How can I close SSH tunnel gracefully?

I have open tunnel with

ssh -2 -N -L 5001:localhost:1019 [email protected]

The tunnel is working good, but I have to Ctrl+C or Ctrl+D to force quit the tunnel. How can I close the tunnel gracefully?

Solution 1:

SSH has a escape sequence to reset the connection, it will probably work for what you want. Press enter, then ~., yes it's enter tilde-dot.

It also works when you have a hanged SSH connection (like a connection that timed out but didn't close), just press enter (I have an habit to press it more than once) and the tilde-dot sequence to close it.

Some useful ones:

• ~? will show you all the escape sequences available
• ~^Z that's control+Z will suspend your SSH session (you can get it back with fg)

Solution 2:

Close whatever is connected with the other side through the ssh connection first.