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

Docker host management from your Mac

SSH to Docker hosts, tunnel exposed ports, broadcast across swarm nodes, all from one native macOS app.

Docker shines when it runs on a real Linux host instead of Docker Desktop's VM. Maybe that's a $5 VPS for side projects, a mini-PC running 30 self-hosted services, or a 3-node Swarm. From a Mac, SSH is the daily driver: `docker ps`, `docker logs -f myapp`, `docker exec -it myapp bash`. SSHive makes this fast, saved profiles, snippet library with the Docker presets pre-loaded (`docker ps -a`, `docker compose logs --tail 100 -f`, `docker system prune -f`), and tunnels to reach exposed app ports without firewall changes.

Reach a containerized app via tunnel

You run a dev app on `docker run -p 3000:3000 myapp` on a remote host. Don't expose 3000 publicly. In SSHive, add a Local forward: 3000 → localhost:3000 in the host profile. Open `http://localhost:3000` on your Mac, your remote container is reachable through the SSH tunnel.

Cluster operations with broadcast

Running Docker Swarm or just identical Docker hosts? Broadcast `docker system prune -af && docker volume prune -f` to clean disk space across the fleet. Or `docker compose pull && docker compose up -d` to roll out a new release. Output panes side-by-side make it obvious if one node failed.

Frequently asked questions

Can SSHive replace Portainer?+

For day-to-day CLI tasks, yes, most Docker work is `ps`, `logs`, `exec`, `compose up/down`. Portainer's graphical container management has no SSHive equivalent (we don't parse `docker ps` output or render container UIs). If you live in `docker logs` and `docker compose`, SSHive is enough. If you want graphical container browsing, run Portainer behind an SSHive tunnel.

Does SSHive support Docker contexts (DOCKER_HOST over SSH)?+

SSHive doesn't set DOCKER_HOST for you, but you can run `docker context use myremote` in SSHive's local terminal (Local Shell tab). Docker CLI then talks to the remote Docker daemon over SSH transparently. This is independent of SSHive's SSH session feature.