🚀 SSHM - SSH Manager

A modern, interactive SSH Manager for your terminal 🔥

SSHM is a beautiful command-line tool that transforms how you manage and connect to your SSH hosts. Built with Go and featuring an intuitive TUI interface, it makes SSH connection management effortless and enjoyable.

🖱️ Click on the image to view in full size

✨ Features

🎯 Core Features

• 🎨 Beautiful TUI Interface - Navigate your SSH hosts with an elegant, interactive terminal UI
• ⚡ Quick Connect - Connect to any host instantly
• 🔄 Port Forwarding - Easy setup for Local, Remote, and Dynamic (SOCKS) forwarding
• 📝Easy Management - Add, edit, and manage SSH configurations seamlessly
• 🏷️ Tag Support - Organize your hosts with custom tags for better categorization
• 🔍 Smart Search - Find hosts quickly with built-in filtering and search
• 🔒 Secure - Works directly with your existing ~/.ssh/config file
• 📁 Custom Config Support - Use any SSH configuration file with the -c flag
• ⚙️ SSH Options Support - Add any SSH configuration option through intuitive forms
• 🔄 Automatic Conversion - Seamlessly converts between command-line and config formats

🛠️ Management Operations

• Add new SSH hosts with interactive forms
• Edit existing configurations in-place
• Delete hosts with confirmation prompts
• Port forwarding setup with intuitive interface for Local (-L), Remote (-R), and Dynamic (-D) forwarding
• Backup configurations automatically before changes
• Validate settings to prevent configuration errors
• ProxyJump support for secure connection tunneling through bastion hosts
• SSH Options management - Add any SSH option with automatic format conversion
• Full SSH compatibility - Maintains compatibility with standard SSH tools

🎮 User Experience

• Zero configuration - Works out of the box with your existing SSH setup
• Keyboard shortcuts for power users
• Cross-platform - Supports Linux, macOS (Intel & Apple Silicon), and Windows
• Lightweight - Single binary with no dependencies

🚀 Quick Start

Installation

Unix/Linux/macOS (One-line install):

curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Gu1llaum-3/sshm/main/install/unix.sh | bash

Windows (PowerShell):

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Gu1llaum-3/sshm/main/install/windows.ps1 | iex

Alternative methods:

Linux/macOS:

# Download specific release
wget https://github.com/Gu1llaum-3/sshm/releases/latest/download/sshm-linux-amd64.tar.gz

# Extract and install
tar -xzf sshm-linux-amd64.tar.gz
sudo mv sshm-linux-amd64 /usr/local/bin/sshm

Windows:

# Download and extract
Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://github.com/Gu1llaum-3/sshm/releases/latest/download/sshm-windows-amd64.zip" -OutFile "sshm-windows-amd64.zip"
Expand-Archive sshm-windows-amd64.zip -DestinationPath C:\tools\
# Add C:\tools to your PATH environment variable

📖 Usage

Interactive Mode

Launch SSHM without arguments to enter the beautiful TUI interface:

sshm

Navigation:

• ↑/↓ or j/k - Navigate hosts
• Enter - Connect to selected host
• a - Add new host
• e - Edit selected host
• d - Delete selected host
• f - Port forwarding setup
• q - Quit
• / - Search/filter hosts

Sorting & Filtering:

• s - Switch between sorting modes (name ↔ last login)
• n - Sort by name (alphabetical)
• r - Sort by recent (last login time)
• Tab - Cycle between filtering modes
• Filter by name (default) - Search through host names
• Filter by last login - Sort and filter by most recently used connections

The interactive forms will guide you through configuration:

• Hostname/IP - Server address
• Username - SSH user
• Port - SSH port (default: 22)
• Identity File - Private key path
• ProxyJump - Jump server for connection tunneling
• SSH Options - Additional SSH options in -o format (e.g., -o Compression=yes -o ServerAliveInterval=60)
• Tags - Comma-separated tags for organization

Port Forwarding

SSHM provides an intuitive interface for setting up SSH port forwarding. Press f while selecting a host to open the port forwarding setup:

Forward Types:

• Local (-L) - Forward a local port to a remote host/port through the SSH connection

  • Example: Access a remote database on localhost:5432 via local port 15432
  • Use case: ssh -L 15432:localhost:5432 server → Database accessible on localhost:15432

• Remote (-R) - Forward a remote port back to a local host/port

  • Example: Expose local web server on remote host's port 8080
  • Use case: ssh -R 8080:localhost:3000 server → Local app accessible from remote host's port 8080
  • ⚠️ Requirements for external access:
    • SSH Server Config: Add GatewayPorts yes to /etc/ssh/sshd_config and restart SSH service
    • Firewall: Open the remote port in the server's firewall (ufw allow 8080 or equivalent)
    • Port Availability: Ensure the remote port is not already in use
    • Bind Address: Use 0.0.0.0 for external access, 127.0.0.1 for local-only

• Dynamic (-D) - Create a SOCKS proxy for secure browsing

  • Example: Route web traffic through the SSH connection
  • Use case: ssh -D 1080 server → Configure browser to use localhost:1080 as SOCKS proxy
  • ⚠️ Configuration requirements:
    • Browser Setup: Configure SOCKS v5 proxy in browser settings
    • DNS: Enable "Proxy DNS when using SOCKS v5" for full privacy
    • Applications: Only SOCKS-aware applications will use the proxy
    • Bind Address: Use 127.0.0.1 for security (local access only)

Port Forwarding Interface:

• Choose forward type with ←/→ arrow keys
• Configure ports and addresses with guided forms
• Optional bind address configuration (defaults to 127.0.0.1)
• Real-time validation of port numbers and addresses
• Connect automatically with configured forwarding options

Troubleshooting Port Forwarding:

Remote Forwarding Issues:

# Error: "remote port forwarding failed for listen port X"
# Solutions:
1. Check if port is already in use: ssh server "netstat -tln | grep :X"
2. Use a different port that's available
3. Enable GatewayPorts in SSH config for external access

SSH Server Configuration for Remote Forwarding:

# Edit SSH daemon config on the server:
sudo nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config

# Add or uncomment:
GatewayPorts yes

# Restart SSH service:
sudo systemctl restart sshd  # Ubuntu/Debian/CentOS 7+
# OR
sudo service ssh restart     # Older systems

Firewall Configuration:

# Ubuntu/Debian (UFW):
sudo ufw allow [port_number]

# CentOS/RHEL/Rocky (firewalld):
sudo firewall-cmd --add-port=[port_number]/tcp --permanent
sudo firewall-cmd --reload

# Check if port is accessible:
telnet [server_ip] [port_number]

Dynamic Forwarding (SOCKS) Browser Setup:

Firefox: about:preferences → Network Settings
- Manual proxy configuration
- SOCKS Host: localhost, Port: [your_port]
- SOCKS v5: ✓
- Proxy DNS when using SOCKS v5: ✓

Chrome: Launch with proxy
chrome --proxy-server="socks5://localhost:[your_port]"

CLI Usage

SSHM provides both command-line operations and an interactive TUI interface:

# Launch interactive TUI mode for browsing and connecting to hosts
sshm

# Launch TUI with custom SSH config file
sshm -c /path/to/custom/ssh_config

# Add a new host using interactive form
sshm add

# Add a new host with pre-filled hostname
sshm add hostname

# Add a new host with custom SSH config file
sshm add hostname -c /path/to/custom/ssh_config

# Edit an existing host configuration
sshm edit my-server

# Edit host with custom SSH config file
sshm edit my-server -c /path/to/custom/ssh_config

# Show version information
sshm --version

# Show help and available commands
sshm --help

Configuration File Options

By default, SSHM uses the standard SSH configuration file at ~/.ssh/config. You can specify a different configuration file using the -c flag:

# Use custom config file in TUI mode
sshm -c /path/to/custom/ssh_config

# Use custom config file with commands
sshm add hostname -c /path/to/custom/ssh_config
sshm edit hostname -c /path/to/custom/ssh_config

Platform-Specific Notes

Windows:

• SSHM works with the built-in OpenSSH client (Windows 10/11)
• Configuration file location: %USERPROFILE%\.ssh\config
• Compatible with WSL SSH configurations
• Supports the same SSH options as Unix systems

Unix/Linux/macOS:

• Standard SSH configuration file: ~/.ssh/config
• Full compatibility with OpenSSH features
• Preserves file permissions automatically

🏗️ Configuration

SSHM works directly with your standard SSH configuration file (~/.ssh/config). It adds special comment tags for enhanced functionality while maintaining full compatibility with standard SSH tools.

Example configuration:

# Tags: production, web, frontend
Host web-prod-01
    HostName 192.168.1.10
    User deploy
    Port 22
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/production_key
    Compression yes
    ServerAliveInterval 60

# Tags: development, database
Host db-dev
    HostName dev-db.company.com
    User admin
    Port 2222
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/dev_key
    StrictHostKeyChecking no
    UserKnownHostsFile /dev/null

# Tags: production, backend
Host backend-prod
    HostName 10.0.1.50
    User app
    Port 22
    ProxyJump bastion.company.com
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/production_key
    Compression yes
    ServerAliveInterval 300
    BatchMode yes

Supported SSH Options

SSHM supports all standard SSH configuration options:

Built-in Fields:

• HostName - Server hostname or IP address
• User - Username for SSH connection
• Port - SSH port number
• IdentityFile - Path to private key file
• ProxyJump - Jump server for connection tunneling (e.g., user@jumphost:port)
• Tags - Custom tags (SSHM extension)

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.

Common SSH Options:

• Compression - Enable/disable compression (yes/no)
• ServerAliveInterval - Interval in seconds for keepalive messages
• ServerAliveCountMax - Maximum number of keepalive messages
• StrictHostKeyChecking - Host key verification (yes/no/ask)
• UserKnownHostsFile - Path to known hosts file
• BatchMode - Disable interactive prompts (yes/no)
• ConnectTimeout - Connection timeout in seconds
• ControlMaster - Connection multiplexing (yes/no/auto)
• ControlPath - Path for control socket
• ControlPersist - Keep connection alive duration
• ForwardAgent - Forward SSH agent (yes/no)
• LocalForward - Local port forwarding (e.g., 8080:localhost:80)
• RemoteForward - Remote port forwarding
• DynamicForward - SOCKS proxy port forwarding

Example usage in forms:

SSH Options: -o Compression=yes -o ServerAliveInterval=60 -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no

This will be automatically converted to:

    Compression yes
    ServerAliveInterval 60
    StrictHostKeyChecking no

🛠️ Development

Prerequisites

• Go 1.23+
• Git

Build from Source

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/Gu1llaum-3/sshm.git
cd sshm

# Build the binary
go build -o sshm .

# Run
./sshm

Project Structure

sshm/
├── main.go             # Application entry point
├── cmd/                # CLI commands (Cobra)
│   ├── root.go         # Root command and interactive mode
│   ├── add.go          # Add host command
│   ├── edit.go         # Edit host command
│   └── search.go       # Search command
├── internal/
│   ├── config/         # SSH configuration management
│   │   └── ssh.go      # Config parsing and manipulation
│   ├── history/        # Connection history tracking
│   │   └── history.go  # History management and last login tracking
│   ├── ui/             # Terminal UI components (Bubble Tea)
│   │   ├── tui.go      # Main TUI interface and program setup
│   │   ├── model.go    # Core TUI model and state
│   │   ├── update.go   # Message handling and state updates
│   │   ├── view.go     # UI rendering and layout
│   │   ├── table.go    # Host list table component
│   │   ├── add_form.go # Add host form interface
│   │   ├── edit_form.go# Edit host form interface
│   │   ├── styles.go   # Lip Gloss styling definitions
│   │   ├── sort.go     # Sorting and filtering logic
│   │   └── utils.go    # UI utility functions
│   └── validation/     # Input validation
│       └── ssh.go      # SSH config validation
├── images/             # Documentation assets
│   ├── logo.png        # Project logo
│   └── sshm.gif        # Demo animation
├── install/            # Installation scripts
│   ├── unix.sh         # Unix/Linux/macOS installer
│   └── README.md       # Installation guide
├── .github/            # GitHub configuration
│   ├── copilot-instructions.md # Development guidelines
│   └── workflows/      # CI/CD pipelines
│       └── build.yml   # Multi-platform builds
├── go.mod              # Go module definition
├── go.sum              # Go module checksums
├── LICENSE             # MIT license
└── README.md           # Project documentation

Dependencies

• Cobra - CLI framework
• Bubble Tea - TUI framework
• Bubbles - TUI components
• Lipgloss - Styling

📦 Releases

Automated releases are built for multiple platforms:

Platform	Architecture	Download
Linux	AMD64	sshm-linux-amd64.tar.gz
Linux	ARM64	sshm-linux-arm64.tar.gz
macOS	Intel	sshm-darwin-amd64.tar.gz
macOS	Apple Silicon	sshm-darwin-arm64.tar.gz
Windows	AMD64	sshm-windows-amd64.zip
Windows	ARM64	sshm-windows-arm64.zip

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request. For major changes, please open an issue first to discuss what you would like to change.

Development Workflow

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open a Pull Request

📝 License

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

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Charm for the amazing TUI libraries
• Cobra for the excellent CLI framework
• The Go community for building such fantastic tools

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Made with ❤️ by Guillaume

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