Getting started

Quick start

Set up Termbit and connect to your first server in a couple of minutes.

Set up your vault

The first time you open Termbit, it asks you to set up this Mac. Choose Create New Vault. Termbit creates an encrypted vault for your hosts, passwords and keys, and stores the key that unlocks it in the macOS Keychain.

Next, Termbit offers to save a copy of that key. Keep the password protection on, enter and confirm a password of at least 15 characters and click Save Key…. Store the file somewhere safe, such as your password manager or an external drive.

You can skip saving the backup now and export the key later with File → Export Vault Key…. Just don’t forget: without a copy, your data can’t be recovered if the key is ever lost. See Vault.

Connect right away

On the start screen, type user@host or user@host:port into Quick Connect. You can open this field from anywhere with ⇧⌘K.

Press Return to connect. On the first connection, Termbit shows the server’s host key fingerprint and asks you to trust it. Then sign in with whatever the server offers: a password, an SSH key or a one-time code.

Quick Connect doesn’t create a host and doesn’t store your password. Only the server’s host key is remembered in Known hosts. To come back to a server later, save it as a host.

Save a host

  1. Click the + button at the top left of the window and choose New Host. You can also right-click an empty area of the sidebar.
  2. Enter a Name and the server’s Host address. Port 22 is used if you leave Port empty.
  3. Add a Username and choose how to sign in: Password, Public Key or Keyboard-Interactive.
  4. Optionally pick a group and environment, add tags or notes.
  5. Click Add Host.

Double-click the host in the sidebar to connect.

What to do next