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Desktop App Overview

The Xermius desktop application is a powerful SSH client providing an intuitive interface for managing your servers.

Desktop App Interface

Key Features​

🖥️ Multi-Tab Terminal​

  • Multiple SSH sessions in tabs
  • Independent sessions per tab
  • Drag and drop tab reordering
  • Session persistence
  • Customizable terminal themes

📁 Integrated SFTP​

  • Drag-and-drop file transfers
  • Directory tree navigation
  • Bulk operations
  • Permission management
  • Context menu actions

🔀 Port Forwarding​

  • Local forwarding (-L)
  • Remote forwarding (-R)
  • Dynamic forwarding/SOCKS5 (-D)
  • Visual tunnel management
  • Auto-start tunnels

📥 Import/Export​

  • SSH Config files
  • CSV and JSON formats
  • PuTTY sessions
  • MobaXterm bookmarks
  • SecureCRT migrations

🛠️ Web Tools​

  • SSL Certificate Checker
  • Certificate Reader
  • More tools coming soon

Interface Layout​

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ [Menu Bar]                                   [Min][Max][X]│
├───────┬─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│       │ [Tab 1] [Tab 2] [Tab 3] [+]                     │
│       ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Side  │                                                  │
│ bar   │          Terminal / SFTP Content                │
│       │                                                  │
│ - Home│                                                  │
│ - Hosts                                                 │
│ - Groups                                                │
│ - Port                                                  │
│   Fwd                                                   │
│ - Tools                                                 │
│       │                                                  │
├───────┴─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ [Status Bar: Connected | Network: 1.2 KB/s | Latency: 45ms]│
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Main Components​

Dashboard​

The starting point where you see all your hosts and groups.

Features:

  • Grid or list view
  • Quick search
  • Group filtering
  • Recent connections
  • Quick actions

Learn more: Using the Dashboard

Hosts Management​

Create, edit, and organize your SSH hosts.

Capabilities:

  • Add new hosts
  • Import from other tools
  • Organize with groups
  • Tag for easy finding
  • Bulk operations

Learn more: Managing Hosts

Terminal​

Full-featured SSH terminal with modern conveniences.

Features:

  • Xterm.js based terminal
  • Unicode support
  • Copy/paste
  • Find in terminal
  • Multiple themes
  • Font customization

Learn more: Terminal Usage

SFTP Client​

Visual file manager for your remote servers.

Features:

  • Dual-pane interface
  • Drag-and-drop uploads
  • Batch downloads
  • Directory tree
  • File search
  • Permission editor

Learn more: SFTP Guide

Port Forwarding​

Manage SSH tunnels with a visual interface.

Types:

  • Local: Access remote services locally
  • Remote: Expose local services remotely
  • Dynamic: SOCKS5 proxy

Learn more: Port Forwarding

Quick Actions​

Keyboard Shortcuts​

ActionWindows/LinuxmacOS
New HostCtrl + NCmd + N
New TerminalCtrl + TCmd + T
New SFTPCtrl + Shift + FCmd + Shift + F
Close TabCtrl + WCmd + W
Next TabCtrl + TabCmd + Tab
FindCtrl + FCmd + F
SettingsCtrl + ,Cmd + ,
ImportCtrl + ICmd + I
ExportCtrl + ECmd + E

Context Menus​

Right-click on Host:

  • New Terminal
  • New SFTP
  • Edit Host
  • Duplicate
  • Delete
  • Export

Right-click on Terminal:

  • Copy
  • Paste
  • Select All
  • Find
  • Clear Screen

Right-click on SFTP File:

  • Download
  • Open
  • Rename
  • Delete
  • Permissions
  • Properties

Settings & Customization​

Access settings via File → Settings or Ctrl/Cmd + ,.

Appearance​

  • Theme: Light, Dark, Auto
  • Terminal Theme: Multiple color schemes
  • Font Family: Monospace fonts
  • Font Size: 10-24px
  • Line Height: 1.0-2.0

Terminal​

  • Cursor Style: Block, Underline, Bar
  • Cursor Blink: On/Off
  • Scrollback: Lines to keep in history
  • Bell: Visual/Audio/None
  • Shell: Default shell to use

Connections​

  • Timeout: Connection timeout (seconds)
  • Keep-alive: Interval for keep-alive packets
  • Compression: Enable SSH compression
  • TCP Keep-alive: OS-level keep-alive

SFTP​

  • Default View: Tree, List, Grid
  • Transfer Mode: Binary, ASCII, Auto
  • Show Hidden Files: Yes/No
  • Confirm Deletes: Yes/No

Security​

  • Store Passwords: Yes/No (encrypted)
  • Auto-lock: Lock after inactivity
  • Host Key Verification: Always, Warn, Never (not recommended)

Sync​

  • Enable Sync: Yes/No
  • Auto Sync: Sync on changes
  • Sync Interval: Minutes
  • Conflict Resolution: Ask, Local wins, Remote wins

Tips & Tricks​

Organize with Groups​

Create a hierarchy of groups to organize hundreds of servers:

📁 Customers
├── 📁 Customer A
│   ├── 📁 Production
│   └── 📁 Staging
└── 📁 Customer B
    └── 📁 Production

Use Tags​

Tag hosts for easy filtering:

  • web-server
  • database
  • production
  • ubuntu
  • customer-vip

Quick Connect​

Use search to quickly find and connect:

  1. Press Ctrl/Cmd + K
  2. Type server name
  3. Press Enter to connect

Clone Hosts​

Duplicate a host to create similar configurations:

  1. Right-click host
  2. Select "Duplicate"
  3. Modify the copy

Batch Import​

Import multiple hosts at once:

  1. Export from your current tool
  2. Import → Choose format
  3. Preview and confirm

Common Workflows​

DevOps Engineer​

1. Open dashboard
2. Filter by "production" tag
3. Open terminal to web server
4. SSH to database via jump host
5. Open SFTP to upload config
6. Create tunnel for MySQL access

System Administrator​

1. Import 50 servers from CSV
2. Organize into groups by location
3. Create port forwarding rules
4. Save as templates
5. Export configuration for backup

Developer​

1. Connect to dev server
2. Open multiple terminals (API, DB, Queue)
3. Use SFTP to upload code changes
4. Create SOCKS5 proxy for testing
5. Monitor logs in split terminals

Troubleshooting​

App Won't Start​

  • Check system requirements
  • Delete ~/Library/Application Support/Xermius (macOS)
  • Delete %APPDATA%\Xermius (Windows)
  • Reinstall application

Terminal Not Rendering​

  • Update graphics drivers
  • Disable WebGL: Settings → Terminal → Use Canvas
  • Try different terminal theme

SFTP Connection Failed​

  • Check if SFTP subsystem is enabled on server
  • Verify SSH connection works first
  • Check server logs: /var/log/auth.log

Sync Not Working​

  • Check internet connection
  • Verify account is logged in
  • Check sync settings
  • Force sync: Settings → Sync → Sync Now

Next Steps​

Explore specific features:

Support​

Need help?