Hosts that stay tidy
Groups, tags, environments and instant search. Import your ~/.ssh/config, or type user@host:port to connect once without saving anything.
Early release Version 0.1
Your doorkeeper to every server.
A fast, native SSH, SFTP and remote-desktop client with an encrypted host manager. No Electron, no telemetry. Free to use today.
NativeWritten in Rust with a native interface. No bundled browser.
SmallAn installer a fraction of the size of an Electron app.
Zero telemetryNothing is collected. It talks to your servers and nobody else.
Free to useFree during this early release, with no account or sign-in.
What it does
One window for everything you do on a server.
If you live in a terminal, move files around and now and then open a Windows desktop, Darban keeps all of it, and the logins that go with it, in one place on your own computer.
A terminal for long days
Tabs and up to eight splits, nineteen colour schemes, any monospaced font with Nerd Font icons and emoji, and faint suggestions from your history. Drag a tab into its own window; change any shortcut.
SFTP in two panes
Drag files between this computer and any server. Transfers resume, folders work, and a copy between two servers goes straight between them.
Tunnels and jump hosts
Local, remote and SOCKS forwarding. Reach a server through up to three jump hosts, with its key checked at every hop.
Remote desktop, built in
Open a Windows machine's desktop (RDP) in a tab right beside your terminals, with network-level authentication on.
One encrypted vault
Hosts, passwords and keys sit behind your master password. Generate keys, import OpenSSH, PEM and PuTTY files, and see which ones are weak or old.
Fix a connection, don't guess
Diagnose walks from your name lookup to the SSH banner and says in plain words what is wrong. An error guide is built in, offline.
Guardrails for production
Colour your environments. On Production, Darban asks before rm -rf, DROP DATABASE and other destructive commands, shows a risky paste before it goes in, and never trusts a server key without asking.
Command palette Ctrl K
Snippets with variables and schedules
Wake-on-LAN
Serial consoles and Telnet
darban:// links
Light and dark themes
Six accent colours
Shortcuts you can change
Offline help, F1
Signed updates
Hosts
Every server, one calm list.
Open Darban and see what you have: which servers are reachable, how fast, and which are in Production. Search by name, tag or address, or filter by group.
- Operating system, login and latency on every card
- Select several hosts and change their group or tags at once
- Latency is measured only while you're looking, and can be turned off
Terminal
A terminal that keeps up with you.
Every session opens in a tab with its status, latency and tools right above it. Split it, search what scrolled past, and keep the commands you run on each host one click away.
- Nineteen colour schemes and any monospaced font, with Nerd Font icons and colour emoji
- Drag a tab out of the title bar to give it a window of its own
- Every shortcut can be changed in Settings
Snippets
Write a command once, run it anywhere.
Keep the commands you use often and send them to one terminal or several at once. Variables fill in each server's details, so the same snippet works on every host.
{{var:region}}reads a value saved for a host, an environment or everywhere{{ask:Branch}}asks once, when the snippet runs- Run a snippet every few minutes or daily at a set time while Darban is open
Tunnels
Reach what's behind the firewall.
Save a rule once, such as a database on a private network or a SOCKS proxy through a server, and start it with a click. A rule can also start by itself whenever you open a session to its host.
- Local, remote and SOCKS rules, with their state at a glance
- Jump hosts up to three deep, the key checked at every hop
- Listening beyond your own computer needs a one-time confirmation
Appearance
Dark for long nights, light for bright rooms.
Both themes are tuned so terminal colours read true and text stays easy on the eyes. Pick your accent, soften or sharpen the glass, and tighten the layout when you want more hosts on screen.
- Light and dark, switchable in one click
- Six accent colours, from Ajrak crimson to teal
- Nineteen terminal colour schemes built in, or import your own
- Comfortable or compact density, animations on or off
Security and privacy
The doorkeeper decides who passes.
Darban is named for the person who guards the door. It is built so that your servers and credentials stay yours.
Encrypted on your machine
The vault uses Argon2id to turn your master password into a key and XChaCha20-Poly1305 to seal everything. Lock it and the secrets are gone from memory.
Keys checked before logins
A server's key is verified before any password or key is sent. A new one is shown as a fingerprint for you to trust; a changed one is a loud warning.
No telemetry. Ever.
No analytics, no crash reports, no account. Darban contacts the servers you pick and, once a day if you allow it, the download server to look for a newer version.
Download
Get Darban for your computer.
Free to use today, with no sign-up. One download per system. Every file is checksummed and the checksums are signed.
macOS
macOS 12 or newer · Apple silicon and Intel
Download .dmgOne app for both chips
Windows
Windows 10 and 11 · 64-bit
Download installerSetup program
No installer wanted? Portable .zip
Linux
Debian 12, Ubuntu 22.04 and newer · x86-64
Download .debDebian package
Other distributions are not packaged yet.
First launch: Darban isn't code-signed yet
macOS: open Applications, right-click Darban, choose Open, then Open again. You only do this once.
Windows: if SmartScreen stops the installer, choose More info, then Run anyway.
That is why the checksums below matter: check them before you run anything.
Verify your download
Every release comes with a file of checksums (SHA256SUMS) that lists a fingerprint for each download. That file is signed with Darban's signing key, so you can confirm it really came from the maintainers and nobody swapped a file on the way. The update checker inside Darban uses the same key, built into the app.
The public key (anyone may have it; it can only check signatures, never create them):
RWQWUGg7xH3d1N+ECFbwdxm/i4hwSfu8eyfTZRhTNimI6aJoDgF0ik6oKey ID D4DD7DC43B685016 · minisign.pub
Check it, step by step (version 0.1.3):
- Download SHA256SUMS and SHA256SUMS.minisig into the folder with your installer.
- Check the signature with minisign. It should say Signature and comment signature verified:
minisign -Vm SHA256SUMS -P RWQWUGg7xH3d1N+ECFbwdxm/i4hwSfu8eyfTZRhTNimI6aJoDgF0ik6o - Check your file against it:
# macOS shasum -a 256 -c --ignore-missing SHA256SUMS # Linux sha256sum -c --ignore-missing SHA256SUMS # Windows (PowerShell): compare with the line for your file Get-FileHash .\Darban-0.1.3-x64-setup.exe
Fingerprints for version 0.1.3 (SHA-256):
What's next
Honest about where it is.
Darban is early. The parts above work today. These are designed and on the roadmap, and they are not built yet.
Sync you host yourself
End-to-end-encrypted sync and shared vaults for a team, on a server you run. Nothing goes through our cloud.
A local AI helper
Explains errors and suggests commands on your machine. It never runs anything without your approval.
For organisations
Permissioned access to every server, short-lived credentials instead of long-lived keys, and session recording.
Questions
The short answers.
Is it free?
Darban is free to use right now, and you don't need an account. It is an early release, so pricing may change in the future. If it does, we will say so on this page.
Does it send anything about me anywhere?
No telemetry and no analytics. Darban connects to the servers you tell it to. If you leave update checks on (Settings → About), it asks the download server for the newest version once a day and nothing else; you can switch that off.
Where is my data?
On your computer, in an encrypted vault. There is no cloud copy, so keep your master password safe and back the vault file up.
Is it affiliated with another SSH client?
No. Darban is an independent project, written from scratch. It is not derived from, endorsed by or connected to any commercial SSH client.
What does the name mean?
Darban is Persian and Urdu for “doorkeeper”: dar, a door, and ban, the one who keeps it. The colours and patterns come from the Sindhi Ajrak, the indigo and crimson block-printed cloth.
Why isn't it signed by Apple or Microsoft?
Code-signing certificates cost money and need a registered publisher, and this is an early release. Until then the checksums and the signed SHA256SUMS are how you confirm a download is genuine.
Which systems does it run on?
macOS 12 or newer (Apple silicon and Intel), Windows 10 and 11 on 64-bit, and Linux on x86-64 as a Debian package for Debian 12 and Ubuntu 22.04 or newer.