Connection fields¶
Every field the new-connection and edit-connection dialogs can show, per connection type. Which rows appear is decided by the type you pick at the top of the dialog, so a field vanishing is the form adapting rather than something going wrong.
Types, default ports and surfaces¶
| Type | Default port | Opens as |
|---|---|---|
| SSH | 22 | In-app terminal |
| Telnet | 23 | In-app terminal |
| RSH | 514, no port field | In-app terminal |
| Mosh | 22 | External application |
| RDP | 3389 | In-app tab on Windows, external client on macOS and Linux |
| VNC | 5900 | External viewer for a direct host, embedded desktop tab for a hypervisor target |
| FTP | 21 | File browser |
| AWS S3 | none | File browser |
| Serial | none | In-app terminal |
| Local | none | In-app terminal |
There is no SFTP connection type. SFTP is reached through the file explorer of an SSH session, not as a connection of its own. FTP and AWS S3 are the two file-transfer connection types.
For what each surface looks like in use, see Remote desktop, Hypervisor consoles and Network requirements.
Field matrix¶
| Type | Host | Port | Username | Authentication |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SSH | Yes | Yes | Yes | Password or SSH key (toggle) |
| Telnet | Yes | Yes | No | None — prompts on the device |
| RSH | Yes | No | Yes | None |
| Mosh | Yes | Yes | Yes | Password or SSH key (toggle) |
| RDP | Yes | Yes | Yes | Password only |
| VNC | Yes | Yes | No | Password only |
| FTP | Yes | Yes | Yes | Password only |
| AWS S3 | No | No | No | Own credential panel |
| Serial | No | No | No | None |
| Local | No | No | No | None |
A few properties of the rows themselves:
- Host. RSH gets a host field and no port field, even though its default port is 514.
- Port. Where the field is shown, the default port is the field's placeholder rather than a pre-filled value, so any of them can be overridden per connection.
- Authentication. Choosing ssh key on the password / ssh key toggle swaps the password field for private key file (with a browse button) and passphrase (if any).
- No credentials. Telnet and RSH still authenticate — on the device, interactively, after the session opens.
AWS S3 collects no host, port, username or password. Its credentials live in their own panel instead, because S3-shaped credentials have nothing in common with a host / port / username login.
Fields common to every connection¶
| Field | Control | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| connection name | Text, required | The label used in the sidebar and tabs |
| environment | Select | Colour-coded tag. Hidden for AWS S3, Serial and Local |
| group | Select | Defaults to — no group —. Carries policy |
| command safety profile | Select | — inherit from group — by default. SSH only |
| data handling profile | Select | — inherit from group — by default. SSH only |
| Enable AI | Toggle | Sub-caption "AI panel for this host". Shown for SSH and Serial |
| Save connection | Toggle | Captioned "Credentials encrypted, never plaintext" |
| Let AI Assistant open this session | Toggle | Off by default. Also needs the master switch |
Only two environments seed on first run, production and staging, and those are
the two options the dialog offers. Add your own on Settings → Environments.
The dialog has no Save button. Save connection is a toggle, and the dialog is committed with the connect button.
The two profile selects appear for SSH only, which is the same set of types that can invoke AI at all; assigning a profile to a type that can never invoke AI would mean nothing.
Enable AI is offered for SSH and Serial connections. External launchers, file browsers, Telnet, RSH and Local do not show it: those sessions cannot reach the AI panel, so the toggle would have been a setting that silently did nothing.
Let AI Assistant open this session is a second, stricter permission than Enable AI. It is off for every new connection, and it only takes effect when Allow opening/reconnecting sessions is also on in Settings → AI Assistants → Session access. See MCP tools.
Type-specific panels¶
RDP¶
| Field | Control | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| domain (optional) | Text | Windows domain, e.g. CORP |
| Force fresh session before connecting | Checkbox, off by default | Windows only. Logs off any existing disconnected session for this user on the host first, over WinRM |
Force fresh session destroys unsaved work
The dialog says so itself: it destroys any unsaved work left open in that session. It also requires WinRM to be enabled and reachable on the target.
VNC — target and hypervisor panels¶
VNC adds a target select directly under the connection name, because it changes what the host, port, username and auth fields above it mean:
| Target | What the shared fields mean | Panel below |
|---|---|---|
| Direct VNC host | The VNC endpoint itself | None |
| Hypervisor VM — KVM | The KVM host's own SSH login | List VMs, then a searchable VM list |
| Hypervisor VM — OpenStack | Not used | A separate Keystone auth panel |
The KVM panel says this in the form itself: host, port, username and auth above are the KVM host's own SSH login, used to list and reach its VMs, not entered separately.
The OpenStack panel is a fully separate field set:
| Field | Control |
|---|---|
| auth URL (keystone) | Text, e.g. https://cloud.example.com:5000/v3 |
| Auth toggle | password or app credential |
| username, user domain (name or ID) | Text — password auth |
| password | Password — password auth |
| project, project domain (name or ID) | Text — password auth |
| application credential ID / secret | Text / password — app credential auth |
| region (optional) | Text, e.g. RegionOne |
| Skip TLS certificate verification | Checkbox, off by default |
| List VMs | Button, then a searchable VM list |
See Hypervisor consoles.
FTP¶
| Field | Control | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| initial path | Text, defaults to / |
Where the browser opens |
| Secure (FTPS — explicit TLS) | Checkbox, off by default | |
| Skip TLS certificate verification | Checkbox | Only shown once Secure is checked |
Plain FTP is unencrypted
Without Secure, credentials and file contents travel in clear text. Prefer SFTP over an SSH connection.
S3¶
| Field | Control | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| region | Text, e.g. us-east-1 |
|
| bucket | Text | |
| access key ID | Text | |
| secret access key | Password | |
| custom endpoint (optional) | Text, e.g. https://s3.example.com |
For MinIO, Wasabi, Backblaze and other S3-compatible stores |
The secret access key takes the same encrypted credential path as any other saved password. There is no initial-path field for S3 — an S3 connection always opens at the bucket root.
Serial¶
| Field | Control | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| serial port | Select, with a refresh button | Populated from the ports on this machine |
| baud rate | Select | 9600 to 921600. Defaults to 115200 |
Local¶
| Field | Control | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| shell | Select | Defaults to use default (Settings → Terminal). The other options are filled in per platform |
See also¶
- Connection types — what each type is for
- Adding connections — the dialog in order
- Hypervisor consoles — KVM and OpenStack
- Network requirements — the same ports, for a firewall review