How To Create SSH Aliases on Mac to Connect to Your Hostinger VPS

Description

If you connect to your Hostinger VPS from the Mac terminal, you may be typing a long SSH command every time:

ssh root@123.456.789.000

Or, if you use an SSH key, maybe something even longer:

ssh -i ~/.ssh/my_key root@123.456.789.000

That works, but it gets old fast.

In this tutorial, you will create an SSH config file on your Mac so you can connect to your VPS with a short alias instead:

ssh myvps

No extra tools. No shell scripting. No .zshrc edits. Just the built-in SSH config file that macOS already knows how to use.

What You Will Build

By the end, you will have:

• An SSH config file at ~/.ssh/config
• A short SSH alias for your Hostinger VPS
• Your VPS IP address, username, and private key path saved in one place
• A faster command for connecting from Terminal, iTerm2, Warp, or any other Mac terminal app
• A reusable pattern for adding more VPS connections later

Why This Matters

The more often you work on a VPS, the more annoying long SSH commands become.

An SSH alias gives you one memorable shortcut. Instead of remembering the IP address, username, port, and private key path, you save those details once in ~/.ssh/config.

Then you connect with:

ssh myvps

If your VPS IP address changes later, you update one config file. The alias stays the same.

This is one of those developer workflow tricks that has been around forever, but beginner VPS tutorials often skip it. Once you set it up, it feels obvious.

Before You Start

You will need:

• A Mac
• Terminal access
• A Hostinger VPS or any server you connect to with SSH
• Your VPS IP address
• Your SSH username, usually root on a default Hostinger VPS
• Your private SSH key path, if you use SSH keys

If you do not use SSH keys yet, you can still create an alias with only Host, HostName, and User. But if you already have SSH keys set up, adding IdentityFile makes the alias more reliable.

The Important File: ~/.ssh/config

The SSH config file is a plain text file on your Mac.

It lives here:

~/.ssh/config

That path means:

• ~ is your Mac user home folder
• .ssh is the hidden SSH folder
• config is the file where SSH shortcuts live

This is not your .zshrc file. This is not your .bashrc file. You do not need to edit your shell settings.

For this tutorial, the only file we care about is:

~/.ssh/config

Step 1: Check Your .ssh Folder

Open Terminal on your Mac and run:

ls ~/.ssh/

This shows the files inside your SSH folder.

If you see a file named config, great. You already have the file and can add a new host block to it.

If you do not see config, that is fine. You will create it in the next step.

If the .ssh folder does not exist, create it:

mkdir -p ~/.ssh

What success looks like: your Mac has a ~/.ssh/ folder, and you are ready to open or create the config file.

Step 2: Open Or Create The SSH Config File

Open the config file with nano:

nano ~/.ssh/config

If the file already exists, nano opens it.

If the file does not exist, nano creates a new blank file.

You can use another plain text editor if you prefer, such as VS Code, Cursor, Zed, or BBEdit. Just make sure the file is named exactly:

config

Do not save it as config.txt.

Step 3: Add Your First SSH Alias

Add a host block like this:

Host myvps
  HostName 123.456.789.000
  User root
  IdentityFile ~/.ssh/your_key_name

Replace the placeholder values with your real VPS details.

Line	What It Does
Host myvps	The short alias you will type in Terminal
HostName 123.456.789.000	Your VPS IP address or domain name
User root	The SSH username for your VPS
IdentityFile ~/.ssh/your_key_name	The private SSH key your Mac should use

The alias can be almost anything that makes sense to you:

Host hostinger-vps
  HostName 123.456.789.000
  User root
  IdentityFile ~/.ssh/hostinger_vps

Then your connection command becomes:

ssh hostinger-vps

What success looks like: your config file has one Host block with your alias, VPS IP address, username, and private key path.

Step 4: Add More VPS Aliases

You can add more than one host block to the same config file.

For example:

Host myvps
  HostName 123.456.789.000
  User root
  IdentityFile ~/.ssh/your_key_name

Host stagingvps
  HostName 98.765.432.100
  User ubuntu
  IdentityFile ~/.ssh/staging_key

Each Host block is separate.

That means you can have different aliases for different servers:

• ssh myvps
• ssh stagingvps
• ssh production-vps
• ssh client-vps

This is where the config file becomes really useful. The connection details stay organized in one place, and your daily commands stay short.

Step 5: Save And Exit Nano

If you are using nano:

1. Press Control + O to save
2. Press Enter to confirm the filename
3. Press Control + X to exit

After you exit, you will be back at the regular terminal prompt.

Step 6: Set The Correct File Permissions

SSH is picky about file permissions.

Run:

chmod 600 ~/.ssh/config

This makes the config file readable and writable only by your Mac user.

You can also make sure the .ssh folder itself has the right permissions:

chmod 700 ~/.ssh

Do not skip this if SSH complains about permissions. A config file with loose permissions can cause confusing errors.

What success looks like: SSH accepts the config file without warning about bad permissions.

Step 7: Test Your SSH Alias

Now connect using the alias:

ssh myvps

Or, if you used a different alias:

ssh hostinger-vps

If this is your first time connecting to that server from this Mac, SSH may ask you to confirm the server fingerprint. Type:

yes

If everything is set up correctly, you will connect to your Hostinger VPS without typing the IP address, username, or key path.

What success looks like: ssh myvps connects to the same VPS as your old long SSH command.

Troubleshooting

Problem	Likely Cause	Fix
ssh myvps says the host cannot be resolved	The Host alias does not match what you typed	Check the exact alias after Host in ~/.ssh/config
SSH still asks for a password	The wrong key is being used or no key is configured	Check the IdentityFile path and confirm the key exists in ~/.ssh/
SSH says permissions are too open	The config file or .ssh folder permissions are too loose	Run chmod 600 ~/.ssh/config and chmod 700 ~/.ssh
The connection goes to the wrong server	The HostName value is wrong	Replace HostName with the correct VPS IP address
The alias works in one terminal app but not another	The terminal app may be using a different user or environment	Confirm both apps are running as the same Mac user
Nano created an empty file	You opened the file but did not save before exiting	Reopen nano ~/.ssh/config, add the host block, then save with Control + O

Commands Reference

Check your SSH folder:

ls ~/.ssh/

Create the SSH folder if needed:

mkdir -p ~/.ssh

Open or create the SSH config file:

nano ~/.ssh/config

Set config file permissions:

chmod 600 ~/.ssh/config

Set .ssh folder permissions:

chmod 700 ~/.ssh

Connect with your alias:

ssh myvps

Complete SSH Config Example

Here is a clean starter config for two VPS connections:

Host myvps
  HostName 123.456.789.000
  User root
  IdentityFile ~/.ssh/your_key_name

Host stagingvps
  HostName 98.765.432.100
  User ubuntu
  IdentityFile ~/.ssh/staging_key

After saving that file, you can connect with:

ssh myvps
ssh stagingvps

What This Unlocks Next

SSH aliases make VPS work feel a lot less clunky.

Instead of remembering long commands, IP addresses, usernames, and key paths, you give each server a short name and let your Mac handle the details.

That means:

• No more memorizing VPS IP addresses
• No more typing private key paths every time
• Multiple servers organized in one config file
• Faster terminal workflow when working with Hostinger VPS, Docker, Claude Code, or any other remote server setup

Once you have it set up, connecting to your VPS is as simple as:

ssh myvps

Watch The Video

Watch the full walkthrough here:

https://youtu.be/wknMMBZRHag