---
title: "SSH"
description: "A native Rust SSH stack: quick connects, saved profiles, keychain credentials, jump hosts."
---

tty7 speaks SSH itself, over [russh](https://github.com/Eugeny/russh). It never
shells out to the `ssh` binary, and there is no compatibility mode that does.

That is what makes the rest possible: credentials in the OS keychain,
[SFTP](/remote/sftp) in a side panel, [port forwards](/remote/port-forwarding)
you can add mid-session, and authentication prompts drawn as sheets in the pane
instead of a password echoing into your shell.

<Frame caption="Placeholder — screenshot: an SSH connection sheet asking for a key passphrase inside a pane">
  <img src="/images/placeholder.svg" alt="Connecting over SSH in tty7" />
</Frame>

## Four ways to connect

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="QuickConnect — type an address">
    Open the palette (<kbd>⌘ P</kbd>) and type an address. IPv6 works with
    brackets.

    ```
    me@devbox
    me@devbox:2222
    me@[2001:db8::1]:22
    ```
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="A saved profile">
    Profiles live in **Settings → SSH → Hosts**. Start typing the name in the
    palette, or open the *SSH: Manage Profiles…* command.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="An alias from ~/.ssh/config">
    Type an alias you already have and tty7 resolves it natively — common fields,
    best effort — then connects over russh. **Settings → SSH → Import from
    ~/.ssh/config** turns aliases into real profiles.

    <Note>
      `Match`, `canonicalize*`, and GSSAPI directives are not supported, and
      there is no fallback to the system `ssh` when one appears.
    </Note>
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="A remote workspace">
    The same connection can host whole workspaces on the far machine rather than
    a single shell. [Remote workspaces →](/remote/workspaces)
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Profiles

**Settings → SSH → Hosts** holds the full connection config. The basics:

| Field | |
|---|---|
| **Name** | A label for this connection |
| **Host** | Hostname or IP |
| **User** | Login user — blank resolves at connect time |
| **Auth** | *Auto* (tries every applicable method), *Password*, *Key*, *Agent*, or *2FA* |
| **Jump host** | Another profile, or a `ProxyJump` chain |
| **Port forwarding** | Rules opened with the connection |

**Defaults** at the top of the list is inherited by every host, so a setting you
want everywhere is set once.

Passwords and key passphrases go in the **OS keychain**, never in
`config.json` and never on disk in plain text. **Forget Password** in a
profile's menu removes the stored one.

### Advanced

Behind **Advanced** on a profile, grouped:

| Group | Fields |
|---|---|
| **Authentication** | Identity files (one path per line, `%h`/`%r` expand), agent forwarding |
| **Proxies** | ProxyCommand (`%h`/`%p`/`%r` substituted), SOCKS5 proxy, HTTP proxy |
| **Algorithms** | KEX algorithms, ciphers, MACs, host-key algorithms, compression |
| **Connection** | Keepalive interval and count, connect timeout, X11 forwarding |
| **Session** | Shell integration, login scripts, skip banner |

Everything blank means "the library default", so you only fill in what you
actually need to override.

## Authentication prompts

Password, key passphrase, and 2FA prompts appear as sheets inside the pane, with
a **Remember (keychain)** option where it makes sense.

## Host keys

Host keys are verified against `known_hosts` by default. A first connection asks
you to confirm the fingerprint; a **changed** key is a much louder prompt that
makes you type `yes` to override, because that is what a changed key deserves.

**Settings → SSH → Security → Verify host keys** turns verification off
entirely. It is on for a reason.

Also under Security: **Warn before closing** a live connection, off by default.

## Reconnecting

<kbd>⌘ ⇧ R</kbd> — or *SSH: Reconnect* in the palette — restarts the session in
the current pane. Useful after a laptop sleeps or a network changes.

## What is not supported

- No fallback to the system `ssh` binary
- No `Match`, `canonicalize*`, or GSSAPI directives from `~/.ssh/config`
- Kerberos `gssapi-with-mic` is offered by the desktop app for managed
  connections, but is not part of the `~/.ssh/config` resolution path