SSH Management

Learn how to manage SSH connections effectively with Kerminal's powerful profile management system.

SSH Profiles

Creating a Profile

1. Open the SSH Profiles panel (sidebar)
2. Click the New Profile button at the bottom of the panel
3. In the Basic tab, fill in the connection details:
   • Profile Name: A descriptive name
   • Host: Hostname or IP address
   • Port: SSH port (default: 22)
   • Username: SSH username
   • Authentication Method: Choose Password or SSH Key

Profile Groups

Organize your connections by creating groups:

1. Click the New Group button at the bottom of the SSH Profiles panel
2. Enter a group name
3. Drag profiles into the group or use the Add profile to group button on the group header

Profile Colors

Assign colors to profiles for visual organization:

1. In the profile editor, go to the Terminal tab
2. Use the Tab Color picker to select a color
3. Colors appear as indicators in the sidebar and tab headers

Authentication Methods

Password Authentication

Simply enter your password when creating the profile. The password is encrypted using AES-256-GCM.

Security Note

Consider using key-based authentication for better security.

SSH Key Authentication

1. In the profile editor (Basic tab), select SSH Key as the Authentication Method
2. Select an existing key from the dropdown
3. Or click Manage SSH Keys to import/generate keys

SSH Key Manager

Access the key manager via the Manage SSH Keys link in the profile editor:

Generate New Keys

# Kerminal uses russh for key generation
# Supports RSA, Ed25519, and ECDSA

Import Keys

• Import from file
• Paste key content directly
• Import from clipboard

Export Keys

• Export public key for server configuration
• Backup private keys (encrypted)

Proxy Configuration

Connect through proxies when direct SSH is not available.

1. In the profile editor, go to the Network tab
2. Check Use Proxy
3. Select Proxy Type (HTTP, SOCKS4, SOCKS5)

HTTP Proxy

Host: proxy.example.com
Port: 8080
Username: (optional)
Password: (optional)

SOCKS4/5 Proxy

Host: socks.example.com
Port: 1080
Username: (optional)
Password: (optional)

Jump Hosts (Bastion)

Connect through one or more bastion hosts to reach your target server.

Simple Jump

Local → Bastion → Target

1. Create a profile for the bastion host first
2. In the target profile's Network tab:
3. Check Use Jump Host
4. Select the bastion profile from the Jump Host Profile dropdown

Chained Jumps

Local → Bastion1 → Bastion2 → Target

Add multiple jump hosts in order. Kerminal will automatically:

• Authenticate at each hop
• Forward connections through the chain
• Show the connection path visually

Port Forwarding

Local Port Forwarding

Access remote services on your local machine:

Local Port: 8080
Remote Host: localhost
Remote Port: 80

Now localhost:8080 connects to port 80 on the remote server.

Use cases:

• Access web interfaces behind firewalls
• Connect to remote databases
• Use remote development servers

Remote Port Forwarding

Expose local services to the remote network:

Remote Port: 8080
Local Host: localhost
Local Port: 3000

Now port 8080 on the remote server connects to your local port 3000.

Use cases:

• Share local development server
• Webhook testing
• Temporary service exposure

Dynamic Port Forwarding (SOCKS)

Create a SOCKS proxy through SSH:

Local Port: 1080

Configure applications to use localhost:1080 as SOCKS5 proxy.

Use cases:

• Browse the web through the remote network
• Access internal resources
• Bypass network restrictions

Auto-Start Forwarding

Enable "Auto-start" on port forwarding rules to automatically establish tunnels when connecting.

Connection Testing

Before saving a profile, test the connection:

1. Fill in all connection details
2. Click Test Connection
3. Kerminal will attempt to connect and report:
   • Success with server fingerprint
   • Authentication failure details
   • Network errors

Import from SSH Config

Kerminal automatically parses your local SSH config file (~/.ssh/config) and allows you to import hosts as profiles.

1. Open the SSH Profiles panel
2. Look for the From .ssh/config section
3. Click the Import button (Download icon)
4. Select the hosts you want to import
5. Click Import to create profiles for selected hosts

Backup & Restore

Protect your data by creating full backups of your profiles, keys, and settings.

Create Backup

1. Click the Backup & Restore button (Archive icon) in the top bar
2. In the Export Backup section:
3. (Optional) Check Password Protection to encrypt your backup with AES-256-GCM
4. Click Export Backup
5. Save the .json (or .kbak if encrypted) file

Restore Backup

1. Click the Backup & Restore button (Archive icon) in the top bar
2. In the Import Backup section:
3. Click Select Backup File
4. Choose your backup file
5. If encrypted, enter the password when prompted
6. The application will reload with restored data

WARNING

Restoring a backup will update existing data matching the IDs in the backup.

Best Practices

Security

1. Use key-based authentication when possible
2. Protect your keys with passphrases
3. Rotate keys periodically
4. Don't share profiles containing credentials

Organization

1. Group by environment (prod, staging, dev)
2. Use descriptive names that include purpose
3. Color-code for quick identification
4. Add notes for connection-specific information

Backup

1. Create backups regularly
2. Encrypt backups with a strong password
3. Store backups securely (encrypted cloud, password manager)