performed all these steps on my firewall, but haven’t actually tried to copy any keys.

1 Like
10

Ugh! someday I’ll learn to read! Thank you!
:flushed:

11

So, if I got it right, I should create an authorized_keys file containing id_rsa.pub, and scp it to the destination Ipfire host.
However, I was not able to find root’s .ssh folder, so where should I place it?

12

You need to create it.