SSH Terminal Manager

A modern, feature-rich Electron desktop application for managing SSH connections with built-in terminal and SFTP capabilities. Built with React, TypeScript, and real SSH/SFTP functionality powered by ssh2 and xterm.js.

🚀 Features

SSH Terminal

• Real SSH Connections: Connect to any SSH server with password or key-based authentication
• Interactive Terminal: Full-featured terminal powered by xterm.js
• Multiple Sessions: Manage multiple SSH connections simultaneously
• Session History: Track and reconnect to previously used servers

SFTP File Browser

• Remote File System: Browse directories and files on remote servers
• File Operations:
  • Upload files from your local machine
  • Download files with native save dialogs
  • Navigate directory structures
  • View file permissions and metadata
• Transfer Progress: Real-time upload/download progress tracking

Connection Management

• Host Profiles: Save and organize SSH connection configurations
• Quick Search: Find hosts by name, hostname, username, or tags
• Tag-based Organization: Categorize hosts with custom tags
• Visual Status Indicators: See active connections at a glance

Security

• Local Credential Storage: All SSH credentials stored locally with encryption
• Context Isolation: Electron security best practices enforced
• No External Transmission: Sensitive data never leaves your machine

🛠️ Technology Stack

• Desktop Framework: Electron 28
• Frontend: React 18 with TypeScript
• Terminal: xterm.js with FitAddon
• SSH/SFTP: ssh2 (Node.js SSH2 client)
• UI Components: shadcn/ui with Tailwind CSS
• Build Tool: Vite + electron-builder
• IPC Communication: Secure context-isolated preload scripts

📦 Installation

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18 or higher
• npm or yarn package manager
• Git

Quick Start

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/pxlcrtiv/ssh-manager.git
cd ssh-manager

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Run in development mode
npm run electron

Build for Production

# Build the application
npm run build

# Package for your platform
npm run electron:build

This will create distributable packages in the release/ directory:

• macOS: .dmg and .zip files
• Windows: .exe installer and portable .exe
• Linux: .AppImage and .deb packages

🎯 Usage

Adding SSH Hosts

1. Click "Add Host" in the connections page
2. Enter connection details:
   • Name: Friendly name for the host
   • Hostname: IP address or domain
   • Port: SSH port (default: 22)
   • Username: SSH username
   • Authentication: Password or private key
3. Add optional tags and description
4. Save the profile

Connecting via Terminal

1. Select a host from your saved connections
2. Click "Open Terminal"
3. Enter password/passphrase if prompted
4. Use the terminal like any SSH client:
   • Run commands (ls, cd, vim, etc.)
   • Interactive programs (top, htop, nano)
   • Long-running processes

Using SFTP Browser

1. Select a host and click "Browse Files"
2. Navigate the remote file system
3. Upload files: Click "Upload" and select local files
4. Download files: Click download icon, choose save location
5. View file details (permissions, size, modified date)

🔒 Security Features

Implemented Security

• ✅ Context Isolation: Electron's contextIsolation: true
• ✅ No Node Integration: nodeIntegration: false in renderer
• ✅ Secure IPC: All communication through validated channels
• ✅ Local Encryption: Sensitive data encrypted locally
• ✅ No External APIs: All operations happen locally

Best Practices

• Use SSH keys instead of passwords when possible
• Keep your SSH keys secure and password-protected
• Regularly update the application for security patches
• Review saved hosts and remove unused connections

📦 Distribution

Automated Builds (CI/CD)

The project includes GitHub Actions workflows for automated builds:

• On every commit: Run tests and build verification
• On tagged release (e.g., v1.0.0): Build installers for:
  • macOS (.dmg, .zip)
  • Windows (.exe installer, portable)
  • Linux (.AppImage, .deb)

To create a release:

git tag v1.0.0
git push origin v1.0.0

Installers will be automatically built and attached to the GitHub Release.

Manual Building

# Build for current platform
npm run electron:build

# Build for specific platform (requires platform tools)
npm run electron:build -- --mac
npm run electron:build -- --win
npm run electron:build -- --linux

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please follow these steps:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch: git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature
3. Make your changes
4. Run tests: npm run build (verify compilation)
5. Commit: git commit -m 'Add amazing feature'
6. Push: git push origin feature/amazing-feature
7. Open a Pull Request

Development Guidelines

• Follow TypeScript best practices
• Test SSH/SFTP features with real servers
• Update documentation for new features
• Ensure builds pass on all platforms

📝 Testing

See TESTING.md for comprehensive testing instructions.

Quick Test Checklist

• SSH connection to real server works
• Terminal commands execute correctly
• SFTP browser displays remote files
• File upload completes successfully
• File download with save dialog works
• Application builds without errors

🐛 Known Issues

1. Download Progress: File downloads don't show real-time progress (downloads happen instantly for small files)
2. Host Key Verification: First-time SSH connections may require manual host key acceptance

📚 Documentation

• TESTING.md: Comprehensive testing guide
• EVALUATION.md: Project evaluation and feature status
• GitHub Wiki: Extended documentation and guides

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Electron: Cross-platform desktop framework
• ssh2: Pure JavaScript SSH2 client
• xterm.js: Terminal emulator for the web
• shadcn/ui: Re-usable component library
• Tailwind CSS: Utility-first CSS framework
• Vite: Next generation frontend tooling

📞 Support

• Issues: GitHub Issues
• Discussions: GitHub Discussions
• Email: Support via GitHub only

📝 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

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Made with ❤️ for the SSH community