Getting started

Create your account, save your Secret Key, add your first host and connect.

What you need

• A Mac with macOS 15 or later.
• An email address, for your account and the codes it sends.

Create your account

1. Open the app and choose to create an account.
2. Enter your email address and choose Send code. We email you a code.
3. Save your Secret Key. The app creates it on your Mac and shows it on your Secret Key kit. Save the kit as a PDF or print it, then type the key’s last four characters to show you have it.
4. Enter the code from the email and choose a master password of at least 10 characters, twice. The app checks it on your Mac and turns down common passwords, with the reason.
5. Choose Create account.

You need the master password and the Secret Key together to sign in on another device. We can’t reset or recover either of them for you, so keep the kit somewhere safe, away from your password. See Security for what happens if you lose one.

Sign in on another Mac

Choose to sign in, then enter your email address, your master password and your Secret Key. If you mistype the Secret Key the app tells you it’s a typo; if the key belongs to another account, it says that instead. Your vault then syncs down.

Add your first host

1. In Hosts, choose New Host (⌘N).
2. Give it a label, then the hostname or IP address. The port is 22 unless you change it.
3. Add a username and a password or key, or pick an identity. Leave a field empty to inherit it from the host’s group.
4. Save, then double-click the host to connect.

The first time you connect to a server, the app shows its host key fingerprint and asks whether to trust it. If you’re not sure, check the fingerprint with the server’s administrator first.

Quick connect

The bar at the top of Hosts searches as you type, and Return connects to the best match (↑ and ↓ choose another). You can also type a target that isn’t saved:

• ssh user@example.com -p 2222 (an ssh command with -p and -l);
• user@example.com, example.com:2222 or user@[2001:db8::1]:2222.

⌘T opens quick connect from anywhere.

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