Hermit SSH vs Xtend

Hermit is a focused SSH client built for developers who work with AI coding assistants on remote machines. Connect to your dev server, attach to tmux sessions, and interact using configurable soft keys and voice input. Unlike general-purpose terminal apps, Hermit is designed around a specific workflow: you have an AI CLI tool running in a tmux session on a remote machine, and you want to monitor and interact with it from your phone. Five soft keys — 1, 2, Enter, Escape, and a microphone — give you everything you need to approve tool calls, reject changes, send commands, and dictate instructions. KEY FEATURES * SSH connections with ed25519 private key authentication * Automatic tmux session attach on connect * Configurable soft key ribbon bar optimized for AI coding workflows * Voice input with iOS dictation — speak your instructions, proofread, and send * xterm.js terminal rendering with proper color and escape code support * Automatic iCloud Drive sync — your hosts and sessions available on all devices * Dark mode interface designed for terminal use * Private keys stored securely in the iOS Keychain BUILT FOR AI CODING WORKFLOWS The default soft keys map directly to common AI CLI approval patterns: 1 — Accept (approve tool calls and edits) 2 — Reject Enter — Confirm multi-line input Escape — Cancel or interrupt Mic — Open voice input for longer instructions OPEN SOURCE Hermit is open source so you can review exactly what runs on your device and how your SSH credentials are handled. No analytics, no tracking, no data collection.

Xtend puts your development workspace in your pocket. A free companion app runs on your Mac. Your iPhone or iPad connects to it directly — encrypted, peer to peer — over any network. Your projects, your tools, your machine. You just aren't sitting at it. YOUR PROJECTS, ORGANIZED Every project on your machine becomes a workspace, with its own sessions, its own branch and its own history. Pick up a conversation from this morning, start a new one, jump between them. Everything survives closing the app. CHAT WITH YOUR CODING AGENT Talk to the agent already installed on your machine — Claude Code or Codex — about your real projects. Streaming replies, tool calls, syntax-highlighted diffs. Slash commands and @-file mentions work exactly as they do in your terminal, because it is your terminal. APPROVE WHAT IT RUNS, FROM YOUR POCKET When the agent wants to run a command or edit a file, the request appears on your phone. Approve, always allow, or deny. Xtend never decides for you — it carries the question and brings back your answer. A REAL TERMINAL Not a toy. Full xterm emulation with ANSI colour, pinch-to-zoom, text selection, eleven themes, and a font panel that does not dismiss the keyboard. Attach files from your photo library, camera or Files app. BUILD AND RUN Start an Xcode build, follow the log as it streams, then install straight to your iPhone — wherever you are, with no cable and no need to be on the same network. Runtime logs from the running app, searchable and filtered by level, like the Xcode console. And when you need to see it move, mirror your iOS Simulator live and touch it — taps go straight through. NO SAME-NETWORK REQUIREMENT Your phone and your desk find each other wherever they are. Cellular in one place, Wi-Fi in another — the connection is direct and end-to-end encrypted either way. PUSH WHEN IT MATTERS (Premium) The agent needs a decision, a long build finishes — your phone tells you, and you can answer without opening the app. Free accounts see the same alerts inside the app. WHAT YOU NEED • A Mac running the free Xtend Host companion (download at getxtend.com) • Sign in with Apple, on both • One Mac per Apple ID FREE AND PREMIUM Chat, terminal, projects and builds are unlimited and always free — no trial, no counter, no catch. Simulator mirroring and installs to your iPhone come with a generous daily allowance. An in-app purchase lifts that allowance and adds push notifications, for people who need more. Privacy Policy: https://getxtend.com/privacy Terms of Use: https://getxtend.com/terms