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OPENVIST LEARN · FREE LESSONS

Make your first SSH connection

Connect, identify the remote computer and return to your local terminal.

Lesson 3 of 10 · About 15 minutes · Beginner · English

By the end of this lesson

Log in to your own server, check your account and disconnect cleanly.

Before you start

  • Lesson 2: an SSH client and your own server connection details.

Three words to know

SSH
An encrypted connection to a remote machine.
Host key
The server’s identity key, distinct from your personal login key.
Authentication
The step where the server checks your login credentials.

1. Connect from your computer

Replace both placeholders before runningLOCAL · macOS/Linux/Windows PowerShell

Edit the username and documentation-only address before running.

ssh learner@203.0.113.10

Use the username and address from your provider, not the literal example. If a custom SSH port is required, the form is ssh -p PORT username@host. Use -i with the path to your private key only if your provider’s login instructions require it.

For password login, typing may display no characters or dots. Enter the password privately and press Enter. A password prompt is not a shell command prompt.

2. Confirm where you landed

Check your account and computerVPS · Bash
whoami
hostname
pwd
What you should see · example output
Your remote username, the server hostname and your starting folder. Each appears on its own line.

Compare these results with your provider’s account and server details. A different prompt alone is not a complete identity check; the host fingerprint is what you checked before login. Keep this window for commands labelled VPS.

3. Return to your own computer

End this remote shellVPS · Bash
exit
What you should see · example output
The SSH session closes and your local prompt returns.

To continue the course, reconnect with the same SSH command. Closing the connection does not delete the VPS or cancel its bill. It also does not guarantee that a foreground program you started will keep running.

If the connection fails

  • Connection timed out: check the address, server status, network and provider access rules.
  • Connection refused: check the configured port and whether SSH is running using the provider console.
  • Permission denied: check username and authentication method; it is not a request to run the local command with sudo.

YOUR TURN

A small check before you continue

Connect, run whoami and hostname, then exit. Where would the next command run after exit?

Show a suggested answer

In the local shell that started SSH. Reconnect before running the next lesson’s VPS commands.

Sources and scope

Documentation and examples reviewed 2026-10-18. Provider screens, package versions and output wording can differ. Examples show expected outcomes; they are not a claim that OpenViST connected to your server or verified your setup.