feat: focus search bar on startup by default

The search input is now focused when the TUI opens, so filtering works
immediately without an extra keystroke. This is especially helpful with
many hosts.

Removes the now-redundant -s/--search flag and updates the docs.

README.md

@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ SSHM is a beautiful command-line tool that transforms how you manage and connect
 - **⚡ Quick Connect** - Connect to any host instantly through the TUI or the CLI with `sshm <host>`
 - **🔄 Port Forwarding** - Easy setup for Local, Remote, and Dynamic (SOCKS) forwarding with history persistence
 - **📝 Easy Management** - Add, edit, move, and manage SSH configurations seamlessly
-- **🏷️ Tag Support** - Organize your hosts with custom tags for better categorization
+- **🏷️ Tag Support** - Organize your hosts with custom tags for better categorization; use the special `hidden` tag to exclude hosts from the list while keeping them connectable
 - **🔍 Smart Search** - Find hosts quickly with built-in filtering and search
 - **📝 Real-time Status** - Live SSH connectivity indicators with asynchronous ping checks and color-coded status
 - **🔔 Smart Updates** - Automatic version checking with update notifications
@@ -106,8 +106,9 @@ sshm
 - `d` - Delete selected host
 - `m` - Move host to another config file (requires SSH Include directives)
 - `f` - Port forwarding setup
+- `H` - Toggle hidden hosts visibility
 - `q` - Quit
-- `/` - Search/filter hosts
+- `/` - Focus the search bar (already focused at startup; press `Enter` to jump back to the host list)
 
 **Real-time Status Indicators:**
 - 🟢 **Online** - Host is reachable via SSH
@@ -647,7 +648,7 @@ SSHM supports all standard SSH configuration options:
 - `IdentityFile` - Path to private key file
 - `ProxyJump` - Jump server for connection tunneling (e.g., `user@jumphost:port`)
 - `ProxyCommand` - Jump command for connection tunneling (e.g, `ssh -W %h:%p Jumphost`)
-- `Tags` - Custom tags (SSHM extension)
+- `Tags` - Custom tags (SSHM extension); the special tag `hidden` hides the host from the TUI and `sshm search` while keeping it connectable via `sshm <host>`
 
 **Additional SSH Options:**
 You can add any valid SSH option using the "SSH Options" field in the interactive forms. Enter them in command-line format (e.g., `-o Compression=yes -o ServerAliveInterval=60`) and SSHM will automatically convert them to the proper SSH config format.

cmd/root.go

@@ -24,9 +24,6 @@ var configFile string
 // forceTTY forces pseudo-TTY allocation for remote commands
 var forceTTY bool
 
-// searchMode enables the focus on search mode at startup
-var searchMode bool
-
 // noUpdateCheck disables the async update check in the TUI
 var noUpdateCheck bool
 
@@ -75,6 +72,8 @@ Examples:
 			return nil, cobra.ShellCompDirectiveError
 		}
 
+		hosts = config.FilterVisibleHosts(hosts)
+
 		var completions []string
 		toCompleteLower := strings.ToLower(toComplete)
 		for _, host := range hosts {
@@ -143,7 +142,7 @@ func runInteractiveMode() {
 	}
 
 	// Run the interactive TUI
-	if err := ui.RunInteractiveMode(hosts, configFile, searchMode, AppVersion, noUpdateCheck); err != nil {
+	if err := ui.RunInteractiveMode(hosts, configFile, AppVersion, noUpdateCheck); err != nil {
 		log.Fatalf("Error running interactive mode: %v", err)
 	}
 }
@@ -242,7 +241,6 @@ func Execute() {
 func init() {
 	RootCmd.PersistentFlags().StringVarP(&configFile, "config", "c", "", "SSH config file to use (default: ~/.ssh/config)")
 	RootCmd.Flags().BoolVarP(&forceTTY, "tty", "t", false, "Force pseudo-TTY allocation (useful for interactive remote commands)")
-	RootCmd.PersistentFlags().BoolVarP(&searchMode, "search", "s", false, "Focus on search input at startup")
 	RootCmd.PersistentFlags().BoolVar(&noUpdateCheck, "no-update-check", false, "Disable automatic update check")
 
 	RootCmd.SetVersionTemplate("{{.Name}} version {{.Version}}\n")

cmd/search.go

@@ -55,6 +55,9 @@ func runSearch(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
 		os.Exit(1)
 	}
 
+	// Filter out hidden hosts
+	hosts = config.FilterVisibleHosts(hosts)
+
 	// Get search query
 	var query string
 	if len(args) > 0 {

internal/config/ssh.go

@@ -1624,6 +1624,27 @@ func GetAllConfigFiles() ([]string, error) {
 	return files, nil
 }
 
+// FilterVisibleHosts returns only hosts that do not have the "hidden" tag.
+func FilterVisibleHosts(hosts []SSHHost) []SSHHost {
+	var visible []SSHHost
+	for _, h := range hosts {
+		if !hostHasTag(h.Tags, "hidden") {
+			visible = append(visible, h)
+		}
+	}
+	return visible
+}
+
+// hostHasTag reports whether the given tag list contains the target tag (case-insensitive).
+func hostHasTag(tags []string, target string) bool {
+	for _, t := range tags {
+		if strings.EqualFold(t, target) {
+			return true
+		}
+	}
+	return false
+}
+
 // GetAllConfigFilesFromBase returns all SSH config files starting from a specific base config file
 func GetAllConfigFilesFromBase(baseConfigPath string) ([]string, error) {
 	if baseConfigPath == "" {

internal/ui/add_form.go

@@ -438,7 +438,12 @@ func (m *addFormModel) renderGeneralTab() string {
 		b.WriteString(fieldStyle.Render(field.label))
 		b.WriteString("\n")
 		b.WriteString(m.inputs[field.index].View())
-		b.WriteString("\n\n")
+		b.WriteString("\n")
+		if field.index == tagsInput && m.focused == tagsInput {
+			b.WriteString(m.styles.FormHelp.Render(`  tip: use "hidden" to hide this host from the list`))
+			b.WriteString("\n")
+		}
+		b.WriteString("\n")
 	}
 
 	return b.String()

internal/ui/edit_form.go

@@ -599,7 +599,12 @@ func (m *editFormModel) renderEditGeneralTab() string {
 		b.WriteString(fieldStyle.Render(field.label))
 		b.WriteString("\n")
 		b.WriteString(m.inputs[field.index].View())
-		b.WriteString("\n\n")
+		b.WriteString("\n")
+		if field.index == 7 && m.focusArea == focusAreaProperties && m.focused == 7 {
+			b.WriteString(m.styles.FormHelp.Render(`  tip: use "hidden" to hide this host from the list`))
+			b.WriteString("\n")
+		}
+		b.WriteString("\n")
 	}
 
 	return b.String()

internal/ui/help_form.go

@@ -81,6 +81,9 @@ func (m *helpModel) View() string {
 		lipgloss.JoinHorizontal(lipgloss.Left,
 			m.styles.FocusedLabel.Render("p  "),
 			m.styles.HelpText.Render("ping all hosts")),
+		lipgloss.JoinHorizontal(lipgloss.Left,
+			m.styles.FocusedLabel.Render("H  "),
+			m.styles.HelpText.Render("toggle hidden hosts visibility")),
 		lipgloss.JoinHorizontal(lipgloss.Left,
 			m.styles.FocusedLabel.Render("f  "),
 			m.styles.HelpText.Render("setup port forwarding")),

internal/ui/model.go

@@ -70,8 +70,10 @@ func (p PortForwardType) String() string {
 type Model struct {
 	table          table.Model
 	searchInput    textinput.Model
-	hosts          []config.SSHHost
+	allHosts       []config.SSHHost // all parsed hosts, including hidden ones
+	hosts          []config.SSHHost // visible hosts (filtered by showHidden)
 	filteredHosts  []config.SSHHost
+	showHidden     bool // when true, hidden-tagged hosts are shown
 	searchMode     bool
 	deleteMode     bool
 	deleteHost     *config.SSHHost // Host to be deleted (with line number for precise targeting)
@@ -108,6 +110,14 @@ type Model struct {
 	showingError bool
 }
 
+// applyVisibilityFilter returns hosts filtered according to the showHidden flag.
+func (m Model) applyVisibilityFilter(hosts []config.SSHHost) []config.SSHHost {
+	if m.showHidden {
+		return hosts
+	}
+	return config.FilterVisibleHosts(hosts)
+}
+
 // updateTableStyles updates the table header border color based on focus state
 func (m *Model) updateTableStyles() {
 	s := table.DefaultStyles()

internal/ui/tui.go

@@ -15,8 +15,9 @@ import (
 	"github.com/charmbracelet/lipgloss"
 )
 
-// NewModel creates a new TUI model with the given SSH hosts
+// NewModel creates a new TUI model with the given SSH hosts.
-func NewModel(hosts []config.SSHHost, configFile string, searchMode bool, currentVersion string, noUpdateCheck bool) Model {
+// The search input is focused at startup so users can filter hosts right away.
+func NewModel(hosts []config.SSHHost, configFile string, currentVersion string, noUpdateCheck bool) Model {
 	// Load application configuration
 	appConfig, err := config.LoadAppConfig()
 	if err != nil {
@@ -48,7 +49,7 @@ func NewModel(hosts []config.SSHHost, configFile string, searchMode bool, curren
 
 	// Create the model with default sorting by name
 	m := Model{
-		hosts:          hosts,
+		allHosts:       hosts,
 		historyManager: historyManager,
 		pingManager:    pingManager,
 		sortMode:       SortByName,
@@ -60,20 +61,22 @@ func NewModel(hosts []config.SSHHost, configFile string, searchMode bool, curren
 		height:         24,
 		ready:          false,
 		viewMode:       ViewList,
-		searchMode:     searchMode,
+		searchMode:     true,
 	}
 
+	// Apply visibility filter (showHidden is false by default)
+	visibleHosts := m.applyVisibilityFilter(hosts)
+	m.hosts = visibleHosts
+
 	// Sort hosts according to the default sort mode
-	sortedHosts := m.sortHosts(hosts)
+	sortedHosts := m.sortHosts(visibleHosts)
 
 	// Create the search input
 	ti := textinput.New()
 	ti.Placeholder = "Search hosts or tags..."
 	ti.CharLimit = 50
 	ti.Width = 25
-	if searchMode {
+	ti.Focus()
-		ti.Focus()
-	}
 
 	// Use dynamic column width calculation (will fallback to static if width not available)
 	nameWidth, hostnameWidth, tagsWidth, lastLoginWidth := m.calculateDynamicColumnWidths(sortedHosts)
@@ -157,8 +160,8 @@ func NewModel(hosts []config.SSHHost, configFile string, searchMode bool, curren
 }
 
 // RunInteractiveMode starts the interactive TUI interface
-func RunInteractiveMode(hosts []config.SSHHost, configFile string, searchMode bool, currentVersion string, noUpdateCheck bool) error {
+func RunInteractiveMode(hosts []config.SSHHost, configFile string, currentVersion string, noUpdateCheck bool) error {
-	m := NewModel(hosts, configFile, searchMode, currentVersion, noUpdateCheck)
+	m := NewModel(hosts, configFile, currentVersion, noUpdateCheck)
 
 	// Start the application in alt screen mode for clean output
 	p := tea.NewProgram(m, tea.WithAltScreen())

internal/ui/update.go

@@ -187,7 +187,8 @@ func (m Model) Update(msg tea.Msg) (tea.Model, tea.Cmd) {
 			if err != nil {
 				return m, tea.Quit
 			}
-			m.hosts = m.sortHosts(hosts)
+			m.allHosts = hosts
+			m.hosts = m.sortHosts(m.applyVisibilityFilter(hosts))
 
 			// Reapply search filter if there is one active
 			if m.searchInput.Value() != "" {
@@ -231,7 +232,8 @@ func (m Model) Update(msg tea.Msg) (tea.Model, tea.Cmd) {
 			if err != nil {
 				return m, tea.Quit
 			}
-			m.hosts = m.sortHosts(hosts)
+			m.allHosts = hosts
+			m.hosts = m.sortHosts(m.applyVisibilityFilter(hosts))
 
 			// Reapply search filter if there is one active
 			if m.searchInput.Value() != "" {
@@ -276,7 +278,8 @@ func (m Model) Update(msg tea.Msg) (tea.Model, tea.Cmd) {
 			if err != nil {
 				return m, tea.Quit
 			}
-			m.hosts = m.sortHosts(hosts)
+			m.allHosts = hosts
+			m.hosts = m.sortHosts(m.applyVisibilityFilter(hosts))
 
 			// Reapply search filter if there is one active
 			if m.searchInput.Value() != "" {
@@ -535,7 +538,8 @@ func (m Model) handleListViewKeys(msg tea.KeyMsg) (tea.Model, tea.Cmd) {
 				m.table.Focus()
 				return m, nil
 			}
-			m.hosts = m.sortHosts(hosts)
+			m.allHosts = hosts
+			m.hosts = m.sortHosts(m.applyVisibilityFilter(hosts))
 
 			// Reapply search filter if there is one active
 			if m.searchInput.Value() != "" {
@@ -705,6 +709,19 @@ func (m Model) handleListViewKeys(msg tea.KeyMsg) (tea.Model, tea.Cmd) {
 			m.viewMode = ViewHelp
 			return m, nil
 		}
+	case "H":
+		if !m.searchMode && !m.deleteMode {
+			// Toggle visibility of hidden hosts
+			m.showHidden = !m.showHidden
+			m.hosts = m.sortHosts(m.applyVisibilityFilter(m.allHosts))
+			if m.searchInput.Value() != "" {
+				m.filteredHosts = m.filterHosts(m.searchInput.Value())
+			} else {
+				m.filteredHosts = m.hosts
+			}
+			m.updateTableRows()
+			return m, nil
+		}
 	case "s":
 		if !m.searchMode && !m.deleteMode {
 			// Cycle through sort modes (only 2 modes now)

internal/ui/view.go

@@ -86,6 +86,14 @@ func (m Model) renderListView() string {
 		components = append(components, errorStyle.Render("❌ "+m.errorMessage))
 	}
 
+	// Add indicator when hidden hosts are shown
+	if m.showHidden {
+		hiddenBannerStyle := lipgloss.NewStyle().
+			Foreground(lipgloss.Color("11")).
+			Bold(true)
+		components = append(components, hiddenBannerStyle.Render("  [showing hidden hosts — press H to hide]"))
+	}
+
 	// Add the search bar with the appropriate style based on focus
 	searchPrompt := "Search (/ to focus): "
 	if m.searchMode {