Open source · Agentless · Now on GitHub & npm
One Desk, Any Machine. Just SSH.
DeskSSH synthesizes a familiar graphical desktop over a plain SSH connection. Every click runs a real command on the remote host — and you always see it.
| drwxr-xr-x | html | 4.0K |
| -rw-r--r-- | nginx.conf | 1.2K |
| -rw-r--r-- | sites.list | 318 |
Command run on host
$ ls -la /var/www▮
What it is NOT
Not remote desktop
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No VNC / RDP / X11
No pixels travel over the wire. The GUI is synthesized on the client from command output — not a video stream of a remote screen.
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No agent to install
Fully agentless. Nothing runs on the remote but the SSH server and standard POSIX tools. Nothing to deploy, nothing to keep updated.
What it is
A desktop that speaks SSH
You connect over SSH to a server with no graphical environment, and DeskSSH shows you a familiar desktop. Behind every click there is a real command — listing a folder runs ls, opening a service runs systemctl — and the interface is built from the output.
How it works
The GUI is synthesized on the client
DeskSSH runs locally, opens an SSH session, and turns your clicks into commands. Total transparency — the command panel always shows exactly what ran.
- 01
Connect over SSH
DeskSSH runs on your machine and opens a plain SSH session to your server. No daemon, no agent on the remote.
- 02
Click → command
Each action maps to a POSIX command (ls, stat, mv, systemctl, ps…). The desktop is rendered from its output.
- 03
See every command
A live panel shows exactly what ran on the host. Auditable by design — nothing happens behind your back.
Features
A full desktop, over one SSH connection
Files
Browse, move, and manage files with a graphical file manager backed by real shell commands.
Terminal
A full interactive terminal is always one click away — the desktop never hides the shell.
Monitor
Watch processes, resources, and services in real time, translated from ps, top and systemctl.
Editor
Edit remote files in a proper code editor with syntax highlighting, saved straight over SSH.
Services
Start, stop and inspect systemd units from a UI — every action shows the systemctl behind it.
i18n & accessibility
Semantic HTML, keyboard navigation and AA contrast, with the interface available in multiple languages.
The DeskSSH Suite
One engine, three products
DeskSSH is the open source engine. Around it, a suite is taking shape — marked honestly by status.
DeskSSH
The open source engine
The agentless graphical desktop over SSH. Free and open, self-hosted with a single command.
AGPL-3.0
Vault
Secure credentials
Zero-knowledge at rest and zero-secret-access on connection — your keys never sit in plaintext, and DeskSSH connects without ever reading them.
AGPL-3.0
DeskSSH Cloud
Managed, for everyone
DeskSSH as a managed service for less technical users — no self-hosting, no setup. Just connect.
Managed service
Current status
Where DeskSSH is today
Radical honesty: here is exactly what works right now. We do not promise what is not built.
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Remote targets
Linux hosts over SSH
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Interface languages
English, Spanish & Portuguese
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Release
MVP published on npm
Open source
Open at the core
DeskSSH is AGPL-3.0, and the whole engine lives on GitHub and npm. Read it, run it, audit it — the transparency that shows every command is the same transparency you can point at the source.
- AGPL-3.0
- Free and copyleft. The engine stays open, forever.
- Auditable
- Every action is a command you can see, log and review.
- Agentless
- Nothing to install on your servers but the SSH they already run.
Get started
Run it in one command
DeskSSH runs on your machine and connects to your servers over SSH. Nothing to install on the remote.
It ships on npm — so it runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, anywhere Node.js does.
Run it instantly
No install. Try it with a single command.
$ npx deskssh
Install globally
Install once, then call it by name from any terminal.
$ npm install -g deskssh
$ deskssh
Requires Node.js ≥ 20. It opens your browser at 127.0.0.1:8717 — enter host, port, user and a password or key.
Roadmap
We are just getting started
The MVP is out and we keep pushing. What we are working on next:
More operating systems
New adapters to reach beyond the Debian family — RHEL, Arch and more.
Better apps
Deeper, more capable desktop apps on the same transparent, agentless model.
More languages
Extending the interface further, beyond English, Spanish and Portuguese.