Nook (nk)

中文

SSH jumpbox for humans.

Nook is a polished SSH bookmark manager for people who spend real time in the terminal. It keeps server access fast and organized without turning your workflow into a heavyweight dashboard.

You get a branded picker, recent-server pinning, grouped entries, key setup, reachability checks, diagnostics, and a clean migration path from the original ssh-manager layout.

中文说明见 README.zh-CN.md.

Why Nook

• Clean primary command: nk
• Single-file Bash implementation with minimal operational overhead
• Fast interactive picker powered by fzf
• Server catalog with groups, notes, and recent-history pinning
• Built-in key setup, reachability checks, and diagnostics
• Automatic migration from ~/.ssh-manager to ~/.config/nook

Quick Start

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/guyfar/nook-ssh/main/install.sh | bash
nk add
nk

By default Nook stores data in:

~/.config/nook/

If an existing ~/.ssh-manager/ config is present, Nook imports it automatically.

Experience

Nook is designed to feel like a proper terminal product, not just a helper script:

• Branded TUI with preview pane and keyboard-first flow
• Recent servers stay pinned at the top of the picker
• Password and key-based authentication handled in one place
• Config stays human-readable and easy to version or back up

Commands

Command	Description
nk	Open the interactive picker
nk add	Add a server
nk rm	Remove a server
nk list	List all configured servers
nk edit	Edit the config file
nk key	Configure SSH key login
nk ping	Check server reachability
nk doctor	Show environment diagnostics
nk <keyword>	Search and connect directly
nk version	Show version
nk help	Show help

Configuration

Default config file:

~/.config/nook/servers.conf

Optional override:

export NOOK_CONFIG_DIR=/path/to/custom-config-dir

Config format:

# Format : name | host | port | user | password(optional) | description

[production]
# prod-web-01 | 1.2.3.4 | 22   | root | yourpass  | production web node
# prod-web-02 | 1.2.3.5 | 22   | root |           | production web node 2
# prod-db-01  | 1.2.3.6 | 3306 | root | dbpass123 | primary database

Empty password means Nook will use SSH key login.

SSH Key Setup

nk key

Nook detects an existing SSH public key automatically. If none exists, it generates an ed25519 key and pushes it with ssh-copy-id.

Dependencies

• bash 4.0+
• fzf optional, recommended
• sshpass optional, only needed for password-based login

# macOS
brew install fzf

# Debian / Ubuntu
sudo apt install fzf

# CentOS / RHEL
sudo yum install fzf

Diagnostics

nk doctor

Use nk doctor when installation or connection reports need to be debugged. It prints version, config paths, server count, and dependency availability for ssh, fzf, and sshpass.

Development

# syntax check
bash -n nk install.sh

# help
./nk help

# local install into temp directories
NOOK_INSTALL_DIR=/tmp/nook-bin XDG_CONFIG_HOME=/tmp/nook-xdg bash ./install.sh

Project workflow details live in CONTRIBUTING.md, CHANGELOG.md, and RELEASE_CHECKLIST.md.

Uninstall

sudo rm /usr/local/bin/nk
rm -rf ~/.config/nook
rm -rf ~/.ssh-manager

License

MIT