Quick Start
From zero to your first SSH connection in under two minutes.
Step 1 — Launch Schooner
Open Schooner from your Applications folder. It will appear as a ⛵ icon in your menu bar — not in the Dock. Click the icon to open the popover.
You should already see your hosts if you have an existing ~/.ssh/config. Schooner reads it automatically on first launch.
Step 2 — Connect to a Host
Click any host in the list, or start typing in the search box at the top of the popover (it receives focus automatically). Press Enter or click Connect to open the host in Ghostty.
Schooner records the connection in its history and updates the frecency score so frequently-used hosts bubble to the top over time.
Global shortcut: Press ⌘ Shift S anywhere to bring up the Schooner popover instantly. Configurable in Settings.
Step 3 — Add Your First Host Manually
If a host is not in your SSH config yet, click the + button in the popover. Fill in:
- Alias — short name used on the command line (
sc myserver) - Hostname / IP — the address to connect to
- Username — defaults to your current macOS username
- Port — defaults to 22
- Identity file — leave blank to use ssh-agent defaults
- Nickname & Tags — purely for your own organisation, stored in Schooner's database
Schooner writes a clean Host block into ~/.ssh/config and creates a snapshot first.
Step 4 — Try the TUI
Open any terminal (Ghostty recommended) and run:
scAn interactive fuzzy picker lists your hosts, sorted by frecency. Navigate with arrow keys or type to filter. Press Enter to connect.