A modern desktop app for saving, organising, and launching SSH, RDP, SFTP and tunneled connections. Keyboard-first, dark by default, and built like a tool you'd pay for — but you don't have to.
Built for people who keep dozens of hosts in their head. RuneDesk replaces the scattered ~/.ssh/config + RDP file + sticky-note workflow with one fast, organised home.
One vocabulary across every protocol. Multiplexed SSH, native RDP, drag-and-drop SFTP, and named local/remote tunnels — all from the same launcher.
⌘K finds anything in two keystrokes. Every action has a binding, every binding is rebindable. No menu-diving, no mouse-hunting through tree views.
Credentials live in an encrypted vault on your machine — never in the cloud, never in plaintext. An idle timer auto-locks the vault, so a walk-away never becomes a breach.
Name a tunnel, give it a port and a chain of hops, hit connect. Status stays visible while it runs. No more -L 5432:db:5432 buried in your shell history.
Tags, groups, and a starring system instead of a rigid hierarchy. The same host can be prod and k8s and live in Payments — find it from any angle.
A terminal that keeps its scrollback, searchable output, and a status bar with live CPU / MEM / NET sparklines. Made by someone who lives in a shell.
RuneDesk 0.1.10 is available for Windows now. macOS and Linux builds are in progress — watch the repo to hear when they land.
I'm one person building this in evenings and weekends. RuneDesk will stay free — but if it's earned a spot in your dock, a tip keeps the lights on, the certificates paid for, and the next release shipping.
Yes. Free to use, no upsells, no telemetry. The Ko-fi tip jar is optional and one-time.
In an encrypted vault on your own machine — never in the cloud, never in plaintext. The vault auto-locks after a configurable idle timeout, and nothing leaves your device.
Yes. RuneDesk reads your existing SSH config — Host blocks, includes, and jump hosts — so you don't have to re-enter everything by hand.
Yes. Any SSH agent that speaks the standard protocol works, so your existing keys and agent-forwarding setup carry straight over.
Automatically. RuneDesk checks GitHub for new releases on launch, downloads them in the background, and installs the update next time you quit — no manual reinstalls.
Open an issue on GitHub. I read every one — being one person has its upsides.