SSH Config Cheat Sheet

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Client-side SSH configuration examples for aliases, defaults, patterns, includes, ProxyJump, multiplexing, and effective config inspection.

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Client Config Basics

Host entries, defaults, and matching.

Basic host alias

Create a short alias in ~/.ssh/config.

↗#

sshconfigANYsshconfigalias

sshconfig

Host web-prod
  HostName web01.example.com
  User deploy
  Port 22
  IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519

Create a short alias in ~/.ssh/config.

Global defaults

Set defaults that apply to all hosts.

↗#

sshconfigANYsshconfigdefaults

sshconfig

Host *
  ServerAliveInterval 30
  AddKeysToAgent yes
  IdentitiesOnly yes

Set defaults that apply to all hosts.

Pattern-based host block

Match groups of hosts with wildcard patterns.

↗#

sshconfigANYsshconfigpatterns

sshconfig

Host *.corp.internal
  User ops
  IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_corp

Match groups of hosts with wildcard patterns.

Canonicalize hostnames

Resolve short names into FQDNs automatically.

↗#

sshconfigANYsshconfighostname

sshconfig

Host *
  CanonicalizeHostname yes
  CanonicalDomains example.com corp.internal

Resolve short names into FQDNs automatically.

Include extra config files

Split config into multiple files.

↗#

sshconfigANYsshconfiginclude

sshconfig

Include ~/.ssh/conf.d/*.conf

Split config into multiple files.

Inspect merged config

Show the effective configuration for a host.

↗#

bashANYsshconfiginspect

bash

ssh -G web-prod

Show the effective configuration for a host.

Client Config Advanced

Jump hosts, multiplexing, agent forwarding, and local commands in config.

ProxyJump in config

Configure a jump host once for repeated use.

↗#

sshconfigANYsshconfigproxyjump

sshconfig

Host private-*
  ProxyJump bastion.example.com

Configure a jump host once for repeated use.

Multiplexing in config

Enable connection sharing globally or per host.

↗#

sshconfigANYsshconfigmultiplexing

sshconfig

Host *
  ControlMaster auto
  ControlPath ~/.ssh/cm-%r@%h:%p
  ControlPersist 10m

Enable connection sharing globally or per host.

Agent forwarding in config

Enable agent forwarding for specific hosts only.

↗#

sshconfigANYsshconfigagent-forwarding

sshconfig

Host jumpbox
  ForwardAgent yes

Enable agent forwarding for specific hosts only.

Local forward in config

Attach a local tunnel to a host alias.

↗#

sshconfigANYsshconfigforwarding

sshconfig

Host db-tunnel
  HostName bastion.example.com
  LocalForward 5432 db.internal:5432

Attach a local tunnel to a host alias.

Use a specific SSH agent socket

Point a host entry at a chosen agent socket.

↗#

sshconfigANYsshconfigagent

sshconfig

Host secure-host
  IdentityAgent ~/.ssh/agent-sock

Point a host entry at a chosen agent socket.

LocalCommand in config

Run a local command after a successful connection.

↗#

sshconfigANYsshconfiglocalcommand

sshconfig

Host telemetry
  PermitLocalCommand yes
  LocalCommand echo connected to %h

Run a local command after a successful connection.

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