ssh-wrappers

10 wrappers

Small POSIX shell wrappers around ssh that fix the most common day-to-day annoyances. Each is a one-line tweak of ssh options, packaged behind a name short enough to actually use — plus a built-in sshh to remind you which is which.

Auth Trust Connection lifetime I/O Debug Help
sshp
auth

Force password auth — disable pubkey for one connection. Stops the agent from burning your MaxAuthTries on keys before the password prompt.

sshi
auth

Use only explicitly configured identities (IdentitiesOnly=yes). Pin one key per host instead of letting the agent shotgun every loaded key.

ssha
auth

Forward your local ssh-agent (-A) so git on the bastion can use your local keys. Trusted hosts only — read the security note.

sshq
trust

Quiet/quick: skip host key prompts and don't pollute known_hosts. For ephemeral cloud VMs and lab gear — not production.

sshk
connection

Keepalive: send a probe every 30s so idle sessions don't drop. No more client_loop: send disconnect after a coffee break.

sshm
connection

Multiplex via ControlMaster: first connection opens a master, subsequent ones to the same host are essentially instant.

ssht
i/o

Force a pseudo-terminal (-t). Needed for sudo, htop, vim when run as ssh host <cmd>.

sshc
i/o

Enable compression (-C). Wins on slow links and text-heavy streams (logs, builds). Skip on fast LANs and binary data.

sshv
debug

Verbose debug (-vvv). See exactly which keys are being offered, which auth methods the server accepts, and why they fail.

sshh
help

Help / introspection. Shows which wrappers are installed, what each does, and an example. sshh <name> for detail.

Install

$curl -fsSL https://pacnpal.github.io/ssh-wrappers/install.sh | sh

Docs & source