sls

README

sls (ssh ls)

A smart terminal dashboard for SSH hosts and Docker containers. One command to find, connect, and manage everything you SSH into.

Why sls?

You have 10 servers. Some run Docker containers. To reach a container, you SSH into the server, remember the container name, then docker exec into it. Every time.

sls flattens that into one step: pick the thing, you're in it.

sls > █
  11/11
  ⭐︎jgopi
  ⭐︎vaultwarden 🐳
  proxmox
  oci_atlas_0
    webdav 🐳
    coolify-proxy 🐳
  nas
    plex 🐳
    jellyfin 🐳
  RockyLinux

Key Features

• Built-in fuzzy finder with inline search
• Docker container discovery across remote servers via SSH
• One-step container access: select a container, get a shell instantly
• Favorites: pin frequently used hosts and containers to the top (⭐)
• Usage-based sorting: most connected hosts float up automatically
• Interactive dashboard: rename, delete, scan, and star without leaving the UI
• SSH config generation: generate an include file for container aliases such as my-server::nginx
• Safe writes: atomic file operations protect your SSH config from corruption
• Zero dependencies: single binary, no runtime requirements

Installation

Homebrew (macOS)

brew tap jinmugo/tap
brew install sls

Linux (Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, RHEL, CentOS)

curl -fsSL https://package.jinmu.me/install.sh | sudo sh -s sls

From Source

go install github.com/jinmugo/sls@latest

Binary Release

Download platform-specific binaries from the Releases page.

Quick Start

# Launch the interactive dashboard
sls

# Discover Docker containers on a remote server
sls discover my-server

# Connect directly to a container
sls connect my-server::nginx

# Generate SSH config so vanilla ssh works too
sls gen ssh-config
# Then: ssh my-server::nginx  (works without sls!)

Dashboard Shortcuts

The interactive dashboard stays open after every action (except connect). Changes are reflected immediately.

On SSH Hosts

Key	Action
enter	Connect via SSH
ctrl+s	Scan for Docker containers
ctrl+r	Rename host alias
ctrl+f	Toggle ⭐ favorite
ctrl+d	Delete host (containers must be removed first)
ctrl+k / ctrl+p	Navigate up
ctrl+j / ctrl+n	Navigate down
esc	Quit

On Containers

Key	Action
enter	Open shell in container
ctrl+r	Rename (custom display name)
ctrl+f	Toggle ⭐ favorite (pinned to top)
ctrl+d	Remove from dashboard
ctrl+k / ctrl+p	Navigate up
ctrl+j / ctrl+n	Navigate down
esc	Quit

Container Discovery

Discover running Docker containers on any SSH host:

sls discover my-server

This will:

1. SSH into the server and list running containers
2. Let you select which containers to add (multi-select with space)
3. Let you set custom names for each (e.g., vaultwarden-hddaw38nxjcaf4ufzo79yh6i → vaultwarden)
4. Cache the results locally

Discover all hosts at once:

sls discover --hosts              # scan all SSH config hosts (concurrent, max 10)
sls discover my-server --verbose  # show debug output
sls discover my-server -T 30s    # custom timeout

SSH Config Generation

Generate an SSH config include file so you can reach containers with plain ssh:

sls gen ssh-config

This creates ~/.config/sls/ssh_config with entries like:

Host my-server::nginx
    HostName localhost
    ProxyJump my-server
    RemoteCommand docker exec -it nginx /bin/sh
    RequestTTY yes

The Include directive will be added to your ~/.ssh/config if possible; otherwise, sls gen ssh-config prints manual instructions. After this is set up, ssh my-server::nginx works from any terminal, even without sls installed. ProxyJump routes through the parent host (inheriting all its SSH settings), and HostName localhost ensures the connection lands on the server itself before running docker exec.

Other Commands

# Host management
sls config list
sls config add <alias>
sls config edit <alias>
sls config remove <alias>
sls config format              # normalize indentation and spacing in ~/.ssh/config (creates .bak backup)

# Favorites (also available via ctrl+f in dashboard)
sls fav add <alias>
sls fav remove <alias>
sls fav list

# Tags
sls tag add <host> <tag>
sls tag remove <host> <tag>
sls tag list <host>
sls tag show
sls --tag <name>               # filter dashboard by tag

# Connectivity
sls test <host>                # test SSH connection
sls connect <host::container>  # direct container access

# Shell completion
sls completion [bash|zsh|fish|powershell]

Configuration

File	Purpose
~/.ssh/config	SSH host definitions (read/write)
~/.config/sls/meta.json	Favorites, usage counts, tags
~/.config/sls/containers.json	Cached container data
~/.config/sls/ssh_config	Generated container SSH entries

Security

• Container names are validated against a strict allowlist ([a-zA-Z0-9._-]) to prevent SSH config injection
• All file writes use atomic temp-file-then-rename to prevent corruption
• The generated SSH config is a separate include file, never modifying your hand-crafted SSH config
• SSH connections use BatchMode=yes to prevent hanging on auth prompts during discovery

Documentation

Overview

Code by JinmuGo