Stop Treating Passkeys as SSH Passwords: The Right Way to Use SSH Keys and Phone/Desktop Passkeys

Tue, 30 Jun 2026 09:30:00 +0800

Short version

SSH passwordless login and passkeys on phones, Macs, and Windows PCs both use the public-key idea, but they are not the same tool. SSH keys are for logging in to servers, Git remotes, jump boxes, and automation endpoints. Passkeys are for signing in to websites, apps, and account systems. They are like two modern key rings: one opens the machine-room door, the other opens your online account door. The cryptographic idea is related, but the locks are different.

The practical rule is simple: generate a separate SSH key on each client device, keep the private key only on that device or inside a hardware security key, and put only the public key on the server. Verify public-key login before disabling password login. Use passkeys through iPhone, Android, macOS 26, Windows 11, system password managers, or hardware security keys for website and app sign-in. Do not try to paste a phone passkey into authorized_keys. This post includes one-click scripts for Windows 11, Ubuntu 26.04, and macOS 26, plus a manual automation path and an Agent-driven configuration path. The examples do not depend on any third-party service and do not contain real internal addresses, full computer names, private domains, or secrets.

Synology locked root behind three doors — I spent twenty minutes teaching it how to let me back in

Thu, 18 Jun 2026 16:30:00 +0800

TL;DR

Synology DSM, by design, ships with SSH disabled and root login prohibited — both sensible defaults. This guide walks you through “doing it the right way”:

Control Panel → Terminal & SNMP → Enable SSH (open the gate)

Log in as a normal user, then sudo -i to become root (borrow the landlord’s key first)

Edit /etc/ssh/sshd_config and set PermitRootLogin yes (tell the bouncer “root is family”)

synouser --setpw root xxx to set a root password, and append your public key to ~/.ssh/authorized_keys (hand back a key that can never be lost)

Total time: about twenty minutes. I’ll explain why every step exists using a “key and lock” metaphor, give you a 3-second vi crash course, list the error messages you’ll see, and answer the seven most common questions.

Passwordless-Login on Margrop Blog

Stop Treating Passkeys as SSH Passwords: The Right Way to Use SSH Keys and Phone/Desktop Passkeys

Synology locked root behind three doors — I spent twenty minutes teaching it how to let me back in