Servers

A server is a machine that actually does the agents’ work. Neo doesn’t store anything on it besides its own SSH key (or certificate) and whatever the connections and agents you set up on it need.

Adding a server

Servers → “Add server” → “Connect a worker node”: address, port, user, and a sign-in method.

Sign-in methods:

• DaxBax Neo key (default). Neo generates a dedicated key for this server and shows you a single command to run on it, adding the public half to authorized_keys. From then on Neo signs in only with this key.
• Your own key. Paste an existing private key in full (first and last line included). If the key is passphrase-protected, the passphrase is only used once, to read the key, and is never stored — the key itself is kept encrypted, without the passphrase.
• Password. By default, the password is used once: Neo signs in, adds its own key to authorized_keys, checks that the key works, and then signs in with the key from then on, forgetting the password. If the server refuses key-based sign-in, you can keep the password saved instead, and Neo will keep using it (including answering sudo prompts).

Neither the key nor the password is ever shown back through the interface — the audit log records the method used, never the secret itself.

The user doesn’t need to be root: passwordless sudo is enough (<user> ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:ALL). The “Verify” button refuses the server without it.

Changing the address or user

Changing the host, port, or user requires re-verifying the connection.

One server, several agents

More than one agent can be attached to the same server; they can share it, but each has its own memory — isolated, or shared with one specific other agent on the same server, chosen when the agent is created.

SSH certificates instead of a standing key

Some workspaces have an extra layer of protection turned on: instead of a standing key, Neo signs each connection with a short-lived certificate (valid for about 30 minutes) issued by a separate certificate service. If this is on for your workspace, servers move over to it on their own, in the background, with nothing for you to do — the old key simply stops being used. Settings → “SSH certificates” shows how many servers have already moved over.