> open source · GPL-3.0 · beta

SSH, rendered on the GPU

ShellRS is a native SSH client written in Rust. Host management, terminals, WinSCP-style SFTP and port forwarding share one window, drawn by the GPU — no Electron, no JVM.

Download for macOS Download for Windows Download for Linux Download ShellRS View source on GitHub

v0.1.0-beta.4 · macOS 11+ · Windows x64 · Linux x64 · other platforms

ShellRS main window: a grouped host tree, htop running in a remote terminal, and the connection latency in the tab bar

> why shellrs

Xshell and WinSCP in one native window

Native, GPU-drawn

Written in Rust on GPUI, the UI framework behind the Zed editor. The whole interface, terminal included, is drawn on the GPU.

One window for the whole job

Terminals, SFTP and port forwards live side by side. Drag any tab into a split; nothing hides in a second app.

Secrets stay in your keychain

Passwords and key passphrases go to the macOS Keychain, Windows Credential Manager or Secret Service. The database never holds one.

> sftp

SFTP that works like WinSCP

Two panes with WinSCP's columns, path labels, bookmarks and shortcuts. Select by highlight, drag between panes, and keep queueing transfers while one runs.

Resumes after a dropped connection, or after a restart
A transfer queue with speed and time left
Local deletes go to the Trash; symlinks are never followed

Dual-pane SFTP with three local items selected, remote /etc on the right, and a transfer queue below

The port forward dialog with a live diagram of a local forward, and two running rules in the sidebar

> port forwarding

Port forwards you can read

Local, remote and dynamic forwards, each drawn as a live diagram with one sentence that says where connections enter and where they go.

-L, -R and -D with SOCKS5 and SOCKS4
Reconnects on its own after a drop
Rules can start with ShellRS

> split view

Terminal and files, side by side

Drag a tab to any edge to split left and right or top and bottom. Watch a deploy in the terminal while its files land in SFTP below.

Live round-trip latency on every SSH tab
vim, htop and other full-screen programs just work
Find in scrollback and clear the screen locally

A split view with a remote terminal on top and SFTP for the same host below

> and also

Built for people with too many servers

Jump hosts and proxies

Chain saved hosts as jump servers, or go through an HTTP or SOCKS5 proxy.

Shared credentials

Password, key and SSH agent credentials that many hosts reuse. Generate Ed25519 keys in place.

Live latency

Every SSH tab shows its round-trip time, measured every five seconds.

Knows your servers

Detects the remote OS on connect and badges each host with it. Nested groups and search keep the list tidy.

Signed updates

minisign-signed manifests and SHA-256-checked packages, downloaded in the background and installed on restart.

Its own known_hosts

ShellRS asks before trusting a new host key and keeps its records apart from ~/.ssh.

> for ai agents

Let your agent use the hosts you saved

Turn on the external CLI and Claude Code, Codex or OpenCode can run commands and move files on your saved hosts. ShellRS logs in for them, so the agent never sees a password.

An unknown host or a missing password fails at once with a stable error code — no prompt that leaves an agent hanging.

# list the hosts saved in ShellRS
$ shellrs list
# run a command; the exit code is the remote one
$ shellrs exec <ID> "uptime && df -h"
# move files without handing over a password
$ shellrs upload <ID> ./dist/app.tar.gz /opt/app/
$ shellrs download <ID> /var/log/syslog ./logs/

> download