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SSH managers on Linux? (lemmy.sdf.org)
submitted 10 hours ago* (last edited 9 hours ago) by plumbercraic@lemmy.sdf.org to c/linux@lemmy.ml
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Curious what folks are using to organise their remote connections? I liked WinSSHTerm and have tried replacing it with Remote Desktop Manager, but it seems a bit broken (fonts look terrible in a terminal, sftp doesn't work, RDP sort of works, but it's not great).

RDP is not a must. Folders, ssh, key auth, sftp and scp are the main things I'm looking for. Currently considering Remmina but though I would check if ppl have strong views on this topic before trying the next app.

I'm using cinnamon with mint 22.

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[–] just_another_person@lemmy.world 12 points 10 hours ago (2 children)

ssh config? Not sure what you're looking for. Like a list of preconfigured connections?

[–] plumbercraic@lemmy.sdf.org 1 points 9 hours ago (4 children)

A graphical interface to store and sort the remote connections. I have 20+ remote systems I need to maintain and apps like this provide tabbed experience like a browser to connect to them.

[–] just_another_person@lemmy.world 9 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

If you're dead set on a GUI for this, I guess you'd be in the minority which is why you're probably not finding a lot out there.

I think Remmina does this though, and it's solid as an RDP client otherwise.

[–] plumbercraic@lemmy.sdf.org 0 points 9 hours ago (2 children)

Yeah seems like Remmina is it. Termius looks nice but the price doesn't make sense.

Surprising that not many Linux sysadmins want a central console with folders for SSH, file copy and remote desktop connections.

[–] just_another_person@lemmy.world 7 points 7 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago) (1 children)

As everyone keeps saying...it's just not a thing that actual sysadmins or fluent users need. Using ssh configs is essentially the same thing that you're looking for, but you're just typing alias hostnames instead of clicking on them. Otherwise absolutely no difference. Not many people are connecting by IP address or anything like that.

[–] plumbercraic@lemmy.sdf.org 1 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

It absolutely isn't the same, but I appreciate learning that this is how many linux admins manage their connections.

[–] Nibodhika@lemmy.world 1 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

Why do you think it's not? What feature would a GUI have that's not trivial in a terminal?

[–] plumbercraic@lemmy.sdf.org 0 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

I've explained this at length?

Single app with unified hierarchy for all systems sorted by work, home, client, prod, staging. Within each you can choose to use SSH or VNC or RDP or SFTP or scp. When copying files there's a side by side GUI so you can browse easily. I have done this using various apps in windows for 20 years and couldn't imagine tracking all those servers/routers/devices without a central console.

It is obviously not the same as manually making all these connections and using different apps for each of them and backing them up with git.

[–] jerkface@lemmy.ca 1 points 5 hours ago

It is obviously not the same as manually making all these connections and using different apps for each of them and backing them up with git.

I mean, that's the whole unix philosophy. Rather than one big monolithic app, we use dozens of tiny ones that can all be scripted and work together. I think I'd just use an org-mode file to create the sort of centralized UI you're describing.

[–] Badabinski@kbin.earth 9 points 8 hours ago

I've yet to find anything more efficient than opening my shell and typing ssh or scp. Remote desktop is irrelevant to me because none of the systems I administrate will ever have a GUI.

EDIT: tab auto completion also makes things far, far smoother.

[–] FauxLiving@lemmy.world 1 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

I have 20+ remote systems I need to maintain and apps like this provide tabbed experience like a browser to connect to them.

I've found that if you're using ssh then taking your hands off the keyboard to grab a mouse just to click a different tab is slow and annoying.

I use a terminal multiplexer, tmux, and just keep different sessions open for each server that I need to connect to.

leader = CTRL+b (you can change this but this is the default)

leader s - Open session manager
leader c - Open new window in the session
leader 0-9 - Swap to Window 0-9
leader % - Split screen vertically
leader left/right arrow, move between split screens
leader z - full screen the active screen
leader d - disconnect from the tmux session
etc

tmux -a to re-connect to the tmux session

There's a ton of hotkeys and plugins that can handle essentially anything you'd like to do. Once you learn the few hotkeys (print a cheatsheet and force yourself to use the hotkeys).

[–] plumbercraic@lemmy.sdf.org 2 points 5 hours ago

Tmux is awesome. We've somehow fallen into using screen at work, I think just old habits. So yes, on the other side of the ssh connections there's usually a series of screen sessions for us to join. Should try to move onto tmux - it is nicer.

[–] ignoble_stigmas@sh.itjust.works 3 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

You can have multiple ssh config files, with includes, to keep the configurations structured and organized, and not one long dump file, then use any gui terminal app that supports tabs. And tab+auto complete hostnames from the said configs. Some apps also support something like multiple profiles, so you can put there your ssh command, if you want some gui lists. I follow this approach and it is very portable, as the only thing I need to care about are my config files.

[–] plumbercraic@lemmy.sdf.org 1 points 9 hours ago

I dunno. The folders keep things sorted between work and home. And within work each client. And within there the prod and staging systems are separated. I guess I could make separate scripts for each host but that's kind of what I want the manager for. Also not sure how this covers the right click, copy files workflow of scp or sftp.

[–] A_norny_mousse@feddit.org 1 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

Both: ssh config AND your fancy gui. Because most secondary and tertiary apps recognize the ssh config aliases. I know first hand Gigolo does.

Or your file manager: enter sth like sftp://user@host_alias/home/user - after success, create a bookmark.

[–] plumbercraic@lemmy.sdf.org 1 points 7 hours ago

I think I'm starting to see this workflow. I can use git to manage the files, then use bitwarden secrets for the keys if I want them backed up too. And once all the shortcuts are setup it can be made portable by syncing to another place with syncthing. Have to setup each link for each host with each app separately.

Still think it seems like manually managing bookmarks using vim and storing them outside of the web browser.