SSH hosts

A session can run on an SSH host instead of your Mac. The agent, its files, its git repository and its commands are all on that machine. BeyDock shows the session on your Mac and keeps it alive across disconnects.

Requirements

• Key-based SSH login. BeyDock uses your ~/.ssh/config and keys, and password prompts aren't supported.
• Node.js and npm on the host. BeyDock installs its helper with npm.
• The command line tool of each provider you want to run there, such as claude. Sign-ins are per machine.

Add a host

1. In Home, open Overview and click Add Device, or click + next to Devices in the Home sidebar. You can also use Settings › Devices › Add SSH host.
2. Pick hosts from From your SSH config, or type an address such as my-server or user@host under Other host (titled SSH host when your SSH config has no hosts).
3. Choose an Environment: Development, Staging or Production.
4. Click Add Device (or Add N Devices).

Settings › Devices lists every device. Use Test to check the connection. It reports the host's home folder or the error. The environment can be changed from the device's menu or from Settings › Devices. On a Production device, new sessions start by asking before every change, and stopping a process or container always asks first.

The first time BeyDock connects, it installs a small helper in ~/.beydock on the host. Nothing is installed just to monitor a device. The device page shows CPU, memory, disk, ports, containers and processes, and the sessions on that device.

Sign in on the host

An account that works on your Mac isn't automatically signed in on the host. Open Settings › Accounts, click the … menu of the account and choose Sign In on the host. BeyDock opens Terminal and connects to the host so you can sign in there. If a session's account isn't signed in on its host, a band above the message box offers Sign In.

Start a session on the host

On the new session screen, choose the host in the machine menu under the message box. It shows when you have more than one device. Choose a folder with the remote folder picker, then work as usual. Show in Finder is only for your Mac.

The background process

On each remote host, BeyDock runs a background process that keeps running on its own. Your Mac connects to it. That is why agents and workflows keep running on the host while your Mac sleeps, loses Wi-Fi or quits BeyDock.

The device page has a Background process box with:

• The state: Connected, Connecting…, Reconnecting… or Not connected, with Connect when it's not connected and Retry Now while it reconnects.
• Uptime, Version and Connected Macs.
• An update notice, such as "Update pending". It restarts the process when sessions finish, so an update never kills running work. Restart Now forces it and stops running sessions and workflow runs.
• Keep running after host restarts. BeyDock shows the service file and the commands, and installs it only after you approve.

When the connection drops, sessions on that host don't die. The sidebar shows "reconnecting", and a band says "Reconnecting to host… The agent keeps working." When your Mac is back, everything that happened in the meantime is replayed in order, including transcripts, approval cards and workflow runs.

MCP servers on a host

BeyDock Hub servers reach sessions on a host through a tunnel from your Mac. Sessions on the host can use your Hub servers while the tunnel is up, and the Hub itself keeps secrets on your Mac. You can also run a Hub server on the host. In Add Server, a Command server has a Run on choice when you have more than one device. Its environment values are sent to the host only for that process and aren't written to disk there. See Connections and the BeyDock Hub.

Worktrees and workflows

Worktrees are created on the host, under ~/.beydock/worktrees unless you change the Worktree location on the device page. Workflows that run on a host keep their runs and logs there. See Branch, rewind and worktrees and Workflows.

If you can't connect, see Troubleshooting and FAQ.