gssh - SSH + Git Author Profile Manager

A cross-platform Node.js CLI tool that manages multiple SSH keys and Git author profiles.

Features

• Profile-based SSH key management: Switch between different SSH identities with a single command
• Git author configuration: Automatically set Git user.name and user.email (global or local)
• Auto-import existing keys: Automatically detects and offers to import existing SSH keys on first run
• Public key display: Easily copy your public key to clipboard for GitHub/GitLab
• Cross-platform: Works on macOS, Linux, and Windows (Node.js 18+)

Installation

From Source

cd gssh-node
npm install
npm run build

# Install globally (optional)
npm link

From npm

npm install -g gssh

Usage

List all profiles

gssh list

Create a new profile

gssh add myprofile
# Interactive wizard will prompt for Git author name, email, and generate SSH key

Switch to a profile

# Set Git config globally (default)
gssh use myprofile

# Set Git config locally (current repo only)
gssh use myprofile -l

Show current active profile

gssh current

Display public key

gssh pubkey
# Automatically copies to clipboard (macOS/Linux/Windows)

Remove a profile

gssh remove myprofile
# Safety checks prevent accidental deletion of active profile

Show menu (default)

gssh
# Shows menu, current profile, and public key

How It Works

Profile Storage

Profiles are stored in ~/.ssh/profiles/<profile-name>/:

~/.ssh/profiles/
├── work/
│   ├── id_ed25519          # Private key
│   ├── id_ed25519.pub      # Public key
│   └── git_author.txt      # Git author info
└── personal/
    ├── id_ed25519
    ├── id_ed25519.pub
    └── git_author.txt

Active Profile Tracking

Active profile is tracked using two methods:

1. Marker file (preferred): ~/.ssh/git-ssh-active.txt
2. Public key matching (fallback): Compares public keys in ~/.ssh/ with profile keys

Git Author Format

The git_author.txt file supports two formats:

Single line:

John Doe <[email protected]>

Two lines:

John Doe
[email protected]

Technical Details

Stack

• TypeScript with ESM modules
• commander - CLI parsing
• chalk - Terminal colors
• execa - Shell command execution
• fast-glob - Directory traversal

Architecture

src/
├── index.ts           # Main entry point
├── cli.ts             # Commander.js setup
├── types.ts           # TypeScript interfaces
├── paths.ts           # Filesystem path management
├── git-author.ts      # Git config management
├── keypair.ts         # SSH key operations
├── utils/
│   ├── clipboard.ts   # Platform-specific clipboard
│   ├── prompts.ts     # Interactive prompts
│   ├── errors.ts      # Error handling
│   └── platform.ts    # Platform detection
└── commands/
    ├── list.ts        # List profiles
    ├── use.ts         # Switch profiles
    ├── add.ts         # Create profiles
    ├── remove.ts      # Delete profiles
    ├── current.ts     # Show active profile
    ├── pubkey.ts      # Display public key
    ├── import.ts      # Auto-import existing keys
    ├── menu.ts        # Default menu
    └── shared.ts      # Shared utilities

File Permissions

On Unix-like systems (macOS, Linux):

• Private keys: chmod 600 (read-only by owner)
• Public keys: chmod 644 (readable by all)

On Windows: Relies on NTFS permissions (not explicitly managed)

Clipboard Support

Platform-specific clipboard commands:

• macOS: pbcopy
• Windows: clip
• Linux: xclip, xsel, wl-copy (tries multiple)

Development

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build TypeScript
npm run build

# Watch mode (development)
npm run dev

# Clean build artifacts
npm run clean

Differences from Rust Version

• Uses Node.js native readline instead of external prompt libraries
• Uses execa for shell commands instead of std::process::Command
• Modular file structure vs single-file binary
• Same CLI interface and functionality

Requirements

• Node.js 18 or higher
• ssh-keygen (for generating keys)
• git (for setting config)

License

MIT