Linux Commands: SSH

SSH is a secure shell which is used for remote access of console in between Linux devices. This command line feature is really cool and lightweight so you can use it in slow internet also. We will understand ssh for beginners in this article.


SSH works on encrypted mode hence your traffic will go through encrypted tunnel. Apart from remote console there are many usage of SSH like SFTP and SSH Tunneling, Remote App usage etc. We will learn about them in future articles.

SSH is part of linux bundle hence you don't need to install it separately. It should be already there in your OS. You can directly start using it.

How to connect remote machine using SSH?

$ssh username@192.168.x.x 

Here, You should use your remote machine's username and IP address. Enter password and you are connected. It is quite simple.

X11 over the SSH

$ssh  -X username@192.168.x.x

With "X" option you can connect remote server along with X11 forwarding. In this option if open firefox after connecting SSH then system will show remote machine's firefox or you can use firefox remotely over the SSH.

There are bunch of options for SSH. You may check man page or help article for further information.

$ssh --help 
$man ssh