Ctrlk
ProductPricingLog inSign up
For the complete documentation index, see llms.txt. This page is also available as Markdown.

Setup and usage

This page describes how to enable SSH ID for your Termius account and how to use it to connect to your hosts.

Create SSH ID

To create SSH ID on desktop:

  1. Navigate to Termius > Settings > SSH ID

  2. Click Set up SSH ID to start

  3. Choose your unique username, then wait for Termius to generate passkeys on this device

  4. Open Termius on your other devices to generate passkeys there. We recommend using at least two devices

  5. Your SSH ID is ready. Next, connect using SSH ID

To create SSH ID on iOS:

  1. Open Profile, then tap SSH ID

  2. Tap Set up your SSH ID to start

  3. Choose your unique username, then wait for Termius to generate passkeys on this device

  4. Open Termius on your other devices to generate passkeys there

  5. Choose whether to use biometric passkeys by default

  6. Your SSH ID is ready. Next, connect using SSH ID

To create SSH ID on Android:

  1. Open Settings, then tap Account settings > SSH ID

  2. Tap Set up your SSH ID to start

  3. Choose your unique username, then wait for Termius to generate passkeys on this device

  4. Open Termius on your other devices to generate passkeys there

  5. Choose whether to use biometric passkeys by default

  6. Your SSH ID is ready. Next, connect using SSH ID

Add a FIDO2 key to SSH ID

On devices that support biometric authentication, such as Face ID, Touch ID, or Windows Hello, an ECDSA-SK passkey is generated and stored in the device’s secure enclave by default.

For devices that do not support built-in biometric authentication, you can add FIDO2 security keys, such as YubiKey or Google Titan, to enable presence-based authentication.

To add a FIDO2 key to SSH ID:

  1. Navigate to Termius > Settings > SSH ID

  2. Click Add FIDO2 Key

  3. Enter your encryption password

  4. Plug in your hardware key and enter a PIN if required

  5. Enter a label and confirm your presence by tapping the key

  6. The FIDO2 key is added to your SSH ID

  7. Add the corresponding public key to ~/.ssh/authorized_keys on your servers. Once added, you can use the FIDO2 key to connect from any logged-in device. Learn more in connect using SSH ID

Add a new device to SSH ID

Each device logged in to your Termius account is automatically added to your SSH ID with its own device-bound SSH keys. These keys are generated each time you log in.

To use that device for SSH connections, add the corresponding public key to ~/.ssh/authorized_keys on your servers. Learn more in connect using SSH ID.

Connect using SSH ID

To connect using SSH ID, first provision your devices' public keys on your servers, then assign SSH ID to your hosts.

Provision your devices' public keys on your servers

There are several ways to copy the public keys from your SSH ID to your servers.

To copy the public keys to a server with a shell command:

  1. Connect to your server using the currently set up authentication method

  2. Run the following command in the terminal: curl -fs https://sshid.io/<your handle> >> ~/.ssh/authorized_keys

If you want to use a non-default passkey type, use https://sshid.io/<your handle>/<key_type>, for example https://sshid.io/<your handle>/RSA.

To copy the public keys to a server manually:

  1. Go to https://sshid.io/<your_handle>

  2. Select ~/.ssh/authorized_keys

  3. Select a passkey type if you want to use a non-default one

  4. Copy all your public keys

  5. Connect to your server using the already set authentication method

  6. Paste the copied public keys into ~/.ssh/authorized_keys

Assign SSH ID to a host and connect

To assign SSH ID to your hosts on desktop:

  1. Open the host details for the host you want to connect to with SSH ID

  2. In the Credentials section, enter the username first. If no username is set, your SSH ID handle is used as the default username

  3. Click + SSH ID, Key, Certificate, FIDO2. If the SSH ID option is not available, make sure your credentials are in the Personal vault

  4. Choose SSH ID as the authentication method

  5. Connect to the host from any signed-in device. SSH ID automatically selects the right key available on that device

To assign SSH ID to your hosts on iOS:

  1. Long press the host you want to connect to with SSH ID, then tap Edit

  2. In the Credentials section, enter the username. If no username is set, your SSH ID handle is used as the default username

  3. Tap SSH ID, Key, Certificate, FIDO2, then choose SSH ID as the authentication method

  4. Tap Save

  5. Connect to the host. SSH ID automatically selects the right key available on your device

To assign SSH ID to your hosts on Android:

  1. Tap the host icon you want to connect to with SSH ID, then tap Edit

  2. In the Credentials section, enter the username first. If no username is set, your SSH ID handle is used as the default username

  3. Tap SSH ID, Key, Certificate, FIDO2, then choose SSH ID as the authentication method

  4. Tap Save

  5. Connect to the host. SSH ID automatically selects the right key available on your device

Remove SSH keys from SSH ID

Each device logged in to your Termius account is added to your SSH ID and has its own device-bound SSH keys. These keys remain valid while the device stays logged in. If you want to rotate a key, log out and then log back in on that device.

To remove an SSH key from SSH ID

  1. Log out of your Termius account on the relevant device

  2. Update ~/.ssh/authorized_keys on your servers

To remove a FIDO2 key from SSH ID

  1. Navigate to Termius > Settings > SSH ID

  2. Click the three-dot menu next to the FIDO2 key you want to remove, then select Remove

  3. Update ~/.ssh/authorized_keys on your servers

Delete SSH ID

When you delete your SSH ID, all the device-bound SSH keys associated with this SSH ID handle will be removed, so you no longer will be able to use them to connect to the hosts.

Before you delete the SSH ID, ensure you have an alternative authentication method set up for your hosts where the SSH ID was used.

To delete your SSH ID:

  1. Navigate to Settings → SSH ID

  2. Click the three-dots menu next to your SSH ID handle, then click Delete SSH ID

  3. Enter your encryption password to confirm the SSH ID deletion

Don't forget to update the ~/.ssh/authorized_keys files on your servers to clean it up from the no longer usable public keys associated with your previous SSH ID.

PreviousWhat is SSH ID
NextSSH ID Security

Last updated

Was this helpful?