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Sessions

A session is a saved connection: its type, host, port, user name and options. Passwords are never part of a session; they live in the system keychain (see Passwords and your data).

Session types

Type Opens Notes
SSH terminal A terminal tab Can be Files only (opens the file browser instead) or use Mosh.
RDP remote desktop A desktop tab or your RDP client See Remote desktop.
VNC remote desktop A desktop tab or your VNC client Unencrypted unless tunnelled through SSH.
Telnet (unencrypted) A terminal tab For devices without SSH; can go through a jump host.
FTPS files (encrypted) A file browser tab Explicit TLS; certificate checked once and pinned.
FTP files (unencrypted) A file browser tab Prefer SFTP or FTPS.

Serial consoles and local terminals are opened from the buttons at the top of the sidebar and are not saved as sessions.

Create, edit, connect

  • + next to Sessions creates a session; hovering a row shows ☆ (favorite), ⇅ (browse files, for SSH), ✎ (edit) and ⋯ (more: duplicate, move, delete).
  • Click a session, or select it and press Enter, to connect.
  • Quick connect connects without saving. The host field accepts user@host:port.

Folders

  • Create one with the folder button next to Sessions, or right-click the list.
  • Right-click a folder (or its ⋯) for New session here, New subfolder, Rename, Open all and Delete folder (only when it holds no sessions).
  • Drag a session or a whole folder onto another folder to move it, or onto empty space to move it to the top level. Move to folder… in the menu does the same without a mouse.
  • In the session dialog, the Folder field suggests existing folders; / makes subfolders, e.g. Production/DB.
  • ☆ pins a session to Favorites at the top.
  • Tags (comma-separated in the session dialog) appear under the session. Click a tag, or type #tag in the search box, to show only those sessions.
  • The search box matches names, hosts, user names, folders and tags; with several words, all must match.

Import and export

Import in the sidebar footer:

  • Import ~/.ssh/config… reads your OpenSSH configuration and lets you choose hosts. Imported: HostName, User, Port, IdentityFile, single-hop ProxyJump, ForwardAgent yes and ForwardX11 yes. Anything else is listed per host and not imported.
  • Import sessions (JSON, MobaXterm)… accepts a Termalith export or the contents of a MobaXterm .mxtsessions file (in MobaXterm: right-click User sessions and export all sessions to a file). SSH, RDP, VNC and Telnet sessions come with their folders; other kinds are listed as not imported.
  • Export sessions… writes all sessions as JSON, to back them up or move them to another computer. Exports never contain passwords or keychain references.

Files up to 5 MiB can be imported.