An all-in-one SSH client for the move from Windows to Mac

On Windows, many admins work from one tool: MobaXterm, with RDP, file transfers and a serial console in the same window, or PuTTY for the shell and the serial port. On a Mac the usual answer is a stack: the Terminal or iTerm2, Cyberduck for files, Windows App (formerly Microsoft Remote Desktop) for RDP, a VNC viewer, and a USB serial tool when a switch needs configuring. Each keeps its own list of hosts. SSHive is one app for that list: SSH tabs with the file manager beside the terminal, RDP and VNC in tabs of the same window, and FTP, Telnet and the serial console on the Mac. The MobaXterm comparison goes through the differences point by point; this page is about the move itself.

SSHive reads the files these tools export. Open Settings > Import / Export > Import from another tool and choose one: - MobaXterm: MobaXterm.ini saved in cleartext, or a .mxtsessions export. SSH, RDP, VNC and SFTP sessions come across with their folders; serial, rlogin and browser sessions are skipped. - PuTTY: a .reg export of your saved sessions, made on the PC with reg export HKCU\Software\SimonTatham\PuTTY\Sessions putty.reg. SSH and Telnet sessions come across. - Royal TSX: a .rtsx document, for its SSH, RDP and VNC connections. SSHive takes the hosts, ports, users and key paths from them, not the passwords: you enter each password once, at the first connection. Key paths still point at the PC, so copy the keys over, or import them in Settings > SSH Keys, and update the profiles. Your ~/.ssh/config imports in one click with Import SSH Config in the sidebar; the import guide shows it step by step.

The SSH tab keeps the file manager next to the terminal: drag files in from Finder, edit a remote file in place and save with ⌘S. Saved sessions become profiles, filed in folders, each with a color. Sending one command to several servers is broadcast, which reaches every connected SSH session. Keys are generated in Settings > SSH Keys (Ed25519, RSA 4096 or ECDSA), which also installs a public key on a server through an open session. The COM port you used for switches is the serial console, and ping, traceroute, whois and DNS lookups are in the network tools, both free on the Mac.

SSHive has no X11 forwarding. If you relied on MobaXterm's X11 forwarding to open a graphical Linux program, install XQuartz and run ssh -X user@host in the macOS Terminal for that program. When what you need is a whole desktop rather than one window, RDP or VNC in SSHive is usually the better route.