How to Use an SSH Config File on macOS for Easier Connections to Your Data Center Servers

Jack Wallen exhibits you find out how to make SSH connections even simpler out of your macOS machine.

You most likely use SSH to connect with distant machines for admin functions. Usually talking, SSH is sort of straightforward to make use of. Open your macOS terminal app and subject a command like:

ssh 192.168.1.20

So long as your usernames are the identical on each ends, you’re good to go. But when your usernames aren’t the identical, that command may appear to be:

ssh vega@192.168.1.20

Now, what occurs in case you distant into 10 or 20 completely different machines all through the day, every with completely different usernames and IP addresses? That may get a bit complicated after some time. What if I informed you that SSH can use a configuration file to make it a lot simpler? By making use of the SSH configuration file, you may configure a complete information heart price of SSH connections such that you may subject a command:

ssh web1

Or:

ssh db1

How do you do this on macOS? Let me present you.

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Instruments wanted

The one factor you’ll want is a MacBook or iMac that features SSH and a few distant servers to connect with. With these on the prepared, let’s make this occur.

The way to create the config file

Step 1: Change SSH listing

The very first thing it’s good to do is to vary your consumer SSH listing.

To do that:

1. Open the macOS terminal app.
2. Subsequent, turn into your consumer SSH listing with the command:

   cd ~/.ssh

Step 2: Create new file

You’ll now have to create the primary configuration.

1. Within the listing you modified within the step above, create the brand new file with the command:

   nano config

2. Subsequent, create your first configuration. For instance, say it is a Nextcloud server at IP deal with 192.168.1.20 and the username is ‘vega’. We’re going to call this server ‘nextcloud,’ so we are able to simply keep in mind find out how to Safe Shell into it. We’re additionally going to allow key authentication for the connection. This configuration will appear to be:

   Host nextcloud
   HostName 192.168.1.20
   Consumer vega
   IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_rsa

3. If you happen to’re not utilizing SSH KEY authentication (which you must), you’ll have to take away the IdentityFile line.
4. Save and shut the file.

Step 3: SSH into server

1. To SSH into our Nextcloud server, you’ll solely should sort the command: ssh nextcloud
2. Subsequent, create a configuration in that file for each server in your information heart, every with completely different choices. At a minimal, you want the Host and Hostname choices. For instance, let’s say you employ the identical account on your entire information heart servers on the IP deal with scheme 192.168.1.x. You might configure that on the high of the config file with two easy strains:

Host 192.168.1.*
Consumer USERNAME

The place USERNAME is the consumer on the distant machines.

3. Then, create every host configuration entry beneath that, leaving out the Consumer choice, like so:

Host nextcloud
HostName 192.168.1.20
IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_rsa

Host web1
HostName 192.168.1.25

Host db1
HostName 192.168.1.100
IdentityFile ~/.ssh/db_rsa.pub

4. Save the file, and also you’re able to SSH into these machines with instructions like:

ssh nextcloud
ssh web1
ssh db1

And that’s all there may be to creating an SSH config file for use on macOS.

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