VibeShell

AI-native remote workspace for SSH and SFTP.
Status: v1.0.0

VibeShell is a desktop app built with Tauri 2 + Rust + React for people who live in terminals but want stronger context, safer remote workflows, and an AI assistant that feels native instead of bolted on.

It combines:

• multi-session terminal workflows
• secure SSH/SFTP access
• local-first AI with Ollama support
• workspace persistence
• a focused dark UI designed for day-to-day remote operations

What v1.0.0 includes

v1.0.0 includes:

• Native desktop shell powered by Tauri
• Multi-session terminal workspace with split panes
• SSH sessions with resize, clipboard shortcuts, and streaming I/O
• SFTP workspace for remote browsing, path jumping, upload/download, editing, rename, delete, and search
• AI side panel with Markdown rendering, code copy, resizable width, Ollama model detection, and context-aware assistant tools
• Sidebar with collapsible navigation, Zen mode, GitHub link, and app preferences
• Theme, language, and terminal font preferences with persistence
• Secure credential storage and SSH host trust workflow
• Workspace/session persistence, remote file restore, and server grouping

Product direction

VibeShell is currently optimized around:

• SSH for terminal work
• SFTP for remote files
• Ollama as the best local AI path

FTP support still exists in backend code paths, but it is no longer part of the main UI flow in v1.0.0. The current product direction is to keep the core experience opinionated and reliable around 22-port remote workflows.

v1.0.0 is intentionally opinionated:

• SSH is the shell entry point
• SFTP is the file entry point
• both share the same target and credentials
• AI is treated as a native assistant layer, not a separate chatbot product

Tech stack

• Frontend: React 18, TypeScript, Vite, Tailwind CSS, Framer Motion, i18next
• Terminal: xterm.js with fit + WebGL addons
• Desktop runtime: Tauri 2
• Backend: Rust, Tokio
• SSH/SFTP: russh, russh-sftp
• Secure storage: OS keychain via keyring
• AI: local Ollama plus configurable cloud provider profiles

Repository structure

• src/
  • frontend application
  • UI composition, state orchestration, AI drawer, terminal grid, settings, i18n
• src-tauri/src/
  • Rust backend
  • SSH/SFTP/session lifecycle
  • AI provider bridge
  • storage and trust management
• scripts/
  • helper scripts such as protocol smoke checks and icon generation

Development

Requirements

• Node.js 18+
• Rust stable toolchain
• Xcode Command Line Tools on macOS
• optional: Ollama for local AI

Install

npm install

Run

npm run tauri dev

Build

npm run build
npm run tauri build

Test

npm test
cd src-tauri && cargo test

Ollama

VibeShell is designed to work well with local Ollama:

• the app can probe local models
• it can attempt to start Ollama when needed
• model selection uses the locally available model list
• the assistant can follow UI language and render rich Markdown replies

If Ollama is not already running, you can still start it manually:

ollama serve

Protocol smoke check

There is a lightweight smoke test for verifying whether a target host actually exposes the expected remote endpoints before debugging the full UI flow:

SMOKE_HOST=your-server.example.com \
SMOKE_SSH_PORT=22 \
SMOKE_FTP_PORT=21 \
SMOKE_SFTP_PORT=22 \
npm run smoke:protocols

This is mostly useful during development and debugging. For the current product direction, SSH/SFTP are the primary paths.

Current maturity

v1.0.0 is no longer a throwaway prototype. The app is usable, the build is healthy, and the core architecture is in place.

Current strengths:

• SSH is stable enough for real terminal work
• SFTP is a first-class workflow, not an afterthought
• AI is integrated into the workspace and understands terminal/files/workspace context
• build and test health are strong enough for public release

Areas that will continue improving after v1.0.0:

• longer-run real-world SSH/SFTP validation
• deeper AI context awareness and action flows
• ongoing visual polish and workflow refinement

GitHub

Project repository: ToBeWin/VibeShell