How to Enable the SSH Server on Your Mac

Want to code on your Mac from your phone? With Codeusse’s SSH support and macOS’s built-in SSH server, you can connect to your Mac from anywhere on your local network and work with your full development environment. Here’s how to set it up.

What You’ll Need

A Mac running macOS Ventura (13) or later
Your Mac and your mobile device connected to the same Wi-Fi network
Codeusse installed on your phone or tablet

macOS has a built-in SSH server — Apple calls it Remote Login. You just need to turn it on.

Open System Settings and navigate to General → Sharing. You can get there quickly by clicking this link from your Mac:

Open Sharing Settings

Or, open Terminal and run:

open "x-apple.systempreferences:com.apple.Sharing-Settings.extension"

Find Remote Login in the sharing services list and toggle it on. macOS will start the SSH server immediately.

System Settings showing the General > Sharing pane with sharing services listed — the Remote Login row is highlighted

A Note on Full Disk Access

macOS protects certain folders — including Documents, Downloads, and Desktop — even over SSH. If your projects live in one of these directories, you may see “Operation not permitted” errors when trying to access them.

To fix this, you need to grant Full Disk Access to the SSH server process:

System Settings showing the General > Sharing pane with sharing services listed — the Remote Login details icon is highlighted

Then toggle “Allow full disk access for remote users” on:

System Settings showing the Remote Login details menu — the "full disk access" switched on is highlighted

Finally, click “Done” to save the changes.

Step 3: Note Your Username

You’ll need your macOS username to connect via SSH. If you’re not sure what it is, open Terminal and run:

whoami

This prints your short username — the one you’ll use to log in. For example, if the output is alex, your SSH login will be alex@<your-ip>.

Step 4: Find Your Mac’s Local IP Address

To connect from Codeusse, you need your Mac’s IP address on the local network. There are a few ways to find it.

Option A: From System Settings

Navigate to Wi-Fi in System Settings (or click the link below):

Open Wi-Fi Settings

Click Details… next to your connected network. Your IP address will be listed under TCP/IP — it typically looks like 192.168.x.x or 10.0.x.x.

Wi-Fi Details window showing current network and the Details button highlighted

Then,

Wi-Fi Details window showing the TCP/IP section with the IP Address field highlighted

Option B: From Terminal

Run one of these commands:

ipconfig getifaddr en0

This returns your Wi-Fi IP address directly. If you’re using Ethernet, try en1 instead, or use this command to list all active interfaces:

ifconfig | grep "inet " | grep -v 127.0.0.1

Write down or memorize this IP address — you’ll need it in the next step.

Tip: Local IP addresses can change if your router assigns them dynamically (DHCP). If your Mac’s IP changes frequently, consider assigning it a static IP or a DHCP reservation in your router’s settings.

Step 5: Connect from Codeusse

Open Codeusse on your phone or tablet and create a new SSH connection with these details:

Host: Your Mac’s IP address (e.g. 192.168.1.42)
Port: 22 (the default)
Username: Your macOS username from Step 3
Authentication: Password (your current Mac password, not Apple ID password)

Codeusse SSH connection screen with host, port, and username fields filled in

Tap Save. Then, tap the newly created connection to enjoy your work setup in your palm.

iOS will ask for Local Network access. The first time you connect, iOS will show a prompt asking whether Codeusse can access devices on your local network. Tap Allow — this permission is required for Codeusse to reach your Mac directly over Wi-Fi. Without it, the connection will fail.

You now have an active session on your Mac. Run builds, manage Git repos, use your favorite CLI tools — all from your phone.

Troubleshooting

”Connection refused” error

Double-check that Remote Login is turned on in System Settings.
Make sure both devices are on the same Wi-Fi network.
Verify the IP address hasn’t changed since you looked it up.

”Connection timed out” error

Your Mac’s firewall might be blocking SSH. Go to System Settings → Network → Firewall and ensure that incoming connections to the SSH service are allowed. When Remote Login is enabled, macOS typically adds a firewall exception automatically, but it’s worth verifying.

Open Firewall Settings

”Permission denied” error

Verify that your username and password are correct.
If you restricted Remote Login to specific users, make sure your account is in the allowed list.

What’s Next?

Once you’re connected over SSH, you can:

Edit files directly on your Mac using Codeusse’s editor
Run development servers and access them from your mobile browser
Use Git to push and pull code
Set up SSH keys so you don’t have to type your password each time

Have questions or ran into an issue? Drop by our Reddit community — we’re happy to help.