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dw8547
Asked: 2017-05-25 02:13:58 +0800 CST

SSH with a user alias?

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This question is not a duplicate. Please read it before you mark it as such.

Is it possible to assign nicknames or aliases to users on a Linux sever and SSH into the server using the nicknames? I am thinking something along the lines of the aliases for various commands that get added to the .bashrc or the .bash_aliases file, e.g.:

alias grep='grep --color=auto'

For example, if there is a requirement (business rule) to set up users on the server with their full name, e.g., john_smith instead of just their first name (john) but we want to nickname john_smith fruitloops and we want John to be able to:

ssh john_smith@ip_address

as well as:

ssh fruitloops@ip_address

If it is possible, where would the mapping between a user and their nickname be set up? Would the user fruitloops also need to exists on the sever?

This question is about setting up an alias for a user, not a host.

server

2 Answers

  1. Best Answer

    Each user in linux has only one name and that is his only name. you can create aliases for commands not for users.

    But you can create a second user with the same UID, home directory and password that would do the trick for you.

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  2. I haven't tried this but another option besides the two users mapped to a single UID (which IMO seems dangerous but this option is probably equally dangerous) is to have a single user serve as a redirector based on SSH key. This is how source control repositories that use SSH typically work.

    Lets call the user me. Everyone will use this alias.

    ssh me@ip_address

    Now the user me has all of users public keys in their ~/.ssh/authorized_keys. 

    command="sudo -i -u user-mapped-to-key" ssh-rsa key

    You will need to make the user me have the ability to sudo as the other users and you will need to manage me authorized keys file.

    Anyway I haven't tested this but in theory something like this should work.

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