Import & Export Hosts

Import from SSH config, export encrypted backups, and transfer hosts between devices.

Overview

vmux can import hosts from standard SSH config files and export your saved hosts for backup or transfer to another device. All import and export controls are in the Hosts Window utilities tab.

Import from SSH Config

Tap Import Hosts and select your SSH config file (typically ~/.ssh/config). vmux parses the file and creates a saved host for each concrete Host entry.

Supported Directives

Directive	Mapped To
`Host`	Host pattern (used as the label). Wildcard-only patterns (`*`) and `Match` blocks are skipped.
`HostName`	Resolved hostname or IP address
`Port`	SSH port (default `22`)
`User`	Username
`IdentityFile`	Recorded for reference (Secure Enclave keys are used for authentication)
`ProxyJump`	Jump host configuration
`ForwardAgent`	Agent forwarding toggle (`yes`/`no`)
`ServerAliveInterval`	Keepalive interval in seconds
`ServerAliveCountMax`	Maximum keepalive messages before disconnect
`LocalForward`	Local port forwarding rules
`RemoteForward`	Remote port forwarding rules

Resolution Behavior

The parser follows OpenSSH semantics:

First match wins -- for each directive, the first matching Host block's value is used.
Wildcard fallback -- Host * blocks provide default values for any directive not set by a more specific block.
Pattern expansion -- Host lines with multiple space-separated patterns create separate entries for each pattern.
Entries with wildcards in their pattern (e.g., prod-*) are skipped because they don't represent a single host.

Duplicate Detection

Hosts that already exist in vmux (matching on hostname, port, and username) are skipped during import. The status message reports how many hosts were imported and how many duplicates were skipped.

Export as SSH Config

Tap Export SSH Config to generate a standard SSH config file from your saved hosts. The output can be copied to the clipboard and pasted into ~/.ssh/config on another machine.

Passwords are not included in SSH config exports. Only connection parameters (host, port, username, jump host, port forwards, keepalive) are exported.

Encrypted Backup

Tap Export Encrypted to create a passphrase-protected backup of all your hosts and identities in .vmuxbackup format.

Unlike SSH config export, encrypted backups include passwords and identity data. The backup is encrypted with the passphrase you provide.

Creating a Backup

Tap Export Encrypted.
Enter a passphrase. You will need this passphrase to restore the backup.
The backup file is saved with the name vmux-hosts-YYYY-MM-DD.vmuxbackup.
Use the system Share sheet to transfer the file to another device or storage location.

What's Included

Data	Included
Host configurations	Yes
Identity records	Yes
Passwords	Yes (encrypted)
Secure Enclave keys	No (hardware-bound, cannot be exported)
Theme overrides	Yes
Port forwarding rules	Yes
Jump host settings	Yes

Import Encrypted Backup

Tap Import Hosts and select a .vmuxbackup file. vmux detects the encrypted format and prompts for the passphrase.

After decryption, hosts and identities are merged into your current configuration:

Identities are imported first since hosts may reference them.
Duplicate hosts (matching on hostname, port, and username) are skipped.
Duplicate identities (matching on ID) are skipped.
Passwords from the backup are restored to the device Keychain.

The status message reports the number of hosts and identities imported.

Saved Hosts -- managing your host list
Authentication Methods -- identity types and how they transfer
Advanced Host Settings -- per-host options included in exports

Import & Export Hosts

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