diff --git a/terraform/main.tf b/terraform/main.tf
index 4bf5d99..b49722a 100644
--- a/terraform/main.tf
+++ b/terraform/main.tf
@@ -49,11 +49,6 @@ resource "null_resource" "staging_lxc" {
       "apt-get install -y hugo nginx git rsync curl",
       "systemctl enable --now nginx",
       "useradd -m -s /bin/bash deploy 2>/dev/null || true",
-      "mkdir -p /home/deploy/.ssh",
-      "chmod 700 /home/deploy/.ssh",
-      "echo '${var.ssh_public_key}' >> /home/deploy/.ssh/authorized_keys",
-      "chmod 600 /home/deploy/.ssh/authorized_keys",
-      "chown -R deploy:deploy /home/deploy/.ssh",
       "mkdir -p /var/www/html",
       "chown -R deploy:deploy /var/www/html",
       "echo '✅ Staging VM Setup complete!'"
@@ -62,7 +57,7 @@ resource "null_resource" "staging_lxc" {
     connection {
       type        = "ssh"
       user        = "root"
-      private_key = file("~/.ssh/deploy")
+      private_key = file(pathexpand("~/.ssh/deploy"))
       host        = var.staging_ip
       timeout     = "5m"
     }