SSH MANAGER (SSHMAN)

SSHMAN is a modern, interactive TUI (Terminal User Interface) SSH connection manager built with Node.js. It simplifies managing multiple SSH sessions with a sleek, user-friendly interface and robust CLI commands.

⚠️ Security Notice: SSHMAN shells out to your system's native ssh binary and manages your real ~/.ssh/config, so connections go through OpenSSH's own host-key verification and config handling. It has not been independently security-audited. Do not treat it as a hardened or compliant SSH client — use it at your own risk.

Key Features

• Interactive TUI Dashboard: A good terminal experience with intuitive navigation.
• Connection Management: Save, edit, and categorize your SSH connections for quick access.
• Quick Reconnect: Jump back into your last session with a single command.
• Interactive Logs: Browse and search through your connection history with real-time filtering.
• Global Search: Quickly find the server you need from your saved connections.
• Encrypted Configuration: Your connection details are stored encrypted at rest (see Configuration Security).
• Import/Export: Easily share or backup your server configurations, always password-protected.
• Built-in Manual: Accessible interactive help documentation within the app.

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Quick Start

Installation

Install SSHMAN globally using your preferred package manager:

Package Manager	Command
Yarn	yarn global add @eightshone/sshman
NPM	npm install -g @eightshone/sshman
PNPM	pnpm add -g @eightshone/sshman
Bun	bun add -g @eightshone/sshman

Usage

Interactive Mode

Simply run sshman to enter the interactive TUI dashboard.

sshman

Command Line Interface

SSHMAN also provides a powerful set of CLI commands for direct access:

• Connect to a new server:

  sshman connect username@hostname[:port] [--save [name]]

  Example: sshman connect root@1.2.3.4:22 -s my-server

• Quick Reconnect:

  sshman reconnect

  Connects to the last server you accessed.

• Connect to a saved server:

  sshman connect server-name

• Search for a server:

  sshman search <terms> [--fuzzy]

• Logs:

  sshman logs [-i] [-s <search terms>]

  Use -i for the interactive TUI logs browser.

• Export/Import Configs:

  sshman export [servers...] [-a] [-n <filename>] [-p <password>]
  sshman import <config-file> [-f] [-p <password>]

  Export files are always encrypted: pass -p <password> or you'll be prompted for one. Import requires that same password and refuses unencrypted files.

• Goodbye:

  sshman goodbye

  Prints a random farewell message. Mostly here for fun.

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Configuration Security

Sshman stores connection metadata in two places: host/port/username/privateKey live directly in your real ~/.ssh/config (in a marked section sshman manages, exactly like any other Host entry you'd write by hand), and config.json only holds bookkeeping (id, name, usePassword). Saved passwords are never written to disk in either file — they're stored in your OS keychain (via @napi-rs/keyring). Export files are the one place secrets leave the keychain: they're always encrypted with AES-256-GCM under a password you choose (sshman export -p <password>), and import refuses unencrypted files.

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Troubleshooting

• Debug mode:

  sshman debug enable   # turn on advanced troubleshooting output
  sshman debug disable
  sshman debug status

• Check for updates:

  sshman check-updates

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Development

Setup

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone git@github.com:eightshone/ssh-man.git

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install # or yarn install / pnpm install

Scripts

• npm run dev: Start the project in development mode using tsx.
• npm run build: Compile TypeScript to dist/.
• npm run typecheck: Type-check the project without emitting output.
• npm test: Run the test suite (Node's built-in test runner via tsx).

A Husky pre-commit hook runs typecheck and test before every commit.

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License: MIT Author: EIGHTSH ONE