A pretty (perfect) SSH client
The Termius SSH client
I’ve always been a fan of great UI design. There’s just something about it which makes using an app or website just that tiny bit more interesting and exciting! But SSH? When has that ever been pretty?
The most popular SSH client for Windows is probably PuTTY. Pretty ugly and basic right? We live in 2021! Modern, pleasing UI should be everywhere now! The classic stereotype of servers being ugly doesn’t have to remain true anymore. I tried to find an SSH client for my Android, so I began by doing what anyone would do. Search the Play Store for “SSH”.
I looked at the top 30 or so and immediately went to the screenshots to judge the UI design. The results were well… Disappointing at best. The designs were mostly awfully bleak and boring. It just didn’t cut it for me. However, there was one app that appealed to me, Termius. So I installed it and gave it a shot.
Immediately, themes! This was such a sight for sore eyes! The UI on this app is simply beautiful. There’s no other way to explain it.
Soooooooo many settings 😲. The customisability is endless! Don’t like the font? Or maybe you’re an anti dark mode preacher. Or if you’re like me with efficiency obsession, maybe you don’t like big text, but barely legible text to make the most of your screen. It’s got everything you could want.
Those keyboard shortcuts not doing it for you? Choose from the many premade ones or just make your own! It’s even got biometric unlock. Great if you work in a corporate environment where you’d get into serious trouble if data was compromised. Termius also has the ability to sync keys and identities (more on that later). Our phones have so many methods of inputs nowadays. Termius makes great use of them all! Volume buttons, shaking and even the fingerprint sensor. You can program them all!
Multi-platform sync anyone?
SSH keys. Love them or hate them, they’re great for security and being used everywhere in favour of insecure passwords. Well, Termius got one more trick up its sleeve.
Every platform you could want is there, with a beautifully modern UI in each of them. That too, with consistency. Termius is more of an ecosystem for all of your remote needs. With features such as SFTP and snippets all built-in, both on the mobile and desktop apps, it is superb. And best of all? Securely synchronise all of your SSH keys on all your devices.
I was surprisingly shocked when I saw all my sessions appear on my phone from my desktop and I could begin connecting to remote sessions with one click. My SSH keys? All there. Synchronised on all my devices using Termius. I was fully prepared for the tedious task of transferring my SSH key from my desktop to my phone, but no need thanks to Termius :)
The verdict
So far, it’s all great and all. But surely there must be some sort of catch? As always, yes. Some of the features do require a premium subscription, which costs $8.33 a month. I’m not too sure about that, but they do have a student subscription with GitHub Student. Nevertheless, those not wishing to shell out the (honestly? unjustifiable) monthly cost can enjoy it for free with zero ads on both mobile and desktop. Sync won’t work amongst many other things. It will be just another normal boring SSH client, just with a beautiful UI.
Let’s end the server = ugly stereotype!