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Connecting to a Bnode through an SSH (Secure Shell) terminal provides a secure and reliable method for interacting with your instance. Use this to manage long-running processes, critical tasks, or when you need the full capabilities of a shell environment. Every Bnode offers the ability to connect through SSH using the basic proxy method below (which does not support commands like SCP or SFTP), but not all Bnodes support the full public IP method. You can also SSH into a Bnode using a password-based method if you want a simple and fast way to enable SSH access without setting up SSH keys. SSH key authentication is recommended for most use cases, as it provides greater security and convenience for repeated use.

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Generate an SSH key and add it to your Brightnode account

1

Generate an SSH key

Run this command on your local terminal to generate an SSH key, replacing YOUR_EMAIL@DOMAIN.COM with your actual email:
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "YOUR_EMAIL@DOMAIN.COM"
This saves a public/private key pair on your local machine to ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub and ~/.ssh/id_ed25519 respectively.
If you are using Command Prompt on Windows instead of the Linux terminal or WSL, your public and private key pair will be saved to C:\Users\YOUR_USER_ACCOUNT\.ssh\id_ed25519.pub and C:\Users\YOUR_USER_ACCOUNT\.ssh\id_ed25519, respectively.
2

Retrieve your public SSH key

Run this command on your local terminal to retrieve the public SSH key you just generated:
cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub
This will output something similar to this:
ssh-ed25519 AAAAC4NzaC1lZDI1JTE5AAAAIGP+L8hnjIcBqUb8NRrDiC32FuJBvRA0m8jLShzgq6BQ YOUR_EMAIL@DOMAIN.COM
3

Add the key to your Brightnode account

Copy and paste your public key from the previous step into the SSH Public Keys field in your Brightnode user account settings.
If you need to add multiple SSH keys to your Brightnode account, make sure that each key pair is on its own line in the SSH Public Keys field.

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Override your public key for a specific Bnode

Brightnode will attempt to automatically inject the public SSH keys added in your account settings for authentication when connecting using the basic terminal method. If you prefer to use a different public key for a specific Bnode, you can override the default by setting the SSH_PUBLIC_KEY environment variable for that Bnode.

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Basic SSH with key authentication

All Bnodes provide a basic SSH connection that is proxied through Brightnode’s systems. This method does not support commands like SCP (Secure Copy Protocol) or SFTP (SSH File Transfer Protocol).
1

Generate an SSH key pair

Ensure you have an SSH key pair generated on your local machine and added to your Brightnode account.
2

Open your Bnode's connect tab

Navigate to the Bnodes page in the Brightnode console. Select the Bnode you want to connect to from the list to open its connection options.
3

Copy the SSH command

In the Bnode’s Connect tab, copy the command listed under SSH. It should look something like this:
ssh 8y5rumuyb50m78-6441103b@ssh.brightnode.cloud -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
If you saved your key to a custom location, use that specific path after the -i flag instead.
4

Run the SSH command

Run the copied command in your local terminal to connect to your Bnode.

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Full SSH via public IP with key authentication

For full SSH capabilities, including SCP and SFTP for file transfers, you need to rent an instance that supports a public IP address and ensure an SSH daemon is running within your Bnode. If you’re using a Brightnode official template such as Brightnode PyTorch or Stable Diffusion, full SSH access is already configured for you, so no additional setup is required. However, if you’re using a custom template, ensure that TCP port 22 is exposed and that the SSH daemon is running inside your Bnode. If it isn’t, add the Docker command below to your template. Or, if you already have a custom start command, replace sleep infinity at the end of your command with this one: 
bash -c 'apt update; \
DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install openssh-server -y; \
mkdir -p ~/.ssh; \
cd ~/.ssh; \
chmod 700 ~/.ssh; \
echo "$PUBLIC_KEY" >> authorized_keys; \
chmod 700 authorized_keys; \
service ssh start; \
sleep infinity'
Once you’re sure that the SSH daemon is running, you can connect to your Bnode by following these steps:
1

Generate an SSH key pair

Ensure you have an SSH key pair generated on your local machine and added to your Brightnode account.
2

Verify SSH daemon is running

An SSH daemon must be started in your Bnode. Brightnode official templates, such as “Brightnode PyTorch”, often have this pre-configured. If you’re using a custom template, ensure TCP port 22 is exposed and the SSH daemon is started. Refer to the Use SSH guide for commands to include in your custom Docker template.
3

Open your Bnode's connect tab

Navigate to the Bnodes page in the Brightnode console. Select the Bnode you want to connect to from the list to open its connection options.
4

Copy the SSH command

In the Bnode’s Connect tab, copy the command listed under SSH over exposed TCP. It should look something like this:
ssh root@213.173.108.12 -p 17445 -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
If you saved your key to a custom location, use that specific path after the -i flag instead.
5

Run the SSH command

Run the copied command in your local terminal to connect to your Bnode.
The SSH command above has the following structure: 
ssh root@[POD_IP_ADDRESS] -p [SSH_PORT] -i [PATH_TO_SSH_KEY]
Where:
  • root: Your assigned username for the Bnode (typically root).
  • [POD_IP_ADDRESS]: The public IP address of your Bnode.
  • [SSH_PORT]: The designated public SSH port for your Bnode.
  • [PATH_TO_SSH_KEY]: The local file path to your private SSH key.

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Troubleshooting SSH key authentication

If you’re asked for a password when connecting to your Bnode via SSH, this means something is not set up correctly. Brightnode does not require a password for SSH connections, as authentication is handled entirely through your SSH key pair. Here are some common reasons why this might happen:
  • If you copy and paste the key fingerprint (which starts with SHA256:) into your Brightnode user settings instead of the actual public key (the contents of your id_ed25519.pub file), authentication will fail.
  • If you omit the encryption type at the beginning of your public key when pasting it into your Brightnode user settings (for example, leaving out ssh-ed25519), the key will not be recognized.
  • If you add multiple public keys to your Brightnode user settings but do not separate them with a newline, only the first key will work. Each key must be on its own line.
  • If you specify the wrong file path to your private key when connecting, SSH will not be able to find the correct key (No such file or directory error).
  • If your private key file is accessible by other users on your machine, SSH may refuse to use it for security reasons (bad permissions error).
  • If your SSH configuration file (~/.ssh/config) points to the wrong private key, you will also be prompted for a password. Make sure the IdentityFile entry in your config file matches the private key that corresponds to the public key you added to your Brightnode account.

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Password-based SSH

To use this method, your Bnode must have a public IP address and expose TCP port 22. SSH will be accessible through a mapped external port. To quickly set up password-based SSH, run this command to download and execute a helper script for password setup: 
wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/justinwlin/Brightnode-SSH-Password/main/passwordbrightnode.sh && chmod +x passwordbrightnode.sh && ./passwordbrightnode.sh
While SSH operates on port 22 within your Bnode, Brightnode assigns a different external port for access. The setup script below automatically detects and uses the correct external port by referencing the BRIGHTNODE_TCP_PORT_22 environment variable.If you see the message Environment variables BRIGHTNODE_PUBLIC_IP or BRIGHTNODE_TCP_PORT_22 are missing when running the script, it means one or more of the required environment variables are not set. Please ensure you have met all the necessary requirements described above.
After running the script and entering a password, you’ll see example commands for SSH or SCP which you can use to connect to your Bnode and transfer files from your local machine: 
========================================
SSH CONNECTION
========================================
Connect using: ssh root@38.80.152.73 -p 32061
Password: helloworld

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FILE TRANSFER EXAMPLES (SCP)
========================================
Copy file TO bnode:
scp -P 32061 yourfile.txt root@38.80.152.73:/workspace/

Copy file FROM bnode:
scp -P 32061 root@38.80.152.73:/workspace/yourfile.txt .

Copy entire folder TO bnode:
scp -P 32061 -r yourfolder root@38.80.152.73:/workspace/

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Video tutorial (Windows)