Use Cases¶

Concrete susshi configurations for common infrastructure setups.

Team managing a large server fleet¶

When your ~/.ssh/config grows beyond a few dozen hosts, susshi's hierarchical inventory keeps things navigable.

defaults:
  user: "ops"
  ssh_key: "~/.ssh/id_ed25519"

groups:
  - name: "Production"
    tags: ["prod"]
    servers:
      - name: "api-01"
        host: "10.0.1.10"
        tags: ["api", "critical"]
      - name: "api-02"
        host: "10.0.1.11"
        tags: ["api", "critical"]
      - name: "db-primary"
        host: "10.0.2.10"
        tags: ["db", "critical"]

  - name: "Staging"
    tags: ["staging"]
    servers:
      - name: "api-staging"
        host: "10.1.1.10"
        tags: ["api"]

Use #prod or #api #critical in the / search bar to filter instantly. Star frequently-used servers with f and toggle the favorites-only view with F.

Multi-hop jump hosts¶

Connect through one or more bastion hosts without writing manual ProxyJump chains.

defaults:
  user: "ops"
  ssh_key: "~/.ssh/id_ed25519"

groups:
  - name: "Internal (via bastion)"
    jump:
      - host: "bastion.example.com"
        user: "jump-user"
        ssh_key: "~/.ssh/jump_key"
    servers:
      - name: "internal-db"
        host: "172.16.0.10"
        mode: "jump"
      - name: "internal-api"
        host: "172.16.0.20"
        mode: "jump"

susshi builds the full ProxyJump chain automatically. Override mode on any individual server to bypass the jump for that host.

Three-hop chain¶

jump:
  - host: "public-bastion.example.com"
    user: "jump1"
  - host: "internal-bastion.corp"
    user: "jump2"

Wallix bastion¶

For teams using a Wallix bastion, susshi handles the auth menu interactively.

defaults:
  user: "ops@domain"

groups:
  - name: "Wallix Production"
    wallix:
      host: "wallix.corp.internal"
      port: 22
      user: "ops@domain"
      ssh_key: "~/.ssh/wallix_key"
    servers:
      - name: "prod-web-01"
        host: "prod-web-01"
        mode: "wallix"
      - name: "prod-db-01"
        host: "prod-db-01"
        mode: "wallix"

susshi connects to the bastion, presents its interactive target menu, and you select the final destination. See Wallix bastion for advanced configuration including header_columns customization.

Multi-environment with variable inheritance¶

Avoid duplicating connection settings across staging, pre-prod, and production.

defaults:
  user: "deploy"
  ssh_key: "~/.ssh/deploy_key"

groups:
  - name: "App Cluster"
    environments:
      - name: "staging"
        ssh_key: "~/.ssh/staging_key"
        servers:
          - name: "app-staging-01"
            host: "staging-01.internal"
      - name: "production"
        servers:
          - name: "app-prod-01"
            host: "prod-01.internal"
          - name: "app-prod-02"
            host: "prod-02.internal"

The staging environment overrides only ssh_key; all other settings inherit from defaults. Switch modes with Tab if a server supports both direct and jump access.

SSH tunnels for development¶

Forward a remote service port to localhost without keeping a terminal open.

defaults:
  user: "dev"

groups:
  - name: "Dev tunnels"
    servers:
      - name: "remote-postgres"
        host: "dev-db.example.com"
        mode: "direct"
        tunnels:
          - local_port: 5433
            remote_host: "localhost"
            remote_port: 5432

Open the tunnel manager with T, start/stop tunnels without disconnecting. Tunnel state persists between susshi sessions.

SCP file transfers¶

Transfer files to/from any server in your inventory with s (SCP mode).

Useful for:

Uploading config files to multiple servers
Retrieving logs without rsync setup
Copying build artifacts to a staging server

See SCP Transfers for full usage.

Ansible export¶

Once your inventory is in susshi, export it to Ansible format:

susshi --export ansible > inventory.yml

Other export formats: --export terraform, --export nmap, --export csv, --export openssh.

See Import & Export for details.

Import from `~/.ssh/config`¶

Migrate your existing SSH config into susshi in one step:

susshi --import-ssh-config

susshi reads ~/.ssh/config, groups hosts by their Match / Host blocks, and writes a ~/.susshi.yml skeleton that you can refine.