Guides · Getting started
Getting started
Install MangoSSH, add your first SSH host and learn where everything lives. By the end you will have a live terminal and know which guide to read next.
- Windows · macOS · Linux
- No account needed
- About 10 minutes
Install
Get the installer for your platform from the download section.
| Platform | Package | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Windows | Setup .exe (x64) | Uses the WebView2 runtime, which Windows 10 and 11 normally already have. |
| macOS | .dmg | Separate builds for Apple silicon and Intel Macs. Pick the one that matches your Mac. |
| Linux | .deb or .AppImage (x86_64) | Use the .deb on Debian and Ubuntu. The AppImage runs on most other distributions after chmod +x. |
MangoSSH ships in two editions built from the same code. MangoSSH is the full Internet edition. MangoSSH Secure is for air-gapped networks and leaves out every feature that reaches the internet, such as the hosted Cloud Vault, Discover, the speed test and the password breach check. Everything in this guide works in both.
First launch
There is no sign-up and no master password to choose. Your hosts are encrypted from the first save, with a key MangoSSH keeps in your operating system's keychain (Windows Credential Manager, macOS Keychain or the Linux Secret Service). You can add a master password later; see Vaults.
With no saved hosts, MangoSSH opens on the SSH page. Once you have hosts, it opens on the Dashboard.
Find your way around
The top bar holds everything you open most often:
| Button | What it opens |
|---|---|
| Dashboard | Every saved host and live connection on one page. |
| SSH | Your SSH hosts and terminals. |
| RDP | Remote Desktop hosts. See Remote Desktop. |
| VNC | VNC and Apple Remote Desktop hosts. See VNC. |
| SFTP | Quick SFTP, for transferring files without saving a host first. |
| Serial | A console on a COM port or tty device. |
| + | The Add new entry grid, grouped into Remote, Storage and Tools. Every kind of session or tool starts here. |
The icons at the right end of the bar switch the host list between a sidebar and a tab bar, open Tools (Telnet, TFTP, FTP, IP Scan, Compare, Wake-on-LAN and more), and open Settings (the gear).
The Dashboard
Across the top are four tiles: Saved hosts, Online now, Runs today and Alerts (24h). Below them:
- Search hosts… and the All / SSH / RDP / VNC chips filter the cards.
- Add Session, Encrypted Vault, Sync and SSH Group are shortcuts for adding hosts, vault setup, sync and filtering by group.
- The SSH Hosts, RDP Hosts and VNC Hosts columns show one card per host, each with Edit, Disconnect and Connect buttons. The + beside a column title adds a host of that type. Connections lists everything that is open right now.
The Workspace list on the left leads to the pages you manage rather than connect to: SSH Keys, Scripts, Import SSH sessions, Audit Log, Port Forwarding, Connection Health, Session Logs, Password Manager, Policies and PAM Dashboard.
Add your first SSH host
Click SSH in the top bar, then Add SSH Host. The + beside SSH Hosts on the Dashboard, or Ctrl+N, opens the same form.
On the General tab, fill in Hostname / IP and Username. Both are required. Port starts at 22. Display name is how the host appears in lists.
Choose how to sign in. For a password, type it and leave Save password to OS keychain on, or leave the field blank to be asked each time. For a key, click Add SSH Key, Certificate, or FIDO2. Keys and sign-in methods covers every option.
Click Connect. MangoSSH saves the host and opens the session.
The first time you reach a server, an Unknown Host Key dialog shows its fingerprint. If it matches what you expect, click Yes, Trust & Connect. MangoSSH remembers the key and warns you if it ever changes.
A host-key prompt for a server you have connected to before, with no rebuild you know about, can mean someone is intercepting the connection. Esc cancels without trusting anything.
Already have hosts in ~/.ssh/config, PuTTY or elsewhere? Importing hosts brings them in at once. Every tab of the host form is explained in SSH hosts, tab by tab.
Terminal basics
Above each terminal is a session bar. Its left-hand icons switch the session between the Terminal, SSH Browse/SFTP (a file browser on the same connection), Monitor, History and SSH Tunneling/Port Forwarding. Hover any icon for its name.
- Several sessions. Each host you connect stays open. Click another host in the SSH Connections list to switch. To see open sessions as tabs instead, use the hosts-bar toggle at the right of the top bar.
- Split view. With two or more SSH sessions open, click the split-view icon. With three or more, you pick up to three more sessions to show beside the current one, side by side or stacked.
- Search. Ctrl+Shift+F (Cmd+Shift+F on macOS) finds text in the scrollback. Plain Ctrl+F still goes to the remote shell.
- Text size. Ctrl+= and Ctrl+- change the font size in every open terminal. Ctrl+0 resets it.
- More. The same bar has buttons to copy the selection, clear the terminal, pop the session into its own window and disconnect. If a session drops, press Shift+R to reconnect.
Settings
Click the gear at the far right of the top bar. The list on the left groups everything: Profiles, Vault, Authentication, Cloud Sync, Appearance (themes and terminal font), Groups, Identities, Connection (defaults for new hosts), RDP Session, Remote and more.
Settings → Connection pre-fills every new host: default username, port, timeouts and keepalives. It never changes hosts you already saved.
Where next
- SSH hosts, tab by tab: every setting in the host form.
- Keys and sign-in methods: keys, agents, FIDO2 and external password managers.
- SFTP and file transfer: the file browser and Quick SFTP.
- Port forwarding and jump hosts: tunnels and ProxyJump chains.
- Remote Desktop (RDP) and VNC: graphical sessions.
- Vaults: Personal, Team and Cloud: where hosts are stored and how to share them.
- Password manager: keep other logins next to your hosts.
- Scripts: run the same commands on many hosts.