Noden: SSH, SFTP, RDP and serial console for macOS

Install

brew install --cask useroamteknoloji/tap/noden

Or download the notarized DMG straight from nodenapp.com/download, or get it on the Mac App Store. The direct build updates itself; the App Store build updates through the App Store.

Requires macOS 13 Ventura or later. Universal binary for Apple Silicon and Intel. Notarized by Apple.

What is Noden?

Four tools that usually need four apps: a terminal, a file manager, a remote desktop client and a serial console, built to work together in one window, plus a password vault behind Touch ID and an assistant tuned for the command line.

The point is not that Noden has four protocols. It is that they share a window. The terminal for a server sits next to that same server's file tree; the Windows box you need to check is a tab away, not an app away. Nothing is lost switching between them, because you never switch.

Native Swift and SwiftUI. No Electron, no bundled browser. Available as a direct download, via Homebrew, and on the Mac App Store.

Getting started

Open Noden and press New Connection. Give it a host, a username and an authentication method. Mac SSH Key picks up the Ed25519 or ECDSA key already in your ~/.ssh with nothing to configure. Existing ~/.ssh/config hosts can be imported in one step. Connections can be grouped, groups can sit inside groups, and both stay in the order you drag them. Everything is searchable from the sidebar.

Full walkthrough in the documentation.

Terminal

• Saved SSH connections with password, Ed25519 and ECDSA key authentication
• As many sessions as you like: tabs, or a resizable one to four column grid to watch several servers at once
• Tear a tab off into its own window. The live session moves with it, the connection never drops, and it docks back when you drag the chip onto the tab bar or close the window
• Per-tab latency, so a slow host is visible at a glance
• Broadcast one line to every open tab
• Full xterm-compatible emulator: colour themes, custom fonts, adjustable cursor, scrollback, bell
• Drag a selection past the top or the bottom edge and the terminal keeps scrolling, so a selection can span more than one screen
• ⌘↑ and ⌘↓ jump to the previous or the next command and briefly highlight where you land
• Jump hosts (ProxyJump) and local port forwarding, to reach a database or web console behind a bastion
• Uses the keys already in your ~/.ssh and imports your ~/.ssh/config
• Host key verification on first connect, with a clear warning if a key ever changes
• ⌘T opens a shell on your own Mac, with your real PATH, Homebrew and dotfiles

Command history

Every command you run stays searchable, with autocomplete from what you actually typed before and ⌘P to jump anywhere. Open an entry to read the output it printed and copy it with one click. Commands that failed are marked, so a broken run is easy to find later.

SFTP file commander

• Dual-pane local and remote, drag and drop in either direction and straight from Finder
• Native table: resizable, reorderable, sortable columns that remember your layout
• Open a remote file in your own editor and Noden syncs it back the moment you save
• Quick Look with a tap of Space
• Conflict prompt on large copies: replace, skip, or apply to all
• Pop the file browser out into its own window next to a terminal

RDP remote desktop

• Windows machines open as a tab next to your Linux shells, or in the grid beside them
• Rendered with Metal, with clipboard and file copy-paste in both directions, and folder sharing into the session
• RD Gateway, admin and console session, domain logins, auto-reconnect
• Resolution follows the window as you resize
• Server certificates are verified, with a separate warning if one changes or the name does not match

Serial console

• USB to serial console sessions for routers, switches, firewalls and embedded boards
• Vendor presets with the real factory speeds: Cisco IOS and Catalyst 9600, FortiGate 9600, Sophos XG/XGS 38400, MikroTik 115200, HPE Aruba AOS-CX 115200, Ubiquiti 115200, all 8N1
• The device list refreshes itself while the dialog is open, so you can plug the cable in after you start

More on the setup in Serial console on a Mac and SSH to legacy switches from a Mac.

Password vault

• A built-in manager for the secrets of server life: passwords, SSH private keys, API tokens and secure notes
• Protected by Touch ID (or your login password) and stored only in your Mac's Keychain, never on our servers
• Link a connection to a vault entry: change the secret once and every session that uses it follows, terminal, SFTP, jump host and RDP included
• Type a password straight into the terminal, ideal right after sudo su, and it never enters your command history
• Answer a password prompt automatically on connect: give a connection an "On connect" command such as sudo su and pick which secret answers it
• Double-click an entry to copy it; the clipboard clears itself after 30 seconds
• 2FA codes live next to the password: the current code and its countdown are shown on the entry, and the extension fills it on the second screen
• Entries sit in groups, with drag and drop between them, like connections do
• Choose how often the vault asks for Touch ID in Settings, Security: every time, after five minutes, after thirty minutes, or until you quit
• Built-in password generator, and encrypted vault export and import for a new Mac

Browser extension

The same vault fills your logins in the browser. The extension talks to Noden on your own Mac over a local bridge, so there is no account, no server and nothing to sync.

• Add to Chrome (the same build also registers for Edge, Brave, Vivaldi, Arc, Opera and Chromium)
• Add to Firefox
• Safari needs no separate install: the extension ships inside Noden, turn it on in Safari, Settings, Extensions

Fills TOTP codes on the second screen, offers to save a new login after you sign in, and asks before updating a changed password. The password itself never passes through the browser. Chrome and Firefox need Noden 2.0 or later; the Safari extension arrived in 2.4 and is in every build, the Mac App Store one included.

AI command assistant

Describe a server task in plain English and Noden answers for the machine you are actually on. On a Linux host it writes the shell command and offers to run it. Every command is shown before execution and needs your approval, and potentially destructive ones are flagged first.

On a Windows machine it drops the shell talk and answers like a Windows engineer, so the same question comes back as PowerShell.

Use the built-in Noden AI, or bring your own key: presets for ChatGPT (OpenAI), Claude (Anthropic), Groq and OpenRouter, or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint including a local model (LM Studio, vLLM). Your key stays in your Mac's Keychain.

Privacy and safety

• Passwords and keys live only in the macOS Keychain; file contents are never collected
• Touch ID lock on launch
• Privacy mode for screenshots and screen sharing: one click turns every address, username and hostname into asterisks
• Settings, Data removes the vault, the connections and the command history from one screen, with a count of what is about to go
• Password-encrypted backup and restore for connections, and a separate encrypted vault export
• Anonymous usage statistics can be switched off in Settings ▸ General ▸ Privacy
• Closing a live session asks first, so a stray ⌘W cannot drop a connection

Security reports: see SECURITY.md.

Free and Pro

Free is not a trial. The SSH terminal, the SFTP file manager, RDP and serial consoles all work without paying, within these limits:

	Free	Pro
Price	USD 0	USD 5.99 first year, then USD 10.99 / year
SSH terminal, split grid, tear-off windows	✅	✅
SFTP file commander	✅	✅
RDP remote desktop	✅	✅
Serial console	✅	✅
Browser extension	✅	✅
Saved connections	5	Unlimited
Vault secrets	20	Unlimited
Command history	Last 50	Full history
AI command assistant	✗	✅

Noden Pro costs USD 5.99 for the first year and USD 10.99 per year afterwards. On the Mac App Store, Pro is an auto-renewing subscription managed by Apple; the direct build uses a licence key. A Team plan is planned but not on sale yet; everything listed under it on the website is still in development.

Languages

English, Türkçe, Deutsch, Español, Français.

What Noden does not do

Stated plainly, so nobody installs it expecting the wrong thing:

• No VNC and no X11 server. If you need those protocols, run a dedicated tool alongside Noden.
• macOS only. No Windows or Linux build, and none planned, because Noden is native AppKit and SwiftUI, not a cross-platform shell.
• Not open source. This repository is the product's public home, not its source code. See About this repository.

Coming from another tool

Noden is built for people replacing a Windows habit or a stack of separate Mac apps. Each page below is an honest side by side, including what Noden does not cover.

If you use	Read
MobaXterm on Windows	MobaXterm alternative for Mac: saved sessions, split terminals, SFTP and serial in one window
PuTTY on Windows	PuTTY for Mac: there is no native PuTTY on macOS, here is what to use instead
WinSCP on Windows	WinSCP for Mac: dual-pane transfers, natively
SecureCRT	SecureCRT alternative for Mac
Termius	Termius alternative for Mac
Royal TSX	Royal TSX alternative for Mac
Devolutions Remote Desktop Manager	Devolutions RDM alternative for Mac
FileZilla	FileZilla alternative for Mac
Microsoft Remote Desktop	Microsoft Remote Desktop alternative for Mac
iTerm2	iTerm2 for SSH: what saved connections, SFTP and AI add on top

Still choosing? Best SSH client for Mac (2026) covers the free and paid options, Noden included.

Guides

• How to use SSH on a Mac: Terminal.app first, then what a client adds
• How to use SFTP on a Mac: command line and graphical transfers
• macOS SSH client · Mac SFTP client · RDP client for Mac
• Serial console on a Mac · SSH to legacy switches
• SSH password manager for Mac: where server passwords actually belong
• AI SSH client: plain English to commands
• SSH, SFTP and RDP in one Mac app

FAQ

Is Noden free? Yes, with limits. The terminal, SFTP, RDP, the serial console and the browser extension are free, capped at 5 saved connections, 20 vault secrets and your last 50 commands. Pro lifts all three caps and adds the AI assistant.

How much does Noden Pro cost? USD 5.99 for the first year, then USD 10.99 per year. One price for everything Pro unlocks: unlimited saved connections, unlimited vault secrets, the full command history and the AI command assistant. Buying on the Mac App Store makes it an Apple-managed auto-renewing subscription; buying directly gives you a licence key.

Does Noden work on Apple Silicon? Yes, a universal binary for Apple Silicon and Intel, notarized by Apple, on macOS 13 Ventura and later.

Can I connect to Windows machines? Yes. RDP sessions open as tabs beside your SSH terminals, with clipboard and file copy-paste in both directions, folder sharing, RD Gateway and domain logins.

Where are my passwords stored? In your Mac's Keychain, unlocked with Touch ID or your login password. They are never sent to a server of ours. File contents, passwords and keys are never collected.

Does the browser extension need an account? No. It talks to Noden running on the same Mac over a local bridge. There is no account, no server and no sync, and the password never passes through the browser.

Does the AI assistant run commands on its own? Only if you let it. Every command is shown before execution and needs your approval, and potentially destructive ones are flagged first.

Can I use my own AI model? Yes. Bring an OpenAI, Anthropic, Groq or OpenRouter key, or point Noden at any OpenAI-compatible endpoint, including a local model in LM Studio or vLLM. The key stays in your Keychain.

Does it use my existing SSH keys and config? Yes. Noden reads the Ed25519 and ECDSA keys in ~/.ssh and imports hosts from your ~/.ssh/config.

Is there a Windows or Linux version? No. Noden is a native macOS application and there is no cross-platform build planned.

What is the difference between the Mac App Store build and the direct download? Payment, updates and one sandbox detail. On the App Store, Pro is an Apple subscription and updates arrive through the App Store; the direct build uses a licence key and updates itself. Because the App Store build is sandboxed, its ⌘T local shell reaches your own Mac over SSH, which needs Remote Login enabled in System Settings ▸ General ▸ Sharing.

Support

• Documentation: https://nodenapp.com/docs.html
• Email: [email protected]
• Issues: use this repository's issue tracker for reproducible bugs and feature requests
• Support policy: SUPPORT.md

About this repository

Noden is proprietary software developed by Useroam Teknoloji. This public repository is the official home for product information, release links, issue tracking and community feedback; it does not contain the application source code.