It would be misleading if A doesn't know that the real target is C. Otherwise you can use jump functionality From A: ssh -J B C If B doesn't need to be

It would be misleading if A doesn't know that the real target is C. Otherwise you can use jump functionality From A: ssh -J B C If B doesn't need to be part of the path, just connect to C directly if it's doable. If it's not, then B will have to be a hop either way.