Elastic Compute Service:configure the settings of Alibaba Cloud Client

Configure system settings

The system settings of Alibaba Cloud Client include general settings (such as the language and color theme), service settings, hotkey settings, file settings, terminal settings, SSH settings, RDP settings, and update settings. System settings take effect immediately after they are configured.

This section describes how to configure terminal settings and SSH settings.

Configure terminal settings

1. In the upper-left corner of the Alibaba Cloud Client homepage, click the icon and then click the icon.

2. In the left-side navigation pane, click Terminal.

3. Configure the Font Size, Font Family, and Export Credentials parameters.

   The Export Credentials parameter specifies whether to add the information of the current account to environment variables. Valid values:

   • Always: automatically adds the information of the current account to environment variables.

   • Ask Me (default): asks whether to add the information of the current account to environment variables when an on-premises terminal is opened. For more information, see the Use an on-premises terminal section in this topic.

   • Never: does not add the information of the current account to environment variables. If you select Never, you cannot use command-line tools (such as Alibaba Cloud CLI and Terraform) with the information of the current account.

Configure SSH settings

1. In the upper-left corner of the Alibaba Cloud Client homepage, click the icon and then click the icon.

2. In the left-side navigation pane, click SSH.

3. Configure the parameters that are described in the following table.

   Parameter	Description
   Default Username	Enter a default username to use to connect to instances. Default value: root.
   Default Port Num	Enter a default port number to use to connect to instances. Default value: 22.
   Save Password to	If you set Certifier to Password when you connect to instances, you can configure this parameter to save instance passwords to reduce password maintenance costs. If you set this parameter to No, instance passwords are not saved. If you set this parameter to Local File, instance passwords are saved to a file on your computer. If you set this parameter to KMS, instance passwords are saved to Key Management Service (KMS). Note If you set this parameter to Local File, instance passwords are saved to the ~/.aliyun/secrets.json file on your computer by default.
   Key Files Directory	If you set Certifier to KeyPair when you connect to instances, key files are saved to the ~/.ssh/ directory on your computer by default.
   Allow connect to Windows	Turn on this switch to allow SSH or SFTP connections to Windows instances. By default, the switch is turned off. Note Before you turn on the switch, you must run the OpenSSH program on your Windows instance. For more information, see Get started with OpenSSH for Windows.
   Check Security Group	Turn on this switch to check the security group settings of instances before you connect to the instances. By default, the switch is turned on.
   Auto Login	Turn on this switch to skip the automatic login dialog box if passwords or keys are saved. By default, the switch is turned on.

Use an on-premises terminal

You can use Alibaba Cloud Client to open a terminal on your computer. You can optionally export the information of the current account to environment variables for command-line tools such as Alibaba Cloud CLI and Terraform to use.

1. In the upper-left corner of the Alibaba Cloud Client homepage, click the icon.

2. Select a region and the account whose information to export to environment variables and click OK.