Knowledgebase

SSH access must be enabled for your hosting account (excluding VPS and Dedicated Server) to connect to SSH/SFTP. Contact support to enable SSH access.

Note:
Commands run via SSH can irreparably damage your data, websites, hosting account, and/or server. We strongly recommend that only users with command-line experience use SSH.

Step 1: Generate Public and Private Keys in MacOS

• Run the Terminal app and execute the following command:
  
  ssh-keygen -t rsa
  
  
• It will ask you to save your keys to /home/user/.ssh/id_rsa. Press Enter.
  
  
• It will ask for a passphrase. Leave it empty.
  
  Press Enter, and then press Enter again.
  
  The key should now have been generated.
  
  
• Execute the following command to view the public key:
  
  cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub
  
  Copy the public key.
  
  
• Done!
  
  

Step 2: Authorize the Public Key

To connect to SSH or SFTP, you must authorize your public key.

How to authorize your public key in cPanel and DirectAdmin?

Step 3: Connect to SSH in MacOS

1. Run the Terminal app and execute the following command:
   
   ssh -p 2022 username@server.example.com
   
   *Replace username with your cPanel/DirectAdmin username.
   *Replace username with root if you are connecting to a VPS/Dedicated Server as the root user.
   *Replace server.example.com with your server hostname or IP address.
   
   
2. It may ask you to confirm this operation.
   
   Type "yes" without the quotation marks and press Enter.
   
   
3. Done!
   
   

Terminal in cPanel/WHM

You can access SSH from cPanel/WHM using your browser without a key pair.

cPanel: Go to cPanel > Advanced > Terminal.
WHM: Go to WHM > Server Configuration > Terminal (requires VPS/Dedicated Server with root access).