Run Ubuntu Desktop 20.10 on Raspberry Pi 4 using OpenSSH

Question

I have installed Ubuntu Desktop 20.10 in my Raspberry Pi 4. I don't have any form of display to connect directly to raspberry pi.

I want to use Raspberry Pi using OpenSSH.

Is there a way to enable OpenSSH in the boot volume for Ubuntu Desktop similar to how it works for Ubuntu Server.

I even tried adding a file without an extension and naming it ssh in the boot volume, but still no luck.

Did you install the server or the desktop version of Ubuntu 20.10? If you installed the server, you should have selected to install openssh-server at the time of installation. If desktop, then you have to temporarily connect a display and keyboard and install the openssh-server and set it up. See this question — user68186, Mar 16, 2021 at 19:14

user535733 · Accepted Answer · 2021-03-16 19:35:28Z

Ubuntu Desktop does not include an ssh server. There is nothing installed for your magic file to activate.

You must install openssh-server, which cannot be done headlessly on Ubuntu Desktop. It's trivial to install (sudo apt install openssh-server), it's simply not included with Ubuntu Desktop (most desktop users don't need it).

Remember to safely configure your ssh server to use keys. Password-protected ssh servers are strongly discouraged on internet-facing systems.
Ubuntu Server is different: Server includes the ssh server out-of-the-box, and the new 21.04 server installer even helps you configure the ssh server securely.

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