Requirements and compatibility
What ShellCanvas needs on your computer, what it needs on the machine you connect to, and which combinations have actually been tested.
Availability
The desktop is released for Windows x64 as a public preview. macOS and Linux clients build from source but are not released, and their SSH workflows are not validated. Everything below separates what the code supports from what has been tested against a real system, because only the second is a support claim.
Interface
Your computer
| Requirement | Detail |
|---|---|
| Operating system | Windows x64. macOS and Linux build from source. |
| Runtime | Microsoft Edge WebView2, included with Windows 11. |
| Rights | The .exe installer installs per user and needs no administrator rights. |
| Network | Outbound access to your server's SSH port. No inbound ports, and no ShellCanvas service of any kind. |
| Optional | WinFsp (Windows), FUSE (Linux) or macFUSE (macOS), only if you attach a remote folder as a local drive. Installing WinFsp needs administrator rights. |
The machine you connect to
| Requirement | Needed for | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| An SSH server | Everything | The one already installed. ShellCanvas never installs software remotely. |
| The SFTP subsystem | Files, Editor, transfers, local drives | Provided by OpenSSH. Without it, terminals still work and file features report that the service is unavailable. |
[email protected] | Saving over an existing file | OpenSSH supports it. Elsewhere, reading, previewing and creating new files still work. |
| A shell account | Terminals | Your own permissions apply, including root if that is the account you use. |
| systemd, and root | Changing the host name or timezone from Host details | Read-only inspection works without root; applying a change is offered only to UID 0. |
udisksctl (Linux) or diskutil (macOS) | Mounting drives on the remote machine from Files | Discovery works without them; the mount and unmount actions do not appear if the tool is missing. |
Authentication
Private key files, with or without a passphrase, and password authentication. Not supported: SSH agents, hardware keys, host certificates, keyboard-interactive flows beyond a single password, and ProxyCommand or ProxyJump chains.
Tested combinations
| Side | Status |
|---|---|
| Windows client | Released installers, not code-signed. |
| macOS client | Builds from source. Launch, layout and Settings confirmed on an Intel Mac with Catalina 10.15; SSH workflows not validated. |
| Linux client | Not validated. |
| Ubuntu server | Verified: browsing, editing, transfers, terminals and permission failures, on an authorised test host. |
| Other Linux distributions | Same SSH and SFTP code path, not tested. |
| macOS server | Browsing files and a live shell confirmed from the Windows client. Writes and transfers not validated. |
| Windows OpenSSH server | Not validated. |
| Network appliances | Generic SSH handling only, with no device-specific provider. |
Development
Node.js 22 or newer, Rust 1.93 or newer, and the Tauri prerequisites. The published app SDK requires Node.js 20 or newer.
Examples
Check that a server has what ShellCanvas needs before adding it:
# A shell account on an SSH server: this must print your user name.
ssh [email protected] 'id -un'
# The SFTP subsystem: this must list your home directory.
echo 'ls' | sftp [email protected]
# Optional, for remote host settings: systemd present, and whether you are root.
ssh [email protected] 'command -v hostnamectl; id -u'If the first command works and the second does not, you can still use terminals; Files, the editor and transfers will be unavailable for that host.
Errors
| What you see | What it means |
|---|---|
| An unknown-publisher warning during installation | Preview installers are not code-signed. Verify the download against SHA256SUMS.txt from the release. |
| A blank window at startup | The WebView2 runtime is missing or blocked. Install it and start ShellCanvas again. |
| Files reports an unavailable service while the terminal works | The server's SFTP subsystem is disabled, or not permitted for your account. |
| Saving an existing file is refused, while new files can be created | The server does not offer the atomic rename extension. |
| Remote settings show a read-only reason | The account is not root, or systemd is not present. |
Lifecycle and permissions
ShellCanvas holds one SSH connection per workspace and opens additional channels on it for shells and file work. It stores saved hosts, trusted host keys, preferences and installed apps under your user profile on your own computer, and never stores passwords or key passphrases. On the server it creates nothing outside the files you explicitly write, and it removes its temporary file when a save completes or fails.
Related guides
- Installation and builds — install or build the desktop.
- Your first connection — add your first host.
- Compatibility and known limitations — numeric limits and current gaps.
- Providers and device detection — how ShellCanvas decides what a system supports.