👾 SSH Connection Manager (conn)

A bash script to easily manage SSH connections with custom aliases.

Manage your SSH connections like a pro! Add, edit, list and connect to your servers with simple commands. Features password clipboard integration, auto-update, SSH key management and a beautiful interface.

🎯 Quick Example

# Add a new connection
conn add

# List all your servers
conn list

# Connect to a server
conn to myserver

🪄 Installation

Method 1: Global Installation (Recommended)

Clone the repository from GitHub:

git clone https://github.com/andreapollastri/ssh-connection-manager.git
cd ssh-connection-manager

Run the installation script:

chmod +x install.sh
./install.sh

After installation, you can use the conn command from any directory!

Method 2: Direct Usage

If you prefer not to install globally:

chmod +x conn
./conn <command>

📋 Commands Overview

Command	Description
conn add	Add a new SSH connection
conn list	Display all saved connections in a beautiful table
conn info <alias>	Show detailed information about a connection
conn to <alias>	Connect to a server by alias
conn edit <alias>	Edit an existing connection
conn remove <alias>	Remove a connection
conn reset <alias>	Reset SSH host keys
conn key <action>	Manage SSH keys (public/private/create)
conn update	Update script to latest version
conn help	Show help message

⌨️ Available Commands

1. Add a New Connection

conn add

You will be prompted to enter:

• Alias: short name to identify the server
• User: SSH username (default: root)
• Host: IP address or hostname of the server
• Port: SSH port (default: 22)
• Password: (optional) will be copied to clipboard during connection

Example:

Type alias: myserver
Type user (default: root): andrea
Type host: 192.168.1.100
Type port (default: 22): 2222
Password (optional - will be copied to clipboard during connection): ********

2. List All Servers

conn list

Example output:

╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║                          SSH SERVERS LIST                                  ║
╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝

  ALIAS                 USER                       HOST                  PORT
  ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
  myserver              andrea                     192.168.1.100         2222
  production            root                       prod.example.com      22     🔑
  staging               deploy                     staging.example.com   2222

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
  💡 Tip: Use conn to <alias> to connect

🔑 = Connection with saved password

3. Show Connection Info

conn info <alias>

Shows detailed information about a specific connection.

Example:

conn info myserver

Example output:

╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║                          CONNECTION INFO                                   ║
╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝

Alias:      myserver
User:       andrea
Host:       192.168.1.100
Port:       2222
Connection: [email protected]:2222
Password:   mysecretpassword ⚠️ visible in plain text

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
  💡 Tip: Use conn to myserver to connect

4. Connect to a Server

conn to <alias>

Example:

conn to myserver

The script will:

• Check if SSH key exists (warns if missing)
• Check for script updates (warns if available)
• Copy saved password to clipboard (if present)
• Connect via SSH

5. Edit a Connection

conn edit <alias>

Allows you to modify an existing connection. Press Enter to keep the current value, or type a new one to change it.

Example:

conn edit myserver

6. Remove a Connection

conn remove <alias>

You will be asked for confirmation before proceeding.

Example:

conn remove myserver

7. Reset SSH Keys

conn reset <alias>

Executes ssh-keygen -R to remove the host's SSH keys (useful in case of "WARNING: REMOTE HOST IDENTIFICATION HAS CHANGED").

Example:

conn reset myserver

8. Manage SSH Keys

conn key <action>

Available actions:

• public - Show your SSH public key
• private - Show your SSH private key (⚠️ keep it secret!)
• create - Generate a new SSH key pair (id_rsa)

Examples:

conn key public   # Show public key
conn key create   # Create new SSH key pair

9. Update Script

conn update

Downloads and installs the latest version from GitHub. Automatically uses sudo if the script is installed in a system directory.

10. Help

conn help

🗄️ Configuration File

Connections are saved in:

~/.ssh_connections.conf

The file uses the format: alias|user|host|port|password

You can manually edit this file to backup or modify connections.

🚀 Features

• ✅ Beautiful table interface with colors and Unicode characters
• ✅ Detailed connection info - view complete connection details
• ✅ Password management - automatically copied to clipboard during connection
• ✅ Edit connections - modify existing connections without recreating them
• ✅ SSH key management - create, view public/private keys
• ✅ Auto-update - check and install updates from GitHub
• ✅ Smart checks - warns if SSH key is missing or updates are available
• ✅ Alphabetically sorted connections list
• ✅ Default values for user (root) and port (22)
• ✅ Input validation and confirmation prompts
• ✅ Automatic SSH key reset for host identification issues
• ✅ No external dependencies (bash + standard Unix tools)

🔧 Requirements

• macOS (or any Unix-like system)
• Bash
• Git
• SSH client installed
• Optional: SSH key pair (id_rsa) - can be created with conn key create

📝 Notes

• Connections are saved in a simple text file (~/.ssh_connections.conf)
• Each user has their own configuration file
• Passwords are stored in plain text - use SSH keys when possible for better security
• Passwords (if saved) are automatically copied to clipboard during connection
  • macOS: uses pbcopy (native)
  • Linux: uses xclip or xsel (install if needed)
• The script automatically checks for updates when connecting
• Backups are created when updating the script

🗑️ Uninstallation

If you installed globally:

sudo rm /usr/local/bin/conn

To remove SSH connections data:

sudo rm /usr/local/bin/conn

To remove SSH connections data:

rm ~/.ssh_connections.conf

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Feel free to:

• Report bugs
• Suggest new features
• Submit pull requests

💬 Support

If you have questions or need help:

• Open an issue on GitHub
• Check existing issues for solutions

📄 License

MIT License - Free to use and modify.

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Made with ❤️ by Andrea Pollastri