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coder/docs/reference/cli/ssh.md
T
Nick Vigilante 0a7bb80a1e feat: make CLI/API doc generators emit front-matter metadata (Phase 2) (#27246)
## Summary

Phase 2 of the H1 → front-matter migration (`DOCS-483`; parent
`DOCS-477`). Makes the two reference-doc generators emit per-page
metadata as YAML front matter instead of a leading `# H1`, so generated
pages are self-describing and `make gen` stops reverting migrated pages
(Phase 3).

Phase 1 (`DOCS-482`) made the coder.com renderers prefer a front-matter
`title` (manifest fallback).

> [!NOTE]
> Rebased onto `main` and fully regenerated, and updated across two
rounds of Coder Agents Review — see **Review follow-ups** below.

## Changes

- **`scripts/clidocgen/command.tpl` + `gen.go` + `main.go`** — front
matter now carries `title` (from `fullName`) and `description` (from the
command's `Short`), and the leading `# H1` is dropped. The CLI index
page's front matter is taken from the manifest `Command Line` route
(title/description/icon_path).
- **`scripts/apidocgen/postprocess/main.go`** — reads the manifest and,
at write time, injects front matter carrying each section's `title` plus
any curated `description`, `state`, and `icon_path`. The API index
page's front matter is taken from the manifest `REST API` route.
- **`scripts/docgenenv`** (new shared code) — one `YAMLScalar`
front-matter escaper, one `Route`/`Manifest` schema +
`LoadManifest`/`FindRoute`, and one `FrontMatter(Route)` emitter, all
imported by both generators (no duplicated helpers, types, or emitters).
- Regenerated all **166 CLI + 31 API** reference pages.

### Metadata → front matter, and what stays in the manifest

Every *per-page* manifest field is mirrored into the page's front
matter: `title`, `description`, `state`, `icon_path`. The **structural**
fields stay in `manifest.json`:

- `children` — the nav tree (explicitly out of scope).
- `path` — the manifest's pointer to the file; a page carrying its own
path is redundant/error-prone, so it's treated like `children`.

The fields are **duplicated** into front matter and **`manifest.json` is
left unchanged**, so this is a **no-op for rendering today** (coder.com
strips front matter for `llms`, and Algolia + the renderer read only
`title`). Removing the fields from the manifest is the natural
follow-up, gated on the renderer reading them from front matter first.

### Why the API side changes the postprocessor, not the `.dot` templates

The issue text suggested editing
`scripts/apidocgen/markdown-template/*`. I deliberately did **not**,
because the postprocessor derives each page's **filename, section title,
and manifest route** from the leading `# {name}` line
(`extractSectionName`). Emitting front matter from the template would
break that extraction. Instead the widdershins templates still emit `#
{name}`, the postprocessor reads it (and now verifies it), and then
swaps the heading for a front-matter block as each section is written.

## Review follow-ups (Coder Agents Review)

### Round 1 — addressed in `e53d5e03` (all threads resolved)

- **CRF-1 / CRF-4** — de-duplicated the escaper and the
`route`/`manifest` schema + traversal into `scripts/docgenenv` (shared
by both generators).
- **CRF-2** — `YAMLScalar` now quotes YAML-reserved scalars
(`true/false/null/…`, numbers); no current value is affected.
- **CRF-3** — added unit tests: a `YAMLScalar` round-trip, `FindRoute`,
and `prependFrontMatter`.
- **CRF-5** — the CLI and API **index** pages now mirror their manifest
route's title/description/icon_path instead of a hardcoded
`coder`/`API`, fixing a rendered-heading regression (`REST API`/`Command
Line` were being overwritten).
- **CRF-6** — dropped the dead `#login` anchor in
`docs/support/support-bundle.md` (the migrated `login.md` no longer
mints that heading anchor).
- **CRF-7 / CRF-8 / CRF-11** — renamed to `prependFrontMatter`, switched
to `bytes.Cut`, and it now strips the first line only when it is the `#
{name}` heading (`extractSectionName` errors otherwise).
- **CRF-9** — removed the orphan `docs/reference/api/chat.md` (not in
the manifest, not linked; the real page is `chats.md`).
- **CRF-10** — the metadata read and the manifest rewrite now share one
`FindRoute` traversal.
- **CRF-13** — moot under squash-merge; this branch is a single
scopeless commit.
- **CRF-15** — the pre-existing `sort.Slice`/`slices.IsSorted`
comparator is left as-is per the review (out of scope; safe today
because section names are unique).

### Round 2 — addressed in `ee796e7107` (all threads resolved)

- **CRF-16** (P1) — removed three em-dashes from new doc comments (the
only `make lint` failure on the prior head); the emdash gate is green.
- **CRF-17 / CRF-18** — unified front-matter emission into one shared
`docgenenv.FrontMatter(Route)`, used by the API postprocessor directly
and by `command.tpl` via a `frontMatter` template func. This retires the
hand-written template YAML and the
`indexTitle`/`indexDescription`/`indexIconPath` closures, so a new
front-matter field is wired in one place, and it gives the CLI index the
`state` arm it previously lacked. Verified byte-identical: a full CLI +
API regen produces zero page changes.
- **CRF-19** — CLI child sort switched to `slices.SortFunc` +
`cmp.Compare` (typed comparator).
- **CRF-20** — reworded the `prependFrontMatter` comment:
`extractSectionName`'s fail-fast is the load-bearing guard; the prefix
check is a defensive backstop.
- **CRF-21** — added `icon_path`/`state` coverage in `docgenenv`'s
`TestFrontMatter/AllFields` (the branch the index page relies on,
previously at 0%).
- **CRF-22** — `YAMLScalar` no longer emits a trailing-space value as a
bare scalar (YAML strips it on read, so it would not round-trip); added
test coverage.
- **CRF-24** — the shared emitter removed the duplicated `cliIndexRoute`
doc comment; the rationale now lives in one place.
- **CRF-23** (Phase 3, out of scope here) — noted: the API generator
wipes and regenerates `reference/api/` from the manifest, so removing
curated metadata from the manifest in Phase 3 needs another source first
(a generator that preserves existing front matter, or metadata carried
alongside the swagger annotations).
- **Process (Mafu-san)** — the verification set below now leads with
`make lint`, the mandatory CI gate that the earlier list omitted.

## Cross-repo dependency

**Resolved — this PR no longer has a hard merge-ordering gate** (CRF-14
was right; the earlier "must merge after #968" note was stale).

The coder.com surfaces that would otherwise leak raw front matter from
`coder/coder` `main` are already front-matter-aware on merged PRs:

- **coder.com#964** (`DOCS-554`, llms-full.txt corpus + Algolia) —
**merged**.
- **coder.com#974** (`DOCS-574`, the `.md` proxy twin + `llms.txt` index
titles) — **merged**.

coder.com#968 (`DOCS-577`) was re-scoped to only the renderer
route-metadata generalization; it's a no-op on today's corpus and its
own description confirms the "deploy before the generators" constraint
no longer applies (that was driven by the llms corpus, now in #964).
Worth a final confirmation that #964/#974 are **deployed** before merge,
but there's no branch/PR ordering blocker left.

## Verification & evidence

AI was the primary author of this PR (see disclosure below); per the [AI
Contribution
Guidelines](https://coder.com/docs/about/contributing/AI_CONTRIBUTING)
here is manual verification.

- `make lint` (golangci-lint + the emdash gate) passes; `go build` / `go
vet` / `go test` are clean for the generators + `scripts/docgenenv`;
`pnpm check-docs` passes.
- `swagger.json`, `docs.go`, and `manifest.json` are **unchanged** —
metadata is duplicated into front matter; command/section names and
routes did not move.
- The diff is purely additive front matter
(`title`/`description`/`state`/`icon_path`) + the leading H1 removal; no
body reflow. A full CLI + API regen produces **zero** page changes
beyond the two index pages.

<details>
<summary>Terminal evidence</summary>

CLI `description` from the command's `Short` (`YAMLScalar` quotes when
needed, e.g. a `Short` with a colon):

```md
---
title: server
description: Start a Coder server
---
```

API pages inherit curated manifest metadata (only Agents/Chats have any
today):

```md
---
title: Chats
description: "REST endpoints for Coder Agents Chats API (programmatic agent sessions)."
state:
  - early access
---
```

Diff scope + "no body changes" proof (uses an explicit `base..HEAD`
range, so it actually tests the claim):

```
$ git diff --shortstat origin/main
 210 files changed, 1447 insertions(+), 344 deletions(-)
# = 166 CLI + 31 API reference pages + generators + scripts/docgenenv
# swagger.json / docs.go / manifest.json: NOT modified

# Every removed line under docs/reference is a leading "# H1"; nothing else:
$ git diff origin/main..HEAD -- docs/reference/ | grep '^-' | grep -v '^---' | grep -v '^-# '
(empty)

$ pnpm check-docs
Summary: 0 error(s)
```

</details>

Linear: DOCS-483

> This PR was created with AI assistance (Coder Agents).
2026-08-11 15:22:55 +00:00

6.1 KiB
Generated

title, description
title description
ssh Start a shell into a workspace or run a command

Start a shell into a workspace or run a command

Usage

coder ssh [flags] <workspace> [command]

Description

This command does not have full parity with the standard SSH command. For users who need the full functionality of SSH, create an ssh configuration with `coder config-ssh`.

  - Use `--` to separate and pass flags directly to the command executed via SSH.:

     $ coder ssh <workspace> -- ls -la

Options

--stdio

Type bool
Environment $CODER_SSH_STDIO

Specifies whether to emit SSH output over stdin/stdout.

-t, --tty

Type bool
Environment $CODER_SSH_TTY

Request a pseudo-terminal for the SSH session. Interactive shell sessions request one by default; command sessions do not unless this flag is set.

--ssh-host-prefix

Type string
Environment $CODER_SSH_SSH_HOST_PREFIX

Strip this prefix from the provided hostname to determine the workspace name. This is useful when used as part of an OpenSSH proxy command.

--hostname-suffix

Type string
Environment $CODER_SSH_HOSTNAME_SUFFIX

Strip this suffix from the provided hostname to determine the workspace name. This is useful when used as part of an OpenSSH proxy command. The suffix must be specified without a leading . character.

-A, --forward-agent

Type bool
Environment $CODER_SSH_FORWARD_AGENT

Specifies whether to forward the SSH agent specified in $SSH_AUTH_SOCK.

-G, --forward-gpg

Type bool
Environment $CODER_SSH_FORWARD_GPG

Specifies whether to forward the GPG agent. Unsupported on Windows workspaces, but supports all clients. Requires gnupg (gpg, gpgconf) on both the client and workspace. The GPG agent must already be running locally and will not be started for you. If a GPG agent is already running in the workspace, it will be attempted to be killed.

--identity-agent

Type string
Environment $CODER_SSH_IDENTITY_AGENT

Specifies which identity agent to use (overrides $SSH_AUTH_SOCK), forward agent must also be enabled.

--workspace-poll-interval

Type duration
Environment $CODER_WORKSPACE_POLL_INTERVAL
Default 1m

Specifies how often to poll for workspace automated shutdown.

--wait

Type yes|no|auto
Environment $CODER_SSH_WAIT
Default auto

Specifies whether or not to wait for the startup script to finish executing. Auto means that the agent startup script behavior configured in the workspace template is used.

--no-wait

Type bool
Environment $CODER_SSH_NO_WAIT

Enter workspace immediately after the agent has connected. This is the default if the template has configured the agent startup script behavior as non-blocking.

-l, --log-dir

Type string
Environment $CODER_SSH_LOG_DIR

Specify the directory containing SSH diagnostic log files.

-R, --remote-forward

Type string-array
Environment $CODER_SSH_REMOTE_FORWARD

Enable remote port forwarding (remote_port:local_address:local_port).

-e, --env

Type string-array
Environment $CODER_SSH_ENV

Set environment variable(s) for session (key1=value1,key2=value2,...).

--network-info-dir

Type string

Specifies a directory to write network information periodically.

--network-info-interval

Type duration
Default 5s

Specifies the interval to update network information.

--disable-autostart

Type bool
Environment $CODER_SSH_DISABLE_AUTOSTART
Default false

Disable starting the workspace automatically when connecting via SSH.