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SSH Setup & Connection

Once your VM is up and running, there are several ways to connect. For professional development, using a local SSH key is the industry standard.

Method A: Web SSH (Easiest)​

Click the SSH button next to your instance in the GCP console to open a terminal directly in your browser. This is great for quick troubleshooting.

Method B: Local SSH Key (Industry Standard)​

  1. Generate Key: Run ssh-keygen -t rsa -f ~/.ssh/gcp_key -C myuser on your local terminal.
  2. Copy Public Key: Run cat ~/.ssh/gcp_key.pub and copy the output.
  3. Bind in GCP: Go to Metadata -> SSH Keys in the GCP console and paste the key.
  4. Connect: Run ssh -i ~/.ssh/gcp_key myuser@<VM_EXTERNAL_IP>.

Method C: Connect with an SSH Config Alias​

Save the VM connection details in ~/.ssh/config so you can connect with a short, memorable command.

  1. Make sure your public key has been added to the VM or the project's Metadata -> SSH Keys.

  2. Add the following entry to ~/.ssh/config:

    Host YOUR_SSH_ALIAS
      HostName YOUR_VM_EXTERNAL_IP
      User YOUR_SSH_USERNAME
      IdentityFile PATH_TO_YOUR_PRIVATE_KEY
      IdentitiesOnly yes

    Replace each uppercase placeholder with your own connection details.

  3. Restrict the file permissions:

    chmod 600 ~/.ssh/config

    Your private key should also be readable only by your user (chmod 600).

  4. Connect using the host alias:

    ssh YOUR_SSH_ALIAS

If the VM uses an ephemeral external IP address, update HostName whenever the address changes. A static external IP avoids this extra step.