sesh

Named persistent shell sessions — zero config, single binary.

sesh lets you create, detach from, and reattach to shell sessions, similar to tmux or screen, but with a simpler interface and no configuration. It's a single static binary with no dependencies.

Install

curl -fsSL "https://github.com/BobStrogg/sesh/releases/latest/download/sesh-$(uname -s | tr A-Z a-z)-$(uname -m | sed 's/arm64/aarch64/')" -o ~/.local/bin/sesh && chmod +x ~/.local/bin/sesh

Or via npm:

npm install -g @bobstrogg/sesh

Or build from source:

cargo install --path .

Quick start

sesh dev .              # Create a session named "dev" in the current directory
                        # Press Ctrl-\ to detach
sesh dev                # Reattach (searches local, then remotes)
sesh                    # List all sessions
sesh --kill dev         # Kill a session

Features

• Named sessions — create and attach by name
• Persistent — sessions survive disconnects; reattach anytime
• Smart lookup — sesh <name> finds sessions across local and remote hosts
• Scrollback replay — see recent terminal history when reattaching
• Tab completion — auto-configured for bash and zsh
• Remote support — manage sessions on remote hosts over SSH
• Cross-platform deploy — sesh --deploy @host installs the correct binary
• Export/import — back up and recreate your session layout
• No screen clearing — does not interfere with terminal state

Usage

sesh                          List all sessions (local + remotes)
sesh <name> [dir]             Create or attach to a session
sesh --kill <name>            Kill a session (local or remote)

sesh @<host>                  List sessions on a remote host
sesh @<host> <name> [dir]     Create or attach to a remote session
sesh @<host> --kill <name>    Kill a remote session

sesh --deploy @<host>         Deploy sesh to a remote host
sesh --upgrade                Redeploy sesh to all known remotes
sesh --export                 Export session layout
sesh --import [file]          Recreate sessions from an export
sesh --completions <shell>    Print shell completions (bash, zsh)
sesh --help                   Show help (-h)
sesh --version                Print version (-V)

Detach from a session with Ctrl-\.

Smart session lookup

When you run sesh <name> without specifying a host:

1. Local first — attaches if a local session matches
2. Remote search — queries all known remotes in parallel
3. Auto-connect — connects if found on exactly one remote
4. Prompt — asks you to choose if found on multiple remotes

sesh --kill uses the same smart lookup.

Remote sessions

sesh @myserver dev ~/project    # Create a session on a remote host
sesh --deploy @myserver         # Deploy sesh to a remote host
sesh --upgrade                  # Redeploy to all known remotes

Deploy detects the remote OS/arch and installs via npm. Falls back to copying the local binary if platforms match.

How it works

sesh is a single Rust binary that manages PTY-backed shell sessions via Unix sockets. Each session is a background daemon process that owns a PTY and listens on ~/.sesh/<name>.sock. The daemon maintains a scrollback buffer so reattaching shows recent terminal history. The client handles SSH disconnections gracefully — sessions survive any network interruption.

Supported platforms

OS	Architecture
Linux	x86_64
Linux	aarch64
macOS	Apple Silicon (M1+)
macOS	Intel

Linux binaries are statically linked (musl) and work on any distro.

License

MIT