How to Log in Using SSH and Essential Linux Commands for Daily Management

SSH lets you type commands straight into your hosting account: find what is filling your disk, read an error log, pack a site into one file or move hundreds of files in a second. This guide shows how to log in to Domain India hosting with SSH, then the everyday Linux commands that are safe and useful inside a shared hosting account, with a clear warning about the one that can hurt you.

1. Before you log in

You need three things:

The full walkthrough, including PuTTY, is in enabling and accessing jailed SSH.

2. Log in

Open Terminal (macOS, Linux) or PowerShell or Windows Terminal (Windows 10 and 11) and run:

ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519 -p 22 [email protected]

Use your server IP instead of the domain if the domain does not point to Domain India yet. The port is always 22 on our shared servers.

• First connection: SSH shows the server's key fingerprint and asks "Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no)?". Type yes. Your computer remembers the server from then on.
• Passphrase: if your key has one, SSH asks for it. Nothing appears as you type; that is normal.
• "REMOTE HOST IDENTIFICATION HAS CHANGED": this appears if the server behind that name has changed, for example after a move to a new server. Check with support that a change was expected, then remove the old entry with ssh-keygen -R yourdomain.com and connect again. Do not ignore this warning without checking.

To leave, type exit.

3. What a jailed shell means for your commands

On Domain India shared hosting you log in to a jailed (restricted) shell. You see your own home folder and websites, and nothing of other customers. That changes which commands make sense:

Beyond the basics below, tools available inside the jailed shell vary; ask support if you need a specific one. Git is available on our cPanel servers (measured 23 September 2026).

4. Find your way around

pwd                 # where am I?
ls -la              # list everything here, including hidden files like .htaccess
ls -lh              # sizes in KB, MB, GB
cd public_html      # go into a folder (cPanel: your main website)
cd ~/domains/yourdomain.com/public_html   # DirectAdmin: your website folder
cd ..               # up one level
cd ~                # back to your home folder

Press Tab to complete a file or folder name and the Up arrow to repeat an earlier command.

5. Read files and logs

cat .htaccess                 # print a short file
less wp-config.php            # page through a long file (q to quit, / to search)
tail -n 50 error_log          # last 50 lines of a PHP error log
tail -f error_log             # watch new lines arrive (Ctrl+C to stop)
grep -i "fatal" error_log     # only the lines that mention "fatal"

PHP error logs usually sit as error_log in the folder where the error happened. See reviewing error logs in cPanel and DirectAdmin for where each panel keeps its logs.

6. Copy, move and delete safely

cp index.php index.php.bak          # copy a file before you edit it
cp -r public_html public_html-copy  # copy a whole folder
mv old-name.php new-name.php        # rename or move
mkdir uploads-archive               # make a folder
rm unwanted-file.txt                # delete one file
rm -ri old-folder                   # delete a folder, asking about each item

7. Disk space, archives and permissions

What is using my space?

du -sh ~/* | sort -h                          # size of each folder in your home
du -sh ~/public_html/* | sort -h | tail -n 10 # the 10 largest items in your site
find ~ -type f -size +100M -exec ls -lh {} \; # files larger than 100 MB

Pack and unpack:

tar -czf ~/site-backup.tar.gz public_html     # pack a folder into one file
tar -tzf ~/site-backup.tar.gz | head          # peek inside without unpacking
tar -xzf site-backup.tar.gz                   # unpack here

Keep backup archives outside public_html, or anyone could download them from your website. To see your disk usage against your plan, read how to check resource usage.

Permissions: for most websites, files should be 644 and folders 755.

chmod 644 wp-config.php
chmod 755 uploads
find public_html -type d -exec chmod 755 {} \;   # all folders
find public_html -type f -exec chmod 644 {} \;   # all files

Never use 777: it lets any process write to the file. A wrong permission is a common cause of 403 Forbidden and 500 errors.

8. Your own processes

ps ux            # processes running under your account
kill 12345       # stop one of your processes by its number (PID)

Anything you run from SSH counts towards your account's resource limits, like your website does, and a heavy command can slow your own site. See understanding hosting resource limits. On our cPanel servers, PHP on the command line has the same disabled functions as your website; see PHP disabled functions on shared hosting.

9. Where Domain India fits

Jailed SSH is available on request on every cPanel, DirectAdmin and Webuzo plan, for the daily jobs above. Prices on the card are live and exclude 18% GST.

Commands such as sudo, apt install and adduser belong on a server of your own. For root access, package installs and your own firewall, choose a VPS.

Ready to start? Ask support to enable SSH by opening a ticket or on live chat, create your SSH key, and find your login details in My Hosting.