Connection types¶

Ten connection types ship. The type you pick decides which fields the new connection dialog shows, and what kind of surface the connection opens: an in-app terminal tab, an embedded desktop, a two-pane file view, or an external application launched in its own window.

Type	Transport	Opens	Use it for
SSH	Encrypted, port 22	In-app terminal	Linux, Unix, macOS servers. The primary path.
Telnet	Unencrypted, port 23	In-app terminal	Legacy network gear with no SSH
RSH	Unencrypted, port 514	In-app terminal	Legacy UNIX systems
Mosh	UDP roaming	Its own window	High-latency or unstable links
RDP	Encrypted, port 3389	Embedded tab on Windows, its own window on macOS and Linux	Windows servers and desktops
VNC	Varies, port 5900	Your VNC viewer in its own window, or an embedded console through a hypervisor	Linux desktops, KVM and OpenStack instance consoles
FTP	Varies, port 21	Two-pane file view	File transfer
AWS S3	HTTPS	Two-pane object view	Buckets, artifacts, log archives
Serial	Local COM port	In-app terminal	Console access to appliances over a local COM port
Local	None	In-app terminal	Your own shell

AI works in SSH and Local tabs only. During the free trial and without a subscription, every type counts toward the 10 sessions you can have open at once, including the programs OpsPilot starts in their own window. See Free trial and limits.

Telnet and RSH are unencrypted

Credentials and session content travel in clear text, by the design of those protocols; there is no encryption to switch on. Both types exist because the switches, PDUs and old UNIX boxes that still require them are real. Use them on trusted management networks and nowhere else.

SSH¶

Secure Shell — encrypted terminal to Linux/Unix/macOS servers. Supports password or private key auth. The standard for server management.

Default port 22. Opens an in-app terminal tab with full xterm emulation. Shows host, port, username and the password / ssh key choice. SSH sessions are the ones that get the file explorer over SFTP, port forwarding and the system monitor. SSH and Local are the two types that can use AI, and the two that can carry their own Command Safety and Data Handling profiles.

Telnet¶

Telnet — unencrypted terminal over TCP (port 23). Use only on trusted networks or legacy network gear that lacks SSH support.

Default port 23. Opens an in-app terminal tab. Host and port only — no username or password field, because Telnet devices prompt for credentials inside the session itself.

RSH¶

Remote Shell — legacy unencrypted remote execution protocol (port 514). For old UNIX systems. Avoid on untrusted networks.

Port 514. Opens an in-app terminal tab. Shows host and username; there is no password field and no port field in the dialog.

Mosh¶

Mobile Shell — SSH with roaming and local echo. Ideal for high-latency or unstable connections. Requires mosh installed on the server.

Default port 22, and the same host, port, username and password / ssh key fields as SSH, because Mosh bootstraps over SSH. mosh must be installed on the server as well as on your workstation.

Mosh launches an external client in its own window rather than opening an in-app tab, so the AI panel and the in-app tooling do not apply to it. During the free trial and without a subscription, a running Mosh session takes one of the 10 places, and it shows in the tab bar as an entry such as Mosh · admin@db1, with a Close button. See Sessions and tabs.

RDP¶

Remote Desktop Protocol — Microsoft graphical desktop for Windows servers.

Default port 3389. Shows host, port, username, a single password field, an optional Windows domain, and a Force fresh session before connecting option. What you get differs by platform — an embedded in-app tab on Windows, Microsoft's Windows App on macOS, and a FreeRDP client in its own window on Linux. The per-platform detail, and what each platform needs installed, is on Remote desktop.

VNC¶

Virtual Network Computing — cross-platform graphical remote desktop.

Default port 5900. VNC has a target selector, chosen before the other fields, because it changes what they mean:

Direct VNC host — host, port and a password, opening your system's own VNC viewer as an external application in its own window.
Hypervisor VM — KVM or Hypervisor VM — OpenStack — the console of a virtual machine reached through its hypervisor, which opens as an embedded session inside OpsPilot. See Hypervisor consoles.

FTP / SFTP¶

File Transfer Protocol — browse and manage files on an FTP server. Note: unencrypted. Use SFTP (via SSH) when possible.

Default port 21. Shows host, port, username, a password, an initial path, and a Secure (FTPS — explicit TLS) option; with FTPS on, a further checkbox skips TLS certificate verification for a self-signed or internal-CA certificate.

An FTP connection opens a tab with two panes instead of a terminal: your own computer on the left (Local) and the FTP server on the right. Drag files between them to upload or download. If FTP support is unavailable in your installation, the connection reports that when you open it.

SFTP is not a separate connection type. It arrives through SSH: open an SSH connection and the file explorer browses that host over SFTP, which is the encrypted path the type description above is pointing you at. See Files & transfers.

AWS S3¶

Amazon S3 / S3-compatible object storage. Browse buckets and objects on AWS S3, MinIO, Wasabi, Backblaze, and more.

No host and no port — S3 has its own field set instead. Opens the same two-pane view as FTP, with the bucket on the right. If S3 support is unavailable in your installation, the connection reports that when you open it. See Object storage.

Serial¶

Serial port — RS-232 console access to routers, switches, firewalls, and embedded devices via a COM port on your machine.

No host, no port and no credentials. You pick a serial port on your own machine (the refresh button next to it reads the list again) and a baud rate, 115200 unless you change it, and it opens an in-app terminal tab. This is the path for an appliance you can only reach with a cable.

A Serial tab never has AI, so Serial connections show no AI badge in the side list.

Local¶

A local shell on this machine, running as its own tab.

No host, no port, no credentials. Opens a real shell on your own workstation as an in-app terminal tab. The shell field offers Command Prompt or PowerShell on Windows, and zsh, bash or sh on macOS and Linux; use default (Settings → Terminal) takes the shell set in Settings → Terminal → Default shell.

Every install ships with one ready-to-use Local connection, so there is always a terminal available without filling in the dialog first. It starts with AI off.

A Local tab can use AI in the same way as an SSH tab. The model is told that it is working in a local shell on your own computer, which operating system and shell it is, and that anything it proposes runs on your workstation. Its proposals follow the same approval rules as an SSH session's. Give a Local connection its own Command Safety profile if your Default profile is tuned for disposable servers. See The terminal.

During the free trial and without a subscription, Local is not one of your first 10 saved connections while it opens a local shell, so it is never locked. If you change it into another type of connection, it counts like any other.