SSH & Remote Administration

Stop wasting time on multiple SSH jumps

🧩 The Challenge

Dealing with a multi-hop bastion setup is a nightmare when you’re manually chaining SSH commands just to reach a database server deep in a private subnet. I’ve spent way too much time copy-pasting connection strings and managing tunnels manually.

💡 The Fix

You can actually tell your local SSH client to hop through the gateway automatically using a single directive in your config file. It makes those hidden servers feel like they’re sitting right on your local network.

Host internal-server
ProxyJump user@bastion-host
HostName 10.0.5.20
User appuser

⚙️ Why It Works

Setting ProxyJump forces your local client to establish a tunnel through the gateway before attempting the final connection. It handles the authentication and port forwarding entirely under the hood so your local session never sees the intermediate hop.

🚀 Pro-Tip: Add your bastion host to your SSH agent first so you don’t have to type your password twice every time you log in.

Linux Tips & Tricks | © ngelinux.com | 10/4/2026