---
description: Connect to running container instances with SSH.
title: SSH
image: https://developers.cloudflare.com/og-docs.png
---

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# SSH

Last updated Aug 24, 2026|Copy as Markdown|[View as Markdown](https://mchen-ai-models-sync.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/containers/ssh/index.md)|[Agent setup](https://mchen-ai-models-sync.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/agent-setup/)

Anyone with write access to a Container can SSH into it with Wrangler as long as a matching public key is listed in `authorized_keys`.

SSH does not expose a publicly accessible port on the Container. The only way to connect is through Wrangler with [wrangler containers ssh](https://mchen-ai-models-sync.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/workers/wrangler/commands/containers/#containers-ssh), which authenticates against your Cloudflare account.

## Configure SSH

SSH can be configured in your [Container's configuration](https://mchen-ai-models-sync.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/workers/wrangler/configuration/#containers) with the `ssh` and `authorized_keys` properties. Only the `ssh-ed25519` key type is supported.

The `ssh.enabled` property only controls whether you can SSH into a Container through Wrangler. It defaults to `true`. Set it to `false` to disable SSH access completely.

## Connect with Wrangler

To SSH into a Container with Wrangler, add an `ssh-ed25519` public key to `authorized_keys` in your Container configuration. The following example shows a basic configuration:

```jsonc
{
	"containers": [
		{
			// other options here...
			"authorized_keys": [
				{
					"name": "<NAME>",
					"public_key": "<YOUR_PUBLIC_KEY_HERE>"
				}
			]
		}
	]
}
```

```toml
[[containers]]
[[containers.authorized_keys]]
name = "<NAME>"
public_key = "<YOUR_PUBLIC_KEY_HERE>"
```

For more information on configuring SSH, refer to [SSH configuration](https://mchen-ai-models-sync.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/workers/wrangler/configuration/#ssh).

Find the instance ID for your Container by running [wrangler containers instances](https://mchen-ai-models-sync.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/workers/wrangler/commands/containers/#containers-instances) or in the [Cloudflare dashboard ↗](https://dash.cloudflare.com/?to=/:account/workers/containers). The instance you want to SSH into must be running. SSH will not start a stopped Container, and an active SSH connection alone will not keep a Container alive.

Once SSH is configured and the Container is running, open the SSH connection with:

```bash
wrangler containers ssh <INSTANCE_ID>
```

## Use as SSH proxy

You can use `wrangler containers ssh` as an OpenSSH `ProxyCommand`. This lets your local SSH client connect through Wrangler.

```sh
ssh -o ProxyCommand="wrangler containers ssh %h" cloudchamber@<INSTANCE_ID>
```

When used this way, Wrangler pipes standard input and output to the SSH server in the running Container. You can also pass `--stdio` to force this mode.

## Process visibility

Without the [containers\_pid\_namespace](https://mchen-ai-models-sync.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/workers/configuration/compatibility-flags/#use-an-isolated-pid-namespace-for-containers) compatibility flag, all processes inside the VM are visible when you connect to your Container through SSH. This flag is turned on by default for Workers with a [compatibility date](https://mchen-ai-models-sync.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/workers/configuration/compatibility-dates/) of `2026-04-01` or later.

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