Tether

A multi-platform SSH client with an integrated terminal and file explorer. Tether is built on Electron, React, and xterm.js, giving you a native desktop experience for managing remote servers.

Features

• SSH connections — connect to remote hosts with password or key-based authentication, with support for native SSH config files (~/.ssh/config)
• Integrated terminal — full xterm.js terminal with search, clickable web links, and automatic resizing
• File explorer — browse, upload, download, and edit remote files over SFTP without leaving the app
• Session tabs — manage multiple simultaneous SSH sessions in a tabbed interface
• Split pane — view the terminal and file explorer side-by-side in a resizable split layout
• Copy/paste support — native clipboard integration in the terminal
• Multi-platform — packaged for Windows (NSIS + Portable installer) and macOS (DMG)

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+
• npm 9+

Building

Install dependencies, then build the app:

npm install
npm run build

To run in development mode with hot-reload:

npm run dev

To produce distributable packages for your current platform:

npm run dist

Platform-specific builds:

npm run dist:win    # Windows (NSIS + Portable installer)
npm run dist:mac    # macOS (DMG)

Built artifacts are written to the dist/ directory.

Testing

Run the unit test suite:

npm test

Run tests in watch mode during development:

npm run test:watch

Generate a coverage report:

npm run test:coverage

Run end-to-end tests (requires a built app):

npm run test:e2e

Type-check without emitting output:

npm run typecheck

Releasing

Ensure your working directory is clean and on main, then run:

npm run release

The script walks you through the full release flow:

1. Verifies the working directory is clean and you are on main
2. Pulls the latest changes from origin
3. Prompts for a new version number (MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH)
4. Creates a release/v<version> branch, bumps package.json, commits, and tags
5. Pushes the release branch to origin
6. Pauses — open a PR from release/v<version> → main and merge it
7. Press Enter to resume — the script checks out main, pulls, and pushes the tag

Pushing the tag triggers the Release pipeline, which builds platform artifacts and publishes the GitHub release automatically.