Connections

All Hosts in the sidebar

The sidebar All Hosts section is your host catalog. Hosts you create or Keep on this device live in your local working set. If Google Drive sync is connected and encryption is unlocked, Zync can also list hosts that exist only on the provider and merge them with local ones by a stable identity.

• All / Local / Remote — Filters appear when a sync provider is connected. Local is this device; Remote is available from the provider (with or without a local copy).
• Search — Filters the current catalog view. The search bar stays fixed while the host list scrolls.
• Keep — Materializes a provider-only host onto this device (and referenced vault credentials when available).
• Keep and open — Keep, then open a session. Jump hosts in the chain are restored when needed.
• New host — Shown in All Hosts when the catalog is empty; otherwise use the topbar + menu or command palette.

Encrypted backup, upload, and encryption setup live under Sync & Backup. Host rows do not store plaintext passwords on Drive — use the Vault for secrets you want restored with a host.

Adding a connection

Click New host / New Connection (sidebar empty state, topbar +, or press Ctrl+N / ⌘N). Fill in the connection form:

• Name — A display label (e.g. "Production", "Staging DB").
• Host — Hostname or IP address of the remote server.
• Port — SSH port, defaults to 22.
• Username — The remote user to log in as (e.g. root, ubuntu, ec2-user).
• Authentication — Choose Password or Private Key. For keys, select the path to your .pem or private key file.

Click Test Connection to verify credentials before saving. Once saved the connection appears in the sidebar — click it to open a tab and connect.

Authentication methods

Password

Enter the remote user's password. Zync stores it encrypted in your local data directory. Password auth is the quickest to set up but key-based is recommended for production servers.

Private key

Browse to your private key file (~/.ssh/id_rsa, ~/.ssh/id_ed25519, or a downloaded .pem). Zync copies the key into its own data directory so the file can be moved or deleted later without breaking the connection. Passphrase-protected keys are supported.

To generate a new key pair if you don't have one:

$ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "your@email.com" # Then copy the public key to the server:$ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub user@host

Jump host (bastion)

A jump host (bastion) is an intermediate server you SSH through to reach a private network. Enable the Jump Host toggle in the connection form and fill in:

• Jump Host — Hostname or IP of the bastion.
• Jump Port — SSH port on the bastion (default 22).
• Jump User — Username on the bastion.
• Jump Auth — Password or key for the bastion (can be different from the final host).

Zync connects to the bastion first, then tunnels through to your target host. The equivalent manual SSH command would be:

$ssh -J jump-user@bastion:22 target-user@private-host

Import from SSH config

If you already manage hosts in ~/.ssh/config, Zync can import them. In the connection flow, choose Import from SSH config. Zync parses the file, lists all Host entries, and lets you check the ones to add as Zync connections.

Supported fields: Host, HostName, User, Port, IdentityFile, ProxyJump. The import also resolves ProxyJump chains into Zync's jump host configuration.

You can also paste a raw SSH command (ssh user@host -p 2222 -i ~/.ssh/key) and Zync will parse it into connection fields directly.

Organizing with folders

Group connections into folders in the sidebar. Right-click the sidebar or use the folder icon to create a new folder. Drag connections in and out of folders to organize them. Folder structure is saved with your connection data and persists across restarts.

Connection list privacy

By default, the sidebar, command palette, and connection pickers show display names instead of raw hostnames or IP addresses. Enable Settings → General → Privacy → Show host addresses in lists when you want full endpoints visible in those surfaces. Connection detail views always show the complete host information.

Local terminal

Zync includes a Local entry for a terminal on your own machine — no SSH required. On Windows you can choose the shell (PowerShell, CMD, Git Bash, or a WSL distribution) in Settings → Terminal. On Linux/macOS Zync uses your default $SHELL.

Troubleshooting

• Connection refused — Check that the SSH service is running on the server (sudo systemctl status sshd) and that port 22 (or your custom port) is open in the firewall.
• Authentication failed (key) — Confirm the public key is in ~/.ssh/authorized_keys on the server and the file has 600 permissions. Check that PubkeyAuthentication yes is set in /etc/ssh/sshd_config.
• Authentication failed (password) — Verify PasswordAuthentication yes is set in /etc/ssh/sshd_config. Some hardened servers disable password auth entirely. Hosts restored from Drive without vault credentials need a password or key assigned again.
• Host key verification failed — The server's fingerprint changed. This can happen after a server rebuild. Remove the old entry from ~/.ssh/known_hosts and reconnect.
• Jump host missing — Keep or restore the jump host first (or use Keep and open so the chain is restored), then connect again.
• Jump host timeout — Ensure the bastion is reachable from your network, and that the bastion's firewall allows outbound connections to the target host on the target port.
• Remote hosts not listed — Connect Google, unlock encryption in Sync & Backup, then refresh under All Hosts → Remote.
• Permission denied (publickey,gssapi-...) — The key file path is wrong or Zync can't read it. Re-select the key file in the connection form, or assign a vault credential.