Linux boxes via SSH: suspended when disconected

Posted by messh 1/15/2026

Linux boxes via SSH: suspended when disconected(shellbox.dev)

316 points | 159 commentspage 2

rolymath 1/16/2026|

I would use this with expensive GPU instances so I don't forget them running. Not so useful for cheap instances.

messh 1/16/2026|

Excellent point. This may be better proposition for more expensive instances

amelius 1/16/2026||

Unrelated in many ways, but I have the reverse problem:

When I suspend my Linux machine, my ssh connections are lost.

Anyone know of a good solution for this?

PS: Yes, I know about tmux/screen but I'd like a solution that keeps the connection, because I often forget to start a screen session. Also, I'd like my X11 applications to keep working.

hopw_roewur_ne 1/16/2026||

Mosh on server and client keeps the SSH connection going during suspension or network drops, etc.

https://github.com/mobile-shell/mosh

amelius 1/16/2026||

Nice! But not a solution since it does not support X11 forwarding.

ratdragon 1/16/2026|||

WDYM lost? do you roam? I used to have a job with simple OpenVPN to connect to the servers (via public IP, just routed through the VPN tunnel) and ssh connections stayed during my trip from office to home. Probably needs both sides not to be overly aggressive with keepalives and such. VPN just reconnected at home, but tun0 device and its local ip stayed the same, ssh connections also stayed.

If you do not roam other side may do TCP keepalives or even ssh protocol keepalives and close the connection for you. Unless you can tune that, not much to do.

Other solutions might be mosh (mobile shell; haven't tried) or just running screen or tmux on the other end and just resume where you left of after quick reconnect.

steeleduncan 1/16/2026||

Use tmux. Ssh in and start a tmux session. If the connection breaks you can ssh back in and reconnect to the tmux session later.

GNU Screen is another alternative

amelius 1/16/2026||

Yes, thanks, but it does not work for me since X11 applications lose their connection too.

WhyNotHugo 1/15/2026||

Cool idea, but where's the "sign up" button?

Trying to use any of the commands in the home page, I just see "hugo@shellbox.dev: Permission denied (publickey).". Clearly I have to register first, but there's no clue as to how.

messh 1/15/2026|

You are missing an ssh key. Run this first:

ssh-keygen -t ed25519

newman314 1/16/2026||

There is no support for ed25519 host keys (confirmed using ssh-audit). Would be nice to have though.

As an aside, you should use ssh-audit to get recommendations for what to disable as far as less than ideal options/configs go.

solumunus 1/15/2026||

But why? Genuinely want to know what one might use this for. I can imagine it would be cool for a remote dev environment but the selling point would have to be that it’s far cheaper than the alternative.

messh 1/15/2026|

Simpler, easy to use, more enjoyable and fun are also valid reasons

Kwpolska 1/15/2026||

What’s difficult to use in Hetzner or DigitalOcean?

dwedge 1/16/2026|||

Apart from the payment part, this could be used entirely from a machine without a GUI. You can do the same with others using Terraform or aws-cli but it requires setup first.

sireat 1/16/2026||

What about SSH requires GUI?

I mean I SSH to my Hetzner Ubuntu fun box usually from Powershell or PuTTY, but sometimes I SSH from a Debian server without any GUI.

dwedge 1/17/2026||

> I SSH to my Hetzner Ubuntu fun box

How did you provision your Hetzner Ubuntu fun box in the first place? That's the part that usually needs a GUI

hrimfaxi 1/16/2026|||

One thing can be simpler than another without either of them being difficult.

raphinou 1/16/2026||

I could imagine using this to access a beefier machine besides my main work computer. But indeed paying for stopped VM is difficult to sell. There was a suggestion to propose pre installed tools in different images which I find a good idea. Otherwise the workflow all by ssh is cool!

theykk 1/16/2026||

I made something similar last week using rust. It uses docker container with bunch of tool pre loaded. if anyone interested source code https://github.com/TheYkk/agentman

bks 1/16/2026||

What a brilliant billing and account interaction interface. I legitimately wanted to build something like this for a transactional SMS provider where it would all be provisioned, managed, configured on the CLI. Do you have any tips on how you built this out so elegantly?

varenc 1/16/2026|

Would love a SMS provider that was simple to use. Have used twilio in the past and every time I come back it, it feels like they've added yet another layer of abstraction to the process.

But I suspect that spam and abuse means that becoming an SMS customer is going to have to be complex. Though just the ability to automate SMS msgs to a few pre-defined and verified numbers would be valuable and negate spam risk.

yjftsjthsd-h 1/15/2026||

> Note: The -O flag is required for OpenSSH 9.0+ to use legacy SCP protocol.

Why isn't SFTP supported?

messh 1/15/2026|

WIP, this is still in MVP phase...

gildenFish 1/15/2026||

Looks cool. You probably need a fyi or faq indicating that how the account system works.

SuperNinKenDo 1/16/2026|

Cool idea if you have a more specific niche requirement than it would initially appear, but genuinely nice to know this is available if such a use-case happens to cross my path.

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