Nx keygen

This article applies to NoMachine v. 4 or later.

Support for key-based authentication with the SSH protocol requires the public SSH key be added on the server side, in the user's home, to grant access. When you connect to the server you will have to insert the private key in the NoMachine User Interface (GUI).

Key-based authentication with SSH protocol is not available with NoMachine free version.

What you need to have done first

You have already generated an SSH key pair, for example by using the ssh-keygen tool on a Linux host, e.g.:

ssh-keygen -f my_key

It will generate two keys, the private one (my_key) and the public one (my_key.pub).

IMPORTANT
1) Be sure that the keys is in OpenSSH format.

2) Note that the new OpenSSH format introduced by openssh version 7.8p1-1 is not supported yet, please see https://www.nomachine.com/FR05Q03834 for more details.
As a workaround, generate the key pair by adding the '-m PEM' option to specify to use the old format:
ssh-keygen -m PEM -f my_key

3) If you have generated the SSH key pair on Windows, for example by using PuTTYgen (https://www.puttygen.com), be sure it's in OpenSSH format or convert it. To do that choose the key file in the PuTTYgen main window. Then go to Conversions->Export OpenSSH key to export your private key and save it.

Add the public SSH key on the server

Content of the public key have to be added to the authorized keys file on the remote computer.

The authorized keys file, usually 'authorized_keys' (or 'authorized_keys2' on old systems), is placed in the user's home directory: <user's home>/.ssh/authorized_keys.

On Linux and Mac hosts, check the configuration of SSHD (sshd_config) to verify path and name to the authorized keys file. When both 'authorized_keys' and 'authorized_keys2' are valid, 'authorized_keys' is preferable.

On Windows, NoMachine ships its own SSH server (nxsshd) which uses the authorized_keys file in the %USERPROFILE%/.ssh directory.

On the remote computer, create the authorized_keys file in the appropriate place, if it doesn't exist yet.

Then, append your SSH public key at the end of the authorized keys file and save changes.

For example on Linux, to add the public key to the authorized_keys file of user nxtest01 upload the my_key.pub file on the remote host and execute from a console :

cat my_key.pub >> /home/nxtest01/.ssh/authorized_keys

Use the private SSH key when connecting with your client

On the user's computer:

1. Launch the NoMachine User Interface from Programs menu or Applications and right click on a connection. Choose 'Edit connection'  to access connection settings.

2. Be sure that SSH is the selected protocol in the drop-down menu.

3. Click on the Advanced button.

4. Choose 'Private key'  authentication and click  on the 'Settings' button.

5. Click  the '...' button navigate directories and provide path to your private SSH key (e.g. my_key).

6. Click on 'OK' button and connect.

The client will prompt you for username and passphrase. If your SSH key doesn't have a passhprase, leave this field empty.

Remote X Sessions via NX¶

It is sometimes desirable to use X11-/GUI-based programs from Euler. While Unix-like systems can forward this programs directly using , Windows users typically need to install and configure an X server such as Xming. Alternatively, Euler allows users to create a remote X session using NoMachine NX.

To begin, download and install the NoMachine 4 Beta Client for your system. While that is installing, login to Euler via SSH and run to get a copy of NX’s key. Save this to a file on your machine.

Next, open NoMachine and click the icon for Add a computer. Give the session a name (“Euler”), set the protocol to ‘SSH’, and enter the hostname (). Click Advanced and select Use the NoMachine login. Click Continue and select the file you just created with NX’s key. Click Continue to finish.

You should now be on a summary page with the new connection. Click Connect and enter your Euler login details. Once connected, click Create a new virtual desktop and select Create a new GNOME virtual desktop. After clicking Continue you should be presented with a desktop running on Euler where you can use GUI-based programs.