ssh-manager-kit

CLI tool for managing SSH hosts in ~/.ssh/config.

Add, list, search, update, and delete hosts without hand-editing your SSH config. Supports a default key directory, host alias prefixes, and automatically enforces chmod 400 on private keys.

Install

npm install -g ssh-manager-kit

Usage

# List all hosts
ssh-mgr list

# Search hosts by name, hostname, or user
ssh-mgr search prod

# Show details of a host
ssh-mgr show my-server

# Add a host (flags mode — no prompts)
ssh-mgr add my-server --hostname 192.168.1.10 --user deploy --port 22 --key deploy_key

# Add a host (interactive — prompts for everything)
ssh-mgr add

# Add a host and skip confirmation
ssh-mgr add my-server --hostname 1.2.3.4 --user root -y

# Update a host
ssh-mgr update my-server --user root --port 2222

# Delete a host (with confirmation)
ssh-mgr delete my-server

# Delete without confirmation
ssh-mgr delete my-server --force

Commands

| Command | Description | |---|---| | list | Show all SSH hosts in a table | | search <query> | Search hosts by alias, hostname, or user | | show <host> | Show details of a host | | add [host] | Add a new SSH host | | update <host> | Update an existing SSH host | | delete <host> | Delete an SSH host | | config show | Display current configuration | | config set-key-path <path> | Set default private key directory | | config set-prefix <prefix> | Set host alias prefix |

Add / Update Options

| Flag | Description | |---|---| | --hostname <hostname> | HostName (IP or domain) | | --user <user> | User | | --port <port> | Port number | | --key <key> | Private key filename or full path | | -y, --yes | Skip confirmation prompt |

Configuration

Config is stored at ~/.config/.ssh-manager-kit.json.

# Show current configuration
ssh-mgr config show

Default Key Path

Set a default directory for private keys so you can reference them by filename:

ssh-mgr config set-key-path ~/.ssh

After this, --key deploy_key resolves to ~/.ssh/deploy_key. Keys containing / are treated as full paths and used as-is.

Host Prefix

Set a prefix that is automatically prepended to host aliases during interactive add:

ssh-mgr config set-prefix prod-

When a prefix is set, ssh-mgr add (interactive mode) prompts:

Host alias (prefix: prod-): web-01

The resulting alias is prod-web-01. The prefix is only applied in interactive mode — passing a [host] argument on the command line uses the alias verbatim.

Clear the prefix:

ssh-mgr config set-prefix ""

Hybrid Input

Commands accept flags for scripting. When required fields are missing, the tool prompts interactively.

# Full flags — no prompts
ssh-mgr add my-server --hostname 1.2.3.4 --user root --port 22 --key mykey

# Only host + hostname — no prompts for optional fields
ssh-mgr add my-server --hostname 1.2.3.4

# No arguments — fully interactive
ssh-mgr add

Safety

• Auto-backup: Creates a timestamped backup of ~/.ssh/config before every write (e.g., config.bak.2026-03-30T14-30-00).
• Round-trip validation: After writing, the tool re-parses the output and compares against the original data. If validation fails, the backup is automatically restored.
• Preserves formatting: Comments, blank lines, and unrecognized SSH options (ForwardAgent, ProxyJump, etc.) are preserved through all operations.
• Key permissions: When adding or updating a host with an IdentityFile, the tool checks the key file and runs chmod 400 if permissions are too open.
• Key existence warning: When adding or updating a host, warns if the resolved IdentityFile path does not exist on disk. The entry is still saved.

Development

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Run in dev mode
npm run dev -- list

# Run tests
npm test

# Run tests in watch mode
npm run test:watch

# Build
npm run build

# Build and link globally for local testing
npm run local

# Unlink
npm run local:unlink

License

ISC