# Run SSH terminal

> **TL;DR**
> Add SSH configurations: `Settings | Tools | SSH Configurations`
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>
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> Start an SSH session from the main menu: `Tools | Start SSH Session`
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> Configure SSH terminal: `Settings | Tools | SSH Terminal`

You can launch an SSH Session right from CLion. By running commands in a dedicated SSH terminal, you can access data on a remote Web server via an SSH tunnel, mainly upload and download files.

Procedure: Set up the SSH terminal

> **Note:**
> Skip this procedure if you already have a [remote
> toolchain](remote-projects-support.html#remote-toolchain) and the corresponding CMake profile configured. In this case, a deployment entry is [created
> automatically](remote-projects-support.html#deployment-entry), and you can run the SSH terminal right away (as described [below](#launch-ssh-terminal)).

1. Make sure an SSH server is available in the destination environment: a remote Web server.

2. Register an account on the SSH server in the destination environment and generate a pair of SSH keys or a password, depending on the server policy.

3. Appoint the destination environment and specify the settings to establish connection with it:

1.

In the Settings dialog (`Ctrl+Alt+S` (Windows), `⌘ Comma` (macOS), `⌘ Comma` (IntelliJ IDEA Classic (macOS)), `⌘ Comma` (macOS System Shortcuts), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (XWin), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (GNOME), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (KDE), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (Emacs), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (Sublime Text), `⌘ Comma` (Sublime Text (macOS)), `⌘ Comma` (Xcode), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (Visual Studio), `⌘ Comma` (Visual Studio (macOS)), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (ReSharper), `⌘ Comma` (ReSharper (macOS)), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (QtCreator), `⌘ Comma` (QtCreator (macOS)), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (NetBeans), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (Eclipse), `⌘ Comma` (Eclipse (macOS))), go to `Tools | SSH Terminal`.

2.

In the Connection settings area, appoint the destination environment:

* SSH configuration: select this option to have the commands in the SSH Terminal executed on the local or remote Web server accessible through one of the [SSH configurations](create-ssh-configurations.html). * Select SSH configuration on every run: if this option is selected, you will have to choose the desired configuration from the popup, every time you choose `Tools | Start SSH Session` from the main menu. * If the desired SSH configuration does not appear in the list, click the Set up configurations link, and define one in the [SSH Configurations](settings-tools-ssh-configurations.html) page.

3. From the Default encoding list, select the desired encoding to be used in the SSH terminal.

![SSH Terminal settings](https://resources.jetbrains.com/help/img/idea/2026.2/cl_sshterminal_settings.png)

Procedure: Launch the SSH terminal

1. In the main menu, go to `Tools | Start SSH Session…`. Alternatively, invoke the Help | Find Action `Ctrl+Shift+A` (Windows), `⌘ ⇧ A` (macOS), `⌘ ⇧ A` (IntelliJ IDEA Classic (macOS)), `⌘ ⇧ P` (macOS System Shortcuts), `Ctrl+Shift+A` (XWin), `Ctrl+Shift+A` (GNOME), `Ctrl+Shift+A` (KDE), `Escape, X` (Emacs), `Ctrl+Shift+P` (Sublime Text), `⌘ ⇧ P` (Sublime Text (macOS)), `⌘ ⇧ A` (Xcode), `Ctrl+Shift+A` (Visual Studio), `⌘ ⇧ A` (Visual Studio (macOS)), `Ctrl+Shift+A` (ReSharper), `⌘ ⇧ A` (ReSharper (macOS)), `Ctrl+Shift+A` (QtCreator), `⌘ ⇧ A` (QtCreator (macOS)), `Ctrl+I` (NetBeans), `Ctrl+Shift+A` (Eclipse), `⌘ 3` (Eclipse (macOS)) dialog, search for start ssh.., and select Start SSH Session.

2. Depending on the connection settings defined on the `Tools | SSH Terminal` page   of the Settings dialog (`Ctrl+Alt+S` (Windows), `⌘ Comma` (macOS), `⌘ Comma` (IntelliJ IDEA Classic (macOS)), `⌘ Comma` (macOS System Shortcuts), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (XWin), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (GNOME), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (KDE), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (Emacs), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (Sublime Text), `⌘ Comma` (Sublime Text (macOS)), `⌘ Comma` (Xcode), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (Visual Studio), `⌘ Comma` (Visual Studio (macOS)), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (ReSharper), `⌘ Comma` (ReSharper (macOS)), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (QtCreator), `⌘ Comma` (QtCreator (macOS)), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (NetBeans), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (Eclipse), `⌘ Comma` (Eclipse (macOS))), the following types of behavior are possible:

* If the SSH configuration option has been selected, the SSH Terminal will provide control over the data on the server accessible through the SSH configuration selected from the list. For more information, refer to [Create SSH configurations](create-ssh-configurations.html).

* If the Select SSH configuration on every run option has been selected, CLion will show a list to choose the desired SSH configuration from.

If no Vagrant virtual machine or SSH connection has been previously set up in CLion, an SSH Session dialog opens prompting you to [create an SSH configuration](create-ssh-configurations.html).

![Remote terminal](https://resources.jetbrains.com/help/img/idea/2026.2/cl_remote_terminal.animated.gif)

Procedure: View SSH logs

SSH connections in CLion run via [OpenSSH](https://www.openssh.com/), which maintains comprehensive logs both on the client and on the server. The exact location depends on your operating system.

For example, in Linux distributions that are based on Fedora, you should be able to see the logs by running `journalctl -u ssh`.

## See also

### Procedures

[Remote development](remote-development.html)