diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 2f0a635..848c93b 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [project]
 name = "nexusai"
-version = "0.5.28"
+version = "0.5.29"
 description = "Add your description here"
 readme = "README.md"
 requires-python = ">=3.9"
diff --git a/src/nexus/cli/config.py b/src/nexus/cli/config.py
index d6ab0d8..3a1e327 100644
--- a/src/nexus/cli/config.py
+++ b/src/nexus/cli/config.py
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ class TargetConfig(pyd.BaseModel):
     host: str
     port: int = pyd.Field(default=54323)
     ssh_user: str
+    ssh_port: int = pyd.Field(default=22)
 
 
 REQUIRED_ENV_VARS = {
diff --git a/src/nexus/cli/setup.py b/src/nexus/cli/setup.py
index d6073fd..14cb58d 100644
--- a/src/nexus/cli/setup.py
+++ b/src/nexus/cli/setup.py
@@ -305,7 +305,7 @@ def open_jobrc_editor() -> None:
     utils.open_file_in_editor(jobrc_path)
 
 
-def _test_ssh_connection(host: str, ssh_user: str) -> bool:
+def _test_ssh_connection(host: str, ssh_user: str, ssh_port: int = 22) -> bool:
     import subprocess
 
     print(colored("\nTesting SSH connection...", "cyan"))
@@ -313,6 +313,8 @@ def _test_ssh_connection(host: str, ssh_user: str) -> bool:
         result = subprocess.run(
             [
                 "ssh",
+                "-p",
+                str(ssh_port),
                 "-o",
                 "ConnectTimeout=10",
                 "-o",
@@ -397,19 +399,21 @@ def add_target() -> None:
             return
 
     host = utils.get_user_input("Remote server address (hostname or IP)", required=True)
-    port = int(utils.get_user_input("Remote server port", default="54323"))
+    ssh_port = int(utils.get_user_input("SSH port", default="22"))
     ssh_user = utils.get_user_input("SSH username", default=os.environ.get("USER", ""))
+    port = int(utils.get_user_input("Remote server port", default="54323"))
 
     print(colored("\nValidating connection...", "cyan", attrs=["bold"]))
 
-    if not _test_ssh_connection(host, ssh_user):
+    if not _test_ssh_connection(host, ssh_user, ssh_port):
         print(colored("\n✗ SSH connection failed", "red"))
         print(colored("\nTo fix:", "yellow"))
         print(colored(f"  1. Ensure your SSH key is in ~/.ssh/authorized_keys on {host}", "yellow"))
-        print(colored(f"  2. Test manually: ssh {ssh_user}@{host} echo ok", "yellow"))
+        port_flag = f"-p {ssh_port} " if ssh_port != 22 else ""
+        print(colored(f"  2. Test manually: ssh {port_flag}{ssh_user}@{host} echo ok", "yellow"))
         return
 
-    target_cfg = config.TargetConfig(host=host, port=port, ssh_user=ssh_user)
+    target_cfg = config.TargetConfig(host=host, port=port, ssh_user=ssh_user, ssh_port=ssh_port)
     cfg.targets[target_name] = target_cfg
     config.save_config(cfg)
 
diff --git a/src/nexus/cli/tunnel_manager.py b/src/nexus/cli/tunnel_manager.py
index 6703832..17964ee 100644
--- a/src/nexus/cli/tunnel_manager.py
+++ b/src/nexus/cli/tunnel_manager.py
@@ -156,6 +156,8 @@ def _start_control_master(target_name: str, target_cfg: config.TargetConfig) ->
             "-S",
             str(socket_path),
             "-fN",
+            "-p",
+            str(target_cfg.ssh_port),
             "-L",
             f"{local_port}:127.0.0.1:{target_cfg.port}",
             "-o",
@@ -184,10 +186,11 @@ def _start_control_master(target_name: str, target_cfg: config.TargetConfig) ->
                 time.sleep(0.1)
                 last_error = SSHTunnelError(f"Port {local_port} already in use, retrying...")
                 continue
+            port_flag = f"-p {target_cfg.ssh_port}" if target_cfg.ssh_port != 22 else ""
             raise SSHTunnelError(
                 f"Failed to start SSH tunnel\n"
                 f"Error: {error_msg}\n"
-                f"Hint: Verify SSH access with: ssh {target_cfg.ssh_user}@{target_cfg.host} echo ok"
+                f"Hint: Verify SSH access with: ssh {port_flag} {target_cfg.ssh_user}@{target_cfg.host} echo ok".strip()
             )
 
         if not _wait_for_tunnel(local_port, timeout=10.0):
diff --git a/uv.lock b/uv.lock
index 0ec63d7..73575db 100644
--- a/uv.lock
+++ b/uv.lock
@@ -852,7 +852,7 @@ wheels = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "nexusai"
-version = "0.5.28"
+version = "0.5.29"
 source = { editable = "." }
 dependencies = [
     { name = "aiohttp" },