Noden — macOS SSH, SFTP & RDP Client with a Vault

Network gear

Reaches the switch in the closet.

The old Cisco IOS box, the Comware switch that still announces SSH-1.99, the firewall whose management port is down. Noden offers legacy algorithms last — diffie-hellman-group14-sha1, ssh-rsa, AES-CTR — so modern servers still get curve25519 and AES-GCM, and it answers keyboard-interactive sign-in with the saved password. When the network is gone, plug in a USB-to-serial cable and the console port shows up in the same sidebar.

CISCO 9600FORTIGATE 9600SOPHOS 38400MIKROTIK 115200ARUBA CX 115200UBIQUITI 115200

SSH to old switches from a Mac → Serial console for Mac → SecureCRT alternative for Mac →

What it does

Three tools that usually need three apps.

A terminal, a file manager and a remote-desktop client — built to work together, not in separate windows.

A terminal that keeps up

Saved connections in groups inside groups, in the order you drag them. Tabs or a resizable grid. Command history with autocomplete from what you actually typed before. Broadcast one line to every open tab. Jump anywhere with ⌘P.

Uses the keys already in your ~/.ssh
Per-tab latency, so you see a slow host at a glance
SSH tunnels and jump-host (ProxyJump) support

Noden multi-session terminal with tabs, history and autocomplete

Windows, in a tab or its own window

The one Windows box nobody wants to migrate now opens as a tab next to your Linux shells — or in the grid beside them. Copy text and files both ways, share a Mac folder into the session, resize and the resolution follows. Drag the tab out and the desktop gets its own window; drop it back when you are done.

Clipboard and file copy-paste, both directions
RD Gateway, admin/console session, auto-reconnect
Domain logins, full screen, saved like any connection
Publish a single program instead of the desktop, or run a command once you are signed in
Out-of-band too: serial console over a USB-to-serial cable, with vendor baud presets

A real dual-pane file manager

Local and remote, side by side. Resize and reorder the columns, sort them, drag files in from Finder, and edit a remote file in your own editor — Noden syncs it back when you save. Big copy already there? It asks: replace, skip, or all.

Native table: resizable, sortable, remembers your layout
Quick Look with a tap of Space
Keyboard-first, the way a file manager should be

Noden dual-pane SFTP file manager, local and remote side by side

Password vault

Your server passwords stop living in a text file.

Since 1.3.0 the sidebar has a Vault tab next to Connections: passwords, SSH private keys, API tokens and secure notes. A connection can point at a vault entry instead of keeping its own copy, so rotating a secret once updates every session that uses it — SFTP, jump hosts and RDP included.

macOS KEYCHAINNO iCLOUDNO TIME MACHINE

Touch ID, on your schedule

Every read asks for Touch ID or your password, then the vault stays open as long as you choose: every time, 5 minutes, 30 minutes (the default) or until you quit Noden.

Type it, don't paste it

At a sudo prompt, press ⇧⌘V (or right-click → Type Password from Vault), pick the entry, and the secret is typed — never put on the clipboard or in your shell history. Anything you do copy clears after 30 seconds.

Generate, import, export

A cryptographic password generator, import from a Bitwarden, 1Password, LastPass or Chrome export, encrypted vault export, and connection backups that carry the vault with them.

Groups, 2FA codes, rotation

Put entries in groups, keep a TOTP two-factor code on any entry, and see every secret that is due for rotation in one list.

Answers sudo on connect

Give a connection an on-connect command such as sudo su and pick the vault entry that answers it. It is typed once, only if a password prompt appears, and never enters your history.

All of it in the free version

Groups, TOTP codes, import and the browser extension are free. The free vault holds 20 entries; Pro removes the limit.

How an SSH password manager works on the Mac →

Browser extension

The same vault fills your browser.

Noden Vault for Safari, Chrome and Firefox fills website logins and two-factor codes from the vault on your Mac — the firewall console, the hosting panel, the router's admin page. Noden checks that the request comes from your browser and asks for Touch ID before it hands anything over.

One click, or pick from the suggestions under the login field
Fills a fresh TOTP code on the second screen
Offers to save a new login after you sign in
No account, no server, no sync — and it is free

Add to Chrome Add to Firefox

Safari: nothing to install. The extension is built into Noden; turn it on in Safari → Settings → Extensions.

Chrome and Firefox need Noden 2.0 or later; Safari is built into Noden 2.4 and later — every build, including the Mac App Store.

The Noden Vault browser extension on a sign-in page: an Autofill suggestion for the site and grouped vault entries with Copy buttons

Details

The details that add up.

What each pane does, and what it replaces
In Noden	Replaces	What you get
SSH terminal	Terminal.app, iTerm2, PuTTY	Saved connections, tabs or grid, per-tab latency, broadcast input, ⌘P switcher
Local terminal	Switching to Terminal.app	⌘T opens your Mac's own shell next to the remote sessions, in the same window
SFTP file manager	Cyberduck, FileZilla, WinSCP	Dual-pane local/remote, drag from Finder, edit remote files in your own editor
RDP desktop	Microsoft Remote Desktop	Windows in a tab next to your shells, clipboard and file copy both ways, RD Gateway
Serial console	`screen`, ZTerm, CoolTerm	USB-to-serial into a switch or firewall console port, with vendor baud presets
Password vault	A notes file, a shared spreadsheet	Passwords, keys, tokens and notes in the macOS Keychain, behind Touch ID; TOTP codes and browser autofill for Safari, Chrome and Firefox
AI assistant	Copy-pasting from a chatbot	Knows which machine you are on; proposes the command, you approve it

Tabs that move

Drag a tab out of the strip and it becomes its own window, connection still live. Rename a tab or give it a colour; a connection can set the colour every new tab starts with.

Reconnects on its own

When a server restarts, the tab says “Reconnecting…” and keeps trying for two minutes, then offers a Reconnect button — no frozen black tab.

Hide addresses for screenshots

⇧⌘H, or the eye in the sidebar, turns host names, addresses and usernames into stars before you share your screen. What the terminal prints is untouched. Make it permanent in Settings → Privacy.

Snippets & ⌘P

Save the commands you run often; jump to any connection or session by typing a few letters.

Encrypted backup

Export every connection to a password-protected file, or import straight from ~/.ssh/config.

Touch ID lock

Ask for Touch ID when Noden launches, so a borrowed Mac can't open your servers.

Quiet by default

No account to sign up for. Download, add a server, connect. That's it.

Five languages

The interface ships in English, Turkish, German, Spanish and French. Pick one in Settings → General → Language, or set it per-app in macOS System Settings.

No Electron

Native SwiftUI and AppKit. SSH and SFTP run on Apple's swift-nio-ssh; the remote-desktop surface is drawn with Metal.

Noden grid: a Windows RDP desktop, two Linux terminals and a dual-pane file manager open at once — The one-minute tour, muted. Plays when it scrolls into view.

Pricing

Free to use. $5.99 your first year if you want more, then $10.99.

Free

No account. Download and connect.

Up to 5 saved connections
Terminal, SFTP file manager & RDP
Last 50 commands in history
Up to 20 password-vault items
Broadcast to every tab, ⌘P switcher, tabs or grid
Serial console with vendor baud presets
TOTP codes and the Safari, Chrome & Firefox extension
Themes, Mac SSH keys, encrypted backup

Download for macOS

Pro

Noden Pro

$5.99 first year

then $10.99/year · launch offer

Billed annually · cancel anytime

Unlimited connections
Full, unlimited command history
Unlimited password-vault items
AI assistant — built-in or your own key
Priority updates & support

Get Pro — $5.99 first year

Coming soon

Noden Team

$20 / seat / year

Planned: $20 / seat / year, minimum 3 seats

Everything in Pro, for everyone on the team
One consolidated invoice, seats you choose
Invite and remove members in-app
Shared connection & credential vault (in development)
Live session sharing, read-only (in development)

Notify me when Team ships

Already have a license? Enter it in Noden → Noden Pro. Renews annually, cancel anytime. Noden Team is not on sale yet. Everything listed under it is still in development. Join the list and we will write to you before it opens.

FAQ

Questions

Is this a Microsoft Remote Desktop alternative?

It covers the same core RDP workflow — saved Windows connections, full-screen remote desktop, clipboard and file transfer, shared folders, RD Gateway — with the difference that your SSH terminals and file manager live in the same window, and can share the screen in a grid.

Does it work with my existing SSH keys?

Yes. Noden uses the keys already in your ~/.ssh (ed25519 / ecdsa) and can import servers straight from your ~/.ssh/config. Credentials are stored in the macOS Keychain.

How does the AI assistant work?

You describe what you want in plain English. On Linux it proposes shell commands and only runs one after you approve it; on Windows it answers as a chat. Use the built-in assistant or your own provider (OpenAI, Claude, Groq, OpenRouter, or a local model).

Is it really free?

Yes — the terminal, file manager and RDP are free for up to five saved connections. Pro removes the limit and adds the AI assistant and full history for $5.99 your first year, then $10.99 a year.

Where does Noden keep my passwords?

In the macOS Keychain on that Mac. The Vault tab holds passwords, SSH private keys, API tokens and secure notes; nothing is written to a plain file, synced to iCloud or included in a Time Machine backup, and nothing reaches Useroam servers. Reading an entry asks for Touch ID or your password, and copied secrets clear from the clipboard after 30 seconds.

Can Noden talk to a console port?

Yes. Plug in a USB-to-serial adapter and the switch, router or firewall console port appears as a connection in the same sidebar as your SSH and RDP entries, opening in the same terminal. Baud rate, data bits, parity, stop bits and flow control are configurable, with presets from vendor documentation. Serial connections are in the free version.

What languages is Noden available in?

The interface ships in five: English, Turkish, German, Spanish and French. Choose one in Settings → General → Language, or set it for Noden alone in macOS System Settings.

Which Macs are supported?

macOS 13 Ventura or later, on both Apple Silicon and Intel. Install the DMG directly or with brew install --cask useroamteknoloji/tap/noden.