Setting Up SSH for Claude Code

Claude Code can SSH into remote servers and run commands, as long as the connection is non-interactive (no password prompts, no 2FA).

Requirements

1. SSH key-based auth - The server must accept your SSH key without a password
2. Passwordless sudo (optional) - If you want Claude to run sudo commands

Setup Steps

1. Generate SSH key (if you don't have one)

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "[email protected]"

2. Copy your public key to the server

# Windows - manually copy the key
cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub
# Then paste into ~/.ssh/authorized_keys on the server
 
# Or if you have ssh-copy-id (Git Bash, WSL, Linux, Mac):
ssh-copy-id user@server

3. Create an SSH config alias (optional but nice)

Edit ~/.ssh/config:

Host myserver
    HostName 192.168.1.100
    User claude
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519

Now you can just use ssh myserver instead of the full command.

4. Test it works without prompts

ssh myserver "echo 'it works'"

If this runs without asking for anything, Claude can use it.

5. Enable passwordless sudo (optional)

On the server, run:

sudo visudo

Add this line at the end (replace claude with your username):

claude ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: ALL

How Claude Uses SSH

Claude runs each command as a separate SSH call:

ssh myserver "command here"

There's no persistent session - each command connects, runs, and disconnects. This means:

• No interactive programs (vim, htop, etc.)
• No environment variables carrying over between commands
• Each command must be self-contained

Example Commands Claude Can Run

# Check server status
ssh myserver "hostname && uptime && df -h"
 
# Install packages
ssh myserver "sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y nginx"
 
# Copy files to server
scp localfile.txt myserver:~/destination/
 
# Run a script
ssh myserver "cd ~/project && ./run.sh"

Troubleshooting

"Permission denied" - Key not set up properly, check ~/.ssh/authorized_keys on server

"Host key verification failed" - First time connecting, SSH manually once to accept the host key

Sudo asks for password - Add NOPASSWD rule in sudoers (step 5)

Command hangs - Probably waiting for input, make sure the command is non-interactive