CH-J Server Managerserver management over SSH
PROJECT DOCUMENTATION

How Server Manager works

An overview of the Core application, secure connections, installable plugins, and distribution channels for Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Current branchCore 0.0.1alpha
01

About the project

CH-J Server Manager brings SSH server management, profiles, a terminal, SFTP files, and extension tools together in one desktop application.

Small Core, separate tools

Sensitive operations remain in Core. Features such as monitoring and file management run as isolated sandboxed plugins with narrowly scoped permissions.

02

Installation by operating system

Choose your operating system and follow the steps. The button always downloads the most suitable currently published installer.

INSTALLATION GUIDE

Windows 11 (x64)

Requirements: 64-bit Windows 11 and a user account allowed to install applications.

  1. Download the EXE installer using the button below.
  2. Open the downloaded file and approve the User Account Control prompt if it appears.
  3. Choose the installation folder in the setup wizard and finish the installation. The wizard can create Desktop and Start menu shortcuts.
  4. Launch CH-J Server Manager from the Start menu or the new shortcut.
  5. On first launch, create the vault master password and then your first SSH server profile.
Windows SmartScreen warning

The alpha installer is not yet signed with a trusted publisher certificate. If SmartScreen displays a warning, continue only when the file came from this page and its SHA-512 matches.

Download installer
v0.0.1 · x64 · AlphaSHA‑512: e8ef8d027cd05d8c090edcf7204ba9410cc804264124105005e28deb22ad73a14690badfb9e4bf57dcac39b7df10affb80ffc636887ca24b2da3690e48a73714
INSTALLATION GUIDE

macOS (Apple Silicon)

Requirements: A Mac with Apple Silicon (M1 or newer); the current installer ZIP is ARM64.

  1. Download the APP.ZIP installation archive using the button below.
  2. Double-click the archive to extract it, then move CH-J Server Manager.app to Applications.
  3. For the first launch, Control-click the app, select Open, and confirm your choice.
  4. If macOS still blocks the app, open System Settings → Privacy & Security and choose Open Anyway.
  5. After launch, create the vault master password and add your first SSH server profile.
Signing and updates

The current alpha has only a test ad-hoc signature and is not notarized by Apple. The ZIP is for first installation; the DMG in the catalog is used for updates.

Download installer
v0.0.1 · arm64 · AlphaSHA‑512: 2f2d16975882b242930966f63de7e55b44c847605f5b213e3403bf751260ecadef5dd9e6c3355cab695c5d8256d05bd36783a7d94d2561849a37449f5e90d366
INSTALLATION GUIDE

Ubuntu 24.04 (x64)

Requirements: 64-bit Ubuntu 24.04 LTS; this DEB package was built, installed, and launched on that version.

  1. Download the DEB installation package using the button below.
  2. To install by clicking, open the file in App Center, select Install, and confirm your system password.
  3. If the graphical installer does not open the package, open a Terminal in the download folder and use the APT command shown below.
  4. When installation is complete, launch CH-J Server Manager from the applications overview.
  5. Create the vault master password and then your first SSH server profile.
Alternative Terminal installationsudo apt install ./CH-J-Server-Manager-0.0.1-x64-142927.deb
Install with APT

APT automatically installs the required system dependencies. AppImage is no longer published; DEB is the supported Ubuntu installation format.

Download installer
v0.0.1 · x64 · AlphaSHA‑512: cc3449635dc049573f1fa38e82571b2389b5c0fe32f68a6af7b33a8a81bf35c088d80c203e24dc3273d0032be2523df4fee26fbe4cb7b657e64eb9288dca7bd0
First launch on every system

Create a master password for the encrypted vault, add a server profile, and carefully compare the displayed host-key fingerprint with the server on the first SSH connection.

03

Main features

Encrypted vault

Profiles, saved SSH passwords, and known host keys are protected with scrypt and AES-256-GCM. The master password is never stored on disk.

Server profiles

Save a host or IP, port, user, SSH key, and optional password for repeated connections.

SSH terminal

Interactive terminal with host-key fingerprint verification and DNS, IPv4, and IPv6 connectivity.

Installable plugins

Each tool is a standalone verified package that can be installed, updated, or removed without modifying Core.

Update catalog

Core lists all compatible builds, distinguishes same-version releases by date, and verifies both size and SHA-512.

Three languages

The app and website support Czech, German, and English with automatic environment-based selection.

04

Available plugins

Plugins have no general access to Node.js, the filesystem, or the network. They use only capabilities provided by Core.

System Monitor

CPU and core types, RAM, swap, filesystem, uptime, and network interface state including RX/TX.

File Manager

SFTP browsing, upload, download, recursive operations, archives, and an offline Monaco Editor.

Key Generator

Generate modern and explicitly confirmed legacy SSH keys in OpenSSH, PEM, and PPK formats.

Log Viewer

Safely view a bounded tail of the Core log with filtering and automatic refresh.

Users

List accounts and perform bounded administrative actions without giving the plugin a general remote shell.

NGINX Manager

NGINX configuration inventory and editor, effective nginx -T output, nginx -t validation, timestamped backups, automatic rollback, and confirmed graceful reload without a general remote shell.

05

Security model

Core separates the user interface, privileged operations, server sessions, and plugins. Every boundary validates inputs and permitted capabilities.

  • Local secrets are authenticated and encrypted.
  • First-seen and changed SSH host keys require confirmation.
  • Renderer and plugin windows run sandboxed without Node integration.
  • Downloaded packages are verified by size and SHA-512.
Temporary alpha TLS mode

The test Core accepts the certificate only for its fixed HTTPS server without CA validation. Standard TLS verification and signed manifests will be restored before public distribution.

06

Updates and channels

The application and plugins have separate channel selections. macOS uses a ZIP for first installation and a DMG for updates.

Alpha

The newest test builds, which may change quickly.

Beta

More functionally complete builds intended for broader testing.

Stable

Verified releases intended for normal use.

Open all releases
07

Current support status

Core 0.0.1 is an actively developed alpha. Package availability does not mean that every feature is fully supported on that platform.

macOS

The current Apple Silicon alpha includes Plugin API 1.1 and all six published plugins. The package is not yet notarized by Apple.

Windows

The current x64 alpha was built and installation-tested on Windows 11. It includes Plugin API 1.1 and supports all six published plugins.

Ubuntu / Linux

The Ubuntu/Linux x64 DEB is public; a clean APT installation and launch were verified on Ubuntu 24.04.4 LTS. A complete update test through Core is still pending.

What is not stable yet

Remaining work includes standard TLS certificate validation in Core, signed update metadata and platform packages, legacy data migration, Safe Mode, and complete tests on every supported operating system.

COMMUNITY

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