Installation

sshc is a terminal app for macOS, Linux, Windows, and Android. On desktop, one sshc binary provides the engine, CLI, and local web UI.

macOS / Linux

Homebrew is the shortest path. Follow its official installation instructions if it is not already installed.

brew install aida0710/tap/sshc

Without Homebrew, pin both the installer URL and the binary version to the same release. This example installs v0.36.3.

SSHC_VERSION=v0.36.3 sh -c \
  'curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/aida0710/sshc/v0.36.3/install.sh | sh'

After installation, sshc update delegates upgrades to Homebrew or to a receipt-aware installer. It shows the planned change and asks for confirmation. In non-interactive automation, review the plan and use sshc update --yes.

Windows

Run this from Windows PowerShell. Administrator privileges are not required.

powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Command "irm https://github.com/aida0710/sshc/releases/latest/download/install.ps1 | iex"

It installs to %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\sshc and updates the user PATH. Run the same command again to update to the latest stable release.

Android

Download sshc-android-v<version>.apk from GitHub Releases. The release workflow verifies the signing fingerprint and checksum before publishing it.

See Android for mobile startup and file picker behavior.

Start

sshc engine

When started in an interactive terminal, the first browser enrolment opens automatically. After service startup, if it does not open, or when adding another browser, open the UI from another terminal.

sshc

The engine stays in the foreground. Use tmux, systemd, launchd or another OS process manager if you want it to stay running.

Desktop first uses http://127.0.0.1:54447/. If another user or application already owns that port, sshc selects an available port once and stores it as this device's stable URL. Check the current URL with sshc status. Run sshc to open a one-time URL and enrol that browser. Afterwards, the same browser profile can use a bookmark or an installed web app directly, including after an engine restart on the same port. If the saved port is unavailable and the URL changes, sshc revokes the previous browser registration. Run sshc once against the current engine to enrol it again. Use the same command to add another browser or profile.

Chrome and Edge can install sshc from their Install app action. The web app does not start the engine; run sshc engine or keep the OS service running first.

On first launch you can set a vault master password, or continue without one.

Keep the engine running on Ubuntu / Linux

On Linux systems using systemd, install sshc as a user service without sudo.

Stop any sshc engine running in the foreground or under tmux first. The systemd engine cannot start while another engine holds the lock.

sshc service install
sshc service status
sshc vault unlock

service install creates, enables, and starts ~/.config/systemd/user/sshc.service. It reports success only after matching systemd's main PID to sshc and reaching the status API. It records Homebrew's stable opt/sshc/bin/sshc path or a verified install.sh destination. Manually copied and source-built executables are not registered automatically.

The command shows the unit and executable before asking for confirmation. Use sshc service install --yes when reviewed automation must skip the prompt.

sshc will not overwrite an existing hand-written unit. Stop and move that unit before switching to sshc management.

systemctl --user disable --now sshc
mv ~/.config/systemd/user/sshc.service ~/.config/systemd/user/sshc.service.manual
systemctl --user daemon-reload
sshc service install

To keep the user manager running after you log out, ask an administrator to enable lingering, or run this if you have permission:

loginctl enable-linger "$USER"

Run sshc service disable to stop and remove the service. It asks for confirmation and only removes a unit created by sshc. Automation can use sshc service disable --yes.

Keep the engine running on macOS

On macOS, install sshc as a launchd user agent without sudo. Stop an engine running in the foreground or under tmux first.

sshc service install
sshc service status
sshc vault unlock

service install creates ~/Library/LaunchAgents/io.github.aida0710.sshc.plist, registers it in the current GUI user domain, and starts it. It reports success only after matching launchd's PID to sshc and reaching the status API. sshc does not overwrite a hand-written plist with the same name. sshc service disable removes only the plist created by sshc.

Update

• Homebrew or install.sh: sshc update
• Windows: run the PowerShell installer again
• Android: install the newer APK from GitHub Releases

When an active service was created by sshc service install and its executable matches the installation being updated, sshc update restarts it automatically. The restart locks the vault, so run sshc vault unlock again. If the update succeeds but only the restart fails, follow the message and run sshc service install again. Restart engines outside service management with sshc engine --replace.