SSH Tunnel For SystemD

This systemd unit maintains an SSH tunnel of your choice. No root required.

Install

A systemd unit template file needs to be installed in order to run tunnels.

Running install.sh copies labtunnel@.service to your ~/.config/systemd/user . Do not use sudo.

Read man systemd.unit for more information on templates.

Defining Tunnels

To define a tunnel, add the following lines to your ~/.ssh/config:

Host [Your tunnel name]
    HostName [ip or url to remote computer]
    Port     [ssh port, usually 22]
    User     xren
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/zlab.key
    LocalForward [local port to access your tunnel] localhost:[remote port you want to connect to]

Read man ssh_config for more info.

Running Tunnels

To start your tunnel, substitute the tunnel name you defined into the following command: systemctl --user start labtunnel@[your tunnel name]

To set-up autostart, use the same command but replace start with enable: systemctl --user enable labtunnel@[your tunnel name]

See more at man systemctl

Uninstalling

Run uninstall.sh from the project directory. The script disable/removes autostart tunnels and the installed systemd template file.

After uninstalling, if you don't delete the lines you added to your ssh config, you may still run ssh [your tunnel name] to access the tunnels manually.

Source

This project is based off drmalex07's systemd ssh tunneler at https://gist.github.com/drmalex07/c0f9304deea566842490.

My improvements include:

• No privileges required: everything is installed in ~/.config/systemd/user
• Install/uninstall scripts
• Uses ssh_config: can define all sorts of ssh connections, not just local tunnels