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Claude Code Complete Guide

Guide to Resolving Claude Code SSH Connection Errors in 3 Steps

Target Audience

  • Intermediate users who want to use Claude Code in remote development environments

Key Points

  1. Identify the root cause of SSH connection errors
  2. Create proper configuration files
  3. Verify functionality through connection testing

Core Problem

"Permission denied" and "Connection refused" errors when connecting via SSH in Claude Code are primarily caused by misconfigured key authentication or SSH server configuration issues. There are Claude Code-specific requirements that don't work with typical SSH configurations.

Solution

Step 1: Generate and Place SSH Key Pair

Generate a dedicated SSH key for Claude Code and place it in the correct location.

# Generate dedicated key for Claude Code
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -f ~/.ssh/claude_code_key -C "claude-code@your-domain.com"

# Set appropriate permissions
chmod 600 ~/.ssh/claude_code_key
chmod 644 ~/.ssh/claude_code_key.pub

Step 2: Create SSH Configuration File

Add Claude Code connection settings to ~/.ssh/config.

# Claude Code connection configuration
Host claude-remote
    HostName your-remote-server.com
    User your-username
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/claude_code_key
    IdentitiesOnly yes
    ServerAliveInterval 60

Step 3: Register Public Key and Test

Register the public key on the remote server and test the connection.

# Transfer public key to remote server
ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/claude_code_key.pub your-username@your-remote-server.com

# Test connection
ssh claude-remote

Common Issues and Solutions

SymptomCauseSolution
Permission deniedImproper key file permissionschmod 600 ~/.ssh/claude_code_key
Connection refusedSSH server not runningsudo systemctl start ssh
Host key verification failedknown_hosts file inconsistencyssh-keygen -R hostname
Advanced Configuration (For Advanced Users - Click to Expand) ### Claude Code-Specific Requirements - `IdentitiesOnly yes`: Prevents conflicts with other keys - `ServerAliveInterval 60`: Connection maintenance setting - Dedicated key usage: For improved security ### Security-Enhanced Configuration 
Host claude-remote
    HostName your-remote-server.com
    User your-username
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/claude_code_key
    IdentitiesOnly yes
    ServerAliveInterval 60
    ServerAliveCountMax 3
    StrictHostKeyChecking yes
    PasswordAuthentication no

Next Steps