gxShell is a Windows SSH workbench that combines terminal sessions, SFTP, monitoring, tunnels, AI tools, a local text/Markdown viewer, and an optional CLI in one desktop app.
What it does that a conventional SSH client does not: local tools and AI agents can run commands on your servers through the running app, without ever receiving your SSH credentials. They address servers by alias only — never a hostname, user, port, or jump host — and anything beyond a read-only command raises a native confirmation dialog. Trust can be granted for 1, 4, 8, or 24 hours; there is no permanent switch.
Download the latest Windows x64 release.
The recommended zip keeps the desktop app at its root. The optional CLI,
English and Chinese usage guides, and agent-safety guide are grouped under
CLI/; the license and build manifest are also included. The CLI server is
disabled by default and must be explicitly enabled in Settings.
Requirements: Windows 10/11 x64 and the Microsoft WebView2 Runtime. The unsigned build may show a SmartScreen warning on first launch; use More info → Run anyway only when the checksum matches the release page.
To verify the package, compare its hash against SHA256SUMS.txt from the same
release:
Get-FileHash .\gxShell-v<version>-windows-amd64.zip -Algorithm SHA256- Local CLI and HTTP API that let scripts and AI agents work on your servers through the app, with alias-only targeting, native approvals, expiring trust, and
secret://references that keep credentials out of prompts and process arguments. - Built-in AI assistant over any OpenAI-compatible API, with streaming replies, terminal context, and confirmation before any remote tool call.
- Multi-session SSH terminal with reconnect, search, split view, floating tabs, broadcast input, and adaptive tabs.
- SFTP browsing, uploads, downloads, resumable transfers, and local/remote text workflows.
- Linux monitoring, Docker operations, SSH tunnels, services, firewall, cron, and website helpers over SSH.
- Markdown and text viewer/editor with code highlighting, Mermaid diagrams, search, edit, and save.
- Session recording to asciinema
.castfiles with a built-in player. - Windows tray integration, file associations, drag-and-drop opening, and update notifications.
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
Ctrl+K |
Search servers, sessions, commands, and workspace actions |
Ctrl+F |
Find in the focused terminal or text document |
Ctrl+Tab / Ctrl+Shift+Tab |
Next / previous tab |
Alt+1 … Alt+9 |
Jump to a tab |
Ctrl+Shift+W |
Close the active tab |
Ctrl+S |
Save an edited text file |
- Passwords, key passphrases, and AI API keys use the OS credential store or an encrypted fallback.
- CLI access is disabled by default. When explicitly enabled, it is local-only, token-protected, opt-in per profile, and guarded by native confirmations.
- AI and CLI commands apply dangerous-command and sensitive-path policies before execution.
- The app does not send telemetry; its optional public release check is disabled by default.
Read the full security model.
| Topic | Document |
|---|---|
| Feature reference | docs/features.md |
| CLI and local API | docs/cli.md |
| Agent execution contract | docs/agent-guide.md |
| Architecture notes | docs/architecture.md |
| Development | docs/development.md |
| Release process | docs/releasing.md |
| Change history | CHANGELOG.md |
- Windows x64 is the supported release platform. Linux and macOS desktop builds are experimental CI artifacts.
- WebView2, tray behavior, keyring integration, and file associations may differ outside supported Windows versions.
- Monitoring expects Linux-style remote hosts, and Docker management runs over SSH rather than a local Docker socket.
- ProxyJump supports one jump-host level; terminal split view is designed for two visible terminals.
gxShell is licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0.
Commercial use is permitted. Derivative works must be released under the same license, and if you run a modified version as a network service, its users are entitled to that version's source. gxShell was previously licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, which is not a software license and forbade commercial use; releases up to and including v1.5.2 remain available under those terms.