react-native-ssh-client

A React Native module for SSH client functionality, enabling secure shell connections from your React Native applications.

Disclaimer

This package is based on the code from react-native-ssh-sftp by Dylan Kenneally. The original package supports the old React Native architecture. This module adapts that code to work with React Native's new architecture (TurboModules).

Features

• 🔐 SSH connection with password or private key authentication
• 💻 Execute remote commands
• 🖥️ Interactive shell sessions with PTY support
• ⚡ Built with React Native's new architecture (TurboModules)
• 🤖 Only Android support

Installation

npm install @marcomueglich/react-native-ssh-client

Or with yarn:

yarn add @marcomueglich/react-native-ssh-client

Usage

Connecting with Password

import SSHClient from "react-native-ssh-client";

const client = await SSHClient.connectWithPassword(
  "example.com", // host
  22, // port
  "username", // username
  "password" // password
);

Executing Commands

// Execute a single command
const output = await client.execute("ls -la");
console.log(output);

// With callback
client.execute("whoami", (error, result) => {
  if (error) {
    console.error("Error:", error);
    return;
  }
  console.log("Result:", result);
});

Interactive Shell

import { PtyType } from "react-native-ssh-client";

// Start a shell session
await client.startShell(PtyType.XTERM);

// Write commands to the shell
const response = await client.writeToShell("cd /var/log\n");
console.log(response);

// Execute more commands
const logs = await client.writeToShell("cat syslog | head -n 20\n");
console.log(logs);

// Close the shell when done
client.closeShell();

Disconnecting

// Disconnect when done
client.disconnect();

API Reference

SSHClient

Static Methods

connectWithPassword(host, port, username, password, callback?)

Connects to an SSH server using password authentication.

• host: string - The hostname or IP address
• port: number - The SSH port (usually 22)
• username: string - The username for authentication
• password: string - The password for authentication
• callback: CallbackFunction<SSHClient> (optional) - Callback for connection result
• Returns: Promise<SSHClient>

Instance Methods

execute(command, callback?)

Executes a command on the SSH server.

• command: string - The command to execute
• callback: CallbackFunction<string> (optional) - Callback for the result
• Returns: Promise<string> - The command output

startShell(ptyType, callback?)

Starts an interactive shell session.

• ptyType: PtyType - The type of pseudo-terminal to use
• callback: CallbackFunction<string> (optional) - Callback for the response
• Returns: Promise<string>

writeToShell(command, callback?)

Writes a command to the active shell.

• command: string - The command to write
• callback: CallbackFunction<string> (optional) - Callback for the response
• Returns: Promise<string> - The shell output

closeShell()

Closes the active shell session.

disconnect()

Disconnects from the SSH server.

PtyType Enum

Available PTY types for shell sessions:

• PtyType.VANILLA - Basic terminal
• PtyType.VT100 - VT100 terminal emulation
• PtyType.VT102 - VT102 terminal emulation
• PtyType.VT220 - VT220 terminal emulation
• PtyType.ANSI - ANSI terminal emulation
• PtyType.XTERM - XTerm terminal emulation

Example

import SSHClient, { PtyType } from "react-native-ssh-client";

async function performSSHOperations() {
  try {
    // Connect
    const client = await SSHClient.connectWithPassword(
      "example.com",
      22,
      "admin",
      "secure-password"
    );

    // Execute a command
    const uptime = await client.execute("uptime");
    console.log("Server uptime:", uptime);

    // Start interactive shell
    await client.startShell(PtyType.XTERM);

    // Run commands in shell
    await client.writeToShell("cd /var/www\n");
    const files = await client.writeToShell("ls -la\n");
    console.log("Files:", files);

    // Cleanup
    client.closeShell();
    client.disconnect();
  } catch (error) {
    console.error("SSH Error:", error);
  }
}

Platform Support

• ✅ Android
• ⏳ iOS (not yet supported)

Requirements

• React Native >= 0.68
• Android minSdkVersion 21

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

License

MIT © Marco Mueglich

Author

Marco Mueglich

Repository

https://github.com/MarcoMueglich/react-native-ssh-client

Issues

Report issues at: https://github.com/MarcoMueglich/react-native-ssh-client/issues