setup-vps

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Use when the user wants to harden a VPS server - SSH hardening, firewall, fail2ban, user setup, kernel security. Triggered by /setup-vps or requests to secure/harden a server.

simple10 By simple10 schedule Updated 3/14/2026
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name: setup-vps description: Use when the user wants to harden a VPS server - SSH hardening, firewall, fail2ban, user setup, kernel security. Triggered by /setup-vps or requests to secure/harden a server.

/setup-vps -- VPS Server Hardening

Harden a fresh Linux VPS: create admin and app users, configure UFW firewall, lock down SSH with key-only auth on a non-standard port, apply kernel security parameters, set up fail2ban and unattended-upgrades. Distro-adaptive -- detect the target OS and adjust commands accordingly (apt/dnf/yum, ufw/firewalld, systemd variants).

Env Var Discovery

Before doing anything, find connection details. Follow this logic exactly:

  1. Read .env in the project root. If it contains ANY of SSH_USER, SSH_PORT, VPS_IP, or SSH_KEY, use .env as ENV_FILE.
  2. Else read .env.vps. If it exists and contains any of those vars, use .env.vps as ENV_FILE.
  3. If neither file has the vars, ask the user interactively for each value, then save them to .env.vps. Also ensure .env.vps is listed in .gitignore (append if not present).
  4. Display all discovered values and ask the user to confirm before proceeding.
  5. After hardening changes the SSH port and user (Section 5 Step 3), update ENV_FILE in place using the Edit tool (never sed on macOS).

Variables and defaults

VPS_IP=                           # required, no default
SSH_USER=ubuntu                   # initial provider user
SSH_PORT=22                       # current SSH port
SSH_HARDENED_PORT=222             # target port (removed after hardening)
SSH_KEY=~/.ssh/id_ed25519         # SSH key path
HOSTNAME=                         # optional
VPS_SUDO_USER=admin               # admin user to create
VPS_APP_USER=appuser              # unprivileged app user to create

SSH Connection Pattern

For every remote command, use this pattern:

ssh -i $SSH_KEY -p $SSH_PORT -o StrictHostKeyChecking=accept-new $SSH_USER@$VPS_IP "<command>"

For multi-line scripts, use heredoc:

ssh -i $SSH_KEY -p $SSH_PORT -o StrictHostKeyChecking=accept-new $SSH_USER@$VPS_IP bash <<'REMOTE'
set -euo pipefail
# commands here
REMOTE

Section 1: System Update

Run a full system update and install essential packages.

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
sudo apt install -y \
    curl wget git vim htop tmux unzip jq cronie \
    ca-certificates gnupg lsb-release \
    apt-transport-https software-properties-common \
    ufw fail2ban

Why cronie? Ubuntu ships Vixie cron which ignores CRON_TZ in /etc/cron.d/ files. cronie is a drop-in replacement with native CRON_TZ support for timezone-aware scheduling with DST handling.

If apt is not available (RHEL/Fedora/etc.), adapt: use dnf or yum with equivalent packages. Replace ufw with firewalld and adjust Section 4 accordingly.

If apt update fails with DNS errors: Check /etc/resolv.conf -- it may need a valid nameserver. Run:

ping -c 2 archive.ubuntu.com
# If DNS fails:
echo "nameserver 1.1.1.1" | sudo tee /etc/resolv.conf

Verify the update succeeded before proceeding.

Section 2: Set Hostname

Only run this if HOSTNAME is set (non-empty). Skip otherwise.

sudo hostnamectl set-hostname "$HOSTNAME"
echo "Hostname set to: $(hostname)"

Section 3: Create Users

Create two users. Check if each user already exists before creating. Generate random passwords with openssl rand -base64 24.

3a: Admin user ($VPS_SUDO_USER)

# Check if user exists
if id "$VPS_SUDO_USER" &>/dev/null; then
    echo "$VPS_SUDO_USER already exists, skipping creation."
else
    ADMIN_PASSWORD=$(openssl rand -base64 24)
    sudo useradd -m -s /bin/bash "$VPS_SUDO_USER"
    echo "$VPS_SUDO_USER:$ADMIN_PASSWORD" | sudo chpasswd

    # Passwordless sudo for automation
    echo "$VPS_SUDO_USER ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:ALL" | sudo tee /etc/sudoers.d/$VPS_SUDO_USER
    sudo chmod 440 /etc/sudoers.d/$VPS_SUDO_USER

    # Copy SSH keys from current user
    sudo mkdir -p /home/$VPS_SUDO_USER/.ssh
    sudo cp ~/.ssh/authorized_keys /home/$VPS_SUDO_USER/.ssh/
    sudo chown -R $VPS_SUDO_USER:$VPS_SUDO_USER /home/$VPS_SUDO_USER/.ssh
    sudo chmod 700 /home/$VPS_SUDO_USER/.ssh
    sudo chmod 600 /home/$VPS_SUDO_USER/.ssh/authorized_keys

    echo "$VPS_SUDO_USER created with password: $ADMIN_PASSWORD"
fi

3b: App user ($VPS_APP_USER)

Pin uid to 1000 for Docker namespace compatibility. If uid 1000 is already taken by another user, reassign that user first.

if id "$VPS_APP_USER" &>/dev/null; then
    echo "$VPS_APP_USER already exists, skipping creation."
else
    # Handle uid 1000 conflict
    EXISTING_USER=$(getent passwd 1000 | cut -d: -f1 || true)
    if [ -n "$EXISTING_USER" ] && [ "$EXISTING_USER" != "$VPS_APP_USER" ]; then
        echo "uid 1000 taken by $EXISTING_USER -- reassigning to 1099"
        sudo usermod -u 1099 "$EXISTING_USER"
        sudo find / -xdev -user 1099 -exec chown 1099 {} \; 2>/dev/null || true
    fi

    APP_PASSWORD=$(openssl rand -base64 24)
    sudo useradd -m -s /bin/bash -u 1000 "$VPS_APP_USER"
    echo "$VPS_APP_USER:$APP_PASSWORD" | sudo chpasswd

    # No sudo, no SSH keys -- access via: sudo su - $VPS_APP_USER
    echo "$VPS_APP_USER created (no sudo, no SSH). Password: $APP_PASSWORD"
fi

Display both passwords to the user and advise them to save them. Verify both users exist with id $VPS_SUDO_USER && id $VPS_APP_USER.

Section 4: UFW Firewall

Set up the firewall. Allow BOTH port 22 and $SSH_HARDENED_PORT during transition to prevent lockout.

sudo ufw default deny incoming
sudo ufw default allow outgoing
# Allow both ports during transition
sudo ufw allow 22/tcp
sudo ufw allow $SSH_HARDENED_PORT/tcp
sudo ufw --force enable
sudo ufw status

For firewalld systems (RHEL/Fedora), adapt:

sudo firewall-cmd --set-default-zone=drop
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=22/tcp
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=$SSH_HARDENED_PORT/tcp
sudo firewall-cmd --reload

Verify the firewall is active and both ports are listed before proceeding.

Section 5: SSH Hardening

This is the most critical section. Follow the three steps exactly. Do NOT skip the mandatory test gate.

Step 1: Write config files

# Backup original config
sudo cp /etc/ssh/sshd_config /etc/ssh/sshd_config.backup

# Write hardened sshd config
sudo tee /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/hardening.conf << EOF
# Non-standard port
Port $SSH_HARDENED_PORT

# Disable root login
PermitRootLogin no

# Key-only authentication
PasswordAuthentication no
ChallengeResponseAuthentication no
KbdInteractiveAuthentication no

# Keep PAM enabled (required on Ubuntu for proper auth)
UsePAM yes

# Allow admin + initial user during transition (tightened in Step 3)
AllowUsers $VPS_SUDO_USER $SSH_USER

# Connection limits
MaxAuthTries 3
MaxSessions 3
LoginGraceTime 30

# Disable unused features
X11Forwarding no
AllowTcpForwarding no
AllowAgentForwarding no
PermitEmptyPasswords no
PermitUserEnvironment no

# Strong algorithms only
KexAlgorithms sntrup761x25519-sha512@openssh.com,curve25519-sha256@libssh.org,diffie-hellman-group16-sha512
Ciphers chacha20-poly1305@openssh.com,aes256-gcm@openssh.com
MACs hmac-sha2-512-etm@openssh.com,hmac-sha2-256-etm@openssh.com
EOF

Write the systemd socket override to listen on BOTH ports during transition:

sudo mkdir -p /etc/systemd/system/ssh.socket.d
sudo tee /etc/systemd/system/ssh.socket.d/override.conf << EOF
[Socket]
# Clear defaults, listen on both ports during transition
ListenStream=
ListenStream=0.0.0.0:22
ListenStream=[::]:22
ListenStream=0.0.0.0:$SSH_HARDENED_PORT
ListenStream=[::]:$SSH_HARDENED_PORT
EOF

Note: If the distro does not use systemd socket activation for SSH (check with systemctl status ssh.socket), skip the socket override. The Port directive in the sshd config and a systemctl restart sshd will suffice.

Step 2: Validate and apply

# Validate before applying -- abort if invalid
sudo sshd -t
if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
    echo "SSH config validation FAILED. Reverting."
    sudo rm -f /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/hardening.conf
    sudo rm -rf /etc/systemd/system/ssh.socket.d
    exit 1
fi

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
# ONLY restart the socket, NOT ssh.service (causes port conflict)
sudo systemctl restart ssh.socket

# Verify both ports are listening
ss -tlnp | grep -E ":(22|$SSH_HARDENED_PORT)\s"

If sshd -t fails, read the error output, fix the config, and retry. Common issues: duplicate directives conflicting with files in sshd_config.d/.

Step 3: MANDATORY TEST GATE

STOP. Do NOT proceed until the user confirms the new port works.

Tell the user to run this from their LOCAL machine:

ssh -i $SSH_KEY -p $SSH_HARDENED_PORT $VPS_SUDO_USER@$VPS_IP "echo 'Port $SSH_HARDENED_PORT works!'"

Wait for the user to confirm success. Do NOT auto-proceed.

If "Connection refused": Port 22 is still active. Debug on the VPS:

sudo systemctl status ssh.socket
cat /etc/systemd/system/ssh.socket.d/override.conf
sudo systemctl daemon-reload && sudo systemctl restart ssh.socket
ss -tlnp | grep -E ":(22|$SSH_HARDENED_PORT)\s"

If "Permission denied": SSH keys were not copied correctly. Check:

sudo ls -la /home/$VPS_SUDO_USER/.ssh/
sudo cat /home/$VPS_SUDO_USER/.ssh/authorized_keys

After user confirms success

Lock down to the hardened port only. Connect as the new admin user on the hardened port for these commands:

# Remove initial user from AllowUsers
sudo sed -i "s/^AllowUsers $VPS_SUDO_USER $SSH_USER$/AllowUsers $VPS_SUDO_USER/" /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/hardening.conf

# Socket: hardened port only
sudo tee /etc/systemd/system/ssh.socket.d/override.conf << EOF
[Socket]
ListenStream=
ListenStream=0.0.0.0:$SSH_HARDENED_PORT
ListenStream=[::]:$SSH_HARDENED_PORT
EOF

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl restart ssh.socket

# Remove port 22 from firewall
sudo ufw delete allow 22/tcp
sudo ufw status

# Verify only hardened port is listening
ss -tlnp | grep -E ":(22|$SSH_HARDENED_PORT)\s"

Update ENV_FILE using the Edit tool (never sed on macOS):

  1. Change SSH_USER=<old> to SSH_USER=$VPS_SUDO_USER
  2. Change SSH_PORT=22 to SSH_PORT=$SSH_HARDENED_PORT
  3. Remove the SSH_HARDENED_PORT= line entirely

From this point forward, use the new SSH_USER and SSH_PORT for all connections.

Section 6: System Hardening

Run these as the new admin user on the hardened port.

6a: Swap file

Default 8G. Skip if swap is already active.

if swapon --show | grep -q /swapfile; then
    echo "Swap already active, skipping."
else
    sudo fallocate -l 8G /swapfile
    sudo chmod 600 /swapfile
    sudo mkswap /swapfile
    sudo swapon /swapfile
    grep -q '/swapfile' /etc/fstab || echo '/swapfile none swap sw 0 0' | sudo tee -a /etc/fstab
fi
# Low swappiness
sudo sysctl -w vm.swappiness=10
echo 'vm.swappiness=10' | sudo tee /etc/sysctl.d/99-swap.conf

# Verify
swapon --show

6b: Fail2ban

Configure SSH jail on the hardened port.

sudo tee /etc/fail2ban/jail.local << EOF
[DEFAULT]
bantime = 1h
findtime = 10m
maxretry = 5
backend = systemd

[sshd]
enabled = true
port = $SSH_HARDENED_PORT
filter = sshd
logpath = /var/log/auth.log
maxretry = 3
bantime = 24h
EOF

sudo systemctl enable fail2ban
sudo systemctl restart fail2ban
sudo systemctl is-active fail2ban

If fail2ban fails to start, check: sudo journalctl -u fail2ban --no-pager -n 20. Common issue: missing /var/log/auth.log -- switch backend to systemd and remove the logpath line.

6c: Unattended upgrades

sudo apt install -y unattended-upgrades

sudo tee /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/50unattended-upgrades > /dev/null << 'EOF'
Unattended-Upgrade::Allowed-Origins {
    "${distro_id}:${distro_codename}";
    "${distro_id}:${distro_codename}-security";
    "${distro_id}ESMApps:${distro_codename}-apps-security";
    "${distro_id}ESM:${distro_codename}-infra-security";
};
Unattended-Upgrade::AutoFixInterruptedDpkg "true";
Unattended-Upgrade::Remove-Unused-Kernel-Packages "true";
Unattended-Upgrade::Remove-Unused-Dependencies "true";
Unattended-Upgrade::Automatic-Reboot "false";
EOF

sudo systemctl enable unattended-upgrades

For non-Debian systems, use dnf-automatic with apply_updates = yes instead.

6d: Kernel sysctl hardening

sudo tee /etc/sysctl.d/99-security.conf << 'EOF'
# IP Spoofing protection
net.ipv4.conf.all.rp_filter = 1
net.ipv4.conf.default.rp_filter = 1

# Ignore ICMP broadcast requests
net.ipv4.icmp_echo_ignore_broadcasts = 1

# Disable source packet routing
net.ipv4.conf.all.accept_source_route = 0
net.ipv4.conf.default.accept_source_route = 0

# Disable send redirects
net.ipv4.conf.all.send_redirects = 0
net.ipv4.conf.default.send_redirects = 0

# SYN flood protection
net.ipv4.tcp_syncookies = 1
net.ipv4.tcp_max_syn_backlog = 2048
net.ipv4.tcp_synack_retries = 2

# Log Martians
net.ipv4.conf.all.log_martians = 1

# Ignore ICMP redirects
net.ipv4.conf.all.accept_redirects = 0
net.ipv4.conf.default.accept_redirects = 0

# Enable ASLR
kernel.randomize_va_space = 2

# Restrict dmesg access
kernel.dmesg_restrict = 1

# Restrict kernel pointer access
kernel.kptr_restrict = 2
EOF

sudo sysctl -p /etc/sysctl.d/99-security.conf

Verify a critical parameter: sysctl -n net.ipv4.tcp_syncookies must return 1. If not, investigate and fix before proceeding.

Section 7: Final Verification

Run all checks from the local machine and on the VPS. Report results to the user.

Local test:

ssh -i $SSH_KEY -p $SSH_HARDENED_PORT $VPS_SUDO_USER@$VPS_IP "echo 'SSH OK'"

Remote checks (run on VPS as $VPS_SUDO_USER):

# Users exist
id $VPS_SUDO_USER && id $VPS_APP_USER

# UFW active with correct rules
sudo ufw status

# Fail2ban running
sudo systemctl is-active fail2ban
sudo fail2ban-client status sshd

# Kernel hardening applied
sysctl net.ipv4.tcp_syncookies net.ipv4.conf.all.rp_filter kernel.randomize_va_space kernel.dmesg_restrict

# Swap active
swapon --show

# SSH only on hardened port
ss -tlnp | grep ssh

# Unattended upgrades enabled
systemctl is-enabled unattended-upgrades 2>/dev/null || echo "N/A (non-Debian)"

Print a summary table with pass/fail for each check. If any check fails, report the failure and suggest remediation.

Install via CLI
npx skills add https://github.com/simple10/openclaw-stack --skill setup-vps
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