Good list of useful configuration options. I'd also like to add the "Compression yes" option that you can add on a per-host basis, and this could save some byt

Good list of useful configuration options. I'd also like to add the "Compression yes" option that you can add on a per-host basis, and this could save some bytes sent over the wire. To see how much it saved, invoke with verbose ("ssh -v"), and it outputs the number of bytes saved after the session ends. Another config option that has saved me a lot of time is the "ProxyCommand" option that lets you specify a command, whose stdin is used as a pipe to talk to a remote server. So, something like: Host inside ProxyCommand ssh gateway nc inside 22 Would allow you to just type "ssh inside" and ssh to a machine behind a gateway, without ssh-ing twice!