Tether 0.5.1

Tether 0.5.1

Released 2026-10-26

Highlights

• Keys with a passphrase work smoothly: create one in the key setup, and Tether gives ssh its passphrase from your keychain at every login, also after a restart.

New

• Set Up SSH Key… can create an RSA 4096 key for older servers, besides Ed25519.
• Settings ▸ SSH ▸ Keys lists your keys, shows which have a passphrase, and adds, changes or removes it (the key file is backed up while it changes and put back if anything fails), or copies the public key.
• Set Up SSH Key… can also add the new key to the macOS ssh-agent, so Terminal and git use it too (the host's config gets AddKeysToAgent and UseKeychain). Off by default (Settings ▸ SSH ▸ Keys).

Improved

• The passphrase of a new key is typed twice, and kept in Tether's keychain when you choose (on by default), so ssh is answered at every login, after Touch ID when that is on.
• Checking that the new key logs in works for keys with a passphrase too, and says what ssh answered when it fails.
• Hosts that already log in with a key that has a passphrase are no longer offered “Set Up SSH Key…”.
• A key's passphrase asked inside a terminal of this Mac (ssh-add, git) and by Tether's own ssh is now one keychain item.
• Using an existing key with a passphrase asks for it once in the key setup, and can remember it.

Fixed

• A key created with a passphrase asked for it again after a restart (it was only given to the macOS agent, which forgets it).
• A key file name that was already taken could make the key setup fail; existing keys are never replaced, and the wizard says so before it starts.
• A key whose path is longer than 100 characters had its passphrase asked every time: ssh cuts such paths in its question, and Tether now finds the key file the cut path belongs to.

Notes

• Passphrases never appear on a command line: ssh-keygen, ssh-add and ssh get them through Tether's askpass helper.