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go2 - SSH Connection Manager

Quickly connect to your servers with simple aliases. No more remembering IP addresses, usernames, or typing long SSH commands.

go2 is a lightweight, cross-platform SSH management system that lets you connect to your servers using memorable aliases. Just type go2 server-name and you're connected. Perfect for developers, sysadmins, and anyone who manages multiple servers.

Platform Support License

✨ Features

  • 🚀 Lightning Fast - Connect to servers instantly with short aliases
  • 🔐 Multiple Auth Methods - Support for SSH keys, passwords, and custom ports
  • 🎨 Beautiful Terminal UI - Color-coded output for better readability
  • ➕ Interactive Setup - Add servers easily with go2 add command
  • 📝 Simple Configuration - Plain text config file, easy to edit and version control
  • 🔒 Secure by Default - Proper file permissions and password protection
  • 🌍 Cross-Platform - Works on macOS, Linux, and Windows (WSL)
  • ⚡ Zero Dependencies - Uses standard Unix tools (bash, ssh, expect)

🎯 Quick Start

Installation

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/knaps151/go2.git
cd go2

# Run the installation script
./install.sh

# Reload your shell
source ~/.zshrc  # macOS/Linux with zsh
# or
source ~/.bashrc  # Linux/WSL with bash

That's it! The installer will:

  • ✅ Make scripts executable
  • ✅ Add the go2 alias to your shell
  • ✅ Set up secure file permissions
  • ✅ Check for dependencies

Your First Server

# Add a server interactively
go2 add

# Connect to it
go2 my-server

# List all servers
go2 list

📋 Requirements

Requirement macOS Linux Windows (WSL)
Bash ✅ Pre-installed ✅ Pre-installed ✅ Pre-installed
SSH ✅ Pre-installed ✅ Pre-installed ✅ Available
expect ✅ Usually pre-installed ✅ Usually pre-installed ⚠️ May need install

Installing expect (if needed):

  • macOS: brew install expect
  • Linux (Debian/Ubuntu): sudo apt-get install expect
  • Linux (RHEL/CentOS): sudo yum install expect
  • Windows (WSL): sudo apt-get install expect

🚀 Usage

Basic Commands

# Connect to a server
go2 server-name

# Add a new server (interactive)
go2 add

# List all configured servers
go2 list
# or simply
go2

# Show help
go2 help

Real-World Examples

# Connect to your web server
go2 web1

# Connect to database server on custom port
go2 db-prod

# Add a new staging server
go2 add
# Follow the prompts...

# See all your servers at a glance
go2 list

⚙️ Configuration

Adding Servers

Method 1: Interactive (Recommended)

go2 add

The interactive wizard will guide you through:

  • Server name (alias)
  • Hostname or IP address
  • Username
  • Port (defaults to 22)
  • Authentication method (SSH key, password, or default)
  • Additional SSH options

Method 2: Manual Configuration

Edit servers.conf directly:

# Format: name|host|user|port|key_file|password|options
web1|192.168.1.100|admin|22|~/.ssh/id_rsa||
db-server|db.example.com|root|2222|~/.ssh/db_key||
prod|prod.example.com|deploy|22||mypassword|

Configuration Fields:

  • name - Short alias to use with go2 command
  • host - Server hostname or IP address
  • user - SSH username
  • port - SSH port (default: 22, optional)
  • key_file - Path to SSH private key (optional)
  • password - SSH password (optional, stored in plain text)
  • options - Additional SSH options (optional)

Example Configurations:

# SSH key authentication
web1|192.168.1.100|admin|22|~/.ssh/id_rsa||

# Custom port with SSH key
db-server|db.example.com|root|2222|~/.ssh/db_key||

# Password authentication (not recommended)
prod|prod.example.com|deploy|22||mypassword|

# With custom SSH options
staging|staging.example.com|deploy|22|~/.ssh/key||-o ServerAliveInterval=60

# Default SSH keys
test|test.example.com|user|22|||

🔐 Security

Best Practices

  1. Use SSH Keys - Prefer SSH key authentication over passwords
  2. Restrict Permissions - The installer sets chmod 600 on servers.conf automatically
  3. Version Control - The servers.conf file is excluded from git (via .gitignore)
  4. Password Storage - If you must use passwords, they're stored in plain text. Consider using SSH keys instead.

File Permissions

The installer automatically sets secure permissions:

chmod 600 servers.conf  # Read/write for owner only
chmod +x go2.sh          # Executable

🌍 Platform Support

Platform Status Notes
macOS ✅ Fully Supported Tested and optimized
Linux ✅ Fully Supported Works on all major distributions
Windows (WSL) ✅ Fully Supported Same as Linux
Windows (Git Bash) ⚠️ Partial May require manual alias setup

🔧 Advanced Usage

Password Authentication

When using password authentication, go2 uses expect for automatic password entry. If expect isn't available, it falls back to an interactive prompt.

Automatic Password Entry:

  • Requires expect (usually pre-installed)
  • Passwords are entered automatically
  • No manual typing required

Interactive Fallback:

  • If expect isn't available
  • You'll be prompted to enter the password manually
  • Still works, just requires manual input

Custom SSH Options

You can add any SSH options to your server configuration:

# Keep connection alive
-o ServerAliveInterval=60

# Skip host key checking (for testing)
-o StrictHostKeyChecking=no

# Custom timeout
-o ConnectTimeout=10

🗑️ Uninstallation

To remove go2 from your system:

cd /path/to/go2
./uninstall.sh

This will:

  • Remove the go2 alias from your shell configuration
  • Create a backup of your shell config file

You can then delete the go2 directory if desired:

rm -rf /path/to/go2

📝 Notes & Tips

  • Path Expansion: The script automatically expands ~ in key file paths to your home directory
  • Missing Keys: If a key file is specified but not found, the script falls back to default SSH keys
  • Empty Fields: Leave empty fields empty (use || for empty fields in config)
  • Comments: Lines starting with # are treated as comments
  • Duplicate Servers: The script will prompt to overwrite if you try to add a server that already exists
  • Config Location: The config file is stored in the same directory as go2.sh

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Feel free to:

  • Report bugs
  • Suggest new features
  • Submit pull requests
  • Improve documentation

📄 License

This project is open source and available under the MIT License.

🙏 Acknowledgments

Built with ❤️ for developers and sysadmins who value simplicity and efficiency.

Made with: Bash, SSH, and a lot of terminal love.

Questions? Issues? Open an issue on GitHub!