Getting acquainted

SSHore is a Windows 11 utility that gets your machine comfortably familiar with every remote SSH host it meets. What follows is a full walkthrough — every screen you will meet, in the order you will meet them. Scroll slowly. Nobody is rushing.

First look — the landing page

Every visit starts here. The landing page is where SSHore introduces itself — a short pitch, the mega download button, and enough garnet glow to let you know this is not your grandmother's file-manager.

SSHore website landing page — 01a · the landing page — where the seduction begins.

01b · the installer icon.

Hit Download and Windows hands you a single SSHore-Setup-<version>.exe wearing this little garnet crest. No ZIP, no dependencies bundle, no 17-step wizard — just one file and your fingertip.

The install dance — SmartScreen and all

Because SSHore isn't EV-signed yet, Windows SmartScreen will flutter its eyelashes and ask if you really meant this. You did. Click More info and then Run anyway. The install itself is silent and finishes in seconds — any welcome / dependency chatter happens in the app's first-run flow, not in the installer.

Windows SmartScreen warning — 02 · SmartScreen being protective.

SmartScreen Run anyway option — 03 · the "run anyway" you came for.

SSHore installing progress bar — 04 · blink and you miss it — the silent installer does its work.

The dashboard — your home view

First launch drops you on the dashboard. Empty at first, because SSHore respects the pace of a new relationship. The top strip shows mount-all / unmount-all controls, and every server you add gets a live-status row below.

SSHore dashboard (empty) — 05 · the dashboard — clean, waiting, a little expectant.

Servers — adding, editing, remembering

The Servers view is where every connection lives. Each card holds a host, a user, a drive letter, and the quiet little red dot that tells you whether SSHore currently remembers anything about this one.

06 · the servers view — every relationship on its own card.

Add server opens a dialog with the fields SSHore needs to be properly introduced. Picking between a password and an SSH key is done with the segmented pill picker — no grey 1998 radio-buttons. Editing an existing profile opens the same dialog pre-filled; your password stays sealed unless you type a new one.

Add new server dialog — 07a · introducing SSHore to a new host.

Edit server dialog — 07b · editing an existing one — without giving up the password.

Mounting — the moment of contact

Hit Mount and a soft frosted overlay slides in while SSHFS-Win does the handshake. Once the drive is alive, the dashboard row flips to green, the drive letter starts breathing in Explorer, and SSHore shows you the usage bar on the system-drive card below.

Dashboard with a mounted drive — 08a · mounted — your remote folder is now a real drive letter.

Loading overlay during mount — 08b · the loading veil — brief, red, honest.

Diagnostics — when something is off

SSH will sometimes refuse to play. The Diagnostics view runs a real probe against the selected host, reports the exact error from the SSH client, and — when we can — offers an in-plain- English translation of what went wrong and what to do next.

Diagnostics probe results — 09 · diagnostics — a second opinion you can trust.

Dependencies — the two friends you need

SSHore doesn't reinvent the mount layer; it leans on two excellent open-source projects: WinFsp for the user-mode file-system driver, and SSHFS-Win for the SFTP provider. The Dependencies view checks both on every launch and shows their exact paths so you can see exactly what SSHore is talking to.

Dependencies view with WinFsp and SSHFS-Win cards — 10 · dependencies — your pals WinFsp and SSHFS-Win, accounted for.

Logs — the paper trail

Every mount, unmount, probe, and error lands in the Logs view. When nothing has happened yet, the terminal shows a faint ghost icon and a quiet invitation — not a broken black rectangle — so you know everything is wired, just idle.

Logs view with empty state — 11 · the logs — empty, expectant, readable.

Settings — your side of the room

Settings is where SSHore quiets down. Toggle between the dark and light themes (the titlebar follows along in real time), opt into start-with-Windows and silent tray mode, and check the About panel for version, publisher, and a link back to the website.

SSHore settings view — 12 · settings — dark, light, autostart, tray, all yours.

Settings about card — 13 · the about card — 3D glossy, like a bedside portrait.

Authentication — how you want to be known

Two modes are supported: password and SSH key. Key auth uses the SSHFS-Win sshfs.kr provider, which expects a key named id_rsa in %USERPROFILE%\.ssh\ unless SSHore has written an entry in ~/.ssh/config for the host.

Common errors

System error 5: you're running as Administrator. Launch as your normal user — keep things personal.
System error 67: WinFsp or SSHFS-Win is missing, or the key file isn't where SSHFS-Win expects it.
System error 85: drive letter already in use. Pick a free one.
System error 1219: you already have different credentials open to the same host. Unmount first.

Privacy — between us

Passwords and key paths are sealed at rest using Windows DPAPI through Electron safeStorage. SSHore does not phone home, does not telemeter, does not whisper anything to anyone you didn't invite.