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SSH Cheat Sheet

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Comprehensive SSH client commands for login, remote execution, auth, multiplexing, jump hosts, and practical options.

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## Basics
Connect to a host
↗#
ssh user@example.com

# Open an interactive SSH session.

Connect on a non-default port
↗#
ssh -p 2222 user@example.com

# Specify a custom SSH port.

Run a remote command
↗#
ssh user@example.com 'uname -a'

# Execute one command remotely without opening an interactive shell.

Verbose output
↗#
ssh -v user@example.com

# Show extra connection and auth debugging details.

Very verbose output
↗#
ssh -vvv user@example.com

# Show full handshake and config debugging details.

Show SSH version
↗#
ssh -V

# Print the local client version.

Batch mode for automation
↗#
ssh -o BatchMode=yes user@example.com 'hostname'

# Disable password prompts for scripts and CI.

Run without allocating a TTY
↗#
ssh -T git@github.com

# Useful in non-interactive scripts.

Force TTY allocation
↗#
ssh -tt user@example.com 'sudo systemctl status nginx'

# Useful when the remote command expects a terminal.

Run a local script over SSH via stdin
↗#
ssh user@example.com 'bash -s' < ./deploy.sh

# Send a local script to the remote shell over standard input.

## Authentication
Use a specific private key
↗#
ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519 user@example.com

# Choose a private key explicitly.

Restrict preferred auth methods
↗#
ssh -o PreferredAuthentications=publickey user@example.com

# Control which auth methods the client attempts first.

Strict host key checking
↗#
ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=yes user@example.com

# Require the host key to already be known.

Accept new host keys automatically
↗#
ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=accept-new user@example.com

# Accept first-seen host keys but still protect against changed keys.

Use a custom known_hosts file
↗#
ssh -o UserKnownHostsFile=~/.ssh/known_hosts.work user@example.com

# Store host keys in a dedicated file.

Disable password auth on the client
↗#
ssh -o PasswordAuthentication=no user@example.com

# Force key-based auth attempts only.

Override host key algorithms
↗#
ssh -o HostKeyAlgorithms=ssh-ed25519 user@example.com

# Specify accepted host key algorithms explicitly.

Override accepted pubkey algorithms
↗#
ssh -o PubkeyAcceptedAlgorithms=+ssh-rsa user@example.com

# Specify accepted client public key algorithms.

## Connection Multiplexing
Start a master connection
↗#
ssh -M -S ~/.ssh/cm-%r@%h:%p user@example.com

# Open a reusable control connection for later sessions.

Enable connection persistence
↗#
ssh -o ControlMaster=auto -o ControlPersist=10m -o ControlPath=~/.ssh/cm-%r@%h:%p user@example.com

# Keep a master connection alive in the background.

Check a master connection
↗#
ssh -S ~/.ssh/cm-%r@%h:%p -O check user@example.com

# Query an existing multiplexed master socket.

Stop a master connection
↗#
ssh -S ~/.ssh/cm-%r@%h:%p -O exit user@example.com

# Shut down a background master socket cleanly.

Request forwarding changes on master
↗#
ssh -S ~/.ssh/cm-%r@%h:%p -O forward user@example.com

# Add or adjust forwarding via an existing master connection.

## Jump Hosts and Proxies
Connect through a jump host
↗#
ssh -J bastion.example.com user@private.internal

# Reach an internal host via a bastion.

Chain multiple jump hosts
↗#
ssh -J bastion1.example.com,bastion2.example.com user@private.internal

# Traverse more than one bastion.

ProxyCommand with netcat
↗#
ssh -o ProxyCommand='ssh bastion.example.com -W %h:%p' user@private.internal

# Tunnel through another host using ProxyCommand.

Forward stdio to another host
↗#
ssh -W target.internal:22 bastion.example.com

# Use -W for direct stream forwarding.

## Useful Options
Enable compression
↗#
ssh -C user@example.com

# Compress traffic for slower links.

Set connect timeout
↗#
ssh -o ConnectTimeout=5 user@example.com

# Fail quickly if the host is unreachable.

Configure keepalives
↗#
ssh -o ServerAliveInterval=30 -o ServerAliveCountMax=3 user@example.com

# Send keepalive probes to keep long sessions open.

Disable escape character
↗#
ssh -e none user@example.com

# Prevent ~ escape handling in raw sessions.

Run a local command after connect
↗#
ssh -o PermitLocalCommand=yes -o LocalCommand='echo connected to %n' user@example.com

# Execute a client-side command when the connection is established.

More in SSH

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SSH Tunnels and Forwarding Cheat Sheet
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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.

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