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SSH access enables remote terminal sessions, SCP/SFTP file transfers, and integration with tools that expect SSH connectivity.

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Quickstart

1

Build the SSH template

Define a template with OpenSSH server and websocat:
// template.ts
import { Template, waitForPort } from 'e2b'

export const template = Template()
  .fromUbuntuImage('25.04')
  .aptInstall(['openssh-server'])
  .runCmd([
    'curl -fsSL -o /usr/local/bin/websocat https://github.com/vi/websocat/releases/latest/download/websocat.x86_64-unknown-linux-musl',
    'chmod a+x /usr/local/bin/websocat',
  ], { user: 'root' })
  .setStartCmd('sudo websocat -b --exit-on-eof ws-l:0.0.0.0:8081 tcp:127.0.0.1:22', waitForPort(8081))
Build the template:
// build.ts
import { Template, defaultBuildLogger } from 'e2b'
import { template as sshTemplate } from './template'

await Template.build(sshTemplate, 'ssh-ready', {
  cpuCount: 2,
  memoryMB: 2048,
  onBuildLogs: defaultBuildLogger(),
})
2

Create a sandbox from the template

import { Sandbox } from 'e2b'

const sbx = await Sandbox.create('ssh-ready')
console.log(sbx.sandboxId)
3

Connect from your machine

# Install websocat
brew install websocat

# Connect to your sandbox
ssh -o 'ProxyCommand=websocat --binary -B 65536 - wss://8081-%h.e2b.app' user@<sandbox-id>

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How it works

This method uses websocat to proxy SSH connections over WebSocket through the sandbox’s exposed ports. 
┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Your Machine                                             │
│  ┌──────────┐    ProxyCommand    ┌──────────────────┐     │
│  │   SSH    │ ────────────────── │    websocat      │     │
│  │  Client  │                    │   (WebSocket)    │     │
│  └──────────┘                    └─────────┬────────┘     │
└────────────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────┘
                                             │
                         wss://8081-<sandbox-id>.e2b.app
                                             │
┌────────────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────┐
│  E2B Sandbox                               ▼              │
│                                  ┌──────────────────┐     │
│                                  │    websocat      │     │
│                                  │  (WS → TCP:22)   │     │
│                                  └─────────┬────────┘     │
│                                            │              │
│                                  ┌─────────▼────────┐     │
│                                  │   SSH Server     │     │
│                                  │   (OpenSSH)      │     │
│                                  └──────────────────┘     │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘