How to SSH Into a Raspberry Pi?
Introduction
SSH, or Secure Shell, is a way to talk to a computer from another computer. It’s like giving commands to a faraway computer. Imagine you have a special computer at home, and you want to control it from your friend’s house. SSH lets you do that.
Before SSH, there was something called Telnet. But Telnet was not very safe because it sent information like passwords in plain text. It was like shouting your secrets in a crowded room where anyone could listen. SSH came along in 1995 to fix this problem. Now, when you use SSH, it’s like putting your secrets in a locked box before sending them. Even if someone tries to listen in, they can’t understand what’s inside the box.
SSH has gotten better over time. It has learned new tricks to stay safe from bad people trying to break in. Today, SSH is super important for talking to computers securely.
With SSH, you can talk to a Raspberry Pi from another computer. This is useful because you might not want to plug in a monitor, keyboard, and mouse to the Raspberry Pi every time you need to do something. Instead, you can just use SSH from your own computer.
Once you’re connected with SSH, you can do lots of things. You can write and run programs, control parts of the Raspberry Pi like its pins, or even check what it’s doing when it’s busy with a task.
So, SSH is like a secret tunnel that lets you control a Raspberry Pi from your own computer, making things easier and safer.
Enable SSH on Raspberry Pi
By default, SSH isn’t turned on when you get a Raspberry Pi. This is because it’s safer that way. But if you want to use SSH, you can turn it on easily.
Here’s how:
- Take out the little memory card from your Raspberry Pi and put it into your computer.
- Open the memory card on your computer. You’ll see lots of folders.
- Make a new file in the main folder of the memory card. Call this file “SSH” without any fancy endings like .txt.
- Put the memory card back into your Raspberry Pi.
Now, SSH is turned on! You can use your own username and password to log in. If you haven’t set up your own username and password yet, just use the default ones: username “pi” and password “raspberry”.
If you can’t add files to the memory card for some reason, don’t worry. There’s another way.
Enable Raspberry Pi SSH in Existing OS
Enable via GUI
If your Raspberry Pi already has an operating system and you want to turn on SSH, here’s what you do:
- Connect a monitor, a mouse, and a keyboard to your Raspberry Pi.
- Turn on your Raspberry Pi and wait for the desktop to show up.
- Once you see the desktop, click on “Preferences” at the top-left corner of the screen.
- From there, choose “Raspberry Pi Configuration”.
Enable via Terminal
If you prefer using the Terminal to turn on SSH on your Raspberry Pi, here’s what you do:
- Open the Terminal on your Raspberry Pi. You can find it in the menu or by searching.
- In the Terminal, type in the command
sudo raspi-configand press Enter. This command lets you configure various settings on your Raspberry Pi. - You’ll see a menu. Use the arrow keys to navigate to “Interfacing Options” and press Enter.
- In the next menu, scroll down to “SSH” and press Enter.
- Choose “Yes” to enable SSH.
- Press Enter to confirm your choice.
- Finally, choose “Finish” to exit the configuration tool.
That’s it! SSH is now enabled on your Raspberry Pi.
Suggested: Raspberry Pi Resource Monitoring
Find Raspberry Pi’s IP Address
To find the IP address of your Raspberry Pi, you can use a few different methods:
1. Using the Command Line (Terminal):
Open the Terminal on your Raspberry Pi.
Type the command <em><strong>hostname -I and press Enter. This command will display the IP address of your Raspberry Pi.
2. Using a Router:
Log in to your router’s administration page. This is typically done by typing the router’s IP address into a web browser and entering your router’s username and password.
Look for a section called “Connected Devices,” “Device List,” or similar. This section usually lists all devices connected to your network along with their IP addresses.
Find your Raspberry Pi in the list and note down its IP address.
3. Using a Network Scanner:
You can use network scanning software such as Advanced IP Scanner or Angry IP Scanner to scan your network for connected devices and their IP addresses. These tools provide a list of devices on your network along with their IP addresses. in this article we use nmap network scanner.
Using nmap:
If you have nmap installed on your computer, you can use it to scan your network for connected devices and their IP addresses.
Open a terminal or command prompt on your computer.
Type the command nmap -sn <em><your_network_address> and press Enter. Replace <your_network_address> with your network address, such as 192.168.1.0/24.
nmap will scan your network and list connected devices along with their IP addresses.
Look for the entry corresponding to your Raspberry Pi and note down its IP address.
Once you have found the IP address of your Raspberry Pi, you can use it to connect to it remotely via SSH or access its services over the network.
SSH Into Raspberry Pi From Windows
To SSH into your Raspberry Pi from a Windows computer, you’ll need an SSH client. One popular SSH client for Windows is PuTTY. Here’s how to do it:
1. Download PuTTY:
Go to the PuTTY website (https://www.putty.org/) and download the PuTTY installer.
Run the installer and follow the on-screen instructions to install PuTTY on your Windows computer.
2. Find Raspberry Pi’s IP address:
Use one of the methods mentioned earlier to find the IP address of your Raspberry Pi.
3. Open PuTTY:
Once PuTTY is installed, open it.
4. Configure PuTTY:
In the PuTTY configuration window, enter the IP address of your Raspberry Pi in the “Host Name (or IP address)” field.
Make sure the “Port” is set to 22 (which is the default SSH port).
Make sure the “Connection type” is set to SSH.
5. Connect to Raspberry Pi:
Click the “Open” button at the bottom of the PuTTY configuration window.
If this is your first time connecting to the Raspberry Pi, PuTTY might display a security alert. Click “Yes” to proceed.
PuTTY will open a new terminal window and prompt you for a username.
Enter your Raspberry Pi’s username (usually “pi”) and press Enter.
Next, enter your Raspberry Pi’s password when prompted. Note that as you type the password, nothing will show up on the screen; this is normal for security reasons. Press Enter after typing the password.
You’re now logged into your Raspberry Pi via SSH from your Windows computer! You can now use the terminal window opened by PuTTY to execute commands on your Raspberry Pi, just like you would if you were directly connected to it.
SSH Into Raspberry Pi From macOS
SSH into your Raspberry Pi from a macOS computer is quite straightforward, as macOS includes a built-in SSH client. Here’s how to do it:
1. Open Terminal:
Launch the Terminal application on your macOS computer. You can find it in the “Applications” folder within the “Utilities” folder, or you can use Spotlight search to find it quickly.
2. Find Raspberry Pi’s IP Address:
Use one of the methods mentioned earlier to find the IP address of your Raspberry Pi.
3. SSH into Raspberry Pi:
In the Terminal window, type the following command, replacing <username> with your Raspberry Pi’s username and <ip_address> with its IP address:
ssh <username>@<ip_address>
Press Enter. You may be prompted to confirm connecting to the Raspberry Pi, type “yes” and press Enter.
Next, you’ll be prompted to enter your Raspberry Pi’s password. Type the password (note that as you type, nothing will be displayed on the screen for security reasons), and press Enter.
You’re now logged into your Raspberry Pi via SSH from your macOS computer! You can now use the Terminal window to execute commands on your Raspberry Pi, just like you would if you were directly connected to it.
SSH Into Raspberry Pi From Linux
SSH into your Raspberry Pi from a Linux computer is similar to SSH from macOS since Linux also comes with a built-in SSH client. Here’s how to do it:
1. Open Terminal:
Launch the Terminal application on your Linux computer. You can typically find it in the applications menu or by searching for “Terminal” in the system’s applications.
2. Find Raspberry Pi’s IP Address:
Use one of the methods mentioned earlier to find the IP address of your Raspberry Pi.
3. SSH into Raspberry Pi:
In the Terminal window, type the following command, replacing <username> with your Raspberry Pi’s username and <ip_address> with its IP address:
ssh <username>@<ip_address>
Press Enter. You may be prompted to confirm connecting to the Raspberry Pi, type “yes” and press Enter.
Next, you’ll be prompted to enter your Raspberry Pi’s password. Type the password (note that as you type, nothing will be displayed on the screen for security reasons), and press Enter.
You’re now logged into your Raspberry Pi via SSH from your Linux computer! You can now use the Terminal window to execute commands on your Raspberry Pi, just like you would if you were directly connected to it.
SSH Into Raspberry Pi From Android
SSH into your Raspberry Pi from an Android device is possible with the help of SSH client apps available on the Google Play Store. Here’s how you can do it:
1. Install an SSH Client App:
Go to the Google Play Store on your Android device.
Search for and install an SSH client app. Some popular options include Termius, JuiceSSH, and ConnectBot.
2. Find Raspberry Pi’s IP Address:
Use one of the methods mentioned earlier to find the IP address of your Raspberry Pi.
3. Open the SSH Client App:
Launch the SSH client app you installed on your Android device.
4. Create a New SSH Connection:
Tap on the option to create a new connection or session within the app.
5. Configure the Connection:
Enter the IP address of your Raspberry Pi in the appropriate field.
Set the port to 22 (the default SSH port).
Enter your Raspberry Pi’s username in the appropriate field.
Optionally, you can give this connection a name to identify it later.
6. Connect to Raspberry Pi:
Once you’ve configured the connection, tap on the connect button or option within the app.
If prompted, confirm connecting to the Raspberry Pi.
Next, you’ll be prompted to enter your Raspberry Pi’s password. Type the password (note that as you type, nothing will be displayed on the screen for security reasons), and tap Enter.
You’re now logged into your Raspberry Pi via SSH from your Android device! You can now use the app’s interface to execute commands on your Raspberry Pi, just like you would if you were directly connected to it.
With an SSH client app on your Android device, you can remotely manage and control your Raspberry Pi from anywhere with an internet connection.
Conclusion
In conclusion, SSH (Secure Shell) serves as a vital tool for remotely accessing and controlling Raspberry Pi devices from various platforms, including Windows, macOS, Linux, and even Android devices. By enabling SSH, users can securely communicate with their Raspberry Pi over a network, facilitating tasks such as system administration, software development, and monitoring without the need for physical access to the device.
Whether using a graphical interface like PuTTY on Windows or leveraging built-in Terminal applications on macOS, Linux, and Android, SSH provides a convenient and secure means of interacting with Raspberry Pi devices. Additionally, the ability to configure SSH settings, such as enabling SSH via the command line or through GUI tools, offers flexibility to users based on their preferences and requirements.
Overall, SSH plays a crucial role in the Raspberry Pi ecosystem, empowering users to harness the full potential of their devices remotely, thereby enhancing productivity, convenience, and security in various computing tasks.
