Remote SSH Password Memory

Remember fixed SSH passwords in VS Code. Keep using Microsoft Remote-SSH.

Install from Marketplace · Quick start · Compatibility · Troubleshooting · Contributing · Simplified Chinese guide

A Windows x64 and macOS companion extension for Microsoft Remote-SSH. Enter a password in VS Code, choose whether to remember it, and reconnect without typing it again. OpenSSH still handles the connection, server identity checks, terminals, and forwarding.

Preview 0.3.0. Includes Windows x64 and separate macOS Apple Silicon / Intel packages. The minimum VS Code API is 1.85.0, including compatibility with 1.136.1. See the compatibility requirements and current test report for validation coverage.

Features

• Ready after installation. Password memory starts automatically in the local window. No Enable command or setup dialog is required.

• Save after success. A password is written to VS Code SecretStorage only after confirmed password authentication.

• Remember or use once. Each new password has an explicit persistence choice.

• Match the actual destination. Credentials use OpenSSH's effective host, port, and username, bound to a verified server fingerprint.

• Recover from rejection. A saved password is offered automatically at most once per connection. A rejected password prompts for a replacement.

• Stay inside VS Code. Native masked input, host-trust confirmation, credential management, and diagnostics. English and Simplified Chinese follow the display language.

• Keep the Remote-SSH workflow. SSH and adjacent SCP bridges support the connection and upload paths without modifying Microsoft's extension.

• Restore settings. Disabling restores settings only when they still contain values installed by this extension.

Quick start

Requirements

• Windows x64 or macOS Apple Silicon / Intel, using the local VS Code UI extension host.
• VS Code 1.85.0+; the inspected Remote-SSH integration is 0.128.0.
• Windows OpenSSH 9.5p2 with the exact supported binary hash, or macOS OpenSSH 9.0+ with LogVerbose support.
• A direct SSH connection using a fixed password. Jump hosts, OTP, and key-passphrase memory are outside this preview's scope.

See supported builds and fallback behavior. The native bridges are unsigned local builds. This project is independent of Microsoft.

Moving from the local-tools preview

Restore the old extension’s SSH settings, uninstall it, and reload VS Code before installing the Devlin package. Saved passwords do not automatically move between extension identities. Follow the migration guide.

If the old preview has already been removed and Enable reports its helper path as unsupported, version 0.1.8+ can recover that exact stale path during setup. Current releases recover that path automatically during local activation; old passwords are not transferred.

Install and connect

1. Install Remote SSH Password Memory from the VS Code Marketplace. In the Extensions view, search for Devlin.remote-ssh-password-memory and check the publisher is Devlin.
2. Ensure Microsoft Remote-SSH is installed. Choose the package matching your local VS Code architecture: win32-x64, darwin-arm64 (Apple Silicon), or darwin-x64 (Intel). For manual installation, download remote-ssh-password-memory-0.3.0-win32-x64.vsix from GitHub Releases and choose Install from VSIX….
3. Password memory starts automatically in the local window. No setup command is needed.
4. Use Remote-SSH: Connect to Host… as usual. Verify any first-time server fingerprint before accepting it.
5. Enter the password in the masked VS Code input. Choose Remember on This Device or Use Once.
6. After successful authentication, use Manage Saved Passwords to inspect the destination and fingerprint. Passwords are never displayed.

Or install a locally built package from the repository root:

code --install-extension ./artifacts/remote-ssh-password-memory-0.3.0-win32-x64.vsix

Password memory starts automatically after installation and local activation. If you explicitly turn it off, it stays off until you choose to enable it again. Marketplace installations receive extension updates through VS Code, subject to your automatic-update settings. Manual VSIX packages remain available from GitHub Releases. The extension collects no telemetry.

Commands

Open the Command Palette with Ctrl+Shift+P (macOS: Cmd+Shift+P). Commands appear under SSH Password Memory, with localized titles when Simplified Chinese is selected.

Command IDs remain stable across languages; see the contributor guide.

Language

The extension uses VS Code's native localization. English is the default; Simplified Chinese (zh-cn) is included. Use Configure Display Language and restart VS Code to switch. Command titles, input boxes, choices, confirmations, and diagnostics follow that language.

Authentication challenges and fingerprint values are kept verbatim. Standard server-trust requests use localized server, key-type, and fingerprint details; unrecognized requests retain the original OpenSSH text. There is no separate extension language setting. The main repository documentation is in English; a Chinese quick-start guide is available separately.

Settings and removal

Enabling writes exactly two user settings:

Original values are recorded in local state and a password-free recovery.json. Other settings and your SSH config remain intact.

Before uninstalling, forget credentials you want removed, then run Disable and Restore SSH Settings. Disabling preserves saved credentials. Direct uninstallation relies on the retained bridge for ordinary OpenSSH fallback; manual deletion of global storage can break that path. Follow the recovery instructions if necessary.

Security and scope

Passwords use ExtensionContext.secrets rather than a custom password file. Managed authentication transports answers through memory and restricted local pipes or Unix sockets, not command-line arguments, environment variables, or temporary text files. Server fingerprint checks stay enabled; new or changed fingerprints are never silently trusted.

Direct SSH passwords and a verified, single interactive Password request can be remembered. The Remember choice is for a fixed server password. Verification codes, key passphrases, unrecognized requests, and additional interactive steps remain manual. This cannot protect secrets from malware already controlling your local account. Read the security model for identity checks, local transport, memory limitations, and reporting guidance.

Documentation

Development

Requires Windows x64 or macOS, Node.js 22+, npm, and Go 1.24+. macOS native builds use Xcode Command Line Tools and libproc for process identity. GCC is needed for Windows race detection.

npm ci
npm run check
npm run package
npm run verify:package
# Build all three packages on macOS:
npm run package:all

The contributor guide covers loopback integration tests, isolated VS Code testing, and packaging. Generated binaries, VSIX files, and local test profiles are excluded from source control. Source and issue links point to the GitHub repository. The extension is published under Devlin; the same verified platform packages is also attached to each GitHub Release. Follow the upload and migration guide when moving from the old local-tools preview.

For later updates, run npm run version:patch and push to main. See the automatic publishing setup for the required Devlin Trusted Publishing policy and repository switch.

License

MIT. Native dependency licenses are listed in THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.txt.