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1 Accessing SSH via Encryption Keys

Your Derez.ai agent runs in its own Linux container with full root SSH access. The most secure way to connect is using SSH key pairs — a public key stored on the server and a private key kept on your machine.

Generate an SSH Key Pair

If you don't already have an SSH key, create one on your local machine:

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "my-derez-agent"

This creates two files in ~/.ssh/:

• id_ed25519 — your private key (never share this)
• id_ed25519.pub — your public key (goes on the server)

Add the Public Key to Your Agent

Copy the content of your public key:

cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

Then open your agent from the dashboard and add the key to ~/.ssh/authorized_keys:

echo "ssh-ed25519 AAAA... your-key" >> ~/.ssh/authorized_keys

Connect via SSH

Once the key is in place, connect from your machine:

ssh root@<your-agent-ip>

You're in — root access, full shell, no password required.

2 Copying Files In and Out — Derez Sync

Derez.ai agents include a built-in sync mechanism that lets you transfer files between your local machine and your agent's instance without manual SCP or SFTP commands.

How It Works

The sync tool uses your existing SSH connection and handles directory structure, permissions, and incremental transfers automatically. It's designed for workflows where you iterate on scripts, configuration files, or data sets locally and push them to the agent.

Copy a File to Your Agent

scp /path/to/local/file root@<your-agent-ip>:/root/destination/

Copy a File from Your Agent

scp root@<your-agent-ip>:/root/source/file /path/to/local/destination/

Sync an Entire Directory

For larger directory trees, use rsync — it only transfers what changed:

rsync -avz --progress /local/project/ root@<your-agent-ip>:/root/project/

The -a flag preserves permissions and timestamps, -v gives verbose output, and -z compresses data during transfer.

3 Tmux — Persistent Terminal Sessions

Tmux is a terminal multiplexer that keeps your sessions alive even after you disconnect. If you're running long tasks — model fine-tuning, data processing, agent training — Tmux ensures nothing stops when your SSH connection drops.

Start a New Tmux Session

tmux new -s my-session

This opens a new terminal inside Tmux. Run any command — it keeps running when you disconnect.

Detach and Reattach

Press Ctrl+B then D to detach from the session. Your commands keep running on the server. To come back later:

tmux attach -t my-session

List Active Sessions

tmux list-sessions

Kill a Session

tmux kill-session -t my-session

Useful Tmux Shortcuts

• Ctrl+B % — split pane vertically
• Ctrl+B " — split pane horizontally
• Ctrl+B arrow keys — navigate between panes
• Ctrl+B C — create a new window
• Ctrl+B N / P — next / previous window

4 Midnight Commander — File Management with a UI

Midnight Commander (MC) is a full-screen file manager for the terminal. It gives you a two-panel interface — think Norton Commander — so you can browse, copy, move, and edit files on your agent visually without memorizing shell commands.

Install Midnight Commander

If MC isn't already installed on your agent:

apt update && apt install mc -y

Launch MC

mc

You'll see two panels side by side showing your directory structure. Navigate with the arrow keys, select files with Insert, and use the function key menu at the bottom:

• F1 — Help
• F3 — View file contents
• F4 — Edit file
• F5 — Copy file or directory
• F6 — Move / Rename
• F7 — Create directory
• F8 — Delete
• F10 — Quit

Copy Files Between Panels

This is where MC shines for your agent. Open one panel showing a local directory and the other showing a remote path — or use an SSH filesystem panel:

# From MC, press Ctrl+F then choose "Shell link"
# Enter: sh://root@<your-agent-ip>/root

Now you can copy files between your local machine and your agent by selecting them and pressing F5 — like dragging and dropping, but in the terminal.

Built-in Editor

Press F4 on any file to open MC's built-in editor (mcedit). It supports syntax highlighting, mouse support, and search — perfect for quick config edits on your agent without leaving the terminal.

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