Zero network setup
Built-in NAT traversal. Works across home Wi‑Fi, office networks, and cellular — no port forwarding or static IP required.
TermLink mirrors your tmux session to iPhone with a real ANSI terminal. No public IP, no VPN, no SSH config — run the Agent on macOS or Linux, scan a QR code, and attach from anywhere.
Why TermLink
TermLink streams raw ANSI/VT100 bytes from your tmux session — colors, cursor, scroll regions, and ncurses UIs work exactly like they do locally.
Built-in NAT traversal. Works across home Wi‑Fi, office networks, and cellular — no port forwarding or static IP required.
Run the Agent on macOS or Linux (v1.0.1), scan the ASCII QR with your iPhone. QR codes expire in 5 minutes; press R on the host to refresh. Already paired? Use Saved Agents — no rescan.
Vim, htop, less, ncdu, lazygit, Python REPL — anything that runs in tmux renders natively on your phone.
Terminal traffic goes directly between your host and iPhone over encrypted P2P — not through an SSH sharing broker like tmate. Pairing uses one-time tokens and a local trusted-device list.
Default session or termlink -t mysession — mirror the exact layout you already use on your Mac or Linux box.
TermLink mirrors a text terminal only. There is no download button, no SCP/SFTP/rsync channel, and no SSH file browser — a pure remote shell for ops and support without turning a phone into a data exfil path.
Single CLI binary for macOS and Linux (v1.0.1). No daemon account, no cloud relay of your shell output. Your machine, your tmux, your keys.
Use cases
Whether you run long jobs on a Mac mini, manage remote servers, or juggle dev environments — TermLink keeps your session one tap away.
Switch panes, detach, reattach — your window layout stays intact. Use TermLink as a second screen when you step away from your desk.
Monitor training logs, check GPU status with htop, send Ctrl+C when a run goes wrong — without waking your laptop lid.
Manage a headless Mac mini or studio at home. No Screen Sharing, no Tailscale + SSH two-step — just tmux from your phone.
Run the Agent on a Linux build server or staging box. Keep tmux sessions alive and check deploy logs from your phone during incidents or on-call rotations.
Your dev environment stays in tmux on the Mac that has your repos, keys, and tools. The phone is a terminal — not a second machine to sync.
Give engineers on-call terminal access without handing out full SSH clients with file transfer. TermLink is text-based only — monitor logs, restart jobs, run commands — while keeping downloads and SCP-style tooling off the mobile path.
Leave a session running at home or in the lab. Attach from hotel Wi‑Fi or LTE when you need to check progress or run a quick command.
How it works
On macOS or Linux, one command installs termlink. It attaches to tmux and prints a pairing QR. Press R in the terminal to refresh the code.
Open the TermLink iOS app, scan the QR code, and your phone is added to the host's trusted device list.
Reopen the app and tap your saved agent. TermLink handles connectivity; you get a live terminal mirror of your tmux session.
Compare
If you already share tmux with tmate, or stitch together Tailscale, ZeroTier, and SSH — TermLink is built to remove both pain points. For teams, it is also a text-only remote path — not a file-transfer SSH client.
vs tmate
tmate routes access through SSH and a third-party session broker. TermLink uses encrypted peer-to-peer transport between your Agent and iPhone — your terminal bytes are not exposed to SSH forwarding or a shared web link.
vs Tailscale / ZeroTier + SSH
Mesh VPN plus SSH means installing clients, enabling sshd, managing keys,
and often tuning firewalls. TermLink attaches to tmux you already run —
no SSH daemon, no VPN dashboard, no port 22.
termlink + tmuxknown_hosts, or sshd_configFor teams & operators
SSH clients on a phone often ship with SCP, SFTP, and file browsers — convenient, but a wider data-exfil surface. TermLink exposes a pure remote terminal: ANSI/tmux I/O only, with no built-in way to download repos, databases, or documents to the device.
| TermLink | tmate | Tailscale + SSH | ZeroTier + SSH | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P2P E2E encrypted terminal traffic | ✓ | SSH tunnel | VPN + SSH | VPN + SSH |
No SSH server (sshd) required |
✓ | ✓ | — | — |
| No VPN client or mesh network | ✓ | ✓ | — | — |
| No SSH keys to generate or rotate | ✓ | Host SSH | — | — |
| QR pairing — no shareable public URL | ✓ | Web link | — | — |
| Native tmux session mirror on iPhone | ✓ | Read-only option | Manual attach | Manual attach |
| Text-only PTY — no SCP / SFTP / file browser | ✓ | SSH stack | SCP & SFTP | SCP & SFTP |
| No public IP / port forwarding | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Terminal apps
Switch between vim, ncdu, top, kilocode, and more — full ANSI rendering, live from your tmux session on iPhone.
Download
The Agent is a free CLI for macOS and Linux. The iOS app requires a Pro subscription (1-month free trial for new subscribers). Pair once, connect anytime.
Command-line · macOS 13+ · Apple Silicon & Intel · requires tmux
One-line install · latest v1.0.1
curl -fsSL https://termlink.vip/install.sh | bash
Homebrew (coming soon)
brew install termlink
Manual download · v1.0.1
Extract, then install -m 755 termlink ~/.local/bin/termlink.
Release notes
Then run termlink or termlink -t SESSION.
Check version with termlink -v (prints termlink 1.0.1).
Trusted devices are stored in
~/Library/Application Support/TermLink/trusted.json.
Command-line · x86_64 & aarch64 · musl static binary · requires tmux
One-line install · latest v1.0.1
curl -fsSL https://termlink.vip/install-linux.sh | bash
Manual download · v1.0.1
Extract, then install -m 755 termlink ~/.local/bin/termlink.
Release notes
Host and Guest modes work on Linux: termlink and termlink guest.
Trusted devices are stored in
~/.local/share/computer.termlink/TermLink/trusted.json.
iPhone · iOS 17.5+ · native terminal rendering
Download on the App StoreSearch TermLink - Remote Tmux on the App Store, or use the link above once published. Subscribe to Pro — first month free; cancel anytime before the trial ends. TestFlight beta available — email beta@termlink.vip.
Quick start
curl -fsSL https://termlink.vip/install.sh | bash · Linux: curl -fsSL https://termlink.vip/install-linux.sh | bashtermlink on your host (press R to refresh QR)Pair with any Bluetooth keyboard for Vim and tmux shortcuts. TermLink Pro adds custom macros and multi-session switching.
Pricing
Install the Agent on macOS or Linux at no cost. Subscribe in the iOS app — your first month is free. Cancel anytime before the trial ends and you won’t be charged.
Start a Pro subscription in the iOS app. Full access for 30 days — cancel before it ends to avoid charges.
1 month free, then $4.99/mo — or $49/year (save 41%)
For labs and small teams. Not available yet — launching later.
FAQ
TermLink is a lightweight CLI Agent (termlink, currently v1.0.1) for macOS and Linux. It attaches to tmux and exposes sessions over an encrypted connection. Your iPhone is the terminal UI. A macOS menu-bar companion app is on the roadmap.
No. TermLink handles NAT traversal and encrypts traffic between your devices. Works when your host is on home Wi‑Fi and your phone is on LTE.
No. Terminal data flows directly between your host and iPhone over encrypted connections. Pairing secrets stay on the host machine (for example ~/Library/Application Support/TermLink/ on macOS or ~/.local/share/computer.termlink/TermLink/ on Linux).
Yes. Since v1.0.1, the Agent runs natively on Linux (x86_64 and aarch64). Install with curl -fsSL https://termlink.vip/install-linux.sh | bash, run termlink in tmux, and pair from your iPhone — same QR flow as macOS. Guest mode (termlink guest) is supported on Linux too.
tmate shares a tmux session over SSH via a broker and a public-style link. TermLink uses encrypted P2P between your Agent and iPhone, with QR pairing and a local trusted-device list — no SSH forwarding layer and no share URL to manage.
Mesh VPN plus SSH still means installing VPN clients, running sshd, managing keys, and attaching to tmux manually from an SSH client. TermLink skips that stack: install termlink, run tmux, scan a QR code — done.
Traditional SSH clients require hostnames, keys, and often VPN. TermLink attaches directly to your existing tmux session with QR pairing — no SSH configuration at all.
No — by design. TermLink is a text-only remote terminal. It does not include SCP, SFTP, rsync, or a file manager. That is intentional for teams that want shell access on a phone without a built-in path to pull files off production systems. (Like any terminal, users can still type commands on the host — your policies and host controls still apply.)
Yes. When you subscribe to TermLink Pro in the iOS app, your first month is free. Cancel anytime before the trial ends in iOS Settings → Apple ID → Subscriptions and you won’t be charged. The Agent remains free on macOS and Linux.
Yes. Manage or cancel Pro anytime in iOS Settings → Apple ID → Subscriptions. If you cancel during the free trial before it ends, you won’t be billed. The Agent continues to work at no cost on macOS and Linux after cancellation.