Quick start

1. Create a master password

The first time you open Burrow, it asks for a master password. It encrypts everything secret: passwords, private keys and key passphrases.

It needs:

• at least 12 characters
• at least one number
• at least one special character

Letters with umlauts, like ä or ü, don’t count as special characters.

2. Add a host

Open Hosts in the sidebar and click New host. Give it a label, the server’s address and your user name, then pick how you log in:

• Password: save it in the vault, or leave it empty and Burrow asks each time you connect.
• Key: pick a key from the Keychain. Generate or import one under Keychain first, and copy its public key to the server’s ~/.ssh/authorized_keys.

Every field is explained on the Hosts page.

3. Connect and check the fingerprint

Double-click the host to connect. The first time, Burrow shows the server’s host key fingerprint and asks whether you trust it.

Don’t just click through. The fingerprint is how you know you’re talking to your server and not to someone in between. Compare it with what the server admin gave you, or look it up on the server:

ssh-keygen -lf /etc/ssh/ssh_host_ed25519_key.pub

If the two match, accept. Burrow remembers the key and only asks again if it changes.

What a changed key means, and what to do about it, is on the Known hosts page.

Next steps

• Split a session into panes, or open a local shell: Terminal and tabs.
• Save the commands you keep typing: Snippets.
• Use Burrow on more than one computer: Sync between devices.