Question

How to keep my SSH connections open?

I have a dedicated server with … another web host. I can log in using SSH, start up a vim or two, fool around, rapid prototype, etc., then come back the next day (or week) and that SSH connection is still open, and my dev environment is still there.

With DO, a SSH connection to my Droplet closes after about 2-3 hours, and certainly won’t last over night.

Is there a setting somewhere to keep SSH connections open?

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Mouhsen Ibrahim • May 22, 2017
Accepted Answer

@jedihawk On one hand you can configure your client to keep the connection alive by sending keep alive packets every few seconds, to do this add this line to your ~/.ssh/config file:

Host *
ServerAliveInterval 240

Now your client will send a keep alive packet in all your ssh connections every 240 seconds, make sure the config file has the following permissions 600.

On the other hand you can use tmux which keeps your session alive and enables you to go back for it even after the ssh connection is closed.

Hope this helps.