Simplifying SSH Config Management: A Power User’s Guide with manssh and ssh-prompter

Managing SSH configurations can quickly become overwhelming as your infrastructure grows. Whether you’re a DevOps engineer juggling dozens of servers, a developer working across multiple environments, or a system administrator maintaining various client systems, keeping your SSH config organized and accessible is crucial for productivity.

Today, I’ll share my workflow using two powerful tools that have transformed how I manage and connect to remote servers: manssh and ssh-prompter.

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The SSH Config Challenge

If you’ve been working with remote servers for any length of time, your ~/.ssh/config file has probably evolved from a simple list of a few hosts to a sprawling document with dozens (or hundreds) of entries. You might find yourself:

• Scrolling through endless lines trying to remember that one server’s alias
• Manually editing config files and worrying about syntax errors
• Struggling to organize hosts logically as your infrastructure grows
• Typing long SSH commands because you can’t remember the exact alias

This is where the combination of manssh and ssh-prompter becomes a game-changer.

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The Dynamic Duo: manssh + ssh-prompter

manssh: Your SSH Config Manager

manssh is a command-line tool that treats your SSH config like a database you can query and modify. Instead of manually editing ~/.ssh/config, you use simple commands to add, update, list, and delete SSH aliases.

Key Features:

• No dependencies
  Pure Go implementation
• Backup support
  Never lose your configurations
• Include directive support
  Works with modular SSH configs
• Query capabilities
  Search and filter your hosts easily

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ssh-prompter: Your SSH Connection Interface

ssh-prompter provides a beautiful Terminal User Interface (TUI) that makes connecting to servers as simple as typing a few characters. It reads directly from your SSH config file (the same one manssh manages) and presents an interactive, searchable list of all your hosts.

Key Features:

• Instant search
  Find hosts as you type
• Folder grouping
  Organize hosts hierarchically
• TMUX integration
  Automatically renames windows with host names
• Zero configuration
  Works directly with your existing SSH config

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Setting Up Your SSH Management Workflow

Installing manssh

brew tap xwjdsh/tap
brew install xwjdsh/tap/manssh

Installing ssh-prompter

Go to the releases page and download the correct one based on your machine:
https://github.com/azlux/ssh-prompter/releases
and move it to your $PATH folder.

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Organizing Hosts with Folders

ssh-prompter supports folder organization. You can structure your hosts hierarchically:

# Using manssh with folder notation
manssh add production/web-01 root@10.0.2.1
manssh add production/web-02 root@10.0.2.2
manssh add staging/web-01 root@10.0.3.1
manssh add development/local-vm root@192.168.1.100

Or add a Folder option to existing hosts:

manssh update k8s-master -c Folder=kubernetes
manssh update k8s-worker1 -c Folder=kubernetes

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Querying and Managing Existing Configs

# List all hosts
manssh list

# Search for specific hosts
manssh list k8s

# List all production servers (with wildcard)
manssh list "production/*"

# Update a host's configuration
manssh update staging/web-01 -c Port=2222

# Rename an alias
manssh update old-name -r new-name

# Delete hosts you no longer need
manssh delete temp-server test-vm

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Connecting with ssh-prompter

Once your hosts are configured with manssh, connecting is effortless:

1. Type sshp
2. Start typing to search for your host
3. Use arrow keys to navigate
4. Press Enter to connect

The TUI interface shows your organized folder structure, making it easy to navigate even with hundreds of hosts.

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Conclusion

What’s your SSH management workflow? Have you tried these tools or have other favorites?
Share your experiences and tips in the comments below!

• ssh-prompter GitHub
• manssh GitHub