SSH

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SSH (Secure Shell) provides secure access to your Morph Cloud instances for interactive sessions, command execution, and file transfers. Choose between a direct connection authenticated by one of your user-owned managed SSH public keys, SDK/CLI access, or a separately scoped generated instance credential.

Direct SSH Access

First, add and verify a managed SSH public key in account settings. Then connect with the matching private key on your computer:

ssh -o IdentitiesOnly=yes \
  -i ~/.ssh/morph_personal \
  morphvm_abc123@ssh.cloud.morph.so

Use the instance ID as the SSH user. On the first connection, verify the Morph SSH gateway host-key fingerprint through a trusted channel before accepting it. Never suppress host-key verification with StrictHostKeyChecking=no.

The public key in account settings is user-owned: it can authorize direct SSH to your instances and instances in organizations where you are currently a member. Morph stores only its public half. It is different from the generated private/public key pair and password for one instance.

Browser terminal access

The browser terminal is a managed in-console connection. It does not require you to upload a private key, and revoking a managed SSH public key does not revoke browser terminal access.

Share SSH access (no API key)

If you need to let someone SSH to a specific instance without making their public key part of your user account or giving them your Morph API key, see Share SSH access (no API key). That flow uses a secret instance access bundle, not a managed account public key.

SSH into Instance

You can establish an SSH connection to your running instance for interactive shell access or to execute scripts.

Python

from morphcloud.api import MorphCloudClient

client = MorphCloudClient()
instance_id = "morphvm_abc123" # Replace with a valid instance ID
instance = client.instances.get(instance_id=instance_id)

instance.wait_until_ready() # Ensure instance is ready for SSH

with instance.ssh() as ssh_client:
    # Run a command
    result = ssh_client.run("ls -l /home")
    print(f"Stdout:\n{result.stdout}")

    # Start an interactive shell (for interactive sessions, not recommended in scripts)
    # ssh_client.interactive_shell()

TypeScript

import { MorphCloudClient } from 'morphcloud';

const client = new MorphCloudClient();

async function sshAccess() {
  const instance_id = "morphvm_abc123"; // Replace with a valid instance ID
  const instance = await client.instances.get({ instance_id: instance_id });

  await instance.waitUntilReady(); // Ensure instance is ready for SSH

  const sshClient = await instance.ssh();
  try {
    // Run a command
    const result = await sshClient.execCommand("ls -l /home");
    console.log(`Stdout:\n${result.stdout}`);

    // For interactive shell in TypeScript, consider using a library that wraps NodeSSH to provide a more shell-like experience if needed for your application.
    // NodeSSH's `interactiveShell` is primarily for basic interaction.
  } finally {
    sshClient.dispose(); // Important to close the SSH connection
  }
}

sshAccess();

CLI

# SSH directly into the instance
morphcloud instance ssh morphvm_abc123

# Execute a command directly via SSH without interactive login
morphcloud instance ssh morphvm_acb123 "ls -la /tmp"

Interactive vs Non-Interactive Sessions

SSH supports both interactive and non-interactive sessions:

Interactive Sessions

Interactive sessions provide a full shell environment where you can run commands interactively.

Python

from morphcloud.api import MorphCloudClient

client = MorphCloudClient()
instance_id = "morphvm_abc123" # Replace with a valid instance ID
instance = client.instances.get(instance_id=instance_id)

with instance.ssh() as ssh_client:
    # Start an interactive shell
    ssh_client.interactive_shell()

CLI

# Start an interactive SSH session
morphcloud instance ssh morphvm_abc123

Non-Interactive Sessions

Non-interactive sessions are useful for running specific commands or scripts without user interaction.

Python

from morphcloud.api import MorphCloudClient

client = MorphCloudClient()
instance_id = "morphvm_abc123" # Replace with a valid instance ID
instance = client.instances.get(instance_id=instance_id)

with instance.ssh() as ssh_client:
    # Run a specific command
    result = ssh_client.run("uname -a")
    print(f"Stdout: {result.stdout}")
    
    # Run a script with multiple commands
    commands = [
        "cd /tmp",
        "mkdir -p test_dir",
        "echo 'Hello World' > test_dir/hello.txt",
        "cat test_dir/hello.txt"
    ]
    
    result = ssh_client.run("; ".join(commands))
    print(f"Script output: {result.stdout}")

TypeScript

import { MorphCloudClient } from 'morphcloud';

const client = new MorphCloudClient();

async function sshCommands() {
  const instance_id = "morphvm_abc123"; // Replace with a valid instance ID
  const instance = await client.instances.get({ instance_id: instance_id });

  const sshClient = await instance.ssh();
  try {
    // Run a specific command
    const result = await sshClient.execCommand("uname -a");
    console.log(`Stdout: ${result.stdout}`);
    
    // Run a script with multiple commands
    const commands = [
      "cd /tmp",
      "mkdir -p test_dir",
      "echo 'Hello World' > test_dir/hello.txt",
      "cat test_dir/hello.txt"
    ].join("; ");
    
    const scriptResult = await sshClient.execCommand(commands);
    console.log(`Script output: ${scriptResult.stdout}`);
  } finally {
    sshClient.dispose();
  }
}

sshCommands();

CLI

# Run a specific command
morphcloud instance ssh morphvm_abc123 "uname -a"

# Run multiple commands
morphcloud instance ssh morphvm_abc123 "cd /tmp; mkdir -p test_dir; echo 'Hello World' > test_dir/hello.txt; cat test_dir/hello.txt"

Port Forwarding

You can forward ports from your instance to your local machine:

CLI

# Forward remote port 8080 to local port 8080
morphcloud instance port-forward instance_your_instance_id 8080

# Forward remote port 8080 to local port 9000
morphcloud instance port-forward instance_your_instance_id 8080 9000