go2 - SSH Connection Manager

Quickly connect to your servers with simple aliases. No more remembering IP addresses, usernames, or typing long SSH commands.

go2 is a lightweight, cross-platform SSH management system that lets you connect to your servers using memorable aliases. Just type go2 server-name and you're connected. Perfect for developers, sysadmins, and anyone who manages multiple servers.

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✨ Features

• 🚀 Lightning Fast - Connect to servers instantly with short aliases
• 🔐 Multiple Auth Methods - Support for SSH keys, passwords, and custom ports
• 🎨 Beautiful Terminal UI - Color-coded output for better readability
• ➕ Interactive Setup - Add servers easily with go2 add command
• 📝 Simple Configuration - Plain text config file, easy to edit and version control
• 🔒 Secure by Default - Proper file permissions and password protection
• 🌍 Cross-Platform - Works on macOS, Linux, and Windows (WSL)
• ⚡ Zero Dependencies - Uses standard Unix tools (bash, ssh, expect)

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🎯 Quick Start

Installation

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/knaps151/go2.git
cd go2

# Run the installation script
./install.sh

# Reload your shell
source ~/.zshrc  # macOS/Linux with zsh
# or
source ~/.bashrc  # Linux/WSL with bash

That's it! The installer will:

• ✅ Make scripts executable
• ✅ Add the go2 alias to your shell
• ✅ Set up secure file permissions
• ✅ Check for dependencies

Your First Server

# Add a server interactively
go2 add

# Connect to it
go2 my-server

# List all servers
go2 list

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📋 Requirements

Requirement	macOS	Linux	Windows (WSL)
Bash	✅ Pre-installed	✅ Pre-installed	✅ Pre-installed
SSH	✅ Pre-installed	✅ Pre-installed	✅ Available
expect	✅ Usually pre-installed	✅ Usually pre-installed	⚠️ May need install

Installing expect (if needed):

• macOS: brew install expect
• Linux (Debian/Ubuntu): sudo apt-get install expect
• Linux (RHEL/CentOS): sudo yum install expect
• Windows (WSL): sudo apt-get install expect

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🚀 Usage

Basic Commands

# Connect to a server
go2 server-name

# Add a new server (interactive)
go2 add

# List all configured servers
go2 list
# or simply
go2

# Show help
go2 help

Real-World Examples

# Connect to your web server
go2 web1

# Connect to database server on custom port
go2 db-prod

# Add a new staging server
go2 add
# Follow the prompts...

# See all your servers at a glance
go2 list

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⚙️ Configuration

Adding Servers

Method 1: Interactive (Recommended)

go2 add

The interactive wizard will guide you through:

• Server name (alias)
• Hostname or IP address
• Username
• Port (defaults to 22)
• Authentication method (SSH key, password, or default)
• Additional SSH options

Method 2: Manual Configuration

Edit servers.conf directly:

# Format: name|host|user|port|key_file|password|options
web1|192.168.1.100|admin|22|~/.ssh/id_rsa||
db-server|db.example.com|root|2222|~/.ssh/db_key||
prod|prod.example.com|deploy|22||mypassword|

Configuration Fields:

• name - Short alias to use with go2 command
• host - Server hostname or IP address
• user - SSH username
• port - SSH port (default: 22, optional)
• key_file - Path to SSH private key (optional)
• password - SSH password (optional, stored in plain text)
• options - Additional SSH options (optional)

Example Configurations:

# SSH key authentication
web1|192.168.1.100|admin|22|~/.ssh/id_rsa||

# Custom port with SSH key
db-server|db.example.com|root|2222|~/.ssh/db_key||

# Password authentication (not recommended)
prod|prod.example.com|deploy|22||mypassword|

# With custom SSH options
staging|staging.example.com|deploy|22|~/.ssh/key||-o ServerAliveInterval=60

# Default SSH keys
test|test.example.com|user|22|||

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🔐 Security

Best Practices

1. Use SSH Keys - Prefer SSH key authentication over passwords
2. Restrict Permissions - The installer sets chmod 600 on servers.conf automatically
3. Version Control - The servers.conf file is excluded from git (via .gitignore)
4. Password Storage - If you must use passwords, they're stored in plain text. Consider using SSH keys instead.

File Permissions

The installer automatically sets secure permissions:

chmod 600 servers.conf  # Read/write for owner only
chmod +x go2.sh          # Executable

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🌍 Platform Support

Platform	Status	Notes
macOS	✅ Fully Supported	Tested and optimized
Linux	✅ Fully Supported	Works on all major distributions
Windows (WSL)	✅ Fully Supported	Same as Linux
Windows (Git Bash)	⚠️ Partial	May require manual alias setup

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🔧 Advanced Usage

Password Authentication

When using password authentication, go2 uses expect for automatic password entry. If expect isn't available, it falls back to an interactive prompt.

Automatic Password Entry:

• Requires expect (usually pre-installed)
• Passwords are entered automatically
• No manual typing required

Interactive Fallback:

• If expect isn't available
• You'll be prompted to enter the password manually
• Still works, just requires manual input

Custom SSH Options

You can add any SSH options to your server configuration:

# Keep connection alive
-o ServerAliveInterval=60

# Skip host key checking (for testing)
-o StrictHostKeyChecking=no

# Custom timeout
-o ConnectTimeout=10

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🗑️ Uninstallation

To remove go2 from your system:

cd /path/to/go2
./uninstall.sh

This will:

• Remove the go2 alias from your shell configuration
• Create a backup of your shell config file

You can then delete the go2 directory if desired:

rm -rf /path/to/go2

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📝 Notes & Tips

• Path Expansion: The script automatically expands ~ in key file paths to your home directory
• Missing Keys: If a key file is specified but not found, the script falls back to default SSH keys
• Empty Fields: Leave empty fields empty (use || for empty fields in config)
• Comments: Lines starting with # are treated as comments
• Duplicate Servers: The script will prompt to overwrite if you try to add a server that already exists
• Config Location: The config file is stored in the same directory as go2.sh

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🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Feel free to:

• Report bugs
• Suggest new features
• Submit pull requests
• Improve documentation

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📄 License

This project is open source and available under the MIT License.

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🙏 Acknowledgments

Built with ❤️ for developers and sysadmins who value simplicity and efficiency.

Made with: Bash, SSH, and a lot of terminal love.

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Questions? Issues? Open an issue on GitHub!