# Option to Enable SSH by default

**URL:** <https://discuss.circleci.com/t/option-to-enable-ssh-by-default/53049>\
**Category:** Running Tests\
**Tags:** debugging, ssh\
**Created:** [April 3, 2025, 7:39pm UTC](https://discuss.circleci.com/t/option-to-enable-ssh-by-default/53049 "2025-04-03T19:39:38Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![kbruccoleri](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/circleci/user_avatar/discuss.circleci.com/kbruccoleri/32/33146_2.png) [@kbruccoleri](https://discuss.circleci.com/u/kbruccoleri)\
**Post date:** [April 3, 2025, 7:39pm UTC](https://discuss.circleci.com/t/option-to-enable-ssh-by-default/53049/1 "2025-04-03T19:39:38Z")

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My organization’s default workflow runs a lot of containers of tests. Retrying with SSH can be a costly process, since it spins up 150 of containers that remain idle while I SSH into just one.

I want to make a manual SSH “sandbox” that sets up my application and stops short of running any tests or other checks to prevent unnecessary work.

I have this workflow, but I have to manually trigger it and then either cancel and rerun with SSH, or wait til it completes and rerun with SSH.

CTA: Can there be an ability to enable SSH access by default on a job within a workflow?

Thanks!

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**Author:** ![sebastian-lerner](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/circleci/user_avatar/discuss.circleci.com/sebastian-lerner/32/27833_2.png) [@sebastian-lerner](https://discuss.circleci.com/u/sebastian-lerner)\
**Post date:** [April 3, 2025, 8:43pm UTC](https://discuss.circleci.com/t/option-to-enable-ssh-by-default/53049/2 "2025-04-03T20:43:36Z")

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> [@kbruccoleri](#):
>
> runs a lot of containers of tests. Retrying with SSH can be a costly process, since it spins up 15

could you set up a separate configuration file that only sets up the app that you trigger thru the UI? and then re-run that via SSH? [Set up multiple configuration files for a project - CircleCI](https://circleci.com/docs/set-up-multiple-configuration-files-for-a-project/)

there is no current way to enable SSH for jobs on the first run unfortunately.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![kbruccoleri](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/circleci/user_avatar/discuss.circleci.com/kbruccoleri/32/33146_2.png) [@kbruccoleri](https://discuss.circleci.com/u/kbruccoleri)\
**Post date:** [April 3, 2025, 9:31pm UTC](https://discuss.circleci.com/t/option-to-enable-ssh-by-default/53049/3 "2025-04-03T21:31:31Z")

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Thanks for the response.

Yep, that is exactly what I ended up doing - it’s being working great so far, as long as I trigger the SSH afterwards.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![sebastian-lerner](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/circleci/user_avatar/discuss.circleci.com/sebastian-lerner/32/27833_2.png) [@sebastian-lerner](https://discuss.circleci.com/u/sebastian-lerner)\
**Post date:** [April 4, 2025, 3:56pm UTC](https://discuss.circleci.com/t/option-to-enable-ssh-by-default/53049/4 "2025-04-04T15:56:48Z")

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Cool, sounds good. let me know if you run into any issues going forward with that functionality