Encrypted SSH vault
One local file, Argon2id + AES-256-GCM. Hosts, keys, tunnels, snippets, and notes never sit in plaintext.
Documentation
Everything iLead does, out of the box
A full tour of every feature in the app, grouped by what it's for. Items markedNew shipped most recently. Every feature below runs locally against your encrypted vault - nothing here calls out to a cloud service.
Connections
Connections & sessions
Everything about opening a trustworthy terminal and keeping it that way.
Multi-tab terminals
Password, key, or agent auth, with jump-host support for hopping through a bastion.
RDP / VNC connections
Windows builds only: launch a host via RDP or VNC in your native desktop client instead of SSH. Not available on macOS or Linux builds.
Host-key verification
Trust-on-first-use fingerprint prompts, backed by a known_hosts manager.
Auto-heal reconnect
On by default: a dropped SSH session reconnects on its own with backoff, not a login flood. Turn it off to reconnect manually instead.
Command palette
⌘K (Ctrl+K on Windows/Linux) jumps straight to any host or its SFTP view.
Per-host SSH overrides
ProxyCommand, custom ciphers, KEX algorithms, and keepalive interval, set per host.
SSH agent forwarding
Opt in per host to forward your local agent so you can hop onward without copying keys.
Certificate-based auth
Pair a short-lived OpenSSH certificate with your key instead of relying on the key alone.
Terminal layout
Split panes and broadcast typing
Work across more than one session at a time without losing track of any of them.
Split-pane / grid layout
View 2 or 4 sessions side by side. Sessions stay alive when you switch layouts, no reconnect.
Broadcast typing
Type once in the focused session and mirror those keystrokes live into other chosen sessions.
Themes & zoom
Terminal color themes, cursor style, font size, and a focus/fullscreen mode.
Files
SFTP and remote editing
Moving and editing files without leaving the SSH manager.
SFTP client
Upload and download files, folders, or batches, with checksum verification and a cancelable queue.
Inline remote editor
Edit a remote text file directly, no download round-trip.
Directory sync
Preview and run a one-way sync between a local folder and a remote path.
Local file servers
An embedded HTTP or SFTP server to share files. Localhost only by default; a separate checkbox with a confirmation prompt opts into listening on your LAN.
Fleet ops
Server ops & monitoring
Keep an eye on many machines from one SSH manager window.
Live metrics
CPU, memory, disk, uptime, and load, plus a process list you can kill from.
Container management
List, start, stop, restart, and tail logs for Docker, Podman, and Kubernetes.
Ops playbooks
One-click checks: disk, memory, uptime, logged-in users, listening ports, failed units, journal errors.
Custom playbooks
Save your own commands as playbooks, right alongside the built-in ones, editable per vault.
Batch execution
Run one command across many hosts at once and see every result together.
Health checks & Wake-on-LAN
Ping a fleet for reachability, or wake a sleeping machine with a magic packet.
Command audit log
A record of every ops command, log pull, kill, and container action, not interactive typing.
Networking
SSH tunnels & SOCKS
Reach services that aren't directly exposed.
Port-forwarding tunnels
Local and remote SSH tunnels, saved in the vault, with auto-start on launch.
SOCKS5 proxy
Route arbitrary traffic through a host over SSH.
Quick-launch tunnel presets
One click starts a tunnel to Postgres, MySQL, Redis, MongoDB, an admin UI, or SOCKS - no manual port entry.
Web/browser companion terminalNew
Open one live session in a browser with a link that expires after a duration you choose, from 15 minutes to 24 hours, or never.
Allow other devices on my networkNew
A checkbox in the share popover. Off by default: the link only opens from this device. On: any device on the same Wi-Fi/LAN can open it too, with a confirmation prompt first.
Recording
Session recording & playback
Keep a record of what happened in a session, opt in per session.
Session recording
Capture a session's terminal output to a file. Nothing is recorded unless you press record.
PlaybackNew
Replay a recorded session in an embedded terminal with pause and 0.5×–4× speed control, or download it as a plain-text transcript.
Migration
Import an existing fleet
Move off another SSH client without retyping every host.
SSH config import
Pull hosts straight from ~/.ssh/config.
Third-party client import
PuTTY, WinSCP, Xshell, SecureCRT, FileZilla, mRemoteNG, SuperPuTTY, Cyberduck, MobaXterm, and generic JSON/CSV, auto-detected on disk.
Host transfer packs
Export selected hosts, or import a pack from another vault or machine, as a password-protected file - importing shows every host in the pack first, so you pick which ones to bring in.
Backup
Backup & recovery
The vault is the only copy of your fleet. Don't lose it.
Scheduled backups
Hourly, daily, weekly, or manual encrypted backups of the whole vault.
Auto-detected destinations
Google Drive, iCloud Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive folders, USB drives, or a plain local folder - folder detections, not account sign-ins; the provider's own sync client does the uploading.
iCloud sign-in verificationNew
macOS only: the iCloud Drive destination gets a real check via Apple's sign-in API, not just folder-existence guessing. Shows signed-in status and refuses a stale folder if you're signed out.
Restore
Merge a full encrypted vault backup file back in. Existing hosts, keys, snippets, notes, and tunnels are left alone.
Two-way syncNew
Turn on Sync for a destination and any other device pointed at that same folder merges automatically, no server required.
Productivity
Notes, snippets, keys
The small things that add up over a work week.
Encrypted notes
Searchable notes tied to hosts or workflows, stored in the vault.
Snippets & macros
Reusable command snippets and macros, insertable straight into the terminal.
SSH key manager
Add keys by path or paste a PEM, with an optional passphrase.
Get started
Try it on your own hosts
Download iLead and import your existing sessions in a couple of minutes.