A desktop SSH and serial terminal with an integrated SFTP file browser.
Built with Electron, React, and xterm.js.
Terminal
- SSH connections via system
sshbinary (full agent/config/proxy support) - Serial port terminal with configurable baud, parity, and flow control
- Tabs, split panes, and broadcast mode (send to multiple sessions)
- Terminal search, session logging, and keyboard shortcuts
SFTP File Browser
- Dual-pane commander-style file browser with transfer queue
- Remote file editing in a dedicated CodeMirror editor window
- Bookmarks, sync engine, and recursive folder transfers
- Keyboard navigation with vim-style and F-key bindings
Host Management
- Host CRUD with groups, color tags, and drag-and-drop reorder
- SSH config import from
~/.ssh/config - PuTTY session import from Windows registry
- 1Password credential references
- Per-host jump host (ProxyJump), keep-alive, and auto-reconnect settings
Port Forwarding
- Standalone and host-linked local/remote/dynamic tunnels
- Visual Tunnel Manager with topology diagram
Networking
- SSH2 connection pool with ref counting and idle timeout
- Network-aware auto-reconnect with DNS probing
- Host key verification for SFTP connections
- Keyboard-interactive authentication (2FA)
Extras
- Snippets manager with send-to-terminal
- Session recovery and workspace save/restore
- Database backup and restore with auto-backup on startup
- System tray integration
- Host status monitoring
- Node.js 22+
- pnpm 10.8+
- Windows: Visual Studio Build Tools (for native modules)
- macOS: Xcode Command Line Tools
- Linux:
build-essential,python3(for native modules)
git clone https://github.com/tomertec/HyperShell.git
cd hypershell
pnpm install
pnpm build
pnpm --filter @hypershell/desktop devThe app opens an Electron window. The renderer runs on Vite HMR (port 5173) during development.
+--------------------------------------------------+
| Electron Shell |
| |
| +--------------------+ +---------------------+ |
| | Main Process | | Renderer (React) | |
| | | | | |
| | SessionManager | | Zustand Stores | |
| | SSH PTY ---------|--|-> TerminalPane | |
| | Serial -------|--|-> TerminalPane | |
| | SFTP -------|--|-> SftpDualPane | |
| | | | | |
| | SQLite DB | | TabBar / Panes | |
| | Host Monitor | | Quick Connect | |
| | Tray Integration | | Settings Panel | |
| +--------+-----------+ +----------+----------+ |
| | Preload (Zod IPC) | |
| +-------<window.hypershell>+ |
+--------------------------------------------------+
Three-layer Electron model with Zod-validated IPC at the preload boundary. Five pnpm workspaces:
| Workspace | Package | Role |
|---|---|---|
apps/desktop |
@hypershell/desktop |
Electron main process, preload bridge, IPC handlers |
apps/ui |
@hypershell/ui |
React renderer — terminals, SFTP, host browser, settings |
packages/shared |
@hypershell/shared |
IPC channel names and Zod request/response schemas |
packages/session-core |
@hypershell/session-core |
Transport abstraction (SSH, serial, SFTP), connection pool |
packages/db |
@hypershell/db |
SQLite database, migrations, repositories |
pnpm build # Build all workspaces
pnpm test # Run all Vitest unit tests
pnpm lint # Lint all workspaces
# E2E tests (Playwright)
pnpm --filter @hypershell/ui test:e2e
# Windows installer
pnpm release:windows:unsigned
# macOS DMG
pnpm release:mac:unsigned
# Linux AppImage + deb
pnpm release:linux:unsigned| Component | Technology | Version |
|---|---|---|
| Desktop framework | Electron | 34.0.0 |
| UI framework | React | 19.1.0 |
| Terminal emulator | xterm.js | 6.0.0 |
| Language | TypeScript (strict) | 5.8.3 |
| SSH/SFTP client | ssh2 | 1.17.0 |
| Serial I/O | serialport | 12.0.0 |
| Database | SQLite (better-sqlite3) | 11.8.0 |
| State management | Zustand | 5.0.8 |
| Schema validation | Zod | 3.24.1 |
| Styling | Tailwind CSS | 4.2.2 |
| Code editor | CodeMirror | 6.0.2 |
| Bundler (UI) | Vite | 6.3.5 |
| Bundler (main) | esbuild | 0.25.12 |
| Unit tests | Vitest | 3.1.2 |
| E2E tests | Playwright | 1.54.1 |
| Packaging | electron-builder | 26.0.12 |
Full developer documentation is in the docs/ directory, covering architecture, IPC reference, data model, configuration, testing, build and release, and troubleshooting.
MIT