SSH connections

The SSH Connections tab lists saved hosts. Each connection has a set of fields including optional ones — grouping, jump host, start script and keep-alive. The list supports search and sort — including drag-to-reorder when sort is Manual — and each row offers a Duplicate action, so a large fleet stays manageable.

Groups

Groups let you organize a fleet (e.g. Production, Staging, Customers). The edit form exposes a dropdown to pick an existing group; new groups are created with the Add group button on the connections list. Grouped connections also appear in the native menu bar (macOS) and, on Desktop, in the tab bar's + (new tab) menu — each group as its own submenu.

Jump hosts (ProxyJump)

When a target is only reachable through a bastion, mark the bastion with Jump host and point the target's Jump field at it. The chain can be as deep as you need — a jump can itself have its own jump.

Under the hood we use SSH direct-tcpip channels: a tunnel is opened through the bastion, then the real session runs through it. All inside the same process — no separate bastion session to manage.

From the CLI: dr-terminal connect prod1 -j bastion1,bastion2 (see Desktop CLI).

Start script

The Start script field carries a shell snippet sent automatically after successful login. Examples:

cd /srv/app && tail -F server.log

tmux attach -t main || tmux new -s main

The script is injected as regular input — the shell treats it exactly like keyboard typing. Afterwards the session stays interactive.

Keep-alive

If your server or firewall drops idle sessions, enable keep-alive. DR-Terminal then sends heartbeat packets at a chosen interval.

• Default — follow the global setting.
• On / Off — per-host override of the global default.
• Interval — 10–300 seconds, 30 by default.

Sessions also keep running in the background (a foreground service on Android) so switching apps doesn't drop your shell.

Discover local hosts (Bonjour)

The radar button on the SSH Connections screen browses the local network with Bonjour/mDNS and lists machines advertising SSH — handy for finding a Raspberry Pi or a NAS without knowing its IP. It works on every platform; pick a host and the host/port are pre-filled.

On Android the system may first ask for the Local network permission — discovery (and connections to LAN hosts) need it.

Other fields

• System — the host's OS tag (Auto detects it after login). It labels the host and picks which system-tagged snippets it sees.
• System check on login — how often the post-login system/hardware probe runs: every connection, once a day, once a week, or disabled.
• Resource monitoring (CPU/RAM/disk) — live-vitals refresh interval for this host; Default follows the global setting, Disabled turns it off.
• Default SFTP directory — where SFTP opens after connecting.
• Save command history — remember commands for autocomplete.
• Show Enter key on toolbar — useful on mobile when you want a big Enter button.
• Use connection name as tab title — show the alias on the session tab instead of user@host.
• Appearance — per-connection terminal font size and color theme. Untouched values follow the global Settings; Reset returns to them.