Enable SSH access for your Familiar

This is for reaching a remote machine with your Familiar's help. Installing an OpenCircle Server on a remote host is a different job — see the Linux server guide for that.

Before you begin

Have a working SSH connection on the Mac running Desktop, with the right remote account and key already set up, and a memorable host alias such as demo-server. For a brand-new connection, get the host-key fingerprint from the remote machine's administrator through a trusted channel — never send a private key, passphrase, or your OpenCircle PIN to your Familiar.

Turn on SSH access

1. Open Connections → Computer use.
2. Find SSH access and turn on its switch.
3. Enter your own OpenCircle PIN in the dialog — this authorizes the capability, it is not your remote server's password.
4. Confirm the card now says On.

Ask for a first check

Use SSH to connect to demo-server and report its uptime and free disk space. Don't change anything.

If OpenCircle asks you to confirm a new or changed host identity, compare the fingerprint against the one you obtained independently — that trust decision is always yours, never your Familiar's.

Commands and file transfers

Once connected, name the destination and exact files, and be clear about inspection versus changes. Remote commands run with the permissions of that SSH account, and anything brought back becomes part of the conversation — use a private conversation for private machine data.

Turn it off or fix a problem