VibeTTY

AI-assisted SSH/Telnet/Serial management in VSCode

VSCode extension + MCP server for managing remote infrastructure with AI assistance.

🔗 GitHub Repository | 🐛 Report Issues

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⚠️ VIBECODED PROTOTYPE ⚠️

The code quality of this project is abysmal and security is mostly left to chance.
I would strongly advise against using VibeTTY in production environments.

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🚀 Quick Start

1. Install

From VSIX:

# Download .vsix from releases or build from source
# Install: Extensions → `...` → Install from VSIX

Build from Source:

git clone https://github.com/torbbang/vibetty.git
cd vibetty
npm install && npm run compile
vsce package

2. Add Connections

1. Open VibeTTY sidebar
2. Click + → Choose SSH/Telnet/Serial
3. Fill in details → Connect

3. Setup MCP

MCP enables AI assistants (Claude Code, Cline, etc.) to interact with VibeTTY.

Automatic: Command Palette → VibeTTY: Configure MCP Client

Manual: Add to MCP client config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "vibetty": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/vscode-vibetty/out/mcp/cli.js"]
    }
  }
}

For the best user experience I recommend auto-approving the following tools:

• list_connections
• list_active_sessions
• show_terminal
• read_output
• auto_paginate
• set_device_type

✨ Features

Connections:

• SSH/Telnet/Serial with ProxyJump, port forwarding, keep-alive
• Multiple concurrent sessions per host
• Folder organization with drag-and-drop
• Persistent terminals (don't close on disconnect)

AI Integration (MCP):

• 8 MCP tools for Claude Code, Cline, Gemini, etc.
• List/connect/command/read output with approval gates
• Auto-pagination through --More-- prompts
• Device type detection (Cisco IOS/IOS-XE, Juniper Junos, FortiOS)

Security:

• 50+ secret filtering patterns (passwords, SNMP, BGP keys, etc.)
• Strict Mode: manual approval for all AI commands
• Edit-before-submit approval dialogs
• Localhost-only MCP server with token auth

UX:

• SecureCRT-compatible keyword highlighting
• Auto-focus on password prompts
• Session logging with daily rotation
• Connection notes for device documentation

🔐 SSH Authentication

VibeTTY provides seamless authentication for all SSH methods using VSCode-native input boxes:

Supported Authentication Methods:

• ✅ Password authentication - Detects password prompts, shows input box
• ✅ SSH key passphrases - Detects passphrase prompts, shows input box
• ✅ Keyboard-interactive - Handles multiple challenge-response prompts
• ✅ 2FA/MFA - Sequential prompts (password then OTP/token)
• ✅ Public keys (no passphrase) - Works automatically, no prompts
• ✅ In-session prompts (sudo, enable) - Consistent input box experience

How it works:

1. SSH connection starts normally
2. VibeTTY monitors output for authentication prompts
3. When prompt detected, shows VSCode input box with contextual message
4. User enters password/passphrase/code
5. Response sent to SSH stdin
6. Process repeats for multiple prompts (keyboard-interactive)

Configuration:

{
    // Disable VSCode input boxes (use manual terminal input)
    "vibetty.ssh.enableReactiveAuth": false
}

Benefits:

• Universal: Works with ALL SSH authentication methods
• VSCode Remote compatible: Input boxes work in remote environments
• Secure: Credentials never logged or exposed in command line
• Context-aware: Different prompts for password vs passphrase vs 2FA
• No pre-configuration: Works automatically, no per-host setup needed

Note: System OS dialogs will never appear - you'll always get VSCode input boxes.

🛠️ MCP Tools

Tool	Description	Approval
list_connections	List configured devices with status	Auto
connect_host	Open connections, returns session_id	Auto
show_terminal	Focus terminal window	Auto
send_to_terminal	Execute commands	Required
read_output	Read output (secrets filtered)	Strict Mode
update_connection_notes	Update device notes	Auto
auto_paginate	Enable auto-pagination	Auto
set_device_type	Set device type	Auto

⚙️ Configuration

VSCode Settings

Access via: Settings → Extensions → VibeTTY

{
  // ===== Security =====
  "vibetty.security.strictMode": false,  // Require manual approval for LLM commands/output

  // ===== Session Logging =====
  "vibetty.logging.enabled": false,  // Global logging toggle (per-connection override available)
  "vibetty.logging.directory": "~/.vibetty/logs",  // Log directory (supports ~ expansion)

  // ===== SSH Keep-Alive =====
  "vibetty.ssh.serverAliveInterval": 60,  // Seconds (0 to disable)

  // ===== Keyword Highlighting =====
  "vibetty.highlighting.enabled": true,
  "vibetty.highlighting.customKeywordFile": "~/.vibetty/keywords.ini",  // SecureCRT .ini format

  // ===== Connections =====
  "vibetty.connections": [
    {
      // Basic properties (all connection types)
      "name": "router1",
      "type": "ssh",  // "ssh", "telnet", or "serial"
      "folder": "Production/Core",  // Optional: organize in folders (use / for nesting)

      // SSH properties
      "hostname": "10.0.1.1",
      "port": 22,  // Default: 22
      "user": "admin",
      "identityFile": "~/.ssh/id_rsa",  // Optional: SSH key path
      "proxyJump": "bastion.example.com",  // Optional: jump host

      // Port forwarding (SSH only)
      "localForward": ["8080:localhost:80"],  // Optional: local port forwarding
      "remoteForward": ["9090:localhost:8080"],  // Optional: remote port forwarding
      "dynamicForward": ["1080"],  // Optional: SOCKS proxy

      // Device configuration
      "device_type": "cisco_ios",  // cisco_ios, cisco_ios-xe, juniper_junos, fortinet_fortios, generic
      "notes": "Core router - IOS 15.2(4)E7 - MPLS PE - BGP AS 65001",  // Device documentation

      // Logging override (optional)
      "enableLogging": true  // Override global logging setting for this connection
    },
    {
      // Telnet example
      "name": "switch1",
      "type": "telnet",
      "hostname": "192.168.1.10",
      "port": 23,
      "device_type": "cisco_ios"
    },
    {
      // Serial example
      "name": "console1",
      "type": "serial",
      "device": "/dev/ttyUSB0",  // Serial device path
      "baudRate": 9600,  // Default: 9600
      "device_type": "cisco_ios"
    }
  ]
}

🔒 Security

Protection Layers:

1. Secret Filtering - 50+ patterns for Cisco/Juniper/FortiOS (passwords, SNMP, BGP keys, etc.)
2. Strict Mode - Manual approval for all AI commands/output (toggle in status bar)
3. Network Isolation - Localhost-only MCP server with token auth (port 47632)
4. File Permissions - Session logs and auth token stored with 0600 (owner-only)

Limitations:

• Pattern-based filtering may miss uncommon secret formats
• Session logs contain unfiltered output (user responsibility to secure)
• Connection notes stored in plaintext VSCode settings