Getting Started

Getting started

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1. Choose where the vault lives

On the first launch Skerry asks where to keep hosts and keys:

• Local encrypted storage — everything stays on this device. No account, no server.
• Self-hosted sync server — the same encrypted vault, replicated across your devices through a server you run (Sync and devices).

The choice is not final: Settings → Sync switches later.

2. Set the master password

The master password unlocks the vault. It is stretched with Argon2id (64 MiB, t=3, p=4) and never leaves the device — there is no recovery. A lost master password means the vault is gone; if sync is on, the same password is the account password.

3. Add a host

New connection (Ctrl+Shift+N, ⌘N on macOS) opens the form:

Field	Notes
Address, port, user	user@host:port
Connection type	SSH, Mosh, Telnet, serial, local shell, Docker/Kubernetes exec
Auth	key, password, certificate, or ask on connect
Jump host	a saved host to route through (ProxyJump)
Group, tags	folders and labels; the prod tag turns on the production guard

Test connection probes the host without adding its key to known hosts — only a real connect establishes trust.

4. Connect

Click the host in the sidebar (single or double click, per Settings → Terminal). On the first connection to a host Skerry shows its key fingerprint and asks you to vouch for it — trust on first use. If a known host's key later changes, the connection stops and says so; nothing is accepted silently.

5. The interface

Desktop: a left rail of sections, a work area of tabbed sessions, and panels on the right.

Rail section	What it holds
Hosts	the catalog: folders, tags, search
Terminal	terminal sessions, tabs and tiled panes
Remote desktops	VNC/RDP sessions
Tunnels	saved port forwards
Snippets	command library (runbooks live beside it)
Vault	keys, passwords, certificates, known hosts
Team	members, shared records, live sessions

Settings sit at the bottom of the rail: Sync, Security, Appearance, Terminal, Keyboard, AI, Trash, About.

On a phone the same features are laid out as four bottom tabs — Hosts, Sessions, Desktops, More (Android).

What to read next

• Hosts and connections — every connection type and how hosts are organized
• Terminal — panes, search, recording
• Settings and shortcuts — the full keyboard map