SSH access, Arch R

SSH is off by default, for security. Turn it on in archr-launcher, then connect from your computer.

Enable SSH

Toggle in the launcher

Open Settings › Network › Network services › SSH and switch it ON (ssh.enabled=1).

The launcher creates the marker file /storage/.cache/services/sshd.conf and starts SSH with systemctl start sshd.

Optional: enable on every boot

Same menu, leave the toggle on. At boot, the network-services script recreates the marker from ssh.enabled, and systemd checks ConditionPathExists= when it starts sshd.service.

Find the device's IP

Look under Settings › Network › Wi-Fi (or in System information › Network, opened with Y on the Settings home). Or via SSH/ping from any device on the same LAN:

ping archr.local

mDNS publishes archr.local automatically (Avahi).

Connect

ssh root@archr.local
# or with the IP:
ssh root@192.168.x.x

Default credentials:

user        root
password    archr

Change the password after the first successful login. The default is published, so anyone on the LAN can guess it. Change it in Settings › Network › Network services › Root password (SSH). Running passwd alone does not update the password ArchR has saved, and the old one can come back at boot.

Key-based auth (recommended)

# on your computer
ssh-copy-id root@archr.local

Then disable password auth on the device (over SSH already logged in):

sudo sed -i 's/^#*PasswordAuthentication.*/PasswordAuthentication no/' /etc/ssh/sshd_config
sudo systemctl restart sshd

File transfer

scp (one-shot copy) is the simplest way to move files. ROMs, save-states, screenshots:

# upload a ROM
scp game.sfc root@archr.local:/storage/roms/snes/

# download all screenshots
scp root@archr.local:'/storage/roms/screenshots/*' ~/Pictures/r36s-screenshots/

# upload a directory
scp -r ~/roms/psx root@archr.local:/storage/roms/

For continuous sync, use rsync instead, it skips files that didn't change:

rsync -avh --delete ~/roms/snes/ root@archr.local:/storage/roms/snes/

For graphical access, your file manager probably supports sftp://root@archr.local/storage/roms/.

SSH tips

Launcher in the way. archr-launcher runs fullscreen under sway; to run another graphical tool from SSH, stop the launcher session first:

sudo systemctl stop archr-launcher-session
# now you can run graphical tools
sudo systemctl start archr-launcher-session

Long-running tasks (scrape, rsync TBs, etc.). Use screen or nohup so they survive SSH disconnects:

screen -S scrape
skyscraper -p snes
# Ctrl-A D to detach. Reattach later: screen -r scrape

Inspecting boot. Use /var/log/boot.log for autostart output and journalctl for the current boot. /storage/.boot_last_step tracks the run in progress; if a trace is left over, it is copied to /storage/.boot_last_hang.

Bench scripts. bench.sh <scenario> [duration] collects PSI / freq / temp / vmstat for the given duration into /storage/bench-results/. Useful when reporting a perf regression. The script is not installed in the image: take it from tools/bench.sh in the source tree and copy it to the device, for example to /flash.

Disable SSH

Same menu, toggle OFF. The marker file is removed and sshd.service stops. The next boot doesn't start it.

Security notes

On a public LAN, anyone on the same WiFi can log in if SSH is on and the credentials are the default. Change the password.
With Tailscale or ZeroTier enabled, your device is reachable from anywhere on that VPN. The same advice applies.
Do not forward port 22 to your handheld from your home router: the default install isn't hardened for the public internet.
To prevent remote SSH access, turn SSH off in the launcher. Do not count on an archr account with sudo as a fallback.

SSH access

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