SSH Access in DirectAdmin

<h3>Enabling and Using SSH in DirectAdmin</h3> <p>SSH (Secure Shell) provides encrypted command-line access to your hosting account. This is useful for running scripts, managing files, using Git, and performing advanced server tasks that are not available through the web interface.</p> <h3>Checking SSH Access</h3> <p>Not all hosting plans include SSH access. To verify whether SSH is enabled for your account:</p> <ol> <li>Log in to DirectAdmin.</li> <li>Navigate to <strong>Account Manager &rarr; SSH Keys</strong> or check under <strong>Advanced Features</strong> for an SSH option.</li> <li>If you do not see an SSH option, contact your hosting provider to request SSH access be enabled for your account.</li> </ol> <h3>Connecting via SSH</h3> <p>Once SSH is enabled, connect using a terminal (macOS/Linux) or an SSH client like PuTTY (Windows):</p> <pre><code>ssh username@yourdomain.com -p 22</code></pre> <p>Replace <code>username</code> with your DirectAdmin username, <code>yourdomain.com</code> with your server hostname or IP, and <code>22</code> with the SSH port if your provider uses a non-standard port.</p> <h3>Setting Up SSH Keys (Recommended)</h3> <p>SSH keys are more secure than password-based authentication. Here is how to set them up:</p> <ol> <li><strong>Generate a key pair</strong> on your local machine: <pre><code>ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "your_email@example.com"</code></pre> This creates a private key (<code>id_ed25519</code>) and a public key (<code>id_ed25519.pub</code>).</li> <li><strong>Upload the public key</strong> to DirectAdmin by navigating to <strong>SSH Keys</strong> and pasting the contents of your <code>id_ed25519.pub</code> file. Alternatively, copy it manually: <pre><code>ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub username@yourdomain.com</code></pre></li> <li><strong>Test the connection:</strong> <pre><code>ssh username@yourdomain.com</code></pre> You should connect without being prompted for a password.</li> </ol> <div class="alert alert-warning"><strong>Security tip:</strong> Always protect your private key with a passphrase. Never share your private key with anyone. Only the public key (<code>.pub</code> file) should be uploaded to the server.</div> <h3>Common SSH Commands</h3> <ul> <li><code>ls -la</code> &ndash; List files with details</li> <li><code>cd public_html</code> &ndash; Change to web directory</li> <li><code>du -sh *</code> &ndash; Check disk usage</li> <li><code>tar -czf backup.tar.gz public_html/</code> &ndash; Create a compressed archive</li> <li><code>mysql -u dbuser -p dbname</code> &ndash; Connect to MySQL</li> </ul>