Introducing tg SSH connection manager

03 Jul, 2025

To scratch a specific itch around the number of VMs I interact with on a weekly basis, I took a stab at creating a python TUI application for managing SSH connections. Introducing Tengingarstjóri

tg for short, is a Python TUI based SSH connection manager that integrates seamlessly with your existing SSH configuration.

Features

• 🔧 Full SSH Connection Management: Add, remove, edit, and delete SSH connections
• 📋 Enhanced List Views: Detailed and compact formats with advanced option display
• 🚀 ProxyJump Support: Seamless bastion host and jump server configuration
• 🔀 Port Forwarding: Local, remote, and dynamic (SOCKS) port forwarding
• 🔑 Smart SSH Key Management: Automatic key discovery and defaults
• 🔗 Non-invasive SSH Config Integration: Preserves your existing setup
• 🎯 Fast CLI Commands: Intuitive tg prefix with rich output formatting

Demo

Architecture

Rather than modifying your main SSH config directly, Tengingarstjóri will:

1. Create a managed config file: ~/.ssh/config.tengingarstjori
2. Add a single line to main config to include our new file: Include ~/.ssh/config.tengingarstjori
3. Manage connections separately: All additions/changes go to the managed file
4. Preserve your existing SSH setup: Your existing SSH config remains untouched

Check out the Github repo here.

#claude #python #ssh