// Module included in the following assemblies:
//
// * virt/virtual_machines/virt-accessing-vm-ssh.adoc

:_mod-docs-content-type: PROCEDURE
[id="virt-using-virtctl-port-forward-command_{context}"]
= Using the virtctl port-forward command

You can access a running virtual machine (VM) by using a local OpenSSH client and the `virtctl port-forward` command. You can use this method with Ansible to automate the configuration of VMs.

This method is recommended for low-traffic applications because port-forwarding traffic is sent over the control plane. This method is not recommended for high-traffic applications such as Rsync or Remote Desktop Protocol because it places a heavy burden on the API server.

.Prerequisites

* You have OpenSSH installed.
* You installed the `virtctl` command-line tool.
* The environment where you installed `virtctl` has the cluster permissions required to access the VM. For example, you ran `oc login` or you set the `KUBECONFIG` environment variable.

.Procedure

. Add the following text to the `~/.ssh/config` file on your client machine:
+
[source,terminal]
----
Host vm/*
  ProxyCommand virtctl port-forward --stdio=true %h %p
----

. Connect to the VM by running the following command:
+
[source,terminal]
----
$ ssh <user>@vm/<vm_name>.<namespace>
----