diff --git a/packer/build-image.sh b/packer/build-image.sh
index 4bdc6d5..9c34523 100755
--- a/packer/build-image.sh
+++ b/packer/build-image.sh
@@ -80,7 +80,13 @@ build_image () {
     sudo packer build ${PACKER_BUILD_FILE}
 }
 
-preflight
-cache_remote_url
-build_image
+main () {
+    preflight
+    cache_remote_url
+    build_image
+}
 
+if [ "$0" = "-bash" ]
+then
+    main
+fi
diff --git a/packer/files/authorized_keys b/packer/files/authorized_keys
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..eff8661
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packer/files/authorized_keys
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+ssh-ed25519 AAAAC3NzaC1lZDI1NTE5AAAAIM47gCbb0BQOm6H4Ol8DEKD+CXTNYDJxe7QvJhdLZR/F kyle@petrichor
+ssh-ed25519 AAAAC3NzaC1lZDI1NTE5AAAAIGea83yMIdCi0QUUPgmhRgIrii7lS1dYxZ6LSxSsDOph kyle@europa
+ssh-ed25519 AAAAC3NzaC1lZDI1NTE5AAAAIEbkHs8zGZ3L6tRILjX7Cph8kXSpuw665mxe4ak2dwIx kyle@hermes
+ssh-ed25519 AAAAC3NzaC1lZDI1NTE5AAAAICOCXJx+3ynRraM0JIsUy6Cin9JByPW/EUV9ggtuUCbC kyle@freeside
+ssh-ed25519 AAAAC3NzaC1lZDI1NTE5AAAAINfRxWmx30LhGnsXpauLrj3GPvBWLhAKs0EznA9cNT5q kyle@deimos
diff --git a/packer/install-packer.sh b/packer/install-packer.sh
index 8296415..b5828b9 100755
--- a/packer/install-packer.sh
+++ b/packer/install-packer.sh
@@ -1,6 +1,12 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 
-set -eux
+if [[ "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}" = "${0}" ]]
+then
+    set -euxo pipefail
+    RUN_MAIN=yes
+else
+    RUN_MAIN=no
+fi
 
 PACKER_VERSION=1.8.6
 INSTALL_DIR=/usr/local/bin
@@ -11,7 +17,7 @@ UPGRADE="false"
 BUILD_DIR="$(pwd)/build"
 FORCE_DEPENDENCY_INSTALL="${FORCE_DEPENDENCY_INSTALL:-no}"
 
-prep () {
+preflight () {
     if [ -z "$(command -v git)" -o "${FORCE_DEPENDENCY_INSTALL}" = "yes" ]
     then
         sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get -y install git unzip qemu-user-static e2fsprogs dosfstools libarchive-tools xz-utils jq
@@ -54,7 +60,14 @@ cleanup () {
     popd
 }
 
-prep
-install_packer
-install_packer_builder_arm
-cleanup
+main () {
+    preflight
+    install_packer
+    install_packer_builder_arm
+    cleanup
+}
+
+if [[ "${RUN_MAIN}" = "yes" ]]
+then
+    main
+fi
diff --git a/packer/scripts/setup-ssh.sh b/packer/scripts/setup-ssh.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..5b81c2e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packer/scripts/setup-ssh.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+
+set -euxo pipefail
+
+source /etc/os-release
+
+case "${ID}" in
+	ubuntu)
+		SYSTEM_USER=ubuntu
+		SYSTEM_HOME=/home/${SYSTEM_USER}
+		;;
+	*)
+		SYSTEM_USER=root
+		SYSTEM_HOME=/root
+		;;
+
+echo "[+] setting up ssh"
+apt-get -y install openssh-server
+
+SSH_DIR="${SYSTEM_HOME}/.ssh"
+mkdir -p ${SYSTEM_HOME}/.ssh
+chmod 0700 ${SSH_DIR}
+
+mv /tmp/authorized_keys ${SSH_DIR}/authorized_keys
+chmod 0644 ${SSH_DIR}/authorized_keys
+
diff --git a/packer/ubuntu-boards.yml b/packer/ubuntu-boards.yml
index 44aa04e..775b08f 100644
--- a/packer/ubuntu-boards.yml
+++ b/packer/ubuntu-boards.yml
@@ -2,5 +2,9 @@ boards:
   - version: 22.04.2
     size: 32G
     name: cm4-cluster-ubuntu-22.04.2.img
+    files:
+      - source: files/authorized-keys
+        destination: /tmp/authorized-keys
     scripts:
-      - scripts/install-base.sh
\ No newline at end of file
+      - scripts/install-base.sh
+      - scripts/setup-ssh.sh
\ No newline at end of file