title: SSH Access created at: Tue Oct 22 2024 09:47:37 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) updated at: Sat Feb 08 2025 14:22:09 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) --- # SSH Access # Overview This interface provides information about how to connect to another web server via the SSH (secure shell) network protocol. The SSH network protocol allows you to connect to another web server over the internet via a command line interface (CLI). You can use this network protocol to remotely manage your server, configure CGI scripts, and perform other tasks. Many modern operating systems, such as macOS and Linux distributions, include SSH. If you use Microsoft Windows to connect to your server, you **must** use an SSH client, such as [PuTTY](https://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/) , to log in to your server. Many Unix-based operating systems include standardized commands. For a list of standardized Unix-based (POSIX) commands, read the [GNU Coreutils](https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/manual/html_node/index.html) documentation. !! Note !! Not all hosting providers allow shell access. # Connect to your server via SSH ## PuTTY To use PuTTY to connect to your server via SSH, perform the following steps: 1. Download and install the [PuTTY](http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/%7Esgtatham/putty/) client. 2. From the Windows *Start* menu, open the client. 3. In the *Session* interface, enter the hostname or IP address of the server in the *Host Name (or IP address)* text box (for example, `192.0.2.0`). 4. Enter the port number in the *Port* text box (for example, `22`). 5. Select the *SSH* protocol. 6. Click *Open*. 7. Enter your cPanel account’s username. 8. Enter your cPanel account’s password. ## PuTTY and a private key To log in to a server via SSH with PuTTY and a public key, perform the following steps: 1. From the Windows *Start* menu, open the client. 2. Navigate to the *PuTTY Key Generator* interface. 3. Under the *Actions* heading, click *Generate*. PuTTY will generate the key and display the result under the Key menu. 4. Copy the public key and paste it in the `.ssh/authorized_keys` file. 5. Enter a passphrase in the *Key passphrase* and *Confirm passphrase* text boxes. 6. Click *Save private key* and save the key as a `.ppk` file. 7. In the *Session* interface, from the *Saved Sessions* menu, select your preferred authorization session and click *Load*. 8. Navigate to the *Auth* interface under the *SSH* category. 9. Click *Browse*, select the private key file to upload, and click *Open*. 10. Navigate to cPanel’s *Manage SSH Keys* interface (*Home » Security » SSH Access » Manage SSH Keys*) and import the server’s keys. ## macOS or Linux **Log in with a Password** To log in to your server with a password via SSH using macOS or Linux, perform the following steps: 1. Open a Terminal session. 2. Run the following command: `ssh -p port user@IP` where `port` represents the port number, `user` represents your username, and `IP` represents your IP address. For example: ```bash user@workstation:~$ ssh -p 22 [email protected] ``` 1. Enter your password. The password login process is similar to the following example: ```bash user@workstation:~$ ssh -p 22 [email protected] [email protected]'s password: Last login: Wed Dec 9 08:31:49 2020 from 192.0.3.33 [[email protected] ~]# ``` **Log in with a SSH Key** To log in to your server with a password via SSH using macOS or Linux, perform the following steps: 1. Open a Terminal session. 2. Run the following command: `ssh -p port -i ssh-key user@IP` where `port` represents the port number, `ssh-key` represents the file path to your SSH key, `user` represents your username, and `IP` represents your IP address. For example: ```javascript user@workstation:~$ ssh -p 22 -i /Users/example/.ssh/mykey [email protected] ``` 1. Enter your SSH key password. If you did not set a password when you created the SSH key, press Enter when the system prompts you for a password. The SSH Key login process is similar to the following example: ```bash user@workstation:~$ ssh -p 22 -i /Users/example/.ssh/mykey [email protected] [email protected]'s password: Last login: Tue Dec 8 13:54:10 2020 from 192.0.3.33 [[email protected] ~]# ``` # Manage SSH keys This section of cPanel’s *SSH Access* interface allows you to create, import, manage, and remove SSH keys. The system will use these keys when you confirm that a specific computer has the right to access your website’s information with SSH. ## Generate a New Key Use this section of the interface to create new SSH key pairs, which include a public key and a private key. To generate a new SSH key pair, perform the following steps: 1. Click *Manage SSH Keys*. 2. Click *Generate a New Key*. 3. To use a custom key name, enter the key name in the *Key Name (This value defaults to id\_rsa):* text box. !! Note\ If you use a custom key name, you **must** manually specify the SSH key when you log in to the server. 1. Enter and confirm the new password in the appropriate text boxes. !! Note !! This step is **optional** if your hosting provider sets the *SSH Keys* setting to `0` in WHM’s [*Password Strength Configuration*](https://docs.cpanel.net/whm/security-center/password-strength-configuration/) interface (*WHM » Home » Security Center » Password Strength Configuration*). !! The system evaluates the password that you enter on a scale of 100 points. `0` indicates a weak password, while `100` indicates a very secure password. !! Some web hosts require a minimum password strength. A green password *Strength* meter indicates that the password is equal to or greater than the required password strength. !! Click *Password Generator* to generate a strong password. For more information, read our [Password & Security](https://docs.cpanel.net/cpanel/preferences/password-and-security/) documentation. 1. Select the desired key type. * DSA keys provide quicker key generation and signing times. * RSA keys provide quicker verification times. 2. Select the desired key size. !! Note\ Greater key sizes provide more security, but they result in larger file sizes and slower authentication times. 1. Click *Generate Key*. The interface will display the saved location of the key. !! Important\ For the new SSH key to function, you **must** authorize the SSH key. For more information, read the Manage your keys section. ## Import Key To import an existing SSH key, perform the following steps: 1. Click *Manage SSH Keys*. 2. Click *Import Key*. 3. To use a custom key name, enter the key name in the *Choose a name for this key (defaults to id\_dsa)* text box. !! Important\ If you use a custom key name, you **must** manually specify the SSH key when you log in to the server. 1. Paste the public and private keys into the appropriate text boxes. 2. Click *Import*. # Manage your keys The *Public Keys* and *Private Keys* tables display the following information about your existing keys: * *Name* — The key’s name. Public and private keys use the same key name. * *Authorization Status* — Whether you authorized the key. !! Important\ You **must** authorize new keys before you attempt to use them. !! Note\ This column **only** displays in the *Public Keys* table. * *Actions* — You can perform the following actions: * *Delete Key* — Click to delete the key, and then click *Yes* to confirm that you wish to delete the key. * *View/Download* — Click to view or download the key. To download the key, save the contents of the *Public SSH Key* text box to your computer. * *Manage* — Click to manage authorization for the key. A new interface will appear. Click *Authorize* to authorize the key, or *Deauthorize* to revoke authorization for the key. !! Note !! You can **only** perform this action for public keys. !! After you deauthorize a key, that key’s users **cannot** log in with the associated private key.