SSH Config Manager help

Answers to your questions about SSH Config Manager on the Mac

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Installation

Installing on macOS

SSH Config Manager ships as a notarized DMG signed with a Developer ID, so it opens without a Gatekeeper warning. Download the .dmg, open it, and drag the app into your Applications folder.

  1. Download SSHConfigManager.dmg and open it.
  2. Drag SSH Config Manager into your Applications folder.
  3. Launch the app from Applications. No Gatekeeper warning appears, because the app is notarized.
  4. You only need to do this once. Every subsequent launch works normally.

Requires macOS 13 (Ventura) or later on Apple Silicon or Intel.

Editing config

SSH Config Manager reads and writes ~/.ssh/config. Open Hosts in the sidebar and click New Host… (Command-N). Give the host a short alias, then fill in HostName, User and Port on the Connection tab. Every option has its own control and an info button with a short explanation.

Nothing is written until you click Save (Command-S); Revert throws your changes away. Only the lines you changed are rewritten: comments, Include and Match blocks, repeated options and your formatting stay as they were, and the previous file is backed up in ~/.ssh/ first. New hosts are placed above Host * so their own settings take effect.

The editor shows 40+ options on four tabs: Connection, Authentication, Forwarding and Advanced. Every option is always visible. Options that may appear more than once, such as IdentityFile or LocalForward, get one row each and an Add Another button. Anything else, for example CertificateFile, goes under Other Options on the Advanced tab with Add Option…. Match blocks are listed with the hosts and their conditions can be edited too.

SSH keys

Open SSH Keys in the sidebar and click New Key…. Choose the algorithm (ED25519 recommended), give the key a file name, and optionally protect it with a passphrase. The key pair is written to ~/.ssh/ with the correct permissions. An existing key is never overwritten: pick another name instead. Keys you remove with Move to Trash can be put back from the Trash.

Click any key in the list: its fingerprint and public key appear on the right. Click Copy Public Key. Paste it into your server's ~/.ssh/authorized_keys or into a GitHub/GitLab/Gitea key page.

Known hosts

When a server's host key changes (rebuild, key rotation), SSH refuses to connect. Open Known Hosts, search for the hostname or IP, and click Remove. Hashed entries are handled transparently, you don't need to know the real hostname. Remove All… clears every entry in the list, or every match while you search.

Local scripts

Local Scripts manages executables in /usr/local/bin/. Click New Script…, write your shell code in the editor window and press Command-S. The app automatically chmod's it to 755 and makes it available on your $PATH.

Writing to /usr/local/bin/ requires admin privileges. SSH Config Manager prompts for Touch ID first, then falls back to your admin password if Touch ID is unavailable.

Troubleshooting

The app is notarized, so this should not happen. If it does, the download was probably damaged: delete the .dmg, download it again, and check the SHA-256 shown on the product page.

Make sure you complete the Touch ID or password prompt when saving a script. If the prompt is dismissed, the write is silently aborted. If Touch ID isn't enrolled on your Mac, SSH Config Manager falls back to osascript with an admin password prompt.

Email info@toz.red with your macOS version, app version, and a description of the issue.