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What you’ll need

Make sure you have:
  • A Compute instance in Running
  • Its SSH connection details from the Compute console
  • Your private SSH key (.pem or .ed25519 file you downloaded)
  • A Mac with Terminal (you’ll find it in Spotlight)

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Step 1: Find your connection details

Open the instance in the Compute console and wait for Running. This means it has responded over SSH. Open its SSH connection details to find the current command, hostname, and username.

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Step 2: Open Terminal

Press Cmd + Space, type Terminal, and hit Return to open it. To keep things tidy and secure, move your downloaded key to your Mac’s SSH folder. In Terminal, run these commands one by one:
Replace /path/to/your-key.pem with the actual path to the key you downloaded.

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Step 4: Connect to your instance

Open the instance’s connectivity details in Compute and copy the SSH command shown there. Compute exposes a stable SSH endpoint for each instance on port 22, so use the current command from the console rather than reconstructing the address yourself. A typical command looks like:
  1. Replace /path/to/your-key.pem with your key file location if needed.
  2. Use the hostname and username shown for your instance in Compute.
  3. The login can use a configured username. Do not assume the image’s default user.

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Step 5: Verify the server identity

Compute instances present signed SSH host certificates. Follow the console’s instructions to trust Hivenet’s signing authority once in your SSH client. New VMs with valid certificates from that authority do not require a separate host-key acceptance prompt. If your client still asks you to accept a host identity, verify it with trusted information from Hivenet first. For certificate trust and changed-host warnings, see SSH configuration and host verification.

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You’re in

You’ll land in your instance’s terminal, ready to install packages, run apps, or start a Jupyter notebook.
If you already use 1Password, you can store and use SSH keys directly—no need to manage files or worry about permissions. Here’s how SSH with 1Password works.

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Troubleshooting tips

  • Permission denied (publickey)?
    • Make sure the path to your .pem file is correct and that it’s set to chmod 600.
  • Connection times out?
    • Confirm the instance is Running, use its current connection details, and check whether your network allows outbound port 22. If it still fails, contact Support with the instance ID and error.