SSH (secure shell) is a secure login to a system with a way of encrypting your network connection so that you can work securely and remotely from any device. SSH allows you to connect directly from your laptop or computer to a site on a remote server. When connected via SSH, you are able to interact with remote sites using the command line, giving you a lot more control and access to manage your sites as compared to an SFTP connection.
Flywheel’s SSH gateway uses keys to authenticate your connection to the servers and give access to users. SSH keys come in pairs – a public key and a private key. The private key is kept on the machine you are authenticating from and the public key is added to Flywheel. You can learn more about SSH key management here.
SSH is typically used to securely transfer files and manage sites remotely via terminal access. With Flywheel’s SSH gateway, you can securely and efficiently manage all your WordPress sites using the command line. Plus you now have developer-focused features with access to other tools like WP-CLI, MySQL, rsync, and more.
Flywheel’s SSH gateway enables you to connect directly to a site that you have access to. This includes sites you or your organization own and sites you or an organization you’re a member of are collaborators on. More information on connecting to your sites can be found here.
Once connected to a site, many tools utilities are available to manage the site. Here are some of the most loved terminal tools that are installed by default:
Here are a few notable items that aren’t currently available with Flywheel’s SSH gateway:
Viewing a history or real-time stream of site logs is not currently possible with Flywheel’s SSH gateway. Site logs can still be downloaded from a site’s Advanced page in the Flywheel dashboard though!
Our SSH gateway utilizes temporary servers that are spun up when you connect to SSH and spun down when you disconnect. Due to this, if you install a terminal package it will only be persisted the next time you connect to SSH if it’s been less than 5 hours since the last time you disconnected. You can always reinstall the package though!
There are a few WP-CLI commands that aren’t supported on Flywheel. More detailed information can be found in this article.
Similar to our SFTP offering, core WordPress files (including wp-config.php) are not editable.
To learn more about SSH on Flywheel, check out the following help articles:
New to Flywheel? Start here, we've got all the information you'll need to get started and launch your first site!
How to migrate your site to Flywheel using Flywheel Migrations
How do I go live on Flywheel?
What is a demo site?
Learn all about managing your Flywheel user account, Teams and integrations.
View allFlywheel hosting plans include a ton of great features. Learn about how to get a free SSL certificate, set up a staging site, and more!
Deploying to Flywheel via SSH and GitHub Actions
How do I get started with Staging?
Backups on Flywheel
All the server and setting info you'll need to help you get the most out of your Flywheel hosting plan!
Connecting to Flywheel’s SSH Gateway
Can I access my Flywheel site via SSH?
Can I get access to my database?
Tips and tricks for managing your sites on Flywheel, including going live, troubleshooting issues and migrating or cloning sites.
View allLearn how to connect, deploy, and more with SSH on Flywheel's platform.
Using SSH tunneling to access your site’s database
Deploying to Flywheel via SSH and GitHub Actions
Connecting to Flywheel’s SSH Gateway
Learn more about Growth Suite, our all-in-one solution for freelancers and agencies to grow more quickly and predictably.
Getting started with Growth Suite
Growth Suite: What are invoice statuses?
Growth Suite: What do client emails look like?
Learn more about Managed Plugin Updates, and how you can keep your sites up to date, and extra safe.
Managed Plugin Updates: Database upgrades
Managed Plugin Updates: How to pause plugin updates for a site
Managed Plugin Updates: Plugin Security Alerts
We can help! Check out our Brand Resources page for links to all of our brand assets.
Brand Resources