SSH Terminal

GPU-accelerated terminal with xterm.js WebGL. Password, key, and agent authentication. Jump hosts, agent forwarding, and automatic reconnection.

SSHive is a modern SSH client built specifically for Apple devices, Mac, iPhone, and iPad, designed to replace the patchwork of Terminal, third-party emulators, and command-line tools many developers and sysadmins juggle every day. On macOS, the terminal runs on xterm.js with WebGL rendering, the same engine VS Code uses, which means scrolling stays smooth even when a verbose `tail -f` floods the screen, and Unicode glyphs render correctly without falling back to the system font. On iOS and iPadOS, the SSH terminal is fully native and shares the same profiles you set up on your Mac. Authentication works with passwords, OpenSSH-format private keys, or a forwarded ssh-agent socket on macOS. Where SSHive really shines is in everything around the terminal. Connection profiles save host, port, user, key, environment variables, working directory, and a list of commands to run on connect, connecting to a server is one click, not a `ssh user@host -p 2222 -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519`. Jump hosts (ProxyJump) are a first-class feature: declare a bastion in the profile and SSHive handles the multi-hop SSH tunnel transparently. Automatic reconnection kicks in when you suspend your Mac and wake up at a coffee shop, so you do not lose your tmux state. Credentials are stored in the macOS Keychain (or iOS Keychain on iPhone/iPad) via Apple's safeStorage API in Electron, never written to disk in plaintext, never sent anywhere. macOS itself decides when to prompt for Touch ID or your password to unlock that Keychain entry, so a stolen Mac without your fingerprint is not a stolen server.

Key capabilities

GPU-accelerated rendering with xterm.js WebGL for smooth scrolling even with massive output

Password, private key, and SSH agent authentication methods

Jump Host (ProxyJump) support for multi-hop connections through bastion servers

Automatic reconnection when connections drop unexpectedly

Common SSH workflows

Daily server administration

Manage a fleet of Linux servers, production, staging, dev VMs, home lab, from one window. Tabs, profiles, broadcast mode, and saved snippets let you context-switch in milliseconds instead of typing connection strings from memory.

Bastion / jump host workflows

Connect through a jump host to private subnets without editing `~/.ssh/config`. Define the bastion once, reuse it across dozens of profiles. Agent forwarding is supported, so your private key never leaves your Mac.

Cloud instances (AWS, GCP, Hetzner)

Connect to EC2, Compute Engine, or Hetzner Cloud servers using PEM keys, ed25519 keys, or assumed-role IAM credentials forwarded through the agent. Per-profile keys mean no more accidentally using the wrong key on the wrong account.

SSH terminal, frequently asked questions

Does SSHive support OpenSSH config files?+

Yes. The connection dialog has an "Import from ~/.ssh/config" button that parses every Host entry and creates a SSHive profile for it, including ProxyJump, IdentityFile, Port, and User directives. You can re-import after editing your config, duplicates are detected by hostname.

What SSH key formats are supported?+

OpenSSH format (RSA, DSA, ECDSA, Ed25519). Encrypted keys are supported, the passphrase is requested once and cached in the macOS Keychain via Electron's safeStorage API.

Is SSHive faster than the built-in macOS Terminal?+

For raw terminal rendering, yes, xterm.js with WebGL outperforms macOS Terminal on long output (think building a kernel or running `find /`) because it pushes glyphs to the GPU. For interactive shell latency, both are network-bound, so the difference is unnoticeable. iTerm2 with Metal renderer is in the same ballpark.

Can I use my ssh-agent with SSHive?+

Yes (on macOS). SSHive reads the SSH_AUTH_SOCK environment variable on launch. If you use 1Password's SSH agent, gpg-agent, or Apple's built-in keychain SSH integration, those keys are available immediately. Per-profile setting: "Forward agent" tickbox enables agent forwarding for jump host workflows.

Does SSHive support Touch ID for SSH connections?+

Indirectly, yes. SSHive does not call Touch ID itself, credentials are stored in the macOS Keychain via Electron's safeStorage API, and macOS decides when to prompt for Touch ID (or your account password as a fallback) before unlocking that Keychain entry. SSHive never sees your fingerprint data. On iPhone/iPad, the equivalent path is iOS Keychain unlocked by Touch ID / Face ID / device passcode at the OS level.

Does SSHive run on iPhone and iPad?+

Yes. SSHive ships an iPhone and iPad app on the App Store. The iOS version focuses on SSH terminal and SFTP file management, the Mac-specific features (RDP, VNC, SSH tunnels, broadcast, MCP server, snippet library) stay on macOS where they make sense. Profiles created on a Mac sync to your iOS devices, so a server you set up on your laptop is one tap away on your phone.