--- title: remotely unlocking an encrypted hard disk | daily.dev description: Setting up remote SSH access to unlock an encrypted hard disk during early boot requires installing Tailscale and Dropbear SSH server into initramfs. The... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/remotely-unlocking-an-encrypted-hard-disk-zhqhpg2kp twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: remotely unlocking an encrypted hard disk | daily.dev og:description: Setting up remote SSH access to unlock an encrypted hard disk during early boot requires installing Tailscale and Dropbear SSH server into initramfs. The... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/remotely-unlocking-an-encrypted-hard-disk-zhqhpg2kp og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/zHqhPg2kp.png og:image:alt: remotely unlocking an encrypted hard disk og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # remotely unlocking an encrypted hard disk **[Lobsters](https://daily.dev/sources/lobsters)** · 6 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Setting up remote SSH access to unlock an encrypted hard disk during early boot requires installing Tailscale and Dropbear SSH server into initramfs. The solution involves configuring systemd services in the initial RAM filesystem, setting up Tailscale ACLs to restrict access, configuring networking before the main OS loads, and restricting SSH to only run the unlock command. This allows remotely entering the disk encryption password when a machine reboots unattended, while maintaining security through access controls and command restrictions. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Unlock a LUKS root over SSH on Fedora and Red Hat Enterprise Linux](https://daily.dev/posts/unlock-a-luks-root-over-ssh-on-fedora-and-red-hat-enterprise-linux-dszkdorfm) · Red Hat Developer · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [I ditched physical monitors for KVM-over-IP, and my server closet actually looks clean now](https://daily.dev/posts/i-ditched-physical-monitors-for-kvm-over-ip-and-my-server-closet-actually-looks-clean-now-o6gayyzup) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Getting started with SSH: Your complete guide to understanding the secure shell](https://daily.dev/posts/getting-started-with-ssh-your-complete-guide-to-understanding-the-secure-shell-kzltkr6dq) · All Things Open · 2 upvotes · 0 comments - [Tailscale’d Into Homelabbing](https://daily.dev/posts/tailscale-d-into-homelabbing-vyztndhi7) · Lobsters · 6 upvotes · 0 comments - [How to put Tailscale on a jailbroken Kindle \(and why you should\)](https://daily.dev/posts/how-to-put-tailscale-on-a-jailbroken-kindle-and-why-you-should--jay647n5p) · Tailscale · 2 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#security](https://daily.dev/tags/security), [#linux](https://daily.dev/tags/linux), [#ssh](https://daily.dev/tags/ssh), [#tailscale](https://daily.dev/tags/tailscale) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/remotely-unlocking-an-encrypted-hard-disk-zhqhpg2kp) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"remotely unlocking an encrypted hard disk","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/remotely-unlocking-an-encrypted-hard-disk-zhqhpg2kp","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/remotely-unlocking-an-encrypted-hard-disk-zhqhpg2kp"},"datePublished":"2026-01-23T18:28:36.808Z","dateModified":"2026-01-23T18:28:59.060Z","description":"Setting up remote SSH access to unlock an encrypted hard disk during early boot requires installing Tailscale and Dropbear SSH server into initramfs. The...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/7de82e9c3cfed0e7ca51b1c3e2f09d87?_a=AQAEulh","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/7de82e9c3cfed0e7ca51b1c3e2f09d87?_a=AQAEulh","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"Lobsters","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Lobsters","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--tl8v_Fku--/f_auto,t_logo/v1698841318/logos/lobste.jpg","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/lobsters"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/remotely-unlocking-an-encrypted-hard-disk-zhqhpg2kp","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"security,linux,ssh,tailscale","timeRequired":"PT6M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Lobsters","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/lobsters"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"remotely unlocking an encrypted hard disk"}]} ```