redial
A terminal-based SSH session manager for Unix systems that organizes connections in folders and integrates with Midnight Commander.
What is redial?
Redial is a terminal-based SSH session manager for Unix systems that helps developers and system administrators organize and quickly connect to remote servers. It provides a folder-based interface for managing SSH connections, integrates with Midnight Commander for file browsing, and supports port forwarding and SSH key management.
System administrators, DevOps engineers, and developers who frequently use SSH to manage multiple remote servers from Unix terminals and want a faster, more organized workflow.
Redial offers a keyboard-driven, lightweight alternative to manually managing SSH configs or using heavier GUI tools, with unique features like folder organization, Midnight Commander integration, and session state persistence.
Overview
SSH Session Manager
Use Cases
Best For
- Managing large numbers of SSH connections across different projects or environments
- Quickly browsing remote file systems without leaving the terminal
- Organizing servers into logical groups (e.g., production, staging, development)
- Setting up port forwarding for SSH tunnels without remembering command-line syntax
- Copying SSH keys to multiple remote hosts efficiently
- Users who prefer keyboard shortcuts over mouse-driven GUI tools
Not Ideal For
- Windows users or teams operating in cross-platform environments where native support is essential
- Projects requiring advanced SSH scripting or integration with automation tools like Ansible without a TUI interface
- Users who prefer graphical SSH clients with drag-and-drop interfaces and rich visual feedback
- Environments where Midnight Commander is not installed or where file management is handled through other tools
Pros & Cons
Pros
Enables grouping SSH connections into folders for logical categorization, as demonstrated in the README with gifs showing add folder and move session features, improving management of large server lists.
Stores sessions in standard SSH config file format, allowing seamless integration with existing configurations via a sed command, as noted in the Notes section, ensuring compatibility with other SSH tools.
Offers dedicated hotkeys for all actions, such as F5 for Midnight Commander browsing and F7 for adding connections, emphasizing a no-frills, terminal-centric workflow that minimizes mouse use.
Remembers last selected connection and folder expanded/collapsed states across restarts, as highlighted in the What's New section for version 0.7, enhancing user experience by reducing repetitive navigation.
Cons
Only supports one dynamic, local, and remote port forwarding per connection, as admitted in the README under What's New, which can be restrictive for complex tunneling scenarios or multi-port setups.
Requires Midnight Commander installation for the F5 browse feature, adding an external dependency that may not be available in all environments and complicates setup for users who prefer other file managers.
Explicitly not supported on Windows, as stated in the Platforms section, limiting its utility in mixed OS teams or for developers who use Windows as their primary system.
Last significant update was in 2019 (version 0.7), suggesting limited active development, which could lead to compatibility issues with newer Python versions or unmet feature requests over time.
Frequently Asked Questions
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