Tabby Connections

Configure SSH, serial, and telnet connections in Tabby terminal.

SSH Connections

Tabby includes a full SSH2 client with integrated connection manager.

SSH Profile Configuration

ssh:
  connections:
    - name: "Production Server"
      host: "server.example.com"
      port: 22
      user: "deploy"
      auth: publicKey
      privateKey: "/path/to/key"
      group: "Production"
      color: "#ff5555"

    - name: "Dev Server"
      host: "dev.example.com"
      port: 22
      user: "developer"
      auth: password
      group: "Development"

SSH Authentication Methods

Method	Config Key	Description
Password	auth: password	Username/password login
Public Key	auth: publicKey	SSH key authentication
Agent	auth: agent	SSH agent forwarding
Keyboard Interactive	auth: keyboardInteractive	Challenge-response

Public Key Authentication

ssh:
  connections:
    - name: "Key Auth Server"
      host: "server.example.com"
      user: "admin"
      auth: publicKey
      privateKey: "~/.ssh/id_ed25519"
      # privateKey can be absolute path or ~ relative

SSH Agent Forwarding

Tabby supports SSH agent forwarding with:

• Pageant (Windows PuTTY agent)
• Windows OpenSSH Agent (built-in)
• ssh-agent (macOS/Linux)

ssh:
  connections:
    - name: "Agent Forward"
      host: "bastion.example.com"
      user: "admin"
      auth: agent
      agentForwarding: true

Jump Host (ProxyJump)

Configure automatic jump host routing:

ssh:
  connections:
    - name: "Internal Server"
      host: "internal.private"
      port: 22
      user: "admin"
      jumpHost: "Bastion Server"  # Name of another saved connection

Port Forwarding

ssh:
  connections:
    - name: "DB Tunnel"
      host: "server.example.com"
      user: "admin"
      forwardedPorts:
        - type: local
          host: "localhost"
          port: 5432
          targetHost: "db.internal"
          targetPort: 5432
          description: "PostgreSQL tunnel"

        - type: remote
          host: "0.0.0.0"
          port: 8080
          targetHost: "localhost"
          targetPort: 3000
          description: "Expose local dev server"

        - type: dynamic
          host: "localhost"
          port: 1080
          description: "SOCKS5 proxy"

X11 Forwarding

ssh:
  connections:
    - name: "X11 Server"
      host: "server.example.com"
      user: "admin"
      x11: true

Login Scripts

Execute commands automatically after connecting:

ssh:
  connections:
    - name: "Auto Setup"
      host: "server.example.com"
      user: "admin"
      scripts:
        - expect: "\\$"
          send: "cd /app && source .env"
        - expect: "\\$"
          send: "echo 'Ready!'"

Serial Connections

Tabby includes a serial terminal with readline support.

Serial Profile Configuration

serial:
  connections:
    - name: "Arduino"
      port: "COM3"          # Windows
      # port: "/dev/ttyUSB0"  # Linux
      # port: "/dev/tty.usbserial"  # macOS
      baudRate: 9600
      dataBits: 8
      stopBits: 1
      parity: none
      rtscts: false
      xon: false
      xoff: false
      xany: false

    - name: "Router Console"
      port: "COM4"
      baudRate: 115200
      dataBits: 8
      stopBits: 1
      parity: none
      inputMode: readline    # readline or hex
      outputMode: text       # text or hexdump
      newlineMode: cr        # cr, lf, crlf

Serial Options

Option	Values	Description
baudRate	9600, 19200, 38400, 57600, 115200, etc.	Communication speed
dataBits	5, 6, 7, 8	Data bits per frame
stopBits	1, 1.5, 2	Stop bits
parity	none, even, odd, mark, space	Parity checking
rtscts	true/false	Hardware flow control
xon/xoff	true/false	Software flow control
inputMode	readline, hex	Input mode
outputMode	text, hexdump	Output display mode
newlineMode	cr, lf, crlf	Newline conversion

Auto-Reconnect

Serial connections support automatic reconnection:

serial:
  connections:
    - name: "Device Monitor"
      port: "COM3"
      baudRate: 115200
      autoReconnect: true

Telnet Connections

telnet:
  connections:
    - name: "Legacy Device"
      host: "device.local"
      port: 23

Connection Groups

Organize connections into groups for easy access:

ssh:
  connections:
    - name: "Web Server 1"
      host: "web1.example.com"
      group: "Production/Web"

    - name: "DB Server 1"
      host: "db1.example.com"
      group: "Production/Database"

    - name: "Dev Web"
      host: "dev-web.example.com"
      group: "Development"

Groups support nesting with / separator.

Encrypted Vault

Tabby stores sensitive connection data (passwords, private keys) in an encrypted vault.

• Set vault password in Settings > Vault
• Vault encrypts stored credentials
• Password required on startup to unlock connections

Zmodem File Transfer

SSH sessions support Zmodem file transfer:

1. Install lrzsz on remote server
2. Use sz filename to send files from server
3. Use rz to receive files on server
4. Tabby handles the transfer automatically

Connection Manager UI

The Settings UI provides a visual connection manager:

• Add/edit/delete connections
• Test connections
• Import from OpenSSH config (~/.ssh/config)
• Import from PuTTY (Windows registry)

Tips

• Use color property on connections to visually distinguish environments
• Group production servers separately from development
• Use jump hosts for accessing internal networks
• Enable agent forwarding for Git operations through bastion hosts
• Store SSH keys in the encrypted vault for security