# Connect to a Lightsail for Research virtual computer using Secure Shell
You can connect to a virtual computer in Amazon Lightsail for Research using the Secure Shell Protocol (SSH). You can use SSH to manage your virtual computer remotely so that you can sign in to your computer over the internet and run commands.
**Note**
You can also establish a remote display protocol connection to your virtual computer using the browser-based Amazon DCV client. Amazon DCV is available in the Lightsail for Research console. For more information, see [Access your Lightsail for Research virtual computer's operating system](access-computer-operating-system.md).
**Topics**
+ [Complete the prerequisites](#connect-using-ssh-prerequisites)
+ [Connect to a virtual computer using SSH](#connect-virtual-computer-using-ssh)
+ [Continue to the next steps](#connect-using-ssh-next-steps)
## Complete the prerequisites
Complete the following prerequisites before you get started.
+ Create a virtual computer in Lightsail for Research. For more information, see [Create a Lightsail for Research virtual computer](create-computer.md).
+ Make sure the virtual computer that you want to connect to is in a running state. Also, note the name of the virtual computer and the AWS Region in which it was created. You'll need this information later in this process. For more information, see [View Lightsail for Research virtual computer details](view-computer.md).
+ Make sure that port 22 is open on the virtual computer that you want to connect to. That is the default port used for SSH. It's open by default. But if you closed it, you must reopen it before continuing. For more information, see [Manage firewall ports for Lightsail for Research virtual computers](manage-ports.md).
+ Get the Lightsail default key pair (DKP) for your virtual computer. For more information, see [Get a key pair for a virtual computer](get-ssh-keys.md#get-dkp-ssh-keys).
**Tip**
If you plan to use AWS CloudShell to connect to your virtual computer, see [Connect to a virtual computer using AWS CloudShell ](#connect-using-cloudshell) in the next section. For more information, see [What is AWS CloudShell](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cloudshell/latest/userguide/welcome.html). Otherwise, continue to the next prerequisite.
+ Download and install the AWS Command Line Interface (AWS CLI). For more information, see [Installing or updating the latest version of the AWS CLI](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cli/latest/userguide/getting-started-install.html) in the *AWS Command Line Interface User Guide for Version 2*.
+ Configure the AWS CLI to access your AWS account. For more information, see [Configuration basics](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cli/latest/userguide/cli-configure-quickstart.html#cli-configure-quickstart-config) in the *AWS Command Line Interface User Guide for Version 2*.
+ Download and install jq. It's a lightweight and flexible command line JSON processor used in the following procedures to extract key pair details. For more information about downloading and installing jq, see [Download jq](https://stedolan.github.io/jq/download/) on the *jq website*.
## Connect to a virtual computer using SSH
Complete one of the following procedures to establish an SSH connection to your virtual computer in Lightsail for Research.
### Connect to a virtual computer using AWS CloudShell
This procedure applies if you prefer minimal setup to connect to your virtual computer. AWS CloudShell uses a browser-based, pre-authenticated shell that you can launch directly from the AWS Management Console. You can run AWS CLI commands using your preferred shell, such as Bash, PowerShell, or Z shell. You can do this without downloading or installing command line tools. For more information, see [Getting started with AWS CloudShell](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cloudshell/latest/userguide/getting-started.html) in the *AWS CloudShell User Guide*.
**Important**
Before you start, make sure to get the Lightsail default key pair (DKP) for the virtual computer that you're connecting to. For more information, see [Get a key pair for a Lightsail for Research virtual computer](get-ssh-keys.md).
1. From the [Lightsail for Research console](https://lfr.console.aws.amazon.com/ls/research), launch CloudShell by choosing one of the following options:
1. In the Search box, type "CloudShell", and then choose **CloudShell**.
1. On the navigation bar, choose the **CloudShell** icon.
1. Choose **CloudShell** on the Console Toolbar in the lower left of the console.
When the command prompt displays, the shell is ready for interaction.
1. Choose a pre-installed shell to work with. To change the default shell, enter one of the following program names at the command line prompt. Bash is the default shell that's running when you launch AWS CloudShell.
------
#### [ Bash ]
`bash`
If you switch to Bash, the symbol at the command prompt updates to `$`.
------
#### [ PowerShell ]
`pwsh`
If you switch to PowerShell, the symbol at the command prompt updates to `PS>`.
------
#### [ Z shell ]
`zsh`
If you switch to Z shell, the symbol at the command prompt updates to `%`.
------
1. To connect to a virtual computer from the CloudShell terminal window, see [Connect to a virtual computer using SSH on a Linux, Unix, or a macOS local computer](#connect-using-ssh-linux).
For information about the pre-installed software in the CloudShell environment, see [AWS CloudShell compute environment](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cloudshell/latest/userguide/vm-specs.html#pre-installed-software) in the *AWS CloudShell User Guide*.
### Connect to a virtual computer using SSH on a Windows local computer
This procedure applies if your local computer uses a Windows operating system. This procedure uses the `get-instance` AWS CLI command to obtain the username and public IP address of the instance you want to connect to. For more information, see [get-instance](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cli/latest/reference/lightsail/get-instance.html) in the *AWS CLI Command Reference*.
**Important**
Make sure you get the Lightsail default key pair (DKP) for the virtual computer you're trying to connect to before you start this procedure. For more information, see [Get a key pair for a Lightsail for Research virtual computer](get-ssh-keys.md). That procedure outputs the private key of the Lightsail DKP to a `dkp_rsa` file that is used in one of the following commands.
1. Open a Command Prompt window.
1. Enter the following command to display the public IP address and username of your virtual computer. In the command, replace `{{region-code}}` with the code of the AWS Region in which the virtual computer was created, such as `us-east-2`. Replace `{{computer-name}}` with the name of the virtual computer that you want to connect to.
```
aws lightsail get-instance --region {{region-code}} --instance-name {{computer-name}} | jq -r ".instance.username" & aws lightsail get-instance --region {{region-code}} --instance-name {{computer-name}} | jq -r ".instance.publicIpAddress"
```
**Example**
```
aws lightsail get-instance --region {{us-east-2}} --instance-name {{MyJupyterComputer}} | jq -r ".instance.username" & aws lightsail get-instance --region {{us-east-2}} --instance-name {{MyJupyterComputer}} | jq -r ".instance.publicIpAddress"
```
The response will display the username and public IP address of the virtual computer as shown in the following example. Note these values, because you need them in the following step of this procedure.
1. Enter the following command to establish an SSH connection with your virtual computer. In the command, replace `{{user-name}}` with the sign-in in username, and replace `{{public-ip-address}}` with the public IP address of your virtual computer.
```
ssh -i dkp_rsa {{user-name}}@{{public-ip-address}}
```
**Example**
```
ssh -i dkp_rsa {{ubuntu}}@{{192.0.2.0}}
```
You should see a response similar to the following example, which shows an SSH connection established with an Ubuntu virtual computer in Lightsail for Research.
Now that you've successfully established an SSH connection to your virtual computer, continue to the [next section](#connect-using-ssh-next-steps) for additional next steps.
### Connect to a virtual computer using SSH on a Linux, Unix, or a macOS local computer
This procedure applies if your local computer uses a Linux, Unix, or a macOS operating system. This procedure uses the `get-instance` AWS CLI command to obtain the username and public IP address of the instance you want to connect to. For more information, see [get-instance](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cli/latest/reference/lightsail/get-instance.html) in the *AWS CLI Command Reference*.
**Important**
Make sure you get the Lightsail default key pair (DKP) for the virtual computer you're trying to connect to before you start this procedure. For more information, see [Get a key pair for a Lightsail for Research virtual computer](get-ssh-keys.md). That procedure outputs the private key of the Lightsail DKP to a `dkp_rsa` file that is used in one of the following commands.
1. Open a Terminal window.
1. Enter the following command to display the public IP address and username of your virtual computer. In the command, replace `{{region-code}}` with the code of the AWS Region in which the virtual computer was created, such as `us-east-2`. Replace `{{computer-name}}` with the name of the virtual computer that you want to connect to.
```
aws lightsail get-instance --region {{region-code}} --instance-name {{computer-name}} | jq -r '.instance.username' && aws lightsail get-instance --region {{region-code}} --instance-name {{computer-name}} | jq -r '.instance.publicIpAddress'
```
**Example**
```
aws lightsail get-instance --region {{us-east-2}} --instance-name {{MyJupyterComputer}} | jq -r '.instance.username' && aws lightsail get-instance --region {{us-east-2}} --instance-name {{MyJupyterComputer}} | jq -r '.instance.publicIpAddress'
```
The response will display the username and public IP address of the virtual computer as shown in the following example. Note these values, because you need them in the following step of this procedure.
1. Enter the following command to establish an SSH connection with your virtual computer. In the command, replace `{{user-name}}` with the sign-in username, and replace `{{public-ip-address}}` with the public IP address of your virtual computer.
```
ssh -i dkp_rsa {{user-name}}@{{public-ip-address}}
```
**Example**
```
ssh -i dkp_rsa {{ubuntu}}@{{192.0.2.0}}
```
You should see a response similar to the following example, which shows an SSH connection established with an Ubuntu virtual computer in Lightsail for Research.
Now that you've successfully established an SSH connection to your virtual computer, continue to the [next section](#connect-using-ssh-next-steps) for additional next steps.
## Continue to the next steps
You can complete the following additional next steps after you've successfully established an SSH connection to your virtual computer:
+ Connect to your virtual computer using SCP to securely transfer files. For more information, see [Transfer files to Lightsail for Research virtual computers using Secure Copy](connect-using-scp.md).