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You do not need manual SSH for normal Thunder Compute workflows. We highly recommend using the VS Code extension, CLI, or MCP server, which handle connection setup for you. Use the manual SSH command only when existing tooling requires raw SSH.

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Save an SSH key

Open Authentication → SSH Keys (Advanced) in the console to add or remove organization keys. Saved keys live at the org level, so everyone on your team can reuse them when creating instances.

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Attach a key when creating an instance

When launching an instance from the console, choose a saved key during creation. Instances include the selected public key in authorized_keys at boot. You can add keys later via the Add SSH key to instance API endpoint.

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SSH manually

  1. Click the instance row in the console to open instance details, then copy the command from Manual SSH.
  2. From your local machine, run the copied command. Replace <path_to_key> with the private key that matches the saved public key: 
    ssh ubuntu@<instance-ip> -p <port> -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
    The console command already includes the instance IP, port, and ubuntu user.

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Quick troubleshooting

  • Permission denied: make sure you are connecting as ubuntu, using the -p <port> from instance details, and that the matching private key exists locally.
  • Password requested: re-check the IP, port, username, and private key. SSH asking for a password usually means key-based auth did not match the instance.
  • Host verification failed: remove the old entry from ~/.ssh/known_hosts and retry. New IPs will change fingerprints.
  • Still stuck? Double-check the IP, port, and key, or send a message in Discord with the SSH output.