A virtual remote desktop and graphical server management toolkit
ShellDesk is built with Electron, React 19, TypeScript, ssh2, and xterm.js.
It brings SSH host management, key management, remote terminals, SFTP, remote editing, browser access, databases, and operations tools into one desktop-style workspace.
English | 简体中文
- Table of Contents
- Purpose
- Feature Overview
- Data and Security
- Compatibility Notes
- Quick Start
- Scripts
- Project Structure
- Development Notes
- License
- Acknowledgments
ShellDesk is designed for developers, operations engineers, and anyone who maintains multiple servers over time. It is not just a terminal replacement; it is a remote workspace centered on an SSH connection. After connecting to a host, you can open terminals, file management, databases, system monitoring, logs, service management, network diagnostics, security auditing, and more in one window.
ShellDesk is useful for:
- Maintaining an SSH host library with groups, tags, notes, system type detection, and authentication settings
- Opening multiple remote tools side by side inside one connection window instead of switching between terminal, SFTP, database, and browser clients
- Handling common server operations through a graphical interface while keeping a full terminal available as the fallback
- Storing hosts, keys, app settings, bookmarks, and logs in a local vault for backup and migration
- Create, edit, delete, search, group, tag, annotate, and detect system types for SSH hosts
- Supports password login, private-key login, and credential prompts before connecting
- Quick connect parses inputs such as
ssh user@example.com -p 2222 - The Keys page can import key pairs, generate RSA keys, copy public keys, and search by name, algorithm, or fingerprint
- Settings control whether SSH passwords and key passphrases are saved by default
- Each SSH connection opens in an independent connection window with the current host and local SOCKS port in the title bar
- Built-in SOCKS proxy with an isolated Electron session partition for webviews
- Remote desktop windows support drag, resize, maximize, minimize, z-order management, and a Dock
- File Manager, Terminal, and Browser are pinned to the Dock; other apps join the Dock dynamically while open
- Desktop icons support custom layout, folders, sorting modes, and custom wallpaper
- xterm.js terminal supports multiple sessions, title synchronization, scrollback, copy/paste, and theme presets
- Terminal font family, size, weight, ligatures, line height, cursor, scrolling behavior, and contrast are configurable
- Font selection reads the local system font list instead of bundling font files
- SFTP file manager supports browsing, upload, download, transfer cancellation, create, delete, rename, compress, extract, and copy path
- Remote Notepad supports tabs, remote read/write, find, go to line, syntax highlighting, language modes, and unsaved-change prompts
- Notepad uses a binary extension blacklist to avoid opening images, archives, databases, executables, and other binary files by mistake
- MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redis, and SQLite tools cover connection, browsing, querying, and common editing actions
- Elasticsearch / OpenSearch panel shows cluster health, indices, shards, and basic
_searchresults - RabbitMQ / Kafka panel shows queues, topics, consumer group lag, and raw diagnostic output
- System Monitor, Process Manager, Service Manager, Container Manager, Port Listener, and Disk Analyzer help with daily checks
- Disk Manager shows physical disks, partitions, and mounts, with mount/unmount, format, partition maintenance, and Linux LVM configuration
- Git Repository Manager shows remote branch trees, remote branches, changed files, diffs, recent commits, branch create/delete/track, stage/unstage, commit, fetch, pull, push, and checkout
- Web Server Manager covers Nginx, Apache/httpd, and Caddy config discovery, Notepad handoff for config edits, config test, reload, and restart flows
- MinIO / S3 Browser uses remote
mcorawsCLI to browse buckets, prefixes, objects, delete objects, copy object URLs, and download to a remote directory - Firewall, Network Diagnostics, Package Manager, Scheduled Tasks, Login Sessions, and Security Audit support operations troubleshooting
- System Settings provides views for system information, network interfaces, DNS, mirrors, updates, Hosts, routes, disks, and mounts
- Log Viewer supports journalctl,
/var/log, Windows Event Log, and related sources - API Debugger sends HTTP requests from the remote host, which is useful for validating private-network services
- Supports dark, light, and system themes
- Supports accent color, system fonts, default host view, desktop wallpaper, and remote desktop layout
- UI language supports English and Simplified Chinese; first launch follows the system language
- Logs record connection, host, key, config, and system operations with search, filters, and clearing
- Config import/export covers hosts, keys, settings, and browser bookmarks
ShellDesk stores local data in the Electron user data directory. The Settings page shows the config path and vault path.
- Hosts, keys, app settings, and browser bookmarks are stored in the local vault
- When Electron
safeStorageis available, sensitive data is encrypted with system credentials - When system encryption is unavailable, the vault falls back to local file-permission protection
- Logs are stored separately in the user data directory
- Exported config JSON may include hosts, passwords, private keys, and key passphrases, so it should only be stored in trusted locations
- The renderer process uses
contextIsolation, disablesnodeIntegration, and accesses controlled APIs through preload - Electron sandbox limitations around
prompt,confirm, andalertare handled with custom modals
This table tracks the planned compatibility matrix for ShellDesk remote system tools. The status and notes columns are intentionally blank for now; after an environment is tested, put ✓ in the second column and add notes as needed.
✅ Supported
ℹ️ Untested
| Distribution / environment | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | ||
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | ✅ | Report |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | ||
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | ||
| Debian 13 Trixie | ||
| Debian 12 Bookworm | ✅ | Report |
| Debian 11 Bullseye | ||
| RHEL 10 | ||
| RHEL 9 | ✅ | Report |
| RHEL 8 | ||
| CentOS 7 | Report | |
| Fedora Server 41 | ||
| Fedora Workstation 41 | ||
| openSUSE Leap 15.6 | ||
| Alibaba Cloud Linux 3 | ||
| TencentOS Server 4 | ||
| openEuler 24.03 LTS | ✅ | Report |
| Kylin Server V10 | ||
| UOS Server 20 | ||
| Linux Mint 22 | ||
| Arch Linux | ||
| Manjaro | ||
| Pop!_OS | ||
| Kali Linux | ||
| Raspberry Pi OS 12 Bookworm | ||
| Alpine Linux 3.23 | ||
| Alpine Linux 3.22 | ||
| Windows Server 2022 | ||
| Windows Server 2019 | ||
| Windows Server 2016 | ||
| Windows 11 | ✅ | Report |
| Windows 10 | ✅ | Report |
- Node.js 20 or later
- pnpm 9 or later
- Windows 10 or later
pnpm installpnpm install runs prepare, which configures the local Git hooks from .githooks. If hooks are ever missing, run pnpm hooks:install manually.
pnpm devDevelopment mode starts Vite and Electron in parallel:
- Vite listens on
127.0.0.1:5173by default - Electron waits for Vite before opening the app window
- The development window opens DevTools automatically
If Vite remains on port 5173 after exit, stop only the PID occupying that port:
netstat -ano | findstr :5173
Stop-Process -Id <PID>| Command | Description |
|---|---|
pnpm dev |
Starts Vite and the Electron development window in parallel |
pnpm typecheck |
Runs TypeScript type checking |
pnpm build |
Runs tsc --noEmit and then the Vite production build |
pnpm start |
Runs the current build output |
pnpm preview |
Previews the Vite frontend build without Electron main-process capabilities |
pnpm hooks:install |
Configures local Git hooks from .githooks |
pnpm tag |
Creates and pushes a v<package.json version> Git tag |
pnpm release:dir |
Builds and outputs an electron-builder directory package |
pnpm release |
Builds installer |
pnpm pack |
Packages with electron-builder without publishing |
More platform packaging scripts are available in package.json.
ShellDesk/
├── electron/
│ ├── main.cjs # Main-process entry: windows, connections, database, VNC, config IPC
│ ├── preload.cjs # Secure contextBridge API
│ └── main/
│ ├── connectionHandlers.cjs # SSH connection, SOCKS, terminal, and SFTP IPC
│ ├── databaseHandlers.cjs # MySQL / PostgreSQL / Redis / SQLite IPC
│ ├── remoteConnectionHandlers.cjs # Remote system detection and system information
│ ├── vaultStore.cjs # Local vault, settings, import/export
│ ├── systemFonts.cjs # System font enumeration
│ └── windows.cjs # BrowserWindow and webview security policy
├── src/
│ ├── App.tsx # Host library, keys, logs, settings, and connection entry
│ ├── RemoteDesktopShell.tsx # Remote desktop, multi-window manager, Dock, layout
│ ├── i18n.ts # UI language selection and translation helpers
│ ├── components/
│ │ ├── navigation/ # Main navigation icons
│ │ └── remote-desktop/ # Built-in remote desktop apps
│ ├── pages/
│ │ ├── KeysPage.tsx # SSH key management
│ │ ├── LogsPage.tsx # Logs page
│ │ └── SettingsPage.tsx # App settings
│ ├── styles/
│ │ ├── index.scss # Global style entry
│ │ ├── _tokens.scss # Fonts, CSS variables, and theme tokens
│ │ ├── foundations/ # Reset, base elements, global behavior
│ │ ├── layout/ # App shell, title bar, side navigation
│ │ ├── pages/ # Hosts, keys, logs, settings styles
│ │ ├── remote-desktop/ # Remote desktop and built-in app styles
│ │ └── themes/ # Light theme overrides
│ └── vite-env.d.ts # window.guiSSH and global type definitions
├── index.html
├── package.json
├── electron-builder.config.cjs
├── tsconfig.json
└── vite.config.ts
- Use pnpm as the package manager
- Electron main-process and preload files use CommonJS
.cjs - The frontend uses React function components, Hooks, and strict TypeScript
- Do not introduce Redux / Zustand; keep global application state in the existing React state tree where possible
- Styles use SCSS modules and CSS variables, with
src/styles/index.scssas the entry - Dark theme is the default; light theme overrides live under
[data-theme="light"] - New styles should account for both dark and light themes
- New IPC requires synchronized changes in the main-process handler,
electron/preload.cjs, andsrc/vite-env.d.ts - Remote desktop windows use
transformfor positioning, so context menus and dialogs should render todocument.bodywithcreatePortal - UI copy should remain available in both English and Simplified Chinese
See AGENTS.md for the full collaboration and engineering notes.
This project is released under the GNU General Public License v3.0 (GPLv3). See LICENSE for the full license text.
- binaricat/Netcatty — SSH workspace, SFTP, and terminals in one. Some features and UI design were referenced from this project.
A comfortable desktop workspace for everyday remote server maintenance.