bashANYsshconnectlogin
bash
ssh user@example.comOpen an interactive SSH session.
SSH Cheat Sheet
Comprehensive SSH client commands for login, remote execution, auth, multiplexing, jump hosts, and practical options.
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Basics
Connect, run commands, and inspect versions.
bashANYsshportconnect
bash
ssh -p 2222 user@example.comSpecify a custom SSH port.
bashANYsshremote-commandautomation
bash
ssh user@example.com 'uname -a'Execute one command remotely without opening an interactive shell.
bashANYsshdebugverbose
bash
ssh -v user@example.comShow extra connection and auth debugging details.
bashANYsshdebugverbose
bash
ssh -vvv user@example.comShow full handshake and config debugging details.
bashANYsshversioninspect
bash
ssh -VPrint the local client version.
bashANYsshbatchautomation
bash
ssh -o BatchMode=yes user@example.com 'hostname'Disable password prompts for scripts and CI.
bashANYsshttyautomation
bash
ssh -T git@github.comUseful in non-interactive scripts.
bashANYsshttysudo
bash
ssh -tt user@example.com 'sudo systemctl status nginx'Useful when the remote command expects a terminal.
bashANYsshstdinautomation
bash
ssh user@example.com 'bash -s' < ./deploy.shSend a local script to the remote shell over standard input.
Authentication
Identity files, passwords, keys, and host verification.
bashANYsshidentitykey
bash
ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519 user@example.comChoose a private key explicitly.
bashANYsshauthenticationpublickey
bash
ssh -o PreferredAuthentications=publickey user@example.comControl which auth methods the client attempts first.
bashANYsshhostkeysecurity
bash
ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=yes user@example.comRequire the host key to already be known.
Accept new host keys automatically
Accept first-seen host keys but still protect against changed keys.
bashANYsshhostkeysecurity
bash
ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=accept-new user@example.comAccept first-seen host keys but still protect against changed keys.
bashANYsshknown-hostshostkey
bash
ssh -o UserKnownHostsFile=~/.ssh/known_hosts.work user@example.comStore host keys in a dedicated file.
bashANYsshpasswordauth
bash
ssh -o PasswordAuthentication=no user@example.comForce key-based auth attempts only.
bashANYsshalgorithmshostkey
bash
ssh -o HostKeyAlgorithms=ssh-ed25519 user@example.comSpecify accepted host key algorithms explicitly.
bashANYsshalgorithmscompatibility
bash
ssh -o PubkeyAcceptedAlgorithms=+ssh-rsa user@example.comSpecify accepted client public key algorithms.
Connection Multiplexing
Reuse SSH sessions with control sockets.
bashANYsshmultiplexingcontrolmaster
bash
ssh -M -S ~/.ssh/cm-%r@%h:%p user@example.comOpen a reusable control connection for later sessions.
bashANYsshmultiplexingpersist
bash
ssh -o ControlMaster=auto -o ControlPersist=10m -o ControlPath=~/.ssh/cm-%r@%h:%p user@example.comKeep a master connection alive in the background.
bashANYsshmultiplexingcheck
bash
ssh -S ~/.ssh/cm-%r@%h:%p -O check user@example.comQuery an existing multiplexed master socket.
bashANYsshmultiplexingexit
bash
ssh -S ~/.ssh/cm-%r@%h:%p -O exit user@example.comShut down a background master socket cleanly.
bashANYsshmultiplexingforward
bash
ssh -S ~/.ssh/cm-%r@%h:%p -O forward user@example.comAdd or adjust forwarding via an existing master connection.
Jump Hosts and Proxies
ProxyJump, bastions, and chained access patterns.
bashANYsshjumphostbastion
bash
ssh -J bastion.example.com user@private.internalReach an internal host via a bastion.
bashANYsshjumphostproxyjump
bash
ssh -J bastion1.example.com,bastion2.example.com user@private.internalTraverse more than one bastion.
bashANYsshproxycommandbastion
bash
ssh -o ProxyCommand='ssh bastion.example.com -W %h:%p' user@private.internalTunnel through another host using ProxyCommand.
bashANYsshforwardproxy
bash
ssh -W target.internal:22 bastion.example.comUse -W for direct stream forwarding.
Useful Options
Compression, keepalives, escape chars, and timeouts.
bashANYsshcompressionperformance
bash
ssh -C user@example.comCompress traffic for slower links.
bashANYsshtimeoutnetwork
bash
ssh -o ConnectTimeout=5 user@example.comFail quickly if the host is unreachable.
bashANYsshkeepalivenetwork
bash
ssh -o ServerAliveInterval=30 -o ServerAliveCountMax=3 user@example.comSend keepalive probes to keep long sessions open.
bashANYsshescapeterminal
bash
ssh -e none user@example.comPrevent ~ escape handling in raw sessions.
Run a local command after connect
Execute a client-side command when the connection is established.
bashANYsshlocalcommandclient
bash
ssh -o PermitLocalCommand=yes -o LocalCommand='echo connected to %n' user@example.comExecute a client-side command when the connection is established.
More in SSH
OpenSSH Server Admin Cheat Sheet
sshd administration, config validation, systemd control, logging, hardening, authorized keys, and certificates.
SSH Tunnels and Forwarding Cheat Sheet
Local, remote, and dynamic SSH forwarding with practical database, web, and bastion tunnel recipes.
SCP and SFTP Cheat Sheet
SSH-based file transfer with scp and sftp, including recursive copies, jump hosts, interactive commands, and batch mode.
SSH Keys and Agent Cheat Sheet
SSH key generation, authorized_keys management, ssh-keyscan, host keys, ssh-agent, ssh-add, and certificate basics.
SSH Config Cheat Sheet
Client-side SSH configuration examples for aliases, defaults, patterns, includes, ProxyJump, multiplexing, and effective config inspection.