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Connection Hub#

Connection Hub helps you find and review connection information without changing the shell you use to connect. In development builds that expose it, the Hub can show aliases from SSH files you explicitly choose. It can also save connection descriptions and favorites, alongside review-only workspace or provider information. It is read-only for live connections: managed SSH Connect is not available. Use your installed OpenSSH client in a normal terminal pane to connect.

This is a development-build guide, not a package installation path. Website downloads are withdrawn. If your source revision has no Connection Hub entry, continue with the normal SSH workflow; there is no configuration switch that makes the missing screen appear.

For a real connection, type ssh host-alias in a pane. Use the Hub to review an alias from selected files or save a connection description. Use the separate +ssh wrapper only when you deliberately want its optional interactive shell integration. None of these paths make the Hub a credential store or an active connection manager.

What belongs where#

  • SSH destination: Put the alias, address, user, port, and identity reference in your OpenSSH client configuration, usually ~/.ssh/config on Linux.
  • Files the Hub can inspect: Use Choose SSH files, then review and confirm the exact selection.
  • Favorites and tags: Select an alias in the Hub, review the change, and save it there.
  • One-time host: Use Enter host. This does not save an SSH alias.
  • Actual connection and trust: Use your installed ssh client and your operating system or organization tools for keys, agents, and host-key decisions.

There is no supported Connection Hub settings file for you to create or edit. OpenSSH config is the user-editable file for SSH destinations. Automexia keeps its own favorites and tags in private application data; do not edit that data by hand. The Hub does not edit your SSH configuration, keys, or known_hosts.

Set up the Hub in the interface#

In a Linux development build that exposes the screen:

  1. Open the command palette and choose Connection Hub (read-only), or press Ctrl+Shift+H. The Hub opens without scanning your home directory or contacting a server.
  2. Choose Choose SSH files. Select the exact SSH config file you want the Hub to inspect. A common Linux location is ~/.ssh/config, but the file is not read merely because it exists there.
  3. Check the selected-file review and confirm it. Cancel if it is the wrong file. This permission lasts only for the current application session; choose the files again after restarting Automexia.
  4. Browse the resulting aliases. Search for a name, select a row, and open its review to see the available public host, user, port, and route hints.
  5. If your build offers Copy, review the copied SSH command before pasting it into a shell. Copy does not press Enter or open a connection.

To inspect a one-off destination without adding an alias, choose Enter host and fill the separate host, optional user, and port fields. Review the result; it is not saved as an OpenSSH config entry. The Hub's review may show Allow once, Allow for session, or Deny, but current managed-connection approval stops at a pending-review message and starts nothing.

The selected SSH files are only a static inventory for the Hub. It does not fully evaluate every OpenSSH rule. Wildcards, Match conditions, dynamic includes, or commands in a config file may work in OpenSSH yet not appear as usable Hub aliases. The installed ssh client remains the authority for the actual connection.

Configure a simple SSH alias in a file#

If you already use OpenSSH, you can keep an alias in its normal config file. For example, add this to your own ~/.ssh/config on Linux:

sshconfig
Host staging
    HostName staging.example.com
    User developer
    Port 22

Replace the example address and user with your own approved destination. Host is the short name you type; HostName is the actual destination. User and Port set defaults for that alias. The Hub can list a supported static alias only after you choose and confirm the file. To connect, use OpenSSH in the terminal:

text
ssh staging

This command starts a real connection only when you run it. OpenSSH—not the Hub—handles authentication and host-key prompts. If your organization uses a specific key, IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_staging can refer to an existing key file in the same Host block. Never put passwords or private keys in this guide, an alias name, a tag, or a copied command. Follow your organization's key-management rules.

Example: a host reached through a jump host#

OpenSSH can define two aliases and a static jump route:

sshconfig
Host bastion
    HostName bastion.example.com
    User operator

Host staging-app
    HostName app.internal.example.com
    User operator
    ProxyJump bastion

Replace both example addresses. After selecting this file in the Hub, inspect what its static review can show; do not treat a displayed route as proof that a connection will succeed or that the target is trusted. Run ssh staging-app yourself only after checking the destination and your organization's access rules. OpenSSH defines the exact meaning and precedence of these directives; see the OpenSSH client configuration manual.

Use the other parts of the Hub#

Connections is the catalog of reviewed SSH aliases or a one-off typed host. Search and filters help you find a row. The review shows public context, not a live login or proof of authentication. To mark an alias as a favorite or edit its tags, select it, review the before-and-after change, and confirm. The Hub stores that metadata separately; it does not rewrite ~/.ssh/config.

Workspaces can show saved workspace descriptions and a restore review in some development revisions. You can inspect what would belong together, but restoring connections, panes, or running tasks remains disabled. If there is no saved workspace, there is nothing to restore; do not create or hand-edit a private application file to force one to appear.

Providers can show already available, public, cached context for supported tools. An empty or stale row is not a login failure that the Hub can repair. Opening it does not sign in to AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Kubernetes, or another provider, refresh credentials, or change your active CLI context. Use each official tool directly in the shell for those jobs.

Save a connection without connecting#

In source builds with the saved-profile editor, choose Saved or press N outside a text field, then choose New. Enter a descriptive name, host, and optional user and port. Select the default OpenSSH identity or a previously configured external-agent source. There is no password or private-key field. Move through fields with Tab/Shift+Tab; Save persists the description but does not start SSH. To change a profile, open its row, edit and review it. A delete request asks for confirmation; a connection referenced elsewhere may be protected from removal.

For example, save a staging label with an approved host and your normal OpenSSH user. Later open the row and copy its reviewed SSH command, paste into a pane, inspect it, and press Enter yourself. A saved entry is not an active socket, credential approval, or substitute for OpenSSH's current configuration. If another edit changes the library while your form is open, reopen the latest entry rather than assuming your stale draft won. Advanced jumps and transports should stay in their established OpenSSH configuration; the simple editor must not silently simplify them.

Record an external SSH-agent source#

The Vaults area can store a source label such as system SSH agent, 1Password, Bitwarden, KeePassXC, or another SSH agent. On Linux/macOS an optional absolute socket path can identify a particular agent; an empty path uses the system default. On Windows the native agent endpoint is used. Add or edit a source from that area, then choose it in a saved connection if needed. Removing a source in use is refused.

This records intended ownership only. It does not read a vault, unlock it, retrieve a key, authenticate to a host, or prove that the provider is running. Configure and unlock the agent in its own application, then verify an ordinary ssh host-alias connection before relying on the saved label. WSL and Windows OpenSSH use different environments; a Windows agent setup does not by itself prove the WSL client can access it.

If something is missing or blocked#

  • No Connection Hub entry: your build does not expose this development feature. Use ssh normally.
  • No aliases: choose and confirm the exact file. Check that it contains a simple Host entry; not every dynamic OpenSSH rule is part of Hub inventory.
  • A file picker is unavailable: the Hub cannot obtain the file grant. Your normal SSH command still works independently.
  • A scan is stale or unavailable: keep using the last clearly identified information only as a hint. Review the current file again before acting.
  • Managed approval is pending: this is an unavailable connection path, not a request to bypass a security setting. Run a reviewed ssh command in the shell instead.
  • A host key has changed: stop and verify the change through a trusted channel. Do not weaken OpenSSH host-key checking to make a Hub row usable.

For a side-by-side local and remote layout, see Remote sessions and WSL. The Hub is an optional review surface; the shell and OpenSSH remain the supported connection path.