Best SSH client for Mac

Posted:
in Mac Software edited January 2014
Hi folks,



Being a recent 'switcher', I am finding myself scrambling to find replacements for the fav tools I used before. My newest frustration is finding a good replacement for SecureCRT for the Mac.



I need an SSH client that will save logon info for my most common servers that I SSH to, as well as keep the session alive during the times I have to step away from the desk.



I have been using the SSH command line utility built into OSX but if I have to ignore an SSH session for five minutes while I attend to other matters, then the connection is dropped and I have to re-establish it.



Any suggestions? TIA, Zeeple.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 12
    eminemin Posts: 45member
    You don't need one. Just open a console window a use ssh from the command line.
  • Reply 2 of 12
    zeeplezeeple Posts: 31member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Emin

    You don't need one. Just open a console window a use ssh from the command line.



    Thanks for the reply. But, as mentioned in the previous post, I currently use the SSH utility via command line and I find it lacking in the features I want. It has no keepalive. Thus if I have to walk away from the computer for a bit when I return, whatever I was connected to is now dropped, and I have to re-establich the SSH session. Pain in the rear.



    A utility such as SecureCRT, for Windows computers only, has these features and more and is truly a superior SSH client. So I am hoping that other Mac users out there have the same requirements that I do, and have found a good utility somewhere that can fill this gap.



    Thanks!
  • Reply 3 of 12
    eminemin Posts: 45member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Zeeple

    It has no keepalive.



    Tried ssh -o TCPKeepAlive ?
  • Reply 4 of 12
    keotkeot Posts: 116member
    I would be interested in finding out a better SSH client than Terminal.

    At the moment, I click-hold on the Terminal icon in the dock and click 'Connect to server...'. Slightly easier than using the command line method.
  • Reply 5 of 12
    zeeplezeeple Posts: 31member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Emin

    Tried ssh -o TCPKeepAlive ?



    No!! I have not tried that. However, I am trying right now. Thanks again for the prompt response!
  • Reply 6 of 12
    toweltowel Posts: 1,479member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Zeeple

    I need an SSH client that will save logon info for my most common servers that I SSH to



    You can use a command alias or a simple script to save the login command for each of your favorite servers, if re-typing the commands gets too complicated. In its simplest form, this just means typing the command into a text file and making the file executable. OpenSSH is a pretty decent SSH client, and the BSD environment that surrounds it offers a rich variety of ways to streamline your workflow. If I had to guess, I'd say the lack of "sophisticated" GUI SSH clients for OS X is because the power-users that would use them prefer to leverage the CLI instead.
  • Reply 7 of 12
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    Yeah, I haven't found a GUI ssh client I like as much as the command line. Color me geeky.



    Ditto to the above comments about making a quick shell script that just fires off the appropriate username/password, but that's a slight security risk, keeping your passwords in plain text like that.



    I set up secure keys between all my ssh2 connections, but you might not have that option.
  • Reply 8 of 12
    zeeplezeeple Posts: 31member
    Well, I think I would like to use the command line too, if only I can iron out these few wrinkles and make it quicker and easier to connect to my servers.



    TCPKeepAlive: I have tried this option but it is not working for me. I have tried it via command line as such:



    ssh -o TCPKeepAlive=yes server.domain.com



    as well as placing it in /etc/ssh_config under "Host *" But either way, the session is still dropped after a bit of inactivity.



    Alias: I have also put a few aliases in /etc/profile that allow me to reduce this:



    ssh -l barney -o TCPKeepAlive=yes host.domain.com



    to this:



    host



    but this still leaves me needing to enter the password everytime. (I know a petty grievance) which is more typing than I'd like to have to do. Is there no way to pass that via config files or command line?



    Thanks!

    Zeeple
  • Reply 9 of 12
    eminemin Posts: 45member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Zeeple

    ...the session is still dropped after a bit of inactivity.



    I understand, that with other ssh clients (especially the one you wrote about) your sessions do stay open? In other words - is this an issue only from your Mac?



    Quote:



    but this still leaves me needing to enter the password everytime. (I know a petty grievance) which is more typing than I'd like to have to do. Is there no way to pass that via config files or command line?





    It is possible to establish trust through host keys as well as authenticate through a personal ssh key. This second method is probably better. You would have to create a key with ssh-keygen, place it on the hosts in appropriate files etc, then use ssh-agent to keep it for you while your OS X session is open allowing password-less login onto other hosts.



    However, I actually think that having to enter a password when logging in is a good thing. A little inconvenience that actually improves security.
  • Reply 10 of 12
    Yep, this is only a problem when I use the Mac. But I think it is not an inherent difference in Operating Systems so much as it was a feature of a really good SSH client that *happened* to be written for Windows. This is the client, btw, that I am referring to:



    http://www.vandyke.com/products/securecrt/
  • Reply 11 of 12
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    Except that I've never seen that problem on my Mac... my guess is that it happens to be something about the ssh server on the other end.
  • Reply 12 of 12
    fahlmanfahlman Posts: 740member
    JellyfiSSH is a simple bookmark manager for connecting to *NIX boxes like BSD/Linux etc via Telnet or SSH 1 or 2. You can set preferences for each bookmark including the terminal colours, fonts, window size, transparency and default login. Version 4 introduces grouping which allows you to collect similar bookmarks into groups for better management - especially for large numbers of bookmarks.
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