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SSH managers on Linux? (lemmy.sdf.org)
submitted 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
 

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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[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

I really like Asbru and have been using it for a couple of years. I used Remmina for a little while but never liked its look and feel.

Not too much active development has been going on lately, sadly, but the latest version still works very well.

https://www.asbru-cm.net/

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago

This looks great - thanks!

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 weeks ago

I would say, like many others, Remmina.

Putty also has a Linux version, so you can use that as well. Its session management is a bit clunky, but it works and it offers some fairly good functionalities.

But ssh is first and foremost a command line tool. As others have said, invest some time to learn its commands and configuration files.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (2 children)

I use Apache Guacamole, which works great for just about any kind of remote access and has a dead simple to use Docker Container.

It supports folders, copy/paste, uploading/downloading files, multiple open connections at once, and alternative mouse modes for touch screens. Best of all, it's completely free and open source.

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Remmina proves a reliable solution for remote desktop access when a graphical interface is required. However, for more streamlined operations, terminal-based SSH access ssh username@remote_host remains the preferred method. Establishing passwordless authentication is, naturally, a matter of convenience. The command ssh-copy-id username@remote_host facilitates this process. It’s a rather elegant solution, isn't it? A testament to the power of minimalism.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

SecureCRT. Expensive but my work paid for it.

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[–] [email protected] 43 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

Not a GUI, but I keep my ~/.ssh/config clean by splitting my configs into folders, and including them in the main ~/.ssh/config.

I have the folder, ~/.ssh/config.d/, and here's what it looks like:

~/.ssh/config.d
.
├── work
│   ├── dev.config
│   ├── staging.config
│   └── prod.config
└── server
    ├── development.config
    ├── containers.config
    ├── home.config
    ├── pis.config
    └── server.config

Then my ~/.ssh/config looks like this:

Include config.d/work/*
Include config.d/server/*
Include config.d/other/*
[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Cool, I did it with my git config a couple weeks ago, I didn't know you could do it with ssh too.

for those interested:

[include]
path = ~/.config/git/shared.ini
path = ~/.config/git/dev-machine.ini
path = ~/.config/git/aliases.ini
path = ~/.config/git/self.ini
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[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 weeks ago

Rustdesk? Guacamole?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Use Tabby. It is, by far, the closest to a Linux terminal experience. Likely because it's cross platform. I say this as someone that absolutely despises Windows terminal experiences.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 weeks ago

I just install my keys as needed to the machines and then configure aliases for quick connections. For file transfer with SFTP I'm using Filezilla because its queuing functionality and site management are nice.

I think for what you are looking for, both puTTY and Remmina should be capable as well as the other options suggested here

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago

If youre on windows, mremoteng is very comprehensive: https://mremoteng.org/

[–] [email protected] 81 points 2 weeks ago (7 children)

I just use ~/.ssh/config

e.g.

Host website
    Hostname some.hostname.foo
    User bob
    Port 1500
[–] [email protected] 19 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

And most secondary apps, e.g. git and sshfs, even Gigolo, recognize these aliases. It's the best.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Uh, I just type ssh or rsync into the terminal and that's it. It's a manageable amount of computers/servers I connect to, so I can remeber their names. Regular ssh stores all the keys or custom ports / IPs in its config. What's the advantage of using some manager?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

I'll be watching this discussion, as I'm currently using Remmina. It meet the bare minimum of SSH & RDP, but it doesn't have a clear method to organize connections and instead uses a big list. I also find the interface a tad counterintuitive, so maybe I'm just using it wrong.

It also seems to have a bug where it launches twice whenever I start my computer. So I have to close one.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

It is $120 per year for a single user. And to be fair I didn't specify a budget.

Curious though if you use terminus and think that it's worth it? It looks slick but it costs more than my IDE.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago

The free tier is pretty decent as is (at least I think there’s a free tier, unless I was grandfathered in or something). I did pay the $120 and it is pretty handy for mobile usage. The iOS app is great. Although, my poor impulse control is not a good measure of value

[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

~~Mobaxterm~~?

Stupid windows only.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I meant for Linux. I am not brave enough to ask for windows app recommendations on Lemmy in the Linux community

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago

I didn't realise it was windows only. I assumed it was like royal TS where they also have a cross platform client.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

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

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 weeks ago (6 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.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks 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.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks 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.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 weeks 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.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 weeks ago (7 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.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 weeks 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.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 weeks 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.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks 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.

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