Virgo SSH

The Ultimate SSH Terminal Extension for Visual Studio Code

Virgo SSH is a powerful, feature-rich Visual Studio Code extension that provides seamless SSH connectivity directly from your editor. With secure credential management, connection profiles, SSH key generation, and full terminal emulation, Virgo SSH transforms VS Code into a complete remote server management tool with zero friction.

Features

Core Capabilities

Key Features

• Secure Credential Storage: Passwords are stored in your operating system's secure keychain (Windows Credential Manager, macOS Keychain, Linux Secret Service) - never in plain text files
• Zero Server Footprint: Unlike some remote extensions, Virgo SSH doesn't install anything on your servers
• Encrypted Key Support: Works with passphrase-protected private keys
• Intelligent Authentication: Automatically detects and handles keyboard-interactive authentication
• Connection Keepalive: Maintains stable connections with configurable keepalive intervals
• One-Click Disconnect: Easily disconnect from the status bar or command palette
• Private Key Validation: Warns about insecure file permissions on Linux/macOS

Installation

Visual Studio Code

1. Open Visual Studio Code
2. Go to Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X / Cmd+Shift+X)
3. Search for "Virgo SSH"
4. Click Install

Cursor

Virgo SSH is available on the Open VSX Registry, which Cursor uses by default:

1. Open Cursor
2. Go to Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X / Cmd+Shift+X)
3. Search for "Virgo SSH"
4. Click Install

Windsurf

Virgo SSH is available on the Open VSX Registry, which Windsurf uses by default:

1. Open Windsurf
2. Go to Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X / Cmd+Shift+X)
3. Search for "Virgo SSH"
4. Click Install

Quick Start

Method 1: Quick Connect (Fastest)

1. Open Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P)
2. Type Virgo SSH: Quick Connect
3. Enter your connection: username@hostname:port (e.g., root@192.168.1.100:22)
4. Enter your password when prompted
5. You're connected! A new terminal will open with your SSH session

Method 2: Using Profiles (Recommended for frequent connections)

1. Open Command Palette
2. Run Virgo SSH: Create Profile
3. Follow the prompts to set up your connection
4. Next time, just run Virgo SSH: Connect to Profile and select your saved profile

Method 3: Import from SSH Config

If you already have hosts configured in ~/.ssh/config:

1. Open Command Palette
2. Run Virgo SSH: Import SSH Config
3. Select the hosts you want to import
4. Your hosts are now available as Virgo SSH profiles!

Configuration

Virgo SSH uses a .virgo-ssh.json configuration file in your workspace root to store connection profiles.

Configuration File Structure

{
    "profiles": [
        {
            "name": "Production Server",
            "host": "prod.example.com",
            "port": 22,
            "user": "deploy",
            "authMethod": "key",
            "privateKeyPath": "~/.ssh/id_ed25519",
            "remoteWorkDir": "/var/www/app",
            "description": "Main production server"
        },
        {
            "name": "Development VM",
            "host": "192.168.1.100",
            "port": 2222,
            "user": "developer",
            "authMethod": "password",
            "description": "Local development virtual machine"
        }
    ],
    "defaults": {
        "port": 22,
        "timeout": 10000,
        "keepaliveInterval": 30000,
        "keepaliveCountMax": 3
    }
}

Profile Options

Default Settings

Commands

Access these commands via the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P):

VS Code Settings

Configure global extension behavior in VS Code settings:

{
    "virgoSsh.enable": true,
    "virgoSsh.showStatusBar": true
}

Status Bar

The status bar shows real-time connection status:

SSH Key Generation

Virgo SSH can generate SSH key pairs directly from VS Code:

1. Run Virgo SSH: Generate SSH Key
2. Choose key type:
   • Ed25519 (Recommended) - Modern, fast, and secure
   • RSA 4096 - Traditional, widely compatible
3. Enter a name for your key
4. Optionally set a passphrase for extra security
5. Choose where to save the key (default: ~/.ssh/)
6. Copy the public key to add to your server's authorized_keys

Security

Password Storage

• Passwords are stored using VS Code's SecretStorage API
• On Windows: Windows Credential Manager
• On macOS: Keychain
• On Linux: Secret Service (GNOME Keyring, KWallet, etc.)
• Passwords are never stored in .virgo-ssh.json or any plain text file

Private Key Security

• Virgo SSH validates private key file permissions on Linux/macOS
• Keys should have permissions 600 (owner read/write only) or 400 (owner read only)
• A warning is shown if permissions are too permissive
• Passphrase-protected keys are fully supported

Best Practices

1. Use SSH keys instead of passwords when possible
2. Protect your keys with a passphrase
3. Never share your private keys
4. Regularly rotate your credentials
5. Use Ed25519 keys for new deployments (more secure than RSA)

Use Cases

Development Workflow

1. Local Development Server: Quick access to your local VM or Docker containers
2. Staging Environment: Test deployments before production
3. Production Monitoring: Check logs and server status

DevOps Tasks

1. Server Management: Run administrative commands
2. Log Analysis: Tail logs in real-time
3. Deployment: Execute deployment scripts
4. Troubleshooting: Debug issues directly on servers

Learning & Education

1. Learn Linux: Practice command-line skills
2. Server Administration: Learn system administration
3. Networking: Understand SSH and remote connections

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Q: Connection times out

A: Check the following:

1. Verify the hostname/IP is correct
2. Ensure the port is open (default: 22)
3. Check if a firewall is blocking the connection
4. Try increasing timeout in defaults

Q: Authentication failed

A: Try these solutions:

1. Verify username and password are correct
2. For SSH keys, ensure the public key is in ~/.ssh/authorized_keys on the server
3. Check private key file permissions (should be 600 or 400)
4. If using passphrase-protected key, make sure you enter the correct passphrase

Q: "Host key verification failed" or similar

A: This is a security feature. The first time you connect to a server, you may need to:

1. Accept the host key when prompted
2. Or manually add the server's host key to your known_hosts file

Q: Terminal colors don't work

A: Ensure your remote server has:

1. A proper TERM environment variable (usually xterm-256color)
2. Color support enabled in your shell configuration

Q: Connection drops frequently

A: Adjust keepalive settings in your config:

{
    "defaults": {
        "keepaliveInterval": 15000,
        "keepaliveCountMax": 5
    }
}

Viewing Logs

1. Open the Output panel (View → Output)
2. Select "Virgo SSH" from the dropdown
3. Review timestamped log entries for connection details and errors

About Virgo Internet Services

Virgo SSH is developed and maintained by Mustafa Odabaşı, Software Developer at Virgo Internet Services Ltd. — delivering high-quality web solutions since 1997.

📧 Contact: modabasi@virgo.com.tr

Support

If you find this extension useful, consider supporting its development:

Related Extensions

Check out other Virgo extensions:

Visual Studio Code Marketplace

• Virgo Minifier - Automatic file minification for CSS, JS, HTML, JSON, XML, and SVG
• Virgo Auto-FTP - Automatic FTP/SFTP upload on save

Open VSX Registry (Cursor, Windsurf, etc.)

• Virgo Minifier - Automatic file minification for CSS, JS, HTML, JSON, XML, and SVG
• Virgo Auto-FTP - Automatic FTP/SFTP upload on save

Enjoy using Virgo SSH! If you find it helpful, please consider leaving a review on your marketplace of choice.