synapse by Maku

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Getting started

Install Synapse, add your first server and connect, then set up the vault so your credentials aren't sitting on disk in plain text.

Install

Synapse currently runs on 64-bit Windows 10 or 11. Get the installer from synapse.maku.au: the .exe for a normal install, or the .msi if you're deploying it with a management tool. It's free during early access and doesn't need an account.

From 0.2.0 onwards, Synapse checks for updates itself and installs them once you approve - see Backups and restore for what happens to your data when it does.

Add your first host

On first launch the host list is empty. Open Manage hosts from the header's ··· menu (or the command palette, Ctrl K) to get there any time.

  1. Click Add host, or use the Import and export menu next to it if you already have connections saved elsewhere (a ~/.ssh/config file, Termius, PuTTY, MobaXterm, or a CSV/JSON file).
  2. Under Connection, enter the Hostname and Port (22 by default for SSH), and optionally a friendly Name and a Group.
  3. Under Authentication, enter the Username and choose Password, Private key or SSH agent.
  4. Save the host, then double-click it in the list to connect.

The first time you connect to a server, Synapse shows you its host key fingerprint and asks you to confirm it before saving it to known_hosts - check it against what your server administrator gave you. Details for jump hosts, agent forwarding, proxies and more are in Hosts and connections.

Set a master password

By default, saved passwords, private keys, passphrases and any AI API keys you add are stored unencrypted on your computer. Setting a master password encrypts all of it.

Nobody can recover a forgotten master password

Not you, not Maku. If you forget it, the vault stays locked and everything inside it - passwords, keys and API keys - is unreadable. Write it down or keep it in a password manager the moment you set it. From 0.2.6, a Cloud backup recovery phrase is another way back in; see Vault and master password.

To set one: open Settings (Ctrl ,) → Credentials → Set master password. Use at least 12 characters; a few random words make a good one.

Find your way around

The command palette (Ctrl K) reaches almost everything: hosts, workspaces, layout, Settings, Vault, Services and more. Sessions live in workspaces you can tile, stack or open as tabs - see Workspaces, tabs and projects for how to arrange them, and Relay assistant if you want an AI assistant working alongside a session.