SSH access to Home Assistant (HA) can be useful in multiple cases:

• To reboot HA remotely if this cannot be done through the web interface
• To edit some configuration files
• To debug OS-related issues – check logs, processes, network settings, etc.
• To install or update additional packages or dependencies
• To backup or restore HA

The easiest way to SSH into Home Assistant is by using the official Terminal & SSH add-on.

It is based on OpenSSH and allows to log into Home Assistant using a web-based Terminal or any SSH client.

This post describes how to install and configure the Terminal & SSH add-on to access Home Assistant over SSH.

Cool Tip: How to edit Home Assistant’s configuration.yaml file!Read more →

Terminal & SSH

To install the Terminal & SSH add-on, go to Settings → Add-ons → ADD-ON STORE, search for Terminal & SSH and click on INSTALL.

Once the Terminal & SSH add-on is installed, toggle the Show in sidebar switch to add it to the Home Assistant sidebar and click on START.

To connect to HA using an SSH client, such as PuTTY or Linux terminal, go to Settings → Add-ons → Terminal & SSH and click on Configuration tab.

Set a password or SSH key, specify the port to connect to and SAVE the changes:

Now you should be able to access HA remotely from any SSH client, by running a command as follows:

$ ssh [email protected] -p 2222