Documentation

Everything you need to know to get connected and make Simple SSH your own.

1. Getting started

Simple SSH runs on Windows 10 and 11. It's a small, native desktop app — no runtimes or extra dependencies to install.

1. Download the installer (free) from GitHub Releases.
2. Run the installer (or the standalone .exe - no installation required).
3. Launch Simple SSH, enter a host, username, and authentication method, and click Connect.

That's it — your session opens in a new tab.

2. Connecting to a host

The connect form asks for:

• Host — hostname or IP address
• Port — defaults to 22
• Username — the account to log in as
• Authentication — password, private key, or SSH agent (see below)

Host-key verification

The first time you connect to a host, Simple SSH shows the server's public key with its SHA-256 fingerprint and asks whether to trust it (trust-on-first-use). Compare the fingerprint with one obtained through a trusted channel before accepting.

If a known host's key ever changes, you'll get a prominent warning — this can indicate a server reinstall, but also a man-in-the-middle attack. Don't accept a changed key unless you know why it changed.

3. Authentication

Password

Enter your password in the connect form. After a successful connection you can choose to save it - it's stored encrypted in Windows Credential Manager, never in plaintext on disk.

Private key

Point the connect form at an OpenSSH-format private key file (e.g. id_ed25519, id_rsa). If the key has a passphrase you'll be prompted for it, and can optionally save it to Credential Manager as well.

SSH agent

Simple SSH can authenticate using keys held by the Windows OpenSSH agent (the ssh-agent service) or an agent reachable via SSH_AUTH_SOCK. Load your keys with ssh-add and pick the agent option in the connect form.

Keyboard-interactive (MFA / OTP)

Servers that issue keyboard-interactive challenges — one-time codes, two-factor prompts, custom questions — are fully supported. A dialog presents each challenge as it arrives.

4. Profiles & recent connections

Profiles save a host, port, username, and authentication method so you can reconnect with one click. Saved secrets (passwords, passphrases) are kept separately in Credential Manager.

Recent connections are recorded automatically. Open the recents menu (the ◷ button in the status bar) to jump back to any host you've used recently.

5. Importing ~/.ssh/config

If you already manage hosts in ~/.ssh/config, you can import your Host entries directly into Simple SSH from the connect form. Hostnames, ports, usernames, and identity files are picked up; entries that already exist as profiles are skipped, so it's safe to re-import after editing your config.

6. Port forwarding

Simple SSH supports local port forwarding — the equivalent of OpenSSH's -L flag. A tunnel listens on a port on your machine and forwards traffic through the SSH connection to a host and port reachable from the server.

1. Open the forwards panel with the ⇄ button in the status bar.
2. Enter the local port, remote host, and remote port (e.g. 8080 → localhost:80).
3. Add the tunnel - it stays active for the life of the tab and can be removed at any time.

Forwards are managed per tab, so each session keeps its own set of tunnels.

7. Working with tabs

• New tab - Ctrl+T or the + button
• Close tab - Ctrl+W or middle-click the tab
• Duplicate tab - Ctrl+Shift+D opens a second session to the same host
• Rename - right-click the tab and choose Rename
• Reorder - drag tabs to rearrange them

If a session drops, the tab shows a reconnect overlay - one click re-establishes the connection with the same settings.

8. Terminal & appearance

Color schemes

Choose from Dracula, Solarized Dark, Solarized Light, Gruvbox Dark, and One Dark, or pick Auto to follow the app theme. The app itself has a light/dark theme toggle (◐ in the status bar).

Terminal settings

Open terminal settings with the ⚙ button. Changes apply live to all open tabs:

• Font family - defaults to Cascadia Code / Cascadia Mono / Consolas
• Font size - 8–32 px, also adjustable with Ctrl+= / Ctrl+- (Ctrl+0 resets)
• Cursor - block, bar, or underline, with optional blink
• Line height - 1.0–2.0
• Scrollback - 200 to 200,000 lines (default 5,000)

In the terminal

• Search the scrollback with Ctrl+F
• Copy/paste from the right-click context menu

9. Keyboard shortcuts

10. Security model

• Secrets stay in the OS keychain. Passwords and key passphrases are stored in Windows Credential Manager, encrypted by the operating system. They are saved only after a successful connection, and only if you opt in. Plaintext secrets are never written to disk.
• Host keys are verified. Unknown hosts require an explicit trust decision; changed keys trigger a warning with SHA-256 fingerprints.
• Privileged work happens in Rust. All networking, filesystem access, and secret handling runs in the Tauri/russh backend. The interface is a WebView locked down with a strict Content-Security-Policy.

11. Troubleshooting

"Host key has changed" warning

If you expected this (the server was reinstalled or its keys rotated), verify the new fingerprint through a trusted channel and accept it. If you didn't expect it, do not connect — the connection may be intercepted.

Removing a saved password or passphrase

Saved secrets live in Windows Credential Manager (search for "Credential Manager" in the Start menu) — you can review or delete Simple SSH entries there at any time.

My PuTTY key doesn't work

.ppk keys must be converted: open the key in PuTTYgen and choose Conversions → Export OpenSSH key, then use the exported file in Simple SSH.

The connection keeps dropping

Use the one-click reconnect overlay to resume. Frequent drops usually point to network issues or aggressive idle timeouts on the server (ClientAliveInterval / firewall settings).

SSH agent isn't offering my keys

Make sure the Windows OpenSSH Authentication Agent service is running and your keys are loaded (ssh-add -l should list them).

12. Building from source

Simple SSH is open source under the MIT license. Building requires Node.js and a Rust toolchain:

git clone https://github.com/stumat1/simple-ssh.git
cd simple-ssh
npm install
npm run tauri dev

See the GitHub repository for full development details and to report issues.