sshc

---

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sshc is a small SSH helper CLI for managing hosts, running remote commands, transferring files, executing local scripts on remote hosts, and keeping per-host execution logs.

It is intended for lightweight deployment, troubleshooting, and day-to-day remote operations where a full automation platform would be too heavy.

Features

• Manage SSH hosts in ~/.config/sshc/sshc.config.json
  • Encrypt saved passwords before writing to disk
• Manage shared credential profiles with auth
• Inspect and edit local settings with cfg
• Read simple host entries from ~/.ssh/config
• Verify SSH host keys with known_hosts by default
• Run remote commands by saved host name, IP, or unique partial match
  • Execute local shell scripts on remote hosts
• Connect through a single jump host with host config or --jump
• Run commands or scripts across multiple hosts with batch-run/brun
• Set remote working directory, timeout, environment variables, sudo, and sudo user
• Upload files with upload and download files with download over SFTP
  • Verify single-file transfers with SHA256
• Keep per-host JSONL run logs under ~/.config/sshc/logs/
• Open an interactive remote PTY with login/connect

Installation

Download a release

1. Recommended Install by eget: eget install inhere/sshc
2. Install by Golang: go install github.com/inhere/sshc/cmd/sshc@latest
3. Download the archive for your platform from GitHub Releases, extract it, and put the sshc binary on your PATH.

Build from source

git clone https://github.com/inhere/sshc.git
cd sshc
go build -o sshc ./cmd/sshc
# Windows
go build -o sshc.exe ./cmd/sshc

Quick Start

sshc add --ip 192.168.1.10 --name devhost -u root -p password
sshc list
sshc run devhost -- uptime
sshc auth add dev-root -u root -p --remark "shared root login"
sshc host add --ip 192.168.1.10 --name devhost --auth dev-root # use auth refer
sshc host add --ip 10.0.0.8 --name inner-db --auth dev-root --jump bastion
sshc run devhost --script ./deploy.sh
sshc run inner-db --jump bastion -- hostname
sshc batch-run --hosts devhost,web-2 -- uptime
sshc scp -l ./dist -r /opt/app/dist devhost
sshc download -r /var/log/my-app/app.log -l tmp/logs/ devhost --sha256
sshc log devhost --tail 20

Usage

sshc add                Add or update a host
sshc list|ls            List saved hosts
sshc cfg|config         Manage config
sshc auth|cred          Manage credential profiles
sshc host|hosts         Manage hosts
sshc run|exec           Run a remote command
sshc batch-run|brun     Run a command or script on multiple hosts
sshc login              Open an interactive SSH shell
sshc scp|upload         Upload files or directories
sshc download|dl        Download files or directories
sshc log                Show or search run logs

Run command-specific help for full options:

sshc <command> --help

Examples

Add Hosts

sshc add --ip 192.168.1.10 -u root -p password
sshc add --ip 192.168.1.10 --name devhost -u root -p password --port 22
sshc add --ip 192.168.1.10 --name devhost -u root --key ~/.ssh/id_rsa
sshc add --ip 192.168.1.10 --name devhost --auth dev-root
sshc add --ip 10.0.0.8 --name inner-db --auth dev-root --jump bastion
sshc add -I
sshc add --from-clipboard

sshc add -I prompts for host fields interactively and hides password input.

--from-clipboard accepts either key=value/key: value lines or one CSV line:

ip=192.168.1.10
user=root
password=password
name=devhost
port=22

192.168.1.10,root,password,devhost,22

Credential Profiles

Use auth profiles when multiple hosts share the same user, password, or key:

sshc auth add dev-root -u root -p --remark "shared root login"
sshc auth add deploy-key -u deploy --key ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
sshc auth list
sshc auth show dev-root
sshc auth rm old-profile --yes

sshc auth add -p prompts for a hidden password. It intentionally does not accept -p secret or --password secret.

Attach a profile to a host:

sshc host add --ip 192.168.1.10 --name devhost --auth dev-root
sshc host add --ip 10.0.0.8 --name inner-db --auth dev-root --jump bastion

Manage Hosts

sshc host add --ip 192.168.1.10 --name devhost --auth dev-root
sshc host add --ip 10.0.0.8 --name inner-db --auth dev-root --jump bastion
sshc host list --group testing --show-ip
sshc host list --match devhost
sshc host show devhost
sshc host rm devhost --yes
sshc host rename old-name new-name

Top-level add, list, and ls remain available for quick daily use.

Import Hosts

sshc host import -f ips.txt --format ips --auth dev-root --group testing --yes
sshc host import -f hosts.txt --format plain --dry-run
sshc host import -f hosts.csv --format csv --overwrite --yes
sshc host import --from-clipboard --format plain --auth dev-root

ips is a simple one-target-per-line format:

10.0.0.8
10.0.0.9
web.internal

plain reuses the same key=value/key: value style as add --from-clipboard. Separate multiple hosts with a blank line:

ip=10.0.0.8
name=devhost
auth=dev-root
group=testing

ip: 10.0.0.9
name: dbhost
user: root
password: secret
group: testing

CSV imports must include a header row:

name,ip,auth,group,remark,port
devhost,10.0.0.8,dev-root,testing,app server,22

By default, conflicts fail without saving. Use --skip-existing to ignore saved hosts or --overwrite to update them. --dry-run previews the plan. Imported passwords are encrypted before saving and are not printed.

List Hosts

sshc list
sshc ls
sshc list --show-ip

sshc list shows the host name, group, address, authentication type, and remark. IPv4 addresses are masked by default, for example 10.*.*.8. Use --show-ip when you need the full address.

Hosts from ~/.ssh/config are also listed when they have HostName, User, and IdentityFile.

Run Commands

sshc run 192.168.1.10 -- uptime
sshc run devhost -- docker ps
sshc run devhost --cwd /opt/app -- python -m app
sshc run devhost --timeout 30s --kill-after 5s -- systemctl status nginx
sshc run devhost -e APP_ENV=prod -e DEBUG=1 -- printenv APP_ENV
sshc run devhost --efile ./remote.env -- env

Remote commands must be placed after --.

Environment files support comments, blank lines, plain KEY=value, and export KEY=value lines:

APP_ENV=prod
export DEBUG=1
NAME="hello world"

Jump Hosts

Set jump on the target host when it normally needs a bastion:

sshc host add --ip 1.2.3.4 --name bastion --auth dev-root
sshc host add --ip 10.0.0.8 --name inner-db --auth dev-root --jump bastion

Equivalent config:

{
  "hosts": [
    {
      "name": "bastion",
      "ip": "1.2.3.4",
      "auth_ref": "dev-root"
    },
    {
      "name": "inner-db",
      "ip": "10.0.0.8",
      "auth_ref": "dev-root",
      "jump": "bastion"
    }
  ]
}

Then use the target host as usual:

sshc run inner-db -- hostname
sshc login inner-db
sshc scp -l app.jar -r /tmp/app.jar inner-db
sshc download -r /var/log/app.log -l tmp/logs inner-db

Use --jump to override the configured jump host for one command:

sshc run inner-db --jump bastion -- hostname
sshc login inner-db --jump bastion
sshc scp -l app.jar -r /tmp/app.jar inner-db --jump bastion
sshc download -r /var/log/app.log -l tmp/logs inner-db --jump bastion

The initial implementation supports one jump host. Nested jump hosts, ProxyCommand, and PVE/LXC/vhost-specific execution are not supported yet. Host key checking still happens on the local machine for both the jump host and the target host.

Run Scripts

sshc run devhost --script ./deploy.sh
sshc run devhost --script ./deploy.sh --cwd /opt/app
sshc run devhost --script ./deploy.sh --remote-script-dir /opt/app/tmp
sshc run devhost --script ./deploy.sh --keep-remote-script

Use --script for multiline shell, here-doc, source or virtualenv activation, or commands that require heavy quoting.

Script mode uploads the local file to /tmp by default and runs it with bash. Use --remote-script-dir when /tmp has restrictive mount options, permissions, or cleanup policies.

Batch Run

sshc batch-run --hosts devhost,web-2 -- uptime
sshc brun --hosts devhost,web-2 -- hostname
sshc batch-run --group testing --parallel 5 --script ./deploy.sh
sshc batch-run --hosts-file hosts.txt -- hostname
sshc batch-run --hosts-file ips.txt --auth dev-root --script ./init.sh

--hosts accepts a comma-separated list. --hosts-file reads one host target per line and ignores blank lines and full-line comments. Saved hosts are resolved first; unresolved IP or hostname targets can be used with shared auth options such as --auth, -u, --key, or -p.

Use --parallel to limit concurrency. With --fail-fast, sshc stops starting new hosts after the first failure and waits for already running hosts to finish.

Sudo

sshc run devhost --sudo -- apt-get update
sshc run devhost --sudo-user app --cwd /opt/app -- whoami
sshc run devhost --script ./deploy.sh --sudo-user app --remote-script-dir /opt/app/tmp

--sudo and --sudo-user require passwordless sudo, or an SSH user that already has the required privileges.

Upload Files

sshc scp -l ./local-file.txt -r /tmp/remote-file.txt devhost
sshc scp -l ./local-file.txt -r /tmp/remote-file.txt devhost --sha256
sshc scp -l ./local-dir -r /tmp/remote-dir devhost
sshc scp -l ./dist -r /opt/app/dist devhost --remove-dir
sshc scp -l "./dist/*.jar" -r /opt/app/lib devhost
sshc scp -l ./a.jar -l ./b.jar -r /opt/app/lib/ devhost
sshc scp --map ./config/app.yml=/etc/app/app.yml --map ./scripts/deploy.sh=/opt/app/deploy.sh devhost

Use repeatable -l/--local when multiple local paths should go into one remote directory. Use repeatable --map local=remote when each local path needs an explicit remote destination.

Download Files

sshc download -r /tmp/remote-file.txt -l ./local-file.txt devhost
sshc download -r /tmp/remote-file.txt -l ./local-file.txt devhost --sha256
sshc download -r /var/log/my-app/app.log -l tmp/logs/ devhost --sha256
sshc dl -r /tmp/remote-dir -l ./local-dir devhost

Existing local directories receive the remote base name. Local paths ending with / or \ are also treated as directories.

View Logs

sshc log
sshc log devhost
sshc log devhost --match uptime
sshc log devhost --tail 50
sshc log devhost -m error --tail 50
sshc log --id 20260704-173012-a1b2c3
sshc log --id 20260704-173012-a1b2c3 --tail 80
sshc log --id 20260704-173012-a1b2c3 --lines 120,180
sshc log devhost --lines 20,80

Every run writes one JSON log line to ~/.config/sshc/logs/<host>.log by default. Each run has a task_id. Short output is kept inline in JSONL; larger output is stored under ~/.config/sshc/logs/yyyyMMdd/<task_id>.out.log and can be opened with sshc log --id <task_id>. Interactive login sessions only record connection metadata.

Interactive Login

sshc login
sshc login devhost
sshc connect devhost
sshc login --term xterm-256color devhost

login and connect open an interactive remote PTY. The terminal type defaults to the local TERM value and falls back to xterm-256color. When no target is provided, or when a target matches multiple hosts, sshc opens an interactive host selector.

Host Matching

Most commands accept a saved host name or IP. sshc resolves exact matches first, then a unique partial match across host name, IP, remark, and group.

For example, if a saved host has name testing-web, group testing, and remark gpu runner, these can match when the result is unique:

sshc run "testing web" -- hostname
sshc run "testing gpu" -- uptime

If multiple hosts match, sshc returns the candidate list instead of guessing.

Configuration

Default config file:

~/.config/sshc/sshc.config.json

Example config:

{
  "version": 1,
  "logs_path": "logs",
  "defaults": {
    "user": "root",
    "port": 22,
    "connect_timeout": "20s",
    "remote_script_dir": "/tmp",
    "host_key_check": "known_hosts",
    "known_hosts_path": "~/.ssh/known_hosts"
  },
  "auth_profiles": [
    {
      "name": "dev-root",
      "user": "root",
      "password_enc": "v1:...",
      "remark": "shared root login"
    }
  ],
  "hosts": [
    {
      "name": "devhost",
      "ip": "192.168.1.10",
      "auth_ref": "dev-root",
      "group": "testing"
    },
    {
      "name": "inner-db",
      "ip": "10.0.0.8",
      "auth_ref": "dev-root",
      "jump": "devhost",
      "group": "testing"
    }
  ]
}

logs_path can be absolute, start with ~, or be relative to ~/.config/sshc.

Default run log directory:

~/.config/sshc/logs/<host>.log

Use another config file:

SSHC_CONFIG=/path/to/sshc.config.json sshc list

Saved hosts override entries loaded from ~/.ssh/config when the name or IP is the same. For compatibility, ~/.config/sshc/hosts.json is still read when the new default config file does not exist.

Export And Import Config

Use cfg export/import to move a complete sshc config to another machine:

sshc cfg export -o sshc-export.enc
sshc cfg import -f sshc-export.enc --key "sshc-v1:..."
sshc cfg import -f sshc-export.enc --key "sshc-v1:..." --overwrite
sshc cfg import -f sshc-export.enc --key "sshc-v1:..." --replace

cfg export writes an encrypted export package and prints a one-time export key. Save that key separately; it is not stored in the export file or local config.

cfg import backs up the current config before writing. The default merge strategy rejects conflicting host names, host IPs, and auth profile names. Use --overwrite to update conflicting entries, or --replace to replace the current config with the imported config.

Passwords from the export package are re-encrypted with the target machine's local ~/.config/sshc/key when the imported config is saved. Importing plain IP lists, CSV files, or pasted host snippets is handled by sshc host import, not sshc cfg import.

Config helpers:

sshc cfg path
sshc cfg show
sshc cfg show --raw
sshc cfg get logs_path
sshc cfg set logs_path ./runtime/logs
sshc cfg set defaults.user root
sshc cfg set defaults.port 2222
sshc cfg set defaults.host_key_check known_hosts
sshc cfg unset logs_path
sshc cfg doctor

cfg show masks passwords and encrypted password values. cfg show --raw prints the config file as stored on disk and is intended for local debugging.

Security Notes

• Saved passwords are encrypted before being written to sshc.config.json.
• The local encryption key is stored at ~/.config/sshc/key; keep both files private.
• Legacy plaintext password fields are still readable for compatibility.
• Prefer SSH keys over passwords when possible.
• If both password and --key are provided, key authentication is tried first.
• SSH host keys are checked against ~/.ssh/known_hosts by default.
• If a host is not trusted yet, connect once with ssh devhost or add its key to known_hosts before using sshc.
• Set host_key_check to insecure only when you explicitly want to skip host key verification.
• With --script --sudo-user, the uploaded temporary script is readable by local remote users so the target sudo user can execute it. For sensitive scripts, use --remote-script-dir with a restricted remote directory.
• login opens an interactive PTY. Session logs record connection metadata only, not typed commands or terminal output.

Documentation

• Deployment examples
• Password encryption design

Development

go test ./...
go build -o tmp/sshc ./cmd/sshc

On Windows:

go test ./...
go build -o tmp\sshc.exe ./cmd/sshc

Release builds are driven by tags:

git tag v0.1.0
git push origin v0.1.0

License

MIT