dgx-spark-playbooks/skills/dgx-spark-connect-to-your-spark/SKILL.md

name	description
dgx-spark-connect-to-your-spark	Set up SSH access to an NVIDIA DGX Spark from a laptop using NVIDIA Sync (recommended) or manual SSH. Use when a user is new to their Spark and needs to connect remotely, before doing anything else. This is a prerequisite for nearly every other dgx-spark-* skill — if a user hasn't set this up, do this first.

Set Up Local Network Access

NVIDIA Sync helps set up and configure SSH access

If you primarily work on another system, such as a laptop, and want to use your DGX Spark as a remote resource, this playbook shows you how to connect and work over SSH. With SSH, you can securely open a terminal session or tunnel ports to access web apps and APIs on your DGX Spark from your local machine.

There are two approaches: NVIDIA Sync (recommended) for streamlined device management, or manual SSH for direct command-line control.

Outcome: You will establish secure SSH access to your DGX Spark device using either NVIDIA Sync or a manual SSH configuration. NVIDIA Sync provides a graphical interface for device management with integrated app launching, while manual SSH gives you direct command-line control with port forwarding capabilities. Both approaches enable you to run terminal commands, access web applications, and manage your DGX Spark remotely from your laptop.

Full playbook: /home/runner/work/dgx-spark-playbooks/dgx-spark-playbooks/nvidia/connect-to-your-spark/README.md

When to use this skill

• User just got their DGX Spark and wants to use it from their laptop
• Any other dgx-spark-* skill needs SSH access and the user hasn't configured it yet
• User reports "can't connect to my Spark" or "SSH hangs / can't resolve spark-abcd.local"

Two paths — help the user pick

• NVIDIA Sync (recommended) — GUI, handles SSH key generation + aliasing + port forwarding for apps. Required if they want one-click app launchers (DGX Dashboard, VS Code, Open WebUI tunnels).
• Manual SSH — if they prefer CLI-only workflow, or Sync isn't supported on their platform.

Most users should use NVIDIA Sync unless they have a specific reason not to.

Key decisions

• Hostname vs IP — default is mDNS hostname (spark-abcd.local). On corporate networks that block mDNS, they'll need to use the IP address from their router's admin panel. Quick test: ping spark-abcd.local — if it hangs, mDNS is blocked.
• First-boot wait — after initial system setup, the Spark can take 3–4 minutes to finish updates before SSH becomes available. Don't diagnose connection issues in this window.

Non-obvious gotchas

• NVIDIA Sync's password prompt happens once — it uses the password only to install the SSH key, then discards it. If auth fails, the key install didn't complete; re-run the add-device flow.
• mDNS .local resolution is OS + network-stack specific. Works on most home Wi-Fi; often broken on corporate VPNs or guest networks.
• Port-forwarding for web apps is a separate step (SSH -L flag or Custom Ports in Sync) — connecting to SSH alone doesn't give laptop browsers access to web UIs running on the Spark.

Related skills

• Alternative: dgx-spark-tailscale — use Tailscale VPN for remote access instead of local-network SSH. Works off-network.
• Follow-ups (what users typically do next):
  • dgx-spark-ollama — run a local LLM
  • dgx-spark-open-webui — web chat UI
  • dgx-spark-vscode — remote development
  • dgx-spark-dgx-dashboard — system monitoring (already pre-installed, just needs the tunnel)
• Multi-Spark setups depend on this first: dgx-spark-connect-two-sparks, dgx-spark-connect-three-sparks, dgx-spark-multi-sparks-through-switch