Tabby SSH Sidebar

A Tabby Terminal plugin that adds a persistent sidebar panel showing all your SSH connections, with quick access via toolbar button.

⚠️ Disclaimer: This plugin was made by a monkey who vibes code. Expect it to break and not work as intended. Use at your own risk!

Screenshots

Sidebar Overview

Context Menu

Features

Persistent Sidebar Panel

• Always-Visible Panel: Fixed sidebar on the left side showing all SSH connections
• Live Connection Status: Visual indicators show which connections are currently active
• Search Functionality: Built-in search box to filter connections by name, host, or user
• Collapsible Groups: Organize connections by groups with collapsible headers
• Favorites Support: Pin your most-used connections to a dedicated "Favorites" group at the top
• Auto-Initialize: Restores your previous sidebar state on startup

Connection Management

• Right-Click Context Menu: Access additional options for each connection
  • Connect to SSH server
  • Edit connection settings (opens directly to profile editor)
  • Pin/Unpin from Favorites
  • Delete connection
• Profile Sorting: Connections sorted alphabetically within groups
• Group Organization: Maintains your existing Tabby profile groups

Toolbar Integration

• Toggle Button: Click to show/hide the sidebar panel
• Dual Access: Use sidebar for persistent access, or toolbar for quick toggle

Installation

Via Tabby Plugin Manager (Recommended)

1. Open Tabby Terminal
2. Go to Settings → Plugins
3. Type tabby-ssh-sidebar in the search box
4. Click Install
5. Restart Tabby

Manual Installation from NPM

cd ~/.config/tabby/plugins
npm install tabby-ssh-sidebar

Then restart Tabby.

From Source

1. Clone this repository

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install --legacy-peer-deps

3. Build the plugin:

   npm run build

4. Install using the script:

   ./install.sh

5. Restart Tabby

Usage

Using the Sidebar Panel

1. After installation, restart Tabby - the sidebar will appear on the left side
2. Browse Connections: Scroll through your SSH profiles organized by groups
3. Search: Use the search box to filter connections by name, host, or user
4. Connect: Left-click any connection to open it in a new tab
5. Active Indicators: Green dot shows which connections are currently open
6. Collapse Groups: Click group headers to expand/collapse connection lists
7. Pin Favorites: Right-click connections and select "Pin to Favorites"
8. Edit Profiles: Right-click and select "Edit" to open profile settings directly
9. Hide Sidebar: Click the toolbar button to toggle visibility

Context Menu Options

Right-click any connection in the sidebar to access:

• Connect: Open SSH connection in new tab
• Edit: Open profile settings (navigates to settings tab and opens profile editor)
• Pin to Favorites / Unpin from Favorites: Manage favorite connections
• Delete: Remove the connection profile

Managing Favorites

1. Right-click any connection
2. Select "Pin to Favorites"
3. The connection will appear in the "⭐ Favorites" group at the top
4. To unpin, right-click and select "Unpin from Favorites"

Keyboard-Free Workflow

The sidebar enables a completely mouse-driven workflow - no need to use the command palette or keyboard shortcuts to access your SSH connections.

Configuration

The plugin stores its configuration in Tabby's settings. Configuration is automatic:

• Sidebar visibility: Automatically saved when you toggle the sidebar
• Pinned favorites: Automatically saved when you pin/unpin connections
• Group collapse state: Automatically saved when you expand/collapse groups

Requirements

• Tabby Terminal v1.0.197 or later
• Node.js and npm for building

Development

Watch mode

For development with auto-rebuild on changes:

npm run watch

Build

npm run build

Architecture

This plugin uses several Tabby APIs:

• ToolbarButtonProvider: Adds toggle button to main toolbar
• SSHSidebarService: Manages sidebar lifecycle and flexbox layout injection
• ProfilesService: Retrieves and manages SSH connection profiles
• ConfigService: Persists user preferences (favorites, visibility, collapse state)

The sidebar is implemented as a dynamically injected Angular component that modifies the app-root flexbox layout to create a true persistent sidebar panel.

License

MIT