Sometimes when I SSH into a remote server, I find that the backspace key doesn’t work properly at all. This is really annoying.

To fix this, you can try running export TERM=vt100 or export TERM=xterm. This works because you’re telling the remote system what type of terminal (emulator) you’re using, and consequently what control sequences it should expect for various keystrokes.

Specifically, my system (Kitty on macOS) sends 0x7F, when some systems might be expecting 0x08.

Running that export snippet is one solution, but you have to remember to do it each time depending on the server you’re connecting to, remember the value, etc. etc.

Instead, add it to your ~/.ssh/config file:

Host whatever-alias
    user your-username
    Hostname server.ip.address.here
    SendEnv TERM
    SetEnv TERM=xterm

Ta-da, no more remembering.

Caveat that your results may vary, etc.