7.6. Summary

SSH clients can be configured with environment variables, command-line options, and keywords in configuration files. Command-line options have the highest precedence, followed by your local client configuration file, and finally the global client configuration file.

Client configuration files consist of sections, and multiple sections can apply to a single invocation. If the same keyword is set multiple times, the earliest value is the winner.

When experimenting with client configuration, remember verbose mode. If you experience unusual SSH behavior, your first instinct should be to add the -v option and run the client again, watching the debug output for clues.

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