Create a Remote Web Development Environment Using Linode


In this guide, we will create our own remote web development environment using [Linode](https://www.linode.com/?r=b042b8d928111627044d292bdbca3691c536bf8d).

## Pre-requisities

- A terminal with Bash or something similar. For Windows, you can use [Windows Terminal](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/windows-terminal/9n0dx20hk701) or [Git Bash](https://git-scm.com/downloads). You can check [my current settings for Windows Terminal](https://github.com/napjoseph/remote/blob/main/windows/terminal/settings.md).
- Your local SSH key pair. See [GitHub's guide](https://docs.github.com/en/github/authenticating-to-github/generating-a-new-ssh-key-and-adding-it-to-the-ssh-agent) for more details.
- A [GitHub](https://github.com) account.
- A [Keybase](https://keybase.io/) account for storing your GPG keys.
- A [Linode account](https://www.linode.com/?r=b042b8d928111627044d292bdbca3691c536bf8d). You can go to their [docs](https://www.linode.com/docs/guides/getting-started/) to get a $100 promo code (or you can directly use [my referral code](https://www.linode.com/?r=b042b8d928111627044d292bdbca3691c536bf8d)).
- [Visual Studio Code](https://code.visualstudio.com/).

## Generate SSH Key for your local machine

Follow [GitHub's guide](https://docs.github.com/en/github/authenticating-to-github/generating-a-new-ssh-key-and-adding-it-to-the-ssh-agent) to generate your SSH key pair. For Windows users, you may need to check this [guide from Microsoft](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/openssh/openssh_keymanagement) to enable SSH in your machine.

Afterwards, add the key to your GitHub and Linode account.

## Generate SSH Key for your new Linode instance

Create a new SSH Key for your new Linode instance. Save this for now as we'll use this later.

## Generate GPG Key

Follow this [guide to generate a GPG key using Keybase](https://github.com/pstadler/keybase-gpg-github).

> **NOTE**: For Windows, if you already installed the Keybase app, you should have the CLI app will be ready to use (no need to install via brew).

Again, you need to add this key to your GitHub account.

## Creating your server instance using Linode's StackScripts

- [ ] Open the [StackScripts](https://cloud.linode.com/stackscripts/account) page and click **Create StackScript**.
- [ ] Copy the contents of [web.sh](https://github.com/napjoseph/remote/blob/main/linode/web.sh). This will only work on **Debian 10**.
- [ ] Click **Deploy New Linode**.
- [ ] Fill out the fields and then click **Create Linode**.
- [ ] Wait for your instance to be provisioned.
- [ ] If all goes well, the status will change to **Running** and you can then connect to your instance.

This should install the following on your instance:

- [x] [zsh](https://www.zsh.org/), [oh-my-zsh](https://ohmyz.sh/), [powerlevel10k](https://github.com/romkatv/powerlevel10k), [zsh-autosuggestions](https://github.com/zsh-users/zsh-autosuggestions), and [zsh-syntax-highlighting](https://github.com/zsh-users/zsh-syntax-highlighting)
- [x] [Keybase](https://keybase.io)
- [x] [Go](https://golang.org/)
- [x] [Node Version Manager](https://github.com/nvm-sh/nvm)
- [x] [pyenv](https://github.com/pyenv/pyenv)
- [x] [Docker](https://www.docker.com/)
- [x] [byobu](https://byobu.org)
- [x] [spacevim](https://spacevim.org)
- [x] [bat](https://github.com/sharkdp/bat)
- [x] [direnv](https://github.com/direnv/direnv)
- [x] [stow](https://www.gnu.org/software/stow)
- [x] [Homebrew](https://brew.sh)

## Connecting via SSH

Start the ssh-agent in the background:

```shell note=for%20linux/osx:
$ eval `ssh-agent -s`
> Agent pid 59566
```

```powershell note=for%20windows:
Start-Service ssh-agent
```

Add your SSH private key to the ssh-agent. If you created your key with a different name, or if you are adding an existing key that has a different name, replace id_ed25519 in the command with the name of your private key file.

```shell
ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
```

Then connect via SSH:

```shell
ssh <NON_ROOT_USERNAME>@<LINODE_IPV4_ADDRESS> -p <SSH_PORT>
```

Alternatively, you can create a config file to make it easier to connect to your remote host.

```text filename=~/.ssh/config
Host <ALIAS>
  User <NON_ROOT_USERNAME>
  HostName <LINODE_IPV4_ADDRESS>
  Port <SSH_PORT>
  IdentityFile <PRIVATE_KEY_FILE_LOCATION>
```

```shell
ssh <ALIAS>
```

Congratulations! You can now connect to your remote server instance.

> **NOTE**: You can already connect via SSH even if the StackScript has not yet been completed. To check its status, you can check the logs using `cat /var/log/stackscript.log`.

## Additional setup

The essentials are already installed in your instance. However, we need to configure a few applications we will use.

### Configuring your zsh theme

> **IMPORTANT**: You also need to install the [recommended fonts](https://github.com/romkatv/powerlevel10k#meslo-nerd-font-patched-for-powerlevel10k) for the theme to display properly.

> **IMPORTANT**: If you are using Windows, you can use [Windows Terminal](https://microsoft.com/en-us/p/windows-terminal/9n0dx20hk701). You can check [my current settings for Windows Terminal](https://github.com/napjoseph/remote/blob/main/windows/terminal/settings.md).

If you enabled `UPGRADE_SHELL_EXPERIENCE`, [zsh](https://www.zsh.org/), [oh-my-zsh](https://ohmyz.sh/), and the [powerlevel10k zsh theme](https://github.com/romkatv/powerlevel10k) will be installed.

On your first login via SSH, it will ask you to configure your theme. To run the wizard again, you can run:

```shell
p10k configure
```

### Fixing your SSH Private Key

Due to StackScripts not yet having a multiple-line UDF, the line breaks for our private key was removed.

Update the `.ssh/$HOSTNAME` with the correct version.

### Configure Keybase

```shell
# login
keybase login

# check if you have more than one key saved
keybase pgp export

# if yes, specify the id in the commands below
# keybase pgp export -q 31DBBB1F6949DA68 | gpg --import

# import public key
keybase pgp export | gpg --import

# import private key
keybase pgp export --secret | gpg --allow-secret-key-import --import

# check imported key
gpg --list-secret-keys --keyid-format LONG
# /Users/pstadler/.gnupg/secring.gpg
# ----------------------------------
# pub   2048R/DEADBEEF 2012-08-16
# uid                  Name (Comment) <email@host.tld>
# sub   2048R/86D2FAC6 2012-08-16
```

Notice the hash `DEADBEEF`. We will use this in the next section.

### Configure Git

```shell
# add your basic information
git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "your_name@example.com"

# sign all commits using your GPG key
git config --global user.signingkey DEADBEEF
git config --global commit.gpgsign true
```

## Repository

You can check the [`napjoseph/remote` repository](https://github.com/napjoseph/remote/) for the updated code.


Nap Joseph Calub

Posts with the "Linode" tag