ssh-x-term

SSH-X-Term

SSH-X-Term is a modern, terminal-based SSH client with a rich TUI (Text User Interface) built on Bubble Tea.

As of version 2.0, SSH-X-Term is a fully self-contained SSH client implemented entirely in Go. There are no external SSH tools or wrappers involved — all SSH, SCP, SFTP, and terminal handling is built in.

It combines SSH connection management, interactive terminals, SCP/SFTP file transfers, and secure credential storage into a single, fast, cross-platform application.

Credentials can be stored securely using your local system keyring or directly in your Bitwarden vault.

✨ What SSH-X-Term 2.0 Is

• ✅ Pure Go SSH client — no ssh, no passh, no plink
• ✅ Cross-platform — identical behavior on Linux, macOS, and Windows
• ✅ Built-in terminal emulator — full xterm-256color support
• ✅ SSH Agent integration — encrypted keys supported via ssh-agent
• ✅ First-class TUI — fast, keyboard-driven, and mouse-aware

📺 Demo & Walkthrough

🚀 Features

⚡ Quick Connect Mode

Fast SSH access without launching the full TUI.

• sxt -l — minimal interactive connection selector
• sxt -c <connection-id> — instant connection by ID
• Start typing immediately to filter connections
• Arrow keys exit filter and navigate
• 10 connections per page
• Fully interactive terminal with resize support

🖥️ Integrated SSH Terminal

• VT100 / ANSI escape sequence compliant
• Full xterm-256color support
• 10,000-line scrollback buffer
• Mouse and keyboard scrolling
• Text selection and clipboard copy
• Graceful window resize handling

📂 SCP / SFTP File Manager

• Dual-pane Local ↔ Remote interface
• Upload, download, rename, delete
• Create files and directories
• Recursive search (/)
• Uses the active authenticated SSH session

🔐 Secure Credential Management

• Local storage via system keyring

  • macOS Keychain
  • Linux Secret Service
  • Windows Credential Manager

• Bitwarden integration via Bitwarden CLI

• Passwords are never stored in plaintext

⚙️ SSH Authentication

• SSH Agent (recommended for encrypted keys)
• Encrypted private keys supported via ssh-agent
• Password authentication via system keyring
• Compatible with standard OpenSSH config

📦 Project Structure

(Structure unchanged — see repository tree for details)

🛠️ Prerequisites

Required

• Go 1.24+ (only if building from source)
• System Keyring (for local password storage)

Optional

• SSH Agent (recommended for encrypted SSH keys)
• Bitwarden CLI (bw) — for Bitwarden vault support
• tmux — open SSH sessions in new tmux windows

⚠️ SSH-X-Term 2.0+ has no external SSH dependencies. You do not need ssh, passh, plink, or PuTTY.

📥 Installation

Option 1: Install via npm (Recommended)

npm install -g ssh-x-term
sxt

The npm installer downloads the correct prebuilt binary for your platform. Only optional tools (bw, tmux) may be suggested.

Option 2: Install via Homebrew (macOS/Linux)

brew tap eugeniofciuvasile/tap
brew install ssh-x-term
sxt

Option 3: Build from source

git clone https://github.com/eugeniofciuvasile/ssh-x-term.git
cd ssh-x-term
go build -o sxt ./cmd/sxt

Or:

go install github.com/eugeniofciuvasile/ssh-x-term/cmd/sxt@latest

Option 4: Prebuilt Binary

Download from the GitHub Releases page.

🎮 Usage

First-Time Initialization

sxt -i

This will:

• Initialize configuration
• Migrate any existing SSH-X-Term data
• Prepare SSH config metadata

Full TUI Mode

sxt

Key actions:

• a — Add connection
• e — Edit connection
• d — Delete connection
• s — Open SCP/SFTP manager
• o — Toggle tmux mode
• Enter — Connect

Quick Connect (CLI)

sxt -l
sxt -c <connection-id>

⚙️ Configuration

Storage	Description
Local	SSH config at ~/.ssh/config, passwords in system keyring
Bitwarden	Secrets stored in Bitwarden vault via bw CLI

SSH-X-Term stores metadata as comments in your standard SSH config and remains fully compatible with OpenSSH tools.

🔑 SSH Agent Setup (Recommended)

eval $(ssh-agent)
ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_ed25519

Once added, SSH-X-Term can use encrypted keys without prompting for passphrases.

🛡️ Security & Disclaimer

SSH-X-Term is released under the MIT License.

• Credentials are never logged or written in plaintext
• All secrets are handled via OS APIs or Bitwarden
• Always ensure your system, SSH keys, and Bitwarden vault are properly secured

👏 Credits

• Bubble Tea — TUI framework
• go-keyring — Secure credential storage
• Bitwarden CLI — Vault integration
• OpenSSH — Protocol reference and compatibility