bash
ssh user@example.comNotes
Open 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.
bash
ssh -p 2222 user@example.comNotes
Specify a custom SSH port.
Run a remote command
Execute one command remotely without opening an interactive shell.
bashANYsshremote-commandautomation
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ssh user@example.com 'uname -a'Notes
Execute one command remotely without opening an interactive shell.
bash
ssh -v user@example.comNotes
Show extra connection and auth debugging details.
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ssh -vvv user@example.comNotes
Show full handshake and config debugging details.
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ssh -VNotes
Print the local client version.
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ssh -o BatchMode=yes user@example.com 'hostname'Notes
Disable password prompts for scripts and CI.
bash
ssh -T git@github.comNotes
Useful in non-interactive scripts.
bash
ssh -tt user@example.com 'sudo systemctl status nginx'Notes
Useful when the remote command expects a terminal.
Run a local script over SSH via stdin
Send a local script to the remote shell over standard input.
bashANYsshstdinautomation
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ssh user@example.com 'bash -s' < ./deploy.shNotes
Send a local script to the remote shell over standard input.
Authentication
Identity files, passwords, keys, and host verification.
bash
ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519 user@example.comNotes
Choose a private key explicitly.
Restrict preferred auth methods
Control which auth methods the client attempts first.
bashANYsshauthenticationpublickey
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ssh -o PreferredAuthentications=publickey user@example.comNotes
Control which auth methods the client attempts first.
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ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=yes user@example.comNotes
Require the host key to already be known.
Accept new host keys automatically
Accept first-seen host keys but still protect against changed keys.
bashANYsshhostkeysecurity
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ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=accept-new user@example.comNotes
Accept first-seen host keys but still protect against changed keys.
bash
ssh -o UserKnownHostsFile=~/.ssh/known_hosts.work user@example.comNotes
Store host keys in a dedicated file.
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ssh -o PasswordAuthentication=no user@example.comNotes
Force key-based auth attempts only.
Override host key algorithms
Specify accepted host key algorithms explicitly.
bashANYsshalgorithmshostkey
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ssh -o HostKeyAlgorithms=ssh-ed25519 user@example.comNotes
Specify accepted host key algorithms explicitly.
Override accepted pubkey algorithms
Specify accepted client public key algorithms.
bashANYsshalgorithmscompatibility
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ssh -o PubkeyAcceptedAlgorithms=+ssh-rsa user@example.comNotes
Specify accepted client public key algorithms.
Connection Multiplexing
Reuse SSH sessions with control sockets.
Start a master connection
Open a reusable control connection for later sessions.
bashANYsshmultiplexingcontrolmaster
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ssh -M -S ~/.ssh/cm-%r@%h:%p user@example.comNotes
Open a reusable control connection for later sessions.
Enable connection persistence
Keep a master connection alive in the background.
bashANYsshmultiplexingpersist
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ssh -o ControlMaster=auto -o ControlPersist=10m -o ControlPath=~/.ssh/cm-%r@%h:%p user@example.comNotes
Keep a master connection alive in the background.
bash
ssh -S ~/.ssh/cm-%r@%h:%p -O check user@example.comNotes
Query an existing multiplexed master socket.
bash
ssh -S ~/.ssh/cm-%r@%h:%p -O exit user@example.comNotes
Shut down a background master socket cleanly.
Request forwarding changes on master
Add or adjust forwarding via an existing master connection.
bashANYsshmultiplexingforward
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ssh -S ~/.ssh/cm-%r@%h:%p -O forward user@example.comNotes
Add or adjust forwarding via an existing master connection.
Jump Hosts and Proxies
ProxyJump, bastions, and chained access patterns.
bash
ssh -J bastion.example.com user@private.internalNotes
Reach an internal host via a bastion.
bash
ssh -J bastion1.example.com,bastion2.example.com user@private.internalNotes
Traverse more than one bastion.
ProxyCommand with netcat
Tunnel through another host using ProxyCommand.
bashANYsshproxycommandbastion
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ssh -o ProxyCommand='ssh bastion.example.com -W %h:%p' user@private.internalNotes
Tunnel through another host using ProxyCommand.
bash
ssh -W target.internal:22 bastion.example.comNotes
Use -W for direct stream forwarding.
Useful Options
Compression, keepalives, escape chars, and timeouts.
bash
ssh -C user@example.comNotes
Compress traffic for slower links.
bash
ssh -o ConnectTimeout=5 user@example.comNotes
Fail quickly if the host is unreachable.
bash
ssh -o ServerAliveInterval=30 -o ServerAliveCountMax=3 user@example.comNotes
Send keepalive probes to keep long sessions open.
bash
ssh -e none user@example.comNotes
Prevent ~ escape handling in raw sessions.
Run a local command after connect
Execute a client-side command when the connection is established.
bashANYsshlocalcommandclient
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ssh -o PermitLocalCommand=yes -o LocalCommand='echo connected to %n' user@example.comNotes
Execute 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.