Setup OpenSSH Server on Ubuntu Linux
Abigail Rogers
Updated on March 31, 2026
Setting up an SSH server on Ubuntu is about as simple as it gets. The server of choice is OpenSSH. Run this command from a terminal window:
sudo apt-get install ssh
To test that it's working, you can try to ssh into your own machine:
> ssh localhost The authenticity of host 'localhost (127.0.0.1)' can't be established.
RSA key fingerprint is 98:8a:b8:b2:9e:8a:84:e0:d4:08:27:fb:74:f0:de:d4.
Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no)?
Looks like it's working! Naturally our ssh client doesn't have the key for the server, since we just installed it. You can type yes to continue or just hit Ctrl-C to stop.
