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SSH & Multi-machine

!!! tip "Pro feature" SSH machines and multi-machine buttons require RemoteX Pro.

This page covers the Pro-specific workflow for SSH: adding machines, assigning them to buttons, and using the machine picker. For a complete field-by-field reference of the Add Machine dialog, see SSH Machines.

Adding your first machine

  1. Open Menu → Manage Machines
  2. Click + to open the Add Machine dialog
  3. Fill in the machine name, host, SSH user, and key path
  4. Click Test to verify the connection
  5. Click Save

The machine is now available in every Button Editor.

For SSH key setup instructions (generating a key pair and copying it to the server), see SSH key setup.

Assigning a machine to a button

Open the Button Editor (create a new button or right-click an existing one → Edit).

In the Target machines section:

  • Disable Local if you only want the remote machine
  • Enable the machine(s) you want

Click Save. The button's tooltip now shows the target machine name.

Single-machine buttons

When exactly one target is enabled, the command runs on that target immediately — no picker, no extra click. This is the most common setup.

Multi-machine buttons

Enable two or more targets and the button becomes a multi-machine button. Each click opens the machine picker.

The picker lists every enabled target by name and icon. Select one and click Run.

Mixing Local and remote

Enable Local alongside one or more SSH machines to include your own computer as an option in the picker. Useful for scripts that work identically on both environments.

"All machines" shortcut

In the Button Editor, the All machines toggle at the top of the machine list selects every configured machine at once. This is convenient when you want a command like df -h available across your entire fleet without ticking boxes individually.

Practical patterns

Same command, multiple servers

Create one button with all target machines enabled. The picker lets you choose which server to query each time.

Parallel commands across servers

Multi-machine buttons run on one machine per click (via the picker). For true parallel execution across multiple servers, open the button quickly for each machine in succession, or use a shell script that handles the SSH calls directly.

Local + remote toggle

A button with both Local and a server machine enabled is useful for testing: run the command locally first to verify it works, then pick the server to deploy.

Output modes

All three execution modes work over SSH. For interactive SSH sessions, use Open in terminal — RemoteX generates the correct ssh -t invocation automatically.

See Output modes over SSH for the full comparison.