Use cases — SSH, SFTP, RDP & VNC for macOS

A developer SSH workflow built for macOS

Project-based profiles, dev database tunnels, deploy snippets, and AI-assisted server ops via Claude/Cursor.

A typical developer's SSH life on macOS is messy: connection strings in shell history, the wrong key used on the wrong host, copy-pasting `ssh user@host` from a Notion doc, juggling iTerm2 / Cyberduck / Microsoft Remote Desktop / TablePlus tunneled through `ssh -L`. SSHive trims this into one workspace: profiles per project (one folder = one project, with all its servers grouped), snippets for the deploy commands you run weekly, tunnels for dev databases, broadcast when you need to roll something across multiple staging servers, MCP for letting Claude in your IDE actually do the SSH work for you.

Profile per project, color tags per env

Create a folder for each project. Inside, profiles for prod, staging, dev. Color-tag prod red, staging amber, dev green — visual cue that prevents typing into the wrong terminal. Save common commands (`tail app log`, `restart service`, `db backup`) as project-scoped snippets.

Tunnel dev databases automatically

In your dev profile, add Local forwards for your remote dev DB (5432 → 5432 for Postgres, 6379 → 6379 for Redis). When you connect, TablePlus/Postico can hit `localhost:5432` and reach the remote dev DB directly. Tunnel goes down when you disconnect — no orphaned ports.

Let Claude / Cursor work on your servers

Enable SSHive's MCP server. Claude Code or Cursor in your IDE can now `ssh_execute` on any open SSHive session. Ask "tail the last 200 lines of app.log on staging and find the 500 errors" — Claude does it. Ask "compare the staging nginx config to local repo" — Claude reads it via `sftp_read_file`, diffs it. Stays terminal-free for routine tasks.

Frequently asked questions

Can I keep using my ~/.ssh/config?+

Yes. SSHive can import from `~/.ssh/config` and respect its directives, but it doesn't require it. You can run SSHive's profile system in parallel with `ssh user@host` from any other terminal — they don't conflict.

Does SSHive integrate with VS Code Remote SSH?+

No direct integration — VS Code Remote SSH uses its own SSH client. They co-exist: edit code in VS Code Remote-SSH, do terminal/SFTP/admin work in SSHive. Some users prefer SSHive's integrated terminal-and-SFTP for non-coding work, leaving VS Code for code.