SSH Connection Manager

A cross-platform command-line tool for managing and connecting to multiple SSH servers with one-click access. Store your SSH credentials securely and connect to your servers instantly - similar to Remmina but for the terminal.

✨ Features

• 🚀 One-click SSH connections - Connect to servers by name or number
• 🔐 Secure password storage - Uses system keychains (macOS Keychain, GNOME Keyring) or AES-256 encryption
• 🔑 SSH key support - Works with both password and key-based authentication
• 🌍 Cross-platform - Works on macOS, Linux, and Windows (WSL/Git Bash)
• 📝 Easy management - Add, edit, list, and delete connections with simple commands
• 💾 Auto-detection - Automatically detects your OS and uses the best security method

🎬 Quick Start

One-Line Install

macOS / Linux:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Niyiojeyinka/ssh-connection-manager/main/install.sh | bash

Or manual installation:

curl -o ~/.local/bin/sshm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Niyiojeyinka/ssh-connection-manager/main/sshm.sh
chmod +x ~/.local/bin/sshm

Usage

# Add your first connection
sshm add

# List all connections
sshm list

# Connect by number
sshm 1

# Connect by name
sshm production

# Update a password
sshm update-password

# Remove a connection
sshm delete

📋 Requirements

All Platforms

• bash 4.0 or higher
• sshpass (for password authentication)
• openssl (recommended for encryption)

Installation Commands

macOS:

brew install hudochenkov/sshpass/sshpass

Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo apt-get install sshpass openssl libsecret-tools

CentOS/RHEL/Fedora:

sudo dnf install sshpass openssl  # Fedora
sudo yum install sshpass openssl  # CentOS/RHEL

Windows (WSL):

sudo apt-get install sshpass openssl

🔧 Installation

Method 1: Quick Install (Recommended)

# Download and run the installer
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Niyiojeyinka/ssh-connection-manager/main/install.sh | bash

This will:

• Download the script to ~/.local/bin/sshm
• Make it executable
• Add to your PATH if needed
• Check for dependencies

Method 2: Manual Install

1. Download the script:

curl -o sshm.sh https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Niyiojeyinka/ssh-connection-manager/main/sshm.sh
chmod +x sshm.sh

2. Move to a directory in your PATH:

# Option A: System-wide (requires sudo)
sudo mv sshm.sh /usr/local/bin/sshm

# Option B: User-only
mkdir -p ~/.local/bin
mv sshm.sh ~/.local/bin/sshm

3. Add to PATH (if using ~/.local/bin):

Add this to your ~/.bashrc, ~/.zshrc, or ~/.bash_profile:

export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"

Then reload:

source ~/.bashrc  # or ~/.zshrc

Method 3: Clone Repository

git clone https://github.com/Niyiojeyinka/ssh-connection-manager.git
cd ssh-connection-manager
chmod +x sshm.sh

# Create symlink
sudo ln -s "$(pwd)/sshm.sh" /usr/local/bin/sshm

📖 Usage Guide

Adding a Connection

$ sshm add

Connection name: my-server
Username: root
Hostname/IP: 192.168.1.100
Port [22]: 22

Authentication method:
1) SSH Key
2) Password
Select (1 or 2): 2

Password: ********
Confirm password: ********
Password stored securely ✓
Description: Production Server

Connection 'my-server' added successfully!

Listing Connections

$ sshm list

=== Available SSH Connections ===
Platform: macos

 1) my-server      root@192.168.1.100:22 [pwd] - Production Server
 2) staging        ubuntu@192.168.1.101:22 [key] - Staging Server
 3) backup         admin@192.168.1.102:2222 [pwd] - Backup Server

Connecting to a Server

# By number
$ sshm 1
Connecting to: my-server (root@192.168.1.100:22)
# Logs you in automatically!

# By name
$ sshm my-server

# Interactive selection
$ sshm connect

Managing Connections

# Edit configuration file
sshm edit

# Update a password
sshm update-password

# Delete a connection
sshm delete

# View help
sshm help

🔒 Security

Password storage varies by platform for maximum security:

Platform	Storage Method	Security Level
macOS	Keychain	System-level encryption
Linux (GNOME)	GNOME Keyring	System-level encryption
Linux (other)	Encrypted file	AES-256-CBC with PBKDF2
Windows (WSL)	Encrypted file	AES-256-CBC with PBKDF2

Security Best Practices

1. Use SSH keys when possible - More secure than passwords
2. Strong passwords - Use unique, complex passwords for each server
3. File permissions - Config files are automatically set to 600 (user-only)
4. Regular updates - Keep your system and SSH client updated

🗂️ Configuration

Configuration is stored in ~/.ssh/ssh_connections.conf:

# Format: NAME|USER|HOST|PORT|AUTH_TYPE|KEY_FILE|DESCRIPTION
production|root|192.168.1.100|22|password||Production Server
staging|ubuntu|192.168.1.101|22|key|~/.ssh/id_rsa|Staging Server

You can manually edit this file with:

sshm edit

🗑️ Uninstallation

# Complete cleanup
sshm uninstall

# Then remove the script
sudo rm /usr/local/bin/sshm
# or
rm ~/.local/bin/sshm

This will remove:

• Configuration file
• All stored passwords
• Encrypted password files
• Backup files

🐛 Troubleshooting

sshpass not found

# macOS
brew install hudochenkov/sshpass/sshpass

# Linux
sudo apt-get install sshpass

Connection fails with "Password not found"

# Re-add the password
sshm update-password

Permission denied errors

# Fix config file permissions
chmod 600 ~/.ssh/ssh_connections.conf
chmod 600 ~/.ssh/ssh_passwords.enc  # if exists

Can't find sshm command

# Make sure it's in your PATH
which sshm

# If not found, add to PATH
export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

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

📝 License

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

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Inspired by Remmina remote desktop client
• Built with claude

📞 Support

If you encounter any issues or have questions:

1. Check the Troubleshooting section
2. Search existing Issues
3. Open a new issue with:
   • Your OS and version
   • Steps to reproduce
   • Error messages

🗺️ Roadmap

• GUI wrapper (optional)
• Import from Remmina configuration
• Connection groups/categories
• Batch operations
• Connection health checks
• Session logging
• Port forwarding support
• SFTP integration

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Made with ❤️ with claude