Server Operator

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Why Server Operator

Day-to-day server work usually means a terminal, an SFTP client, a Docker dashboard, a database tool and a text editor, all open at once. Server Operator puts them in one window, with the layout and keyboard habits of a code editor, and talks to your servers over plain SSH. There is no agent to install on the server.

Features

Connections	SSH with a private key or password, SSH through a Cloudflare tunnel, and an optional global SOCKS5 proxy (such as Tor) that each server can opt out of. Host keys are checked, saved passwords are encrypted, and secrets are redacted from logs.
Local workspace	Open a folder on your own machine with no SSH. Files, terminal, Docker, logs, databases, deploys and shortcuts all work against it. Launch it from a terminal with serop ..
Remote files	A file tree with the Monaco editor (the VS Code engine), uploads, downloads, search, Cmd/Ctrl+S to save and unsaved-change dots on tabs.
Docker and Compose	List containers, start, stop, restart and read logs from the row, with a filter box and copy. Tail Compose logs by service. Destructive actions ask first.
Databases	Run MySQL, PostgreSQL and Redis queries through the SSH tunnel, with syntax highlighting, inline row editing, import and export.
Deploys	Git deploy with presets, history and rollback. Deploys and shortcuts run as background jobs, so they keep going when you switch screens, with a jobs list, logs and notifications.
Terminal	A full xterm.js shell over SSH, sized to its panel.
Wizards	Generate Nginx reverse-proxy configs, systemd units and firewall (UFW) rules from forms. The firewall warns before it could lock you out of SSH.
AI helpers (optional)	Deploy chat and config help powered by Groq, with a model picker. Your key stays on your machine and goes only to Groq. Voice input is optional too.
Themes	Built-in themes, a live theme editor, and custom themes loaded from JSON.

Install

Download the build for your system from the latest release:

System	File
macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel)	.dmg or .zip
Windows	NSIS installer (Setup.exe) or portable .exe
Linux (Debian and Ubuntu)	.deb, installed with sudo dpkg -i *.deb

The Mac app is not signed with an Apple certificate yet, so macOS can block it the first time you open it. The app is fine. Drag it into /Applications, then run this in Terminal:

xattr -cr /Applications/Serop.app

Then open Serop again.

Quick start

1. Open Server Operator and add a server with its host, username and a private key or password. Use Test connection before saving.
2. Browse files, open Docker or Logs, or start a terminal for that server.
3. To try it with no server, choose a Local workspace and pick any folder.

Project shortcuts (.serop)

Keep your deploy and ops commands in the repository so people and coding agents share one set:

npx server-operator-init --interactive --path .   # or: npm run serop:init:interactive -- --path .

This creates a .server-operator/ folder with:

• deploy.serop, ops.serop and custom.serop: command shortcuts, as [Section] blocks or Name = command lines
• AI_CONTEXT.md and INSTALLATION_CONTEXT.md: context for AI assistants

Run a shortcut from the Deploy view and it goes to your terminal or runs as a background job.

How it works

graph LR
    subgraph Local ["Your machine"]
        UI["Electron app<br/>React UI"]
        DB[("SQLite<br/>history, snippets")]
        UI --- DB
    end
    subgraph Link ["Connection"]
        SSH["SSH / SFTP"]
        TUN["Port-forward tunnel"]
    end
    subgraph Remote ["Your server"]
        FS["Files"]
        DK["Docker"]
        SQL["MySQL / PostgreSQL / Redis"]
        SH["Shell"]
    end
    UI --> SSH
    UI --> TUN
    SSH --> FS
    SSH --> DK
    SSH --> SH
    TUN --> SQL

Everything the UI can do is an IPC call from the renderer to the Electron main process, which holds the SSH connections and runs the commands. Connections are pooled and reused, so repeated file and command operations do not reconnect each time.

Build from source

You need Node.js and npm.

git clone https://github.com/Everest1508/server-operator.git
cd server-operator
npm install              # also vendors the Monaco editor assets
npm run electron:dev     # Vite + Electron with live reload

Command	What it does
npm run electron:dev	Run the app in development with live reload
npm run dev	Vite only, with no Electron shell (most features need Electron)
npx tsc --noEmit -p tsconfig.json	Typecheck (there is no separate lint or test script)
npm run electron:build	Package for your current OS into release/
npm run electron:build:mac / :linux / :win	Package for a specific OS
npm run website:serve	Serve the marketing site in website/ locally

Project layout

electron/main.js       the backend: SSH/SFTP, Docker, databases, deploys, SQLite
electron/preload.js    the only bridge from the UI to the backend
src/                   the React app (App.tsx, components/, utils/)
themes/                example and bundled theme files
scripts/               CLI helpers (serop, server-operator-init, release tooling)
website/               the public website, plain HTML, CSS and JS
design.md              design notes for the app and the website

A new backend feature touches three places together: an ipcMain.handle in main.js, a method in preload.js, and a type in src/global.d.ts. See CLAUDE.md for more detail.

Custom themes

In Settings, Create theme opens a live editor, Import JSON loads a file and Template downloads an example. Serop also reads theme files from themes/, from the folder named in SEROP_THEMES_DIR, and from a themes folder in the app data folder. A theme needs a name and a colors object; see themes/README.md and themes/examples/ocean.json.

Contributing

Issues and pull requests are welcome. Please run npx tsc --noEmit -p tsconfig.json before sending a change, and describe what you checked in the app, since there is no automated test suite yet.

License

Copyright © 2026 BeForth. Licensed under the Apache License 2.0.